Sunbelt recruiting rankings...

[billbeck451]

usm can get some 3 star recruits only because mississippi's pie isn't cut up as much as louisianas. Not only does louisiana have a trillion schools competing for the same atheletes, almost every other major college in the nation is also recruiting louisiana atheletes.

[Just1More]

_ Teams don't win games because of how many stars their recruits have. Those recruits have to get out there, develop and produce.

The Cajuns finished second in the Sun Belt last season with a 5-2 mark with 11 starters that were one-star recruits by Scout.com. That included the Sun Belt player of the year and offensive player of the year.

Anyone who looks too much into these recruiting rankings don't know much about football. These recruiting classes are ranked based on what they are right now, not in two or three years. That's how much time it will take for most of these players to make a true impact because most of the returning players are better, bigger and stronger right now and will get most of the playing time. _

The biggest thing that the star system does is display to the world, as if we didn't know, which programs are the most popular. The system isn't pure. It is the best we can probably do... but it has a self-fulfilling nature that is impure. Once an athlete starts getting popular and gets looks from major programs as a result... that results in an increase in his rating.

I asked a guy who used to work a lot with the Pelican Digest on ranking Louisiana HS athletes about how he judged HS talent. He said that he focused on players he was assigned to go watch on the field in Friday night games, based on the fuss about them. He said that 3 out of 4 times he was more impressed with some other player on that team or the opponent that wasn't even being noticed by the general media.

He also said something kind of funny... he said that rating players that are D1 athletes in the star system was a little like judging girls in beauty contests. He said that D1 athletes are like girls who rank between a 9 and 10 on the hotness scale. I don't know about you, but making a distinction between a 9.1 and a 9.4 was always kind of tough... as I proudly walked out the door with a 6.8 fixer-upper.

I'll throw one more funny in there... a friend of mine whose wife had a huge crush on Saban once told me that any school that didn't hire some handsome charismatic guy to run around the recruiting trail was a fool. Many a mama has a say-so these days in where her son goes to play ball. I believe that is why we have a hard time letting Bustle go... (smiley face right here with a slight grin, a little smirk, rolling of eyes, with a hint of acid reflux making its way northward)

[MetryCajun]

_ usm can get some 3 star recruits only because mississippi's pie isn't cut up as much as louisianas. Not only does louisiana have a trillion schools competing for the same atheletes, almost every other major college in the nation is also recruiting louisiana atheletes. _

So are you saying Tulsa will go after a LA 3 star, but not a MS 3 star?
The point I am trying to make is these star rankings have some merit. The play on the field bears that out.

[Damon]

If we got a 5* recruit, our heads would explode. It goes both ways.

What's more important to me is the kind of student-athlete that is being recruited. We do not have a lot of discipline problems (last year was the first I know of under RB). We now are getting our position needs met. We are fulfilling all scholarship slots (used to not be able to the first few years of RB's time). I think RB has a definite plan about how to build this program that he has followed since day one. It hasn't worked fast enough for some of us (especially 2007 ), but at least we don't see stories of our football players "making it rain", as the kids say.

It isn't sexy, but it does seem to be working.

[CajunT]

_ Our average star ranking is 2 because all of our 1 star recruits became 2 star recruits once they gave us verbals (that happens any time a 1* gets an offer from a FBS school).

So we need to make a decision... do stars matter? The answer is yes and no. For our purposes, it "doesn't matter" because we are not getting high stars. To put stock in them would be depressing. And it's easy to point out the flaws (fenroy, des etc). And it's easy to find the flopped 3 stars.

But I'll guarantee you far more 3 stars work out well than those that don't.

So for CajunNation, R90, HoustonCajun etc... your points are well taken. We are not where we need to be. I think even the most wide-eyed cajun fan knows that deep down. And it sucks to see schools that were once our equal making moves.

But for right now, this 1-2 star laden recruiting class are ours. Lets embrace the fact that they are the ones that will bring us to the next level. And as I've said before, we only need one season of on the field success and you will see a big difference in those rankings ya'll speak of all the time.

Good attendence+great atmosphere+good football=Class of the sunbelt.

I think we all know which variable is needed here^, and last year proved we're another step closer. _

The point is well taken if the comparison is fair. We are not Tulsa, USM or Houston for that matter, so let's be realistic. Louisiana Tech's recruiting class is better on paper, but how much better? That question can only be answered in the next few seasons. One important point to remember is, all the programs mentioned above are bowl teams. So some people continue to compare these programs with the Cajuns and repetitiously spout this what we should be recruiting. The reality is, we are not better then these programs.

Until we start winning consistently, appear in bowl games and improve facilities, we will not sign a greater number of 3-star athletes. We have to continue recruiting good athletes and develop them within the system to contribute in a few years.

