i'll admit i'm not a huge recruiting guy especially this early. but a friend asked me the other day if i was impressed with LSU's 2010 commits. and i said from what little i know...yes. seems like we're filling holes and getting guys who are legit 3 and 4 star guys who will looking to be adding a star with their senior years. he said he really thought LSU is taking a step down in recruiting for 2010 and that bama and texas are really passing us by. he also said that the guys that we are getting to commit don't really have impressive offers besides us. i guess i don't know enough to refute what he was saying and was wondering if some of you recruiting gurus like bhelm, parso, and izzy and so forth could speak intelligently on the issue because all i did was just nod and sip my beer.
He is off because based on who we have signed compared to Bama are very even so far. We have one more commit than Bama and Bama has a kicker on that list. They have 2 5 stars and will have an opportunity at more 5* than us mainly because LA is relatively weak compared to years past. LSU won't have many shots at 5* this year for that reason. We will be in the running for a couple of 5* guys like Lache and others and we have a few guys right at the brink of receiving a 5th star like you said. Sounds like he buys into the rankings stuff early. When Bates gets his 3* added onto the Scout database this week, LSU will pass up Bama in the rankings at #2. Rankings don't mean much anyway at this point but he will probably revert to that argument. We have a few in-state guys like Bates and DJ Welter that did not have many offers because they committed so early. But Welter had a Bama offer and we also beat out Bama for Vinson, Reid, Maclin, Hunter, and Lee. So we are getting guys that Bama has offered so it does not bold well for his argument. Bama has the same amount of guys who do not have the offer list one would expect like Carswell, Love, and Sheppard. We each have a top Juco guy and a top FB who committed early with few offers. Just like us, these guys would have gained more offers had they not committed early. LSU seems to have bigger names when you compare the classes so far but I fully expect Bama to have a higher ranked class at the end of the year because of the depth in-state this year. To think LSU will likely be in the top 6-10 at the end of the year with the state of LA somewhat down and we are pulling top guys like Lee, Maclin, Davis, and Worle out of state is a huge indicator of our success so far.
Last projections I saw, Bama was ranked #2 and LSU was #5, that was by Scout. So if he calls that falling off, then so be it. Maybe your buddy should just shut up and sip his beer like you did..lol Good thread btw.
This is the breakdown of star rankings. I gave each prospect the higher rating of the 2 from Scout and Rivals. LSU: (15 Commits) 8 4* 7 3* Avg = 3.53 Bama: (14 Commits) 2 5* 6 4* 5 3* 1 NR Avg = 3.5 (Rivals actually ranks Bama lower with 1 less 5* and 1 less 4* at this time.) ESPN has LSU with 8 top 150 prospects committed. Bama has 6
Its going to be tough for SEC teams to match last years totals because Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana are all having down years, talent wise. Fortunately for Coach Miles Texas isnt too far away and he has obviously shown that he has the ability to get people from Virginia, Georgia, etc.
thanks for the education, i think he probably knew as much about recruiting as i did, he just took an anti LSU stance on it and he's not anti LSU i think his worries come from concern from stuff he hears from other fan bases which are probably just as ignorant to the early recruiting process as we are. so while i got you answering questions, i have another one. i think most would say that louisiana was down last year despite randle. and this year is a down year too. La. always seemed to boast some of the best recruiting per capita and it took a little Gerry and a lot of Nick to get these guys to stay in state. Les is keeping that going of course but two down years in a row in La. seems like an anomaly. So... is this the norm for La. recruiting post katrina or just a couple of random bumps in the road?? i have full faith in miles getting the guys we need here especially getting into texas, fla, and ga more than any other coach ever has at LSU. but will La. continue to see more down years in the future (not that down years in La. are that bad in a usually talent rich state).
Last year was actually pretty good depth wise meaning we had a lot of guys who were D1 talent but were lacking the top heaviness we expect from LA. This year lacks top heaviness and depth. We will not see as many in-state guys getting looks from the staff to plug in the holes closer to NSD. Katrina did have some effect but not as much as some think. Seems to have hurt basketball recruiting more than football IMO. However, 2011 and 2012 are looking to be great years for LA. Next year we could see 4 or 5 guys in contention for 5* ratings and I see at least 3 as locks to get 5 stars. Depth will also be better in 2011 and 2012. 2011 could be the best year in-state since the Spears/Clayton class. That is why we are seeing LSU offer these guys a year earlier than we are used to seeing at LSU to go along with the nationally trend of offering early.
One thing I notice is that we seem to be signing guys who are projecting to play somewhere else than where they're playing right now. For example Luke Muncie a safety projecting at LB. Sam Gibson a QB that may end up a DB Houston Bates a DE that may become a linebacker or even halfback. Cameron Fordham a TE that will probably be on the OL somewhere. Nick Jacobs a TE who may be a DE. Then you have those athletes who can play multiple positions like Tharold Simon and several other recruits on LSU's radar. I think this is because LSU has had great success coaching players that change positions. and after all those great recruiting classes, we have most positions covered by players who aren't going to switch positions and we need to fill holes at backup positions more than starting positions. I don't think we're playing games with other recruits by hinting that guys we signed are gonna be playing other positions. Only Urban Meyer would think of that. By the way, I still can't believe Tebow's a QB ... he was recruited as a linebacker wasn't he?:huh:.
Just my opinion and I am not well informed; but the only stars that matter to me are the ones that Coach Miles and the LSU staff assign to recruting prospects. ST
