My first thread and I have a recruiting question?

[12natchamps]

i've been getting on tidefans reading all you guys for along time now and can't stand it no more so i had to join so i could talk to all the bama nation.

My question is: i've been keeping up with recruiting for along time (but no expert by any means) it just seems to me that we are not doing as good in the recruiting process as we all had hope. i know it is still december and we still have a long way to go but if we lose TT to Fl are we going to lose out on alot of the big name recruits and start taking alot of leftovers?

 

[TerryP]

First of all, welcome aboard.

it just seems to me that we are not doing as good in the recruiting process as we all had hope.

I won't venture into the grammar police function here... .... so I'll take a minute and ask. How are we not doing as well as you hoped we would?

It is your first thread...so I'll give you a bit of a warning here. There are quite a few that'll probably find umbrage at your assertation.

 

[Crimson Surfer]

Welcome! By all accounts this is Coach Shula's best class so far and it is not even completed yet. If things go well with the remaining top prospects, this class will easily be top 5 in the country in the final team recruiting rankings.

 

[bayoutider]

Welcome to tidefans and hope you hang around along time.

 

[stlimprov]

...it just seems to me that we are not doing as good in the recruiting process as we all had hope.

In that we all hope to have 25 academically qualified consensus five star All-Americans (although we'd would prefer for a handful to be overlooked 1 or 2 stars who grow into Heisman candidates to prove that our coaching staff has some sort of mystical esp/insight) commit early every year, it is true that we're clearly falling short.

 

[SimCastilleFan3]

Welcome and I hope you can make it a week before you realize what you are doing on here making those kind of comments. We are doing a good job in recruiting whether or not we get Tebow or not we pretty much have assured ourselves of a top 10 recruiting class. Tebow will wear crimson tomorrow buddy ill just go out and say that.

 

[12natchamps]

falling short

as far as the top teams in the SEC we are falling short to these teams. look at what Georgia, L.S.U., and Florida are doing they are racking up in recruiting. and even Auburn has out recruited us the last few years. i would just like to see us get the high profile prospects esp. on the offense side of the ball.

 

[bamaslammer]

I think you have to view this class in perspective. Shula's first two years we signed alot of 2 and 3 star guys, We did have some hard core guys like the Casteel's come in but for the most part we were not being concidered by many of the nations top players.

This year that has changed, I think the stability of the program and the 9 win season has put us back in the minds of many top prospects. We won't sign them all but you have to get them to campus to even have a shot, and we have done that much more this year than any time in the past half decade.

This years class could go ballistic this year should we sign Tebow and Andre Smith, or if we sign neither and it will still be a very good but not spactacular class, Or it could wind up somewhere in the middle.

Either way Shula has been able to make positive steps every year, and eventually that will show on the field more and more, and when Alabama starts winning more and more you will see more and more high profile guys sign with us.

So basically to sum it up don't expect a class like USC will get, just expect us to take steps in the right direction. Just one or two extra players could have been the difference in the first quarter against Auburn and LSU, We are not as far behind them as they would have you believe.

 

[RollinOnBayou]

i've been getting on tidefans reading all you guys for along time now and can't stand it no more so i had to join so i could talk to all the bama nation.

My question is: i've been keeping up with recruiting for along time (but no expert by any means) it just seems to me that we are not doing as good in the recruiting process as we all had hope. i know it is still december and we still have a long way to go but if we lose TT to Fl are we going to lose out on alot of the big name recruits and start taking alot of leftovers?

Yes #9 in recruiting is a huge disappointment....

We are behind some SEC teams right now, but if we pick up Tebow, then we probably only trail Florida. It would only take 1 maybe 2 recruits to swing recruiting in our favor.

However, being #9 overall(recruiting), coming off our best season in years, and free of probation, I think you are seeing the beginning of very good Bama teams to come.

One last thing.

If you look at our recruits, you begin to notice that Bama will begin to have something we haven't had in ages.... Depth

 

[Tide49]

I don't follow recruiting as closely as some of the gurus here, but, when I look at our commits, it certainly seems that this class is made up mostly of 3 and 4 star players, whereas over the past two or three years, the classes end up being made up mostly of 1, 2 and 3 star guys in our final classes.

The overall talent level of this class will probably be our best in years with or without Tebow (who I am becoming more optimistic about BTW) or Andre Smith. If the Tide should land both those guys, it could be the team's best class ever and with just one of them, it would still be a fantastic class.

As a Bama fan, you really have to be pretty happy with this class so far and you might end up being absolutely ecstatic about it by February.

 

[12natchamps]

hey

#18 in scout.com and #9 in rivals.com

 

[TerryP]

#18 in scout.com and #9 in rivals.com

I'm going on an assumption here...

You think we've fallen behind the Auburn's, LSU's, etc. the last few years based on the rankings that came out after signing day?

 

[TerryP]

Let me add this quick note about the star system. I hope...well, I'd assume you realize that these stars are based on what recruiting *guru's* see from tapes, etc. You'll see a lot of Florida, Texas and California kids getting a lot more publicity when it comes to the press...which in turn translates into higher rankings. While High School football is definitely more than a past time in Alabama, our print media outlets aren't vying for Emmy awards because of their coverage.

 

[stlimprov]

That the same group varies in ranking from #9 to #18 is a clue. I think that most people want to feel that recruiting gets you in the ballpark, and that then it's up to coaching to develop talent. Recruiting can't win you a national championship, but you have to have it to have a place at the table.

Another thing to remember is how these rankings work. There is an element of it which starts with an "analyst" calling texas or usc or uga (or whomever has been considered highly successful) and asking them who they are looking at. These recruits then get the benefit of the doubt in forming the top of the heap. Not entirely unlike the preseason AP rankings, for example. So there is clearly momentum that takes a few years to build. I think that there is reasonable confidence that our momentum is headed in the right direction. Alabama has a clear advantage in that it takes much less time to turn this momentum around than it would a lot of programs.

Watch...if we get back to winning 10 games a year, the number of 4 star prospects we have will grow. Part of this is that the success draws the attention and serious consideration of top recruits, and part of it is that some guys who might be 3 stars if Ole Miss were looking at them will be 4 stars because we want them.

 

[GrayTide]

The recruiting analysis business has only been around maybe 8-10 years, before that how good your recruiting class was usually showed up in the W-L column. Looking back over the years, and realizing there will be differing opinions, how many 5 Star QBs have been recruited, stayed and played for Alabama. Following Alabama since Coach Bryant's return I can think of maybe 3 who, had there been recruiting gurus in those days, would have been labeled as 5 star recruits. Consider all the really good QBs we have had on NC teams, and IMO only Namath, Stabler and Todd would have been rated that high. These recruiting gurus make a living selling their services, and they help most schools narrow down their choices of who to go after, but in the final analysis I would say that more 5 stars recruits have not made the big time than those who have. There are lots of intangibles that make a winner and talent is only one.

 

[Boclive]

I am a believer in the recruiting rating system. All else being equal, a FIVE star recruit will generally perform better than a four star recruit, a four star recruit will generally perform better than a three star recruit, etc. Most of it relates directly to a recruits potential.

I am Alabama born and bred, AND I have always bled crimson; but that doesn't make me a good football prospect. Take the best prospects you can get wherever you find them.

Scholarship limits are going to dictate choosing between a five star from out of state and a four star from in-state sometimes nowadays.

I've seen one or two players transfer out of the Alabama program over the years, but not many, and not many of the good ones.

It's as good a stage for a college football player as any in the nation.

imho

 

[bayoutider]

I am a believer in the recruiting rating system. All else being equal, a FIVE star recruit will generally perform better than a four star recruit, a four star recruit will generally perform better than a three star recruit, etc. Most of it relates directly to a recruits potential.

I am Alabama born and bred, AND I have always bled crimson; but that doesn't make me a good football prospect. Take the best prospects you can get wherever you find them.

Scholarship limits are going to dictate choosing between a five star from out of state and a four star from in-state sometimes nowadays.

I've seen one or two players transfer out of the Alabama program over the years, but not many, and not many of the good ones.

It's as good a stage for a college football player as any in the nation.

imho

The star ranking system also relates to how quickly a recruit should contribute to a program. A 5 star should make an immediate impact, a 4 star should contribute his first year or second, a 3 star should contribute after 1 year, etc. etc.

 

[12natchamps]

thats what i have been trying to say, is that Bama needs to get some big name recruits. if TT were to commit (which i think he want he's going to FL) then there will be a trickle affect (in favor of Bama) i just think CMS needs a big time commitment to let the country and the SEC to know that CMS is the man.

 

[Boclive]

The star ranking system also relates to how quickly a recruit should contribute to a program. A 5 star should make an immediate impact, a 4 star should contribute his first year or second, a 3 star should contribute after 1 year, etc. etc.

It is hard to define "impact" or "contribute". Players can make an impact by competing for third string, or second, or playing time. They can contribute even if they redshirt and play on the scout team.

I like to think of a recruits potential in terms of post season honors. For example, does a player have the potential to be a consensus All-American by his junior year? Consensus All-SEC by his junior year?

I believe that very few 2 or 3 star recruits even have that potential.

 

[TerryP]

thats what i have been trying to say, is that Bama needs to get some big name recruits. if TT were to commit (which i think he want he's going to FL) then there will be a trickle affect (in favor of Bama) i just think CMS needs a big time commitment to let the country and the SEC to know that CMS is the man.

Getting a "big name recruit" won't establish Shula as "the man." The only thing that'll do that is what kind of results are seen on the field. From what we've all seen the past few years I think we can all agree Shula is a good coach. A great coach is yet to be determined.

While a "big named recruit" will show that Alabama is showing up on the recruiting front it really won't be any different that Croyle's committment. After all, he was rated like TT and made his decision in the midst of our probation.