[ULGrad@HOU]

Funny one J1M...Here's my take, which isn't gonna blow anyone's hair back, cause there's only so much that can be said about something so subjective. There's no doubt a difference between us and a top BCS program for the athlete we can get. Football is not like basketball, where one guy can make a huge difference. Football needs many very good guys and a few excellent guys to be a good team. In the past, I think our team as a whole lacked talent, with a few exceptional players like Jake and Brian, etc.. What Coach Bustle seems to be doing is raising the overall talent of the team and not really taking many chances on the riskier but more gifted athletes that have issues. We can debate whether this is the right approach or not but it's his job on the line, so he gets to decide. I think star ratings have some merit and for the most part show which guys have been noticed and received recognition for being talented. Now, are there guys that are talented but not as well noticed? Sure there are, and we have to trust that Coach Bustle can bring these guys in to our program. One day, we all hope soon, that we can approach and get more of the more known and higher sought after guys. With a better funded, high energy program that wins, we will. I think Coach Bustle has given us a foundation, now can he raise us up a step higher. If he can't, then we must get a Coach that can. Sorry for the long post. Geaux UL!

[billbeck451]

_ So are you saying Tulsa will go after a LA 3 star, but not a MS 3 star?
The point I am trying to make is these star rankings have some merit. The play on the field bears that out. _

What I am saying is that a lot more schools recruit actively in Louisiana than Mississippi, and Louisiana has more colleges in state for Louisiana players to choose from

[Just1More]

Hey ULGrad@HOU... dang you long winded posters (ha!)... I also believe there is some merit to the recruit ratings... but a huge amount of flaw... but it won't be long we are going to profile recruits genes and attach transmitters to them in highschool to make even more "in-depth" evaluations.

I still say that unlike, let's say LaTech, if UL overcomes the first hurdle (championship and bowl) we have a greased skid in front of us. Tech, being in Ruston, and already having had some success in football, has to continuously apply fabricated grease to their skid... and blue tarps.

It kills me that we didn't play Tech this past year in the Indy. We would have won... I have no doubt. Dooley is a rat. But, like most rats... they usually get too focused on the cheese... and sooner or later... bam! Regardless, we have what it takes to win the SBC title this year. I just hope our offense comes together quickly and everyone stays healthy.

[DestinCajun]

Their lack of a stadium is starting to effect them. FIU is making major strides with their new stadium and new staff. _

I'm saying I really doubt Howard Schnellenberger had the 118th best signing class in the country. Whether it's better than FIU's I dunno.

FAU's new $62 million stadium is supposed to open in the Fall 2010

[Turbine]

If you need to start true freshmen, stars might matter.

If you have the luxury of starting 5th year seniors, stars don't mean squat.


igeaux.mobi

[Bigcobra]

the stars dont bother me as much as small number of recruits

[DrumRoll]

_ The recruiting awards should only be viewed as a high school senior class award.

Actually, these days it may be more accurate to say they are Junior class awards, based on how well a kid played as a junior. Recruiting services pre-rank prospects so far in advance now, that a kid that got little or no playing time until his senior season would likely be unknown...

UL has done an excellent job of finding the recruiting services oversights in the last 2 years. The star system works in UL's favor, we get the late bloomer's and guys who played in a system that did not feature their position, while the services support their premature rankings.

[Turbine]

JC rankings (Junior Class rankins play on words) good observation DrumRoll.

Here is one of my own . . . What about the 3 star JC (Junior College) signings. Did they improve after 2 years in a JC? If not there is a major flaw in the system. If they didn't gain stars why would anyone want to sign them?

If they did improve their star status you can't tell me UL's Juniors are not climbing the star ladder as well. The only difference being they are about to start their 3rd year in the same system.

jmo

igeaux.mobi

[CajunShocker]

_ can you find a ranking list that shows we finished at the bottom of the FCS last year? I want to see that. _

No I can't, because UL doesn't play in the FCS. We play in the FBS, but if you want to see some of those polls:

http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/compare.htm

Goto that web address and it will show a comparison based on 109 different ranking systems. It averages them all and puts UL at 91st out of 120 D1-FBS teams. That would put us in the bottom quarter.

I guess you could say that we are in the top 75.8% of all FBS teams if you really want to be an optimist, but jeez.

[DestinCajun]

Funny one J1M...Here's my take, which isn't gonna blow anyone's hair back, cause there's only so much that can be said about something so subjective. There's no doubt a difference between us and a top BCS program for the athlete we can get. Football is not like basketball, where one guy can make a huge difference. Football needs many very good guys and a few excellent guys to be a good team. In the past, I think our team as a whole lacked talent, with a few exceptional players like Jake and Brian, etc.. What Coach Bustle seems to be doing is raising the overall talent of the team and not really taking many chances on the riskier but re gifted athletes that have issues. We can debate whether this is the right approach or not but it's his job on the line, so he gets to decide. I think star ratings have some merit and for the most part show which guys have been noticed and received recognition for being talented. Now, are there guys that are talented but not as well noticed? Sure there are, and we have to trust that Coach Bustle can bring these guys in to our program. One day, we all hope soon, that we can approach and get more of the more known and higher sought after guys. With a better funded, high energy program that wins, we will. I think Coach Bustle has given us a foundation, now can he raise us up a step higher. If he can't, then we must get a Coach that can. Sorry for the long post. Geaux UL!

A very good observation.