2009 Sunbelt Recruiting Rankings

[zephyr]

Cajun T had an article posted on his website focusing on the final rankings of the sunbelt football recruiting for this year. While obviously these are opinion, you have to see the trend that is occuring. At #1 was WKU who entering their first full year in D-1 or at least in Sunbelt play. They have supposedly already outrecruited everybody and have a very strong class coming in. Number 2 was noneother than Troy who supposedly vamped up their D-line bigtime. We are at the bottom. While they did mention that we got some very good quality in the class, overall we had the least amount of talent. I'm sure some of that has to do with the size of the class being smaller than the others but you still have to see that this is a big year for coach Bustle. We have to make some things happen if we don't want to be left behind further than we are already. I sure hope we can gain a lot of momentum at home those first two games and really get some talent interested in this program. It seemed last year when we had the winning streak and good play going that we had a lot of interest from the various prospects out there and I would love to get some of those guys this year.

[Hammer58]

If you note in the write up this year CFN goes back and praises tow of our recent recruiting clases. Mike went back and looked at the original rankings given to those classes by CFN and they were very low. Whiel I don't want to completely blow off these rankings, I think they gave to be taken with a very big grain of salt as the true ranking of any class can't be told until the players actually hit the field (if they ever hit the field as is the case with many of these "great" mid-major recruits).

[DestinCajun]

I take all of this stuff with a huge grain of salt myself. Regarding the SBC, it is really, really hard for me to believe that WKU outrecruited Blakeney at Troy and Schnellenberger at FAU just to name a couple. To me that would be akin to U of K football outrecruiting U of Alabama and U of Florida.

[HoustonCajun]

If you note in the write up this year CFN goes back and praises tow of our recent recruiting clases. Mike went back and looked at the original rankings given to those classes by CFN and they were very low. Whiel I don't want to completely blow off these rankings, I think they gave to be taken with a very big grain of salt as the true ranking of any class can't be told until the players actually hit the field (if they ever hit the field as is the case with many of these "great" mid-major recruits). _

As you said, time will tell. But being last in the SBC means we are last in the country. Interestingly, the two recruiting bookends this year are 1st - LSU and Last - UL. There is a reason schools with highly rated recruiting classes, even if only within their conference, are successful. UL is yet to be successful in 7 years under Bustle. This is the last year of his contract and he has proven nothing yet. Seven wins guarantees a bowl game, so it is go bowling or change of coach, at least in my mind. This continuous bottom of the barrel football program is getting old. It is time for positive results.

[DrumRoll]

While obviously these are opinion, you have to see the trend that is occuring.

It's now really official, THIS CLASS SUCKS! For the record, I think that both the 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes will prove to be incredible classes.

In the 2005 NFL draft(last time I ran it), 37% of the players drafted were unranked by recruiting services coming out of HS.

Our 2008 class ranked almost as low as USF, Tulsa, and Navy were in 2003, at 108, 109, and 110 respectively, and they all had between 8 and 10 wins in 2007.

You want wins? Well apparently you do not want to be ranked highly by the beloved recruiting gurus...well, to be fair, they are right in some cases, but their accuracy is typically limited to the perenial powers. Rarely if ever does an up and coming program get predicted by recruiting rankings.

Moral to the story, if you are up and coming, forget about it being predicted by recruiting services.


Quote:
2003 Scout Recruiting Rankings vs Win/Loss % for 2007

Error.....Scout....Win %
in........Ranking...Based on Win/Loss
Rank.................Rank........School - Win % - Wins - Losses
-81........ 82........1...........Hawaii - 92% - 12 - 1
-63........ 65........2............Kansas 92% 12 1
1............2..........3.......... Louisiana State 86% 12 2
-48.........52........4............Missouri 86% 12 2
-54.........59........5............Brigham Young 85%. 11 2
-5..........11.........6........... Georgia 85% 11 2
-18........ 25........7........... Ohio State 85% 11 2
7........... .1.........8........... Southern Cal 85% 11 2
-48........ 57........9........... West Virginia 85% 11 2
-17........ 27........10......... Boston College 79% 11 3
8............3..........11.........Oklahoma 79% 11 3
-9..........21.........12......... Virginia Tech 79% 11 3
-25........ 38........13......... Arizona State 77% 10 3
-59........ 73........14......... Boise State 77% 10 3
-69........ 84........15......... Cincinnati 77% 10 3
2........... 14........16......... Texas 77% 10 3
-48........ 65........17......... Central Florida 71% 10 4
11..........7..........18......... Tennessee 71% 10 4
-90........ 109.......19......... Tulsa 71% 10 4
-70........ 90.........20......... Air Force 69% 9 4
5...........16..........21......... Auburn 69% 9 4
-21........ 43.........22......... Clemson 69% 9 4
19..........4.......... 23......... Florida 69% 9 4
-40........ 64.........24......... Fresno State 69% 9 4
-6......... 31......... 25......... Illinois 69% 9 4
18..........8.......... 26......... Michigan 69% 9 4
-53........ 80.........27......... New Mexico 69% 9 4
-16........ 44.........28......... Oregon 69% 9 4
-27........ 56.........29......... Oregon State 69% 9 4
-20........ 50.........30......... Penn State 69% 9 4
-51........ 82.........31......... Connecticut 69% 9 4
-5..........37......... 32......... Texas Tech 69% 9 4
-62........ 95.........33......... Utah 69% 9 4
17......... 17......... 34......... Virginia 69% 9 4
-7..........42......... 35......... Wake Forest 69% 9 4
0........... 36.........36......... Wisconsin 69% 9 4
-71........ 108........37......... South Florida 69% 9 4
-34........ 72.........38......... Troy 67% 8 4
16..........23......... 39......... Arkansas 62% 8 5
-58........ 98.........40......... Bowling Green 62% 8 5
-40........ 81.........41......... East Carolina 62% 8 5
1........... 41.........42......... Houston 62% 8 5
-11........ 54.........43......... Kentucky 62% 8 5
24..........20......... 44......... Mississippi State 62% 8 5
-65........ 110........45......... Navy 62% 8 5
13..........33......... 46......... Purdue 62% 8 5
-22........ 69......... 47......... Rutgers 62% 8 5
-18........ 66......... 48......... Texas Christian 62% 8 5
-69........ 118........49......... Florida Atlantic 62% 8 5
-35........ 85......... 50......... Central Michigan 57% 8 6

[IHateLaState]

And it continues. 2 years ago when some of us were clamoring for a change, we said (at least I did) that all we were doing was delaying the inevitable. So now we will go another year down the road before we START making improvements. Love Coach Bustle.. Seems like a great guy to drink a beer with.. But it has been clear for awhile that he was not going to improve things around here.... a start-up D-1 school is #1 in the league... the Troy bandwaggon continues... and we sit at the bottom.... sorry guys... sometimes you have to make difficult choices and this administration just does not have the gonads to do that

[Turbine]

Every D1aa team making the jump has a huge recruiting edge.

They can make big promises while toting zero baggage.

I saw it with UNT, MTSU, Troy, FAU, even FIU. only Troy and FAU to a lesser extent have been able to sutain the energy.


igeaux.mobi

[DrumRoll]

_ And it continues. 2 years ago when some of us were clamoring for a change, we said (at least I did) that all we were doing was delaying the inevitable. So now we will go another year down the road before we START making improvements.

Lol, "Bowl Eligible" with how many freshmen lettering?

Here is how it works, you spend the money, then the time clock for improvement starts...

While folks may have been chatting away 2 years ago, the "real sports fan" clock did not start until the 2008 recruiting class, after some money had been invested...

[Cajunsmike]

As you said, time will tell. But being last in the SBC means we are last in the country. Interestingly, the two recruiting bookends this year are 1st - LSU and Last - UL. There is a reason schools with highly rated recruiting classes, even if only within their conference, are successful. UL is yet to be successful in 7 years under Bustle. This is the last year of his contract and he has proven nothing yet. Seven wins guarantees a bowl game, so it is go bowling or change of coach, at least in my mind. This continuous bottom of the barrel football program is getting old. It is time for positive results.

Coach Bustle has two years remaining on his contract (2009 and 2010). If he is fired at the end of the 2009 season we will owe him approximately 200 grand.

[CajunNation]

Coach Bustle has two years remaining on his contract (2009 and 2010). If he is fired at the end of the 2009 season we will owe him approximately 200 grand.

...and if we can't or won't pay that, whether it is through the general fund or through a booster, then we should drop football, seriously.
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[CajunNation]

I take all of this stuff with a huge grain of salt myself. Regarding the SBC, it is really, really hard for me to believe that WKU outrecruited Blakeney at Troy and Schnellenberger at FAU just to name a couple. To me that would be akin to U of K football outrecruiting U of Alabama and U of Florida.

Interesting.

In terms of budget, and many here like to remind us that money is everything,....

Florida Atlantic is 5th in the SBC
Troy is 6th in the SBC
UL is 7th in the SBC

But hey, we're all in the SBC, which is college football purgatory, so money is not the deciding factor amongst ourselves. It's people.

As far as I can tell, WKU has some really exceptional people running their sports programs.

They are the unquestioned class of the league in basketball, and are picked to win the league this year in baseball as well after going to regionals last year.

They hire GREAT coaches, and I don't see any reason why their obvious committment to excellence shouldn't continue to the football field.

[Just1More]

_ Interesting.

In terms of budget, and many here like to remind us that money is everything,....

Florida Atlantic is 5th in the SBC
Troy is 6th in the SBC
UL is 7th in the SBC

But hey, we're all in the SBC, which is college football purgatory, so money is not the deciding factor amongst ourselves. It's people.

As far as I can tell, WKU has some really exceptional people running their sports programs.

They are the unquestioned class of the league in basketball, and are picked to win the league this year in baseball as well after going to regionals last year.

They hire GREAT coaches, and I don't see any reason why their obvious committment to excellence shouldn't continue to the football field. _

Private funding done right is everything. It is not ALL about the money... it has to do with expanded stakeholders and hitching failure up to pink slips and success up to bonuses... for the people you pay for performance. It starts a culture that tranforms programs into winners when fans believe the system is dead serious about their business.

