The 323: Recruiting Wars

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Recruiting Wars

Friday, February 08, 2008

Sorry we disappeared there for awhile. I'd like to say that we've been working on some pretty big things (actually, we have, but it's still a work in progress). Mostly, we've just been reeling from end of the season, and then the football game that shall not be named.

But it's important to take a moment and comment on the recruiting wars that are wrapping up. Everyone is projecting winners and losers, and giving out rankings and all that. But it's essentially useless. As hard as it is to project college performance to the pros, projecting high school to college is even more difficult.

Add to that the fact that most of these kids aren't even finished growing, and that position coaches and off-field workouts will have more of an influence over their success than their most recent 40 times, and the whole thing is generally insane. Here's what you need to know:

LSU, USC, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma all recