Rivals.com Rankings

[HoustonCajun]

Interestingly, Rivals has UL ranked #117 with FAU is the last team at #121, then the 1AA schools. It also is only showing UL having one (1) 3-star commit, while Troy and FIU have 10 each. Rivals has W. KY with the best SBC recruiting class.

To also show how little this means, Boise State is preseason ranked #3 already, yet their recruiting class is #82. Even Wisconsin is ranked #86.


SBC team rankings:

W. KY - #90
Troy - #93 (tied with LA Tech)
FIU - #95
MT - #98
N. Texas - #99
Ark. State - #101
ULM - #111 (tied with Tulane)
UL - #117
FAU - #121

[wcd35]

Useless.

Dont go to rivals. We dont have a UL rivals site. They didnt even have all of our players in the database. Do you realize what CajunT does to get some of these guys put into Scout's database and ranked, etc?

Looking at Rivals rankings is pointless. All you can do is look at the players films and trust our coaches judgement. I'd venture to say 95% of people would believe this is Bustle's best class on paper and hands down the #1, 2 or 3 class in the SBC. Its probably the 2nd or 3rd best in the state too. Time will tell.

[DrumRoll]

Recruiting rankings are valuable to the top 25, somewhat meaningful to teams ranked 25 to 50, and the result of an overall lack of accurate focus by recruiting analysts for the rest...

[wcd35]

I do agree with the point that the rivals recruiting ranking doesnt correspond to the actual performance very much.

[RiverRanchMan]

I guess since scout has us at 108, they are more accurate. Actually, rivals gave the sunbelt more respect while scout nearly everyone 100 & over. As far as this being Bustle's best class, don't we hear that every year? I am just being realistic. We can't pick & choose the recruiting information we like. The number of kids deciding between UL & mcneese, slu etc is also alarming.

Useless.

Dont go to rivals. We dont have a UL rivals site. They didnt even have all of our players in the database. Do you realize what CajunT does to get some of these guys put into Scout's database and ranked, etc?

Looking at Rivals rankings is pointless. All you can do is look at the players films and trust our coaches judgement. I'd venture to say 95% of people would believe this is Bustle's best class on paper and hands down the #1, 2 or 3 class in the SBC. Its probably the 2nd or 3rd best in the state too. Time will tell.

igeaux.mobi

[CajunRed]

_ I guess since scout has us at 108, they are more accurate. Actually, rivals gave the sunbelt more respect while scout nearly everyone 100 & over. As far as this being Bustle's best class, don't we hear that every year? I am just being realistic. We can't pick & choose the recruiting information we like. The number of kids deciding between UL & mcneese, slu etc is also alarming.


igeaux.mobi _

Which kids did you see that had UL, McNeese and SLU as their only options? I must have missed them.

[HoustonCajun]

_ I guess since scout has us at 108, they are more accurate. Actually, rivals gave the sunbelt more respect while scout nearly everyone 100 & over. As far as this being Bustle's best class, don't we hear that every year? I am just being realistic. We can't pick & choose the recruiting information we like. The number of kids deciding between UL & mcneese, slu etc is also alarming.


igeaux.mobi _

Given that a school like Boise State is rated #82, yet Phil Steele has them preseason ranked #3 for the coming season, I think the recruiting rankings can be misleading. These kids still have to prove themselves, whether they be at UL or LSU or Texas or Boise State. And, when kids like Fenroy who was a 2 star (I believe) or Chris Fisher who was a walk-on yet made the Lombardi list, accomplish what they did, it really makes the ranking more meaningless.

That said, there is certainly something to the Top 10 or Top 25 rankings because those truly are the most gifted and recognized athletes around the country. And, this is a good reason why those teams year in and year out are the top programs in the country. Bragging rights certainly go to those teams, but for the rest it is pretty much what each individual team did to meet their specific needs. I doubt that Wisconsin for example, ranked #86, is too concerned about their ranking. They got what they needed to compete in the Big 10 and I'm sure are happy with their class.

