Current rankings, possible slight changes...

1) Alabama
2) LSU
3) A&M
4) Tennessee
5) Florida
6) Auburn
7) Georgia
8) Ole Miss
9) Kentucky
10) South Carolina
11) Arkansas
12) Mizzou
13) Miss St.
14) Vandy

So what does is all mean for the near future of each program?

1) It means 10+ win seasons for a little while longer
2) LSU/Alabama will continue to be a highlight of some of the best
3) A solid class will make the Aggies more than competitive
4) A huge turnaround is brewing in Knoxville, perhaps the drought is over.
5) Does this mean Muschamp has a shot at survival, what about a turnaround?
6) A solid class means solid competition, but is it NC level competition again?
7) Has Richt lost the magic? How much longer will Uga wait?
8) Ole Miss continues to improve, but can they break through?
9) No, really, the Wildcats. Nothing short of impressive, 6 wins?
10) The class is more impressive than it looks, should keep the East fun.
11) Is Arkansas running in the wrong direction?
12) Did Mizzou fail to capitalize?
13) Par for the course
14) Is the Vandy Golden Age over with?

As a Conference, the SEC looks prepared to play for NCs in the coming seasons.

What do y'all think each class is foreshadowing for their respective programs?

A few thoughts:

4) UT picked up some awesome skill guys, but they need a quarterback who pans out. Yet to be seen for next year.
5) The 5th best class in the SEC from the only school from Florida is not that great. He has brought in great classes, so that doesn't matter. They need to win, and quick, for Muschamp to hang around.
9) UK (my team) will still be terrible next year. This class will help make 2015 more interesting, though. This is a start from scratch process.
14) Vandy gets a pass this time. They had a great class until Franklin moved and half the recruiting class left. Mason picked up a few new guys, though, including a 4 star, which is impressive this late. Next year's class needs to be the gauge for Vandy.

(02-05-2014 02:33 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Current rankings, possible slight changes...

1) Alabama
2) LSU
3) A&M
4) Tennessee
5) Florida
6) Auburn
7) Georgia
8) Ole Miss
9) Kentucky
10) South Carolina
11) Arkansas
12) Mizzou
13) Miss St.
14) Vandy

So what does is all mean for the near future of each program?

1) It means 10+ win seasons for a little while longer
2) LSU/Alabama will continue to be a highlight of some of the best
3) A solid class will make the Aggies more than competitive
4) A huge turnaround is brewing in Knoxville, perhaps the drought is over.
5) Does this mean Muschamp has a shot at survival, what about a turnaround?
6) A solid class means solid competition, but is it NC level competition again?
7) Has Richt lost the magic? How much longer will Uga wait?
8) Ole Miss continues to improve, but can they break through?
9) No, really, the Wildcats. Nothing short of impressive, 6 wins?
10) The class is more impressive than it looks, should keep the East fun.
11) Is Arkansas running in the wrong direction?
12) Did Mizzou fail to capitalize?
13) Par for the course
14) Is the Vandy Golden Age over with?

As a Conference, the SEC looks prepared to play for NCs in the coming seasons.

What do y'all think each class is foreshadowing for their respective programs?

1. Alabama is great, but with the exception of 2011 they have underachieved, as strange as that may sound. For the talent Alabama has signed in the last 4 years there should not be a school on their schedule, or in the nation, that should be within 10 points of them. So they have another #1 class. It's time to see that translate into the dominance their fan base expects.

2. L.S.U. is another SEC school that has signed tremendously well, not to have shown more on the field in the past few years. L.S.U. should be dominant defensively and yet I haven't seen it. The have the running backs and receivers for offense, but have been slightly better than mediocre. The Hat needs to evaluate his staff.

3. Florida has always recruited well, how could they not? Muschamp is a great recruiter. He hasn't produced. This class does nothing but pile the wood around the stake that at the end of the season he may be tied to as the angry boosters show up with matches. Muschamp is not head coaching material and if last year couldn't prove it this year will.

4. Georgia showed no improvement in recruiting and will show about the same on the field. Their best addition at the end of the year is their new defensive coordinator. He's a wait and see.

5. Tennessee fans have a right to be excited. Butch has shown that at least in recruiting they once again have a pulse and if the heart of Rocky Top can be shocked back into rhythm they'll have a good year and start rebuilding in earnest.