But yes... when 3 guys are sitting around arguing who has more money... $5.01, $5.05 and $5.08 is not worth "ranking".

Back to recruit ranking... I thought we all decided last year that recruit rating/ranking didn't mean much outside of the top 40 teams. Teams in the SBC do not qualify for consideration.

It seems like some of the same people that are overly concerned about our recruits' "stars" are the ones concerned about MD, Fenroy and Chery being gone next year... you know... the stars who had no stars. Interesting.

Another thing I figured the majority of people had come to a reasonable consensus on was that, retrospectively, we had a solid team last year... short the landslide in injuries. It isn't easy to convince me to be a blind cheerleader... but I saw signs of some better coaching and a very inspired group of good players last year.

I seriously fear that we may be decent this year and let a lot of people down on this forum.

[IHateLaState]

_ Lol, "Bowl Eligible" with how many freshmen lettering?

Here is how it works, you spend the money, then the time clock for improvement starts...

While folks may have been chatting away 2 years ago, the "real sports fan" clock did not start until the 2008 recruiting class, after some money had been invested... _

Ah yes.. The "REAL FAN".... not those who have bought Season tickets for over 25 years and have been to places like Florida, Auburn, Tennesse and ... ahem... the den of inequity in br.. to support the team... Naaa the REAL FAN supports mediocrity without complaint... The REAL FAN never questions a ranking of close to last... The REAL FAN says its ok to be in the middle of the pack of the worst conference in America... ah yes the REAL FAN

[DestinCajun]

Interesting.

In terms of budget, and many here like to remind us that money is everything,....

Florida Atlantic is 5th in the SBC
Troy is 6th in the SBC
UL is 7th in the SBC

But hey, we're all in the SBC, which is college football purgatory, so money is not the deciding factor amongst ourselves. It's people.

As far as I can tell, WKU has some really exceptional people running their sports programs.

They are the unquestioned class of the league in basketball, and are picked to win the league this year in baseball as well after going to regionals last year.

They hire GREAT coaches, and I don't see any reason why their obvious committment to excellence shouldn't continue to the football field.

We can post here all day long about what is "everything" in terms of athletic budgets but to ignore the impact of serious money on athletic success is sticking your head in the sand. As far as WKU's 2009 recruiting class goes, save these posts and let's get together in 3-5 years and you can make your case on how good this class is/was. My opinion on Troy and FAU is based upon their coaches proven records of success and really nothing to do with WKU.

[Just1More]

_ Ah yes.. The "REAL FAN".... not those who have bought Season tickets for over 25 years and have been to places like Florida, Auburn, Tennesse and ... ahem... the den of inequity in br.. to support the team... Naaa the REAL FAN supports mediocrity without complaint... The REAL FAN never questions a ranking of close to last... The REAL FAN says its ok to be in the middle of the pack of the worst conference in America... ah yes the REAL FAN _

Hate, I can understand the train of thought in this last post... but... rankings are a result of something... not a cause. The cause is our admin... of everything we are. You can have the greatest fans in the world and an admin can completely destroy putting that fanship into motion. Ours (UL) has done that for decades. 98% of what we argue about on here is a result of bad administration.

I could care less about rankings, ratings, and stars. Are they a result? Yes. But, we do not need a whole lot of results to know we need to improve. The ratings and rankings are subjective. The scoreboard is not. That result tells me all I need to know. Our admin is the absolute only place to place our frustration. There isn't a fan on here that deserves any other fan's wrath. We are in-fighting because we are unhappy. I don't care about these outside delinquents that join in to stir up our aggravation... but those who support the program in any way need to focus their frustration at and on our admin.

Those guys are fortunate to have jobs at UL. They act like they "own" UL because they are employed where the bricks are. WE own UL... all of US. They get paid. We do not. Our badges are bigger... but they get to hold OUR keys to the facilities. Our biggest cultural problem at UL is that we hug these guys even when they are mediocre or less. They point to outsiders as our problems... and have been professionals historically at redirecting our aggravation at those outsiders. The outsiders suck, no doubt... but we have minimal control over them. The only way we are going to improve is for all of us to start giving our UL admin a massive dose of displeasure. Quit hugging these guys. They need to perform or either take a shot to the jaw... or get the heck off the property.

It is not the fans. It is the admin. Punch them in the mouth and then help them off the floor. Then kick them in the groin and pick them back up. Buy them a beer and tell them how much you like the Cajuns. Then, tell them that when they do a great job, you want to have a beer with them, eat good and laugh hard. But, remind them... fail to put us together and succeed... "remember the kick to the groin?"

So yes... because WE, the real fans, do not light a fire under our administration... Jay Walker is right... it is the fans at UL that are at fault. He thinks it is because we do not support enough. I agree. We need to start supporting our left leg as our right leg slams into our admins' butts.

If they have some "super RCAF" coming out soon... they need to know that we aren't "buying" some half-butt attempt. It better be measurable and their livelihoods need to be the penalty for non-conformance. It is how I feel about this ridiculous stimulus package coming out of Washington... and I feel the same way about our admin at UL. The people that run organizations these days... mostly with political skills only... are pathetic.