Kudos to LSU for another great recruiting class. UL continues to improve each year and this may be our best yet. A bowl game will make a huge difference in how UL is perceived and will greatly impact our next recruiting class. Just look at Houston. They were perennially in the 80 - 100 range each year and are now ranked #45. They also got more local players in the rich Houston area. The same will happen for UL once we turn that magical corner.

[ManAboutTown]

_ Given that a school like Boise State is rated #82, yet Phil Steele has them preseason ranked #3 for the coming season, I think the recruiting rankings can be misleading. These kids still have to prove themselves, whether they be at UL or LSU or Texas or Boise State. And, when kids like Fenroy who was a 2 star (I believe) or Chris Fisher who was a walk-on yet made the Lombardi list, accomplish what they did, it really makes the ranking more meaningless.

That said, there is certainly something to the Top 10 or Top 25 rankings because those truly are the most gifted and recognized athletes around the country. And, this is a good reason why those teams year in and year out are the top programs in the country. Bragging rights certainly go to those teams, but for the rest it is pretty much what each individual team did to meet their specific needs. I doubt that Wisconsin for example, ranked #86, is too concerned about their ranking. They got what they needed to compete in the Big 10 and I'm sure are happy with their class.

Kudos to LSU for another great recruiting class. UL continues to improve each year and this may be our best yet. A bowl game will make a huge difference in how UL is perceived and will greatly impact our next recruiting class. Just look at Houston. They were perennially in the 80 - 100 range each year and are now ranked #45. They also got more local players in the rich Houston area. The same will happen for UL once we turn that magical corner. _

FWIW, on EA SPORTS NCAA 2010, my first class for UL was similar (in star ratings) to this real life class. And it was ranked #79, which I thought was pretty fair, and #2 in the belt behind Troy.

Anyway, lost in all the local news is how good WKU's class is. They had a great day yesterday. They will be a player for years to come.

[RiverRanchMan]

I am not going to be specific out of respect. But give me a break. UL was the only D1 offer for Several of them according to your own website. I don't count "schools of interest".

Which kids did you see that had UL, McNeese and SLU as their only options? I must have missed them.

igeaux.mobi

[Turbine]

UL must have some very good coaches.

No program that ranks where Rivals & Scout tend to rank UL (on a yearly basis) should ever go 6-6

[billbeck451]

I am very encouraged at the caliber of atheletes that we have recruited this year. Especially nice to see us mentioned in the Sun Herald (Biloxi newspaper) as they ran down the highest ranked recruits on the gulf coast and where they signed. Also nice to see some 3stars behind some of the recruits and also to see some size coming in on the players. Also I liked how all sections of the team were addressed in this recruiting class. I beleive good things are to come from this class

[CajunT]

_ I guess since scout has us at 108, they are more accurate. Actually, rivals gave the sunbelt more respect while scout nearly everyone 100 & over. As far as this being Bustle's best class, don't we hear that every year? I am just being realistic. We can't pick & choose the recruiting information we like. The number of kids deciding between UL & mcneese, slu etc is also alarming.


igeaux.mobi _

McNeese State, SLU and NWST have always offered kids early and often, regardless of rankings. You will see athletes offered by all these programs sign with mid-majors and BCS programs, its never mentioned. Both Rivals and Scout will not list offers from Non-Bowl Division programs unless an athlete states those are the only programs offering.

I'm not saying all these athletes are under rated, some are marginal prospects. But sometimes these kids turn out to be some of our best in the long run. Brad Bustle signed with SLU and Chris Fisher had state offers....both turned out to be All-Conference athletes in the SBC. Derek Keyes signed with NWST out of high school.....he was one of the most consistent athletes on defense in 2008.

Louisiana Tech pulled three SLU commitments away in 2006, one of them is starting RB Daniel Porter. Their starting DE Mason Hitt's first offer was from McNeese State, he had offers from all the lower state schools. They signed DJ St. Julien from Acadiana High last season, he gray-shirted and signed again this year. Tech was his only Bowl Div 1 offer coming out of high school.

The best thing about the Cajuns 2010 Class is they hit on some specific needs with good athletes. No doubt, there are some kids that will be projects as well.

BTW, there are more then a few current LSU athletes and recent signees offered by UL, but you won't read that in any of their bio's. I'd be happy to list them for those that don't think this is the case for them as well.