6. Kentucky shows that they have a shot. And it comes at a perfect time. Strong is gone from Louisville and now they have a chance to dominate their state and return to a bowl.

7 & 8. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are right where they have always been, either just on the outside trying to get in, or just on the inside and about to be pushed out.

9. Arkansas is a total mystery. They will have and will get talent. But will Bielema's style work in the SEC? Great line play and running the ball is sound, but will it be able to keep pace with rules that favor passing?

10. Missouri takes a dip this year but not due to recruiting which is improving, but due to the loss of so many starters therefore it will be hard to evaluate them based on wins and losses this year.

11. Vanderbilt's alarm clock is ringing and their dreams are over for a while.

12. South Carolina didn't get a top class, but they got what they needed. The Ole Ball Coach will have them back in the thick of it. But, without Conner Shaw I don't expect to see them in Atlanta next year.

13. Texas A&M in my opinion had the best recruiting year of all of the SEC schools. No they didn't get what Alabama signed, but they have established a pattern of winning Texas. That alone makes it great. But I expect them to be competitive in the West this year and to make a run at winning it next year.

14. Auburn filled needs. The defense will get better. The offense needs a great fullback to block, and a strong inside runner. We'll see. But the most important aspect of our game to fill will be kicking. We lost two stellar kickers last year. Clark's punting won at least 3 games for us.

Now Sober the Hell UP! All of these kids, 5 star, 4 star, 3 star, and walk ons are totally unproven at this level and recruiting means nothing compared to maturity and coachability! Every year some 5 star head case gets busted for drugs, rapes a coed, causes dissension on the team, or starts looking around for a transfer if he won't accept discipline. Alabama added the top class in the nation last year to the two time national championship defenders that were returning and couldn't win the conference with them.

I get sick to my stomach over the hyping of these snot nosed punks, who haven't yet learned to be men, being made celebrities for pulling a hat out of bag when they haven't played one down of football against 11 other guys who were just as much the high school studs as they were, and are almost as fast and maybe larger or smarter. Piss on recruiting! Too much is made of it!

It's over hyping but we can all admit it's fun.

(02-05-2014 03:26 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  It's over hyping but we can all admit it's fun.

Not be a contrarian here but absurdity and hyping the unproven has never been fun to me. There have only been a couple of game changing recruits that I can remember from my lifetime. Walker to Georgia was one, Jackson to Auburn another. Alabama's greatness under Bear was never focused on an individual recruit, but rather in the tapestry of talent assembled. The third I would mention would be Peyton Manning to Tennessee. Outside of those I can't think of anything I've gotten excited about with recruiting, but then I did see the ugly side of it for years.

But I can tell you that I'm excited that it's over. It means that now settling realignment, whether to bolt the NCAA, or how to reform it are back on the front burner until March Madness. Then there will be a hiatus and when that's over it will be a sprint to accomplish and finalize the changes before August. When it's all over I hope we will all be thankful for a return to just enjoying the games. The fascination with all things realignment is motivated out of a strange combination of fear and hope, of heightened emotion and drama, and the dreams of what might be. But, it has gone on too long and has exhausted the oxygen from the room and has for some months now been a drag on the future of the game instead of a stimulant for it.

On a small side note:

Quote:Jake Trotter ‏@Jake_Trotter 5m

SEC schools signed the No. 1 players from the Big 12 states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. Ouch

(02-05-2014 03:35 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  On a small side note:

Quote:Jake Trotter ‏@Jake_Trotter 5m

SEC schools signed the No. 1 players from the Big 12 states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. Ouch

I also find it interesting that Oklahoma's top recruits came out of California. For all of He1nous's hopes for OU to the Big 10 have you checked out the number of top recruits going to the Big 10? Several of their top kids came South.

OU's Texas recruiting has been hard lately (mainly by us) so they are focusing on places like Cali that have a lot of talent and selling them on the idea of coming to play for a traditional football power in an 80k stadium rather than a PAC school that barely musters 50k on FB weekends.

Going to defend our class a little. Between Petrinos last year and John L. Smith only year. We lost an entire class worth of recruits and it showed this past year.They either didn't qualify or they transfered. In Smiths' only year of service. He spent the entire year burning redshirts and not recruiting at all. Now Coach B has the problem of having to build depth plus field a competive team. If you take a good look at our class. He has been able to do wonders. We lured a top 10 QB plus the best player in Missouri. We have been able to recruit more players from Florida in the past two years than we were able to do in the past decade. Coach B will get 5 years to turn it around and I beleive he can.

(02-05-2014 03:33 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 03:26 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  It's over hyping but we can all admit it's fun.

Not be a contrarian here but absurdity and hyping the unproven has never been fun to me. There have only been a couple of game changing recruits that I can remember from my lifetime. Walker to Georgia was one, Jackson to Auburn another. Alabama's greatness under Bear was never focused on an individual recruit, but rather in the tapestry of talent assembled. The third I would mention would be Peyton Manning to Tennessee. Outside of those I can't think of anything I've gotten excited about with recruiting, but then I did see the ugly side of it for years.

But I can tell you that I'm excited that it's over. It means that now settling realignment, whether to bolt the NCAA, or how to reform it are back on the front burner until March Madness. Then there will be a hiatus and when that's over it will be a sprint to accomplish and finalize the changes before August. When it's all over I hope we will all be thankful for a return to just enjoying the games. The fascination with all things realignment is motivated out of a strange combination of fear and hope, of heightened emotion and drama, and the dreams of what might be. But, it has gone on too long and has exhausted the oxygen from the room and has for some months now been a drag on the future of the game instead of a stimulant for it.

I'm of a similar mindset. Someone once suggested switch the genders to truly appreciate how absurd the HS scouting process and talent evaluation is. I contend that as it stands its still asinine. Being an the South and listening to radio stations wax rhapsodical about where some 5* recruit is going is nauseating.

Well part of the reason's South Carolina's class was so low ranked was because we only took 20 guys. Had we taken 28-30 I think you see those numbers a lot higher. That and we had a few high profile guys that we were virtual locks for flip (Drew Barker to UK, Derrell Scott to UT, Bentley Spain to UNC)

(02-10-2014 09:36 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Well part of the reason's South Carolina's class was so low ranked was because we only took 20 guys. Had we taken 28-30 I think you see those numbers a lot higher. That and we had a few high profile guys that we were virtual locks for flip (Drew Barker to UK, Derrell Scott to UT, Bentley Spain to UNC)

Yea, y'all's class filled holes and you got everything you needed pretty much.

(02-05-2014 02:33 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Current rankings, possible slight changes...

1) Alabama
2) LSU
3) A&M
4) Tennessee
5) Florida
6) Auburn
7) Georgia
8) Ole Miss
9) Kentucky
10) South Carolina
11) Arkansas
12) Mizzou
13) Miss St.
14) Vandy

So what does is all mean for the near future of each program?

1) It means 10+ win seasons for a little while longer
2) LSU/Alabama will continue to be a highlight of some of the best
3) A solid class will make the Aggies more than competitive
4) A huge turnaround is brewing in Knoxville, perhaps the drought is over.
5) Does this mean Muschamp has a shot at survival, what about a turnaround?
6) A solid class means solid competition, but is it NC level competition again?
7) Has Richt lost the magic? How much longer will Uga wait?
8) Ole Miss continues to improve, but can they break through?
9) No, really, the Wildcats. Nothing short of impressive, 6 wins?
10) The class is more impressive than it looks, should keep the East fun.
11) Is Arkansas running in the wrong direction?
12) Did Mizzou fail to capitalize?
13) Par for the course
14) Is the Vandy Golden Age over with?

As a Conference, the SEC looks prepared to play for NCs in the coming seasons.

What do y'all think each class is foreshadowing for their respective programs?

Coach Pinkel of Missouri has made it his policy to pick and choose recruits which fit the Missouri program, regardless of their star ratings. It is working pretty well so far.

I'm of a similar mindset of vandiver & JR, I really believe that we're giving kids a tremendous big head by labeling them 5 or 4 stars just based on potential. Some of these kids are just shorts and t-shirt guys that don't do squat at the college level. Then they get mad defensive on twitter if somebody may say they're not as good as the hype may be and then have the nerve to hold press conferences to say where they're going to go. These scouting services like Scout/Rivals/247/ESPN350 are doing more harm than good. Coaches will still know who the talent is if these services aren't available. I want football players, not shorts n t-shirt guys.