I haven't kept up with our recruiting efforts much, so I am basing this on the rivals ratings showing that 11 of our 16 recruits are 3 star or less (marginal to decent players, basically). And don't feed me the bull that the star ratings don't matter because they do. We're coming off our best season (other than '03) in the past 40+ years and this is all we have to show for it? What gives? I look at the QB position and no one even is remotely interested in coming here. The QB position appears to be wide ass open in '08. I dunno.
Let's take a look at the stars of our starting lineup: If you look at our offense we have (2) 5*'s, (3) 4*'s, and (5) 3*'s and (1) 2*. Thats an average star value of 3.54. On defense we have no 5*'s, 6 4*'s, and 5 3*'s. Thats an average star value of 3.54. Right now we have an average star value of 3.33 with a lot of 4's and a couple 5's left on the board so let's wait and see. :thumb: As far as how much star ratings matter, last year, out of the first 100 players drafted: 5 Stars 16 4 Stars 27 3 Stars 19 2 Stars 26 NR 12 You decide.
True. Russell, Landry, Bowe, Davis were all 4* recruits and first round picks. As per scout.com, catch this, Ali Highsmith was a 1* recruit:shock: , Both Chevis and Zenon were 3*s, and the biggest shocker of all time, Tyson Jackson was a 2* recruit , yep, the same guy that will end up somewhere in the top 5 of the draft if he stays one more year. Will Arnold, preseason All American was a 3* recruit. Trindon Holliday was a 2* recruit. Darry Beckwith was a 3* recruit. Thats why I trust the judgement of the coaching staff, they see potential, they'll get him.
LSU does not have 1 recruit who is ranked less than 3 Stars. Here is Rivals definition of a 3 Star recruit: • 5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection: Considered among the region's top prospects and among the top 500 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team. Here are LSU's 2007 Starters who were ranked by Rivals as 3 Stars or less: Offense: OT - Ciron Black - Preseason All-SEC TE - Keith Zinger C - Brett Helms - Preseason All-SEC WR - Brandon LaFell OG - Lyle Hitt FB - Jacob Hester Defense: DE - Tyson Jackson - Preseason All-SEC CB - Chevis Jackson - Preseason All-SEC CB - Jon Zenon - Preseason All-SEC LB - Ali Highsmith - Preseason All-SEC S - Curtis Taylor Special Teams: KR/PR - Trindon Hollliday P - Patrick Fisher K- Colt David - (Walkon) ___________________________________________ LSU's 2008 recruiting class has already had 2 recruits move from 3 star status to 4 star status. (LB-Ryan Baker & WR-DeAngelo Peterson) I expect about 4-6 more current LSU recruits to move from 3 to 4 Stars. They won't be better players, but for people who don't follow recruiting...all the extra stars will be pretty.
Highsmith was a 3* when he signed with Miami out of HS, but he had to sit out a year to get qualified. That's why he was a 1*.
As mentioned, not one of our recruits is less than 3 stars. Also there's already a thread on this, something to the effect of "Rivals doesn't think we're doing well". It has already been pointed out how wrong the recruiting services can be, but I'll go another step. None of these guys have even played their senior seasons yet, and I guarantee that a couple will jump to 4 stars. It won't be because they are better players now than when they committed. It will be because they've gotten more attention. Florida just won the NC. Look at their recruiting class. We'll see how it breaks down at the end, but QB does look to be a dissapointment this year.
Don't be overly discouraged by the "poor" start. While rankings and star have meaning, they are still at a VERY early stage of evaluation of the recruits. The coaches know a LOT more right now than Rivals and Scout do. The ones that ultimately matter the most, and that people will talk about when they evaluate whether Rivals and Scout were right about recruits, are the ones that come out LAST, which won't happen until 2008. And yes, we have lost out on some players we've really wanted, like EJ Manuel. That's life, and there's nothing we can do about it other than try again tomorrow. This is a relatively weak year for QBs coming out of high school, and we may not be able to get a world-beater this year. Next year looks better.
Thanks for the input fellas. I have no doubt the coaching staff will pick the best players possible and reload what is probably the most talented team in the country.
islstl, keep in mind it’s still too early- look at Notre Dame last year, they break out the gates be the number 1 class early in the season with all those big time recruits, only to lose half of them and fall out of the top ten. I do feel confident that Miles’ patience/protocol is landing secure recruits. BTW, good to C ya around here- it's been a while.:thumb:
