Just an update for those interested. Since the initial launch of ESPN's site network with Oklahoma, Florida, USC, and OSU more sites have been added. Miami, Arizona, and South Carolina are all in with 40-45 more to be added. The plan is to eventually link all the sites as a network. I know many of you hate ESPN and no I'm not a paid advertiser, just wanted to share in case. Happy Saturday.
It will be interesting to see how ESPN goes along with this. They obviously have more resources than Rivals and Scout but we will have to see if they put the money in to it.
Is that the ESPN.com - Insider/Recruiting website? Because that site has been using data from Scout. If it is another site, could you please provide the link?
Meant to get back to this and forgot. Sorry. As far as I know the databases are separate and unique to each site although there is a national site which doesn't give you as much detail. The goal is to eventually have them all linked. Here is a link to the USC site so you can see how it looks. http://wearesc.com/recruiting/index.php?year=2008&name=Search+by+name The Recruiting Forum to discuss the issues on our site is premium. We have 2 guys plus the site owner who attend HS practices, games, camps, watch film, talk to the recruits, etc so the info in both the database and on the chatting forums is coming from people we know and trust, not a national faceless entity although there is still much ESPN content and contribution as well. There is also a plan to develop a unique ranking/star system that is based more on actual observation and coach feedback as opposed to the current method. I have no idea how long that will take to rollout.
I guess I am naive. I thought the current system was based on actual observation and feedback from coaches. If not, what is it based on? By the way, thanks for the link.
Some yes, but waaaaay to much on film. There's just no way to get around to everyone so many of the recruiting writers just sit in an office and watch film all day, making up rankings. If you'll notice, sometimes a guy will write up a report on a player and within days, everyone else is saying the same darn thing without having seen anything for themselves. Plus, there are lots of guys out there writing that have little understanding or appreciation for spotting potential talent. It doesn't always translate, n'est-ce-pas?
You got to it before I could, but I was going to say basically the exact same thing. Also, I have some commentary on this that relates to USC... Part of the reason I think USC's classes are always ranked so high (other than Rivals' infatuation with USC) is because USC goes after guys with great highlight reals - not necessarily complete players. A guy like Keiland Williams comes to mind (very heated recruitment between USC & LSU). His highlights are amazing, but he isn't a complete back (yet). And there's a guy like Hester who was a 2 star because his highlight tape would not be very impressive.
Patrick Turner is another example. He's just finished his junior year and still hasn't developed completely. Vidal Hazelton too. Not surprising that WR's or even RB's would be the most common example of highlight euphoria. Even Arthur Brown was a player everybody wanted but his performance this week against national talent was not great. Plus there's always the "big school" factor. As soon as a player gets attention or offer from any of the big programs, their stock goes up, deserved or not. It's players like Hester who have non-impressive tapes or players who just don't get exposure or have the financial means to get to camps that I'd like to see benefit from a significant change in the current ranking systems. There has to be a way to include the input from skilled people who can accurately (for the most part) judge potential.
That's true across the board, but certain "big schools" have more pull... I can't speak for USC, but I'm pretty sure most schools do not take Rivals or any other services' rankings into account. LSU certainly doesn't, but I've heard that we have one of the best systems for evaluating talent in the country.
