recruiting- the good and the frustrating

[orangeo]

I was just looking at scout's report on football recruiting for this year. The good news is OSU's class is ranked number 11 in the country. That's pretty good and Gundy and staff are to be commended.

The bad news- OU is number 2, and Texas is number 3. OU and Texas both have 17 commitments from 4 and 5 star players. OSU has 5 in those groups.

This is the real dilemma for the Pokes. We can recruit top 10-12 classes year after year and still never quite have the talent that OU and Texas have. Is it any wonder that we so seldom beat either team?

Perhaps with all the new facilities in place now and planned for the future, this inequity in recruiting will eventually shift. I guess time alone will tell.

[BigBadBen]

You also got to look at how many of those kids we were getting 5, 10, 15 years ago?

How often was our recruiting class rated this high back then?

It takes time, and competing against the big boys is never an easy fight to win.

OSU has to work twice as hard to get half the class those guys do.
As much as it sucks, its the truth for now.

[Poohness]

It seems I remember that Oregon's coach has been building that program for about 10 years. I think we will get there too. I am as anxious as the next fan to get there but I think we will.

[JimBob]

Perhaps with all the new facilities in place now and planned for the future, this inequity in recruiting will eventually shift. I guess time alone will tell.


Don't hold your breath; everyone has the film from our last three games of the season. I'm sure none of that will be used in recruiting.:vomit-smiley-001:

[orangeo]

Yeah, its the old chicken/egg thing...do you recruit to win or win to recruit? It is obvious our recruiting is continuing to improve, but if we don't beat OU or TX once in a while we may never get those 4/5 star recruits that you need to elevate a program to the Florida/Alabama/Texas/USC/OU level. Not that I'm losing sleep over it or anything. I'm thrilled that we are over the 5 or 6 wins a year hump.

[wood911]

We just need some guys that play better than they are rated. Hunter was a 3-star. So was Okung.

[CanadianCowboy]

We just need some guys that play better than they are rated. Hunter was a 3-star. So was Okung.
And we have a great history of these kinds of successes. Those success stories are the results of...what?...oh, let's not admit it...but it is a fact....COACHING.

[FalseGod]

I think it is just as much a result of the way the system works too. Recruiting ratings are arbitrary and subjective.

[wickerbill]

Not to mention all of the times someone commits to a top school and they magically gain a star.

[Lewis the Pike]

Based on star ratings, A horrible team would have Wes Welker, Rashaun Woods, Josh Fields, Russell Okung, Sam Mayes, Greg Richmond, LaDanian Tomlinson to name a few of the star series.

[osupsycho]

Don't hold your breath; everyone has the film from our last three games of the season. I'm sure none of that will be used in recruiting.:vomit-smiley-001:

Your pessimism is showing here. Recruiting is salesmanship and even those three games can be a good thing in the game. Recruits can simply be shown that we are a few good players (like themselves) away from winning it all. Also don't forget our defense played pretty good in those games. A very big reason for losing those games was turnovers and that can easily be glossed over with recruits...

[OSU-DNA]

Our typical gap over the last 20 years versus the traditional Top 10 has been on the defensive side of the ball. Defense keeps you in the game with a chance of winning.

We have had 3 DC's under Gundy and it would appear each has been an upgrade versus their predecessor. The improvement in the D during the course of this season was amazing. Generally, adjustments were made after the first series rather than the traditional wait until half time.

The emphasis on D has been shown in the recruiting mix for 2010. Barnett, Littlehead, Wheeler represent an excellent class. They may fall short of Texas in star rankings but they provide an excellent base and a rotational depth that we have not had. Barnett more than held his own in the Army AA game and was most often double teamed. A core DT group requiring more than one OL per DT is a key for any defense. Okafer's size would indicate a strong side DE and one who has a great frame for development. Not sure where Collins will play, OL or DL.

The LB recruits of Lewis, Lavey, Maeweather, and Katlin are excellent. Strong inside backers and speed at the outside positions. At least 2 of these 4 will see the field in the first game versus WSU.

We have been scrambling for CBs in this class and have recruited 4 including a Juco already on campus. One of key decisions will be where to play Gilbert, originally slotted for CB but possessing excellent play making abilities on the offensive side. If the staff can find another outstanding CB, you would have to guess that Gilbert would move to the Offensive side. It is too bad Porter has closed his mind to us, that would be an ideal fit for him and our team.

At the Safety position we have added more depth with this class but unless Saunders or Imade can penetrate the Special Teams we should anticipate that they will redshirt. Saunders in particular has significant upside. Cooper listed as a Safety may also be a play maker and receive a shot at the O.

On the offensive side, the addition of Deaton and Sorenson should fill the gap for the QB competition. Both are great athletes.

Where we need to upgrade is the WR position. Dinkins is a very nice addition, and giving Cooper and Gilbert a shot here will help. Nelson and Johnson I think more of in the H-Back role supporting Tracy Moore. Nelson appears to be a mirror image of Moore.

Our depth at RB entering recruiting gave most the impression we might skip taking one, but the addition of Randle after our injuries should stabilize this position.

The OL class looks strong headlined by Koenig who had 2 Brothers start for us.

Recruiting is the ultimate gamble, 4 and 5 star players not panning out, 3 and 4 star players maturing and dominating. In any recruiting class obtaining 11-14 future starters would be a home run. This class appears to have that potential with the key elements being DT and QB. The missing can't miss player is at WR and Rush End. At WR we have one strong potential and possibly 2 experiments from the defensive side that could fill the gap. The development of the DTs, QBs and WRs will give strong indication whether we battle comfortably and move towards the Top Ten.

[PasoPoke]

There is no doubt programs like Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Florida and Alabama go after, and get, the top recruits. That isn't going to change.

I would argue that there is plenty of talent to go around if a staff works hard.

Just having a Texas or Florida recruiting a player adds a star to their ranking. The big programs have thousands of more fans that subscribe to premium sports sites and these sites know where their money comes from.

Fans like to read how spectacular their recruiting is and these fan sites know it. It is just one of the things programs like OSU have to deal with.

[FalseGod]

Case Keenum was a 2 Star. I bet any of us would take a guy like that for our offense. You can get talent from the lower tiers that can easily compete with the top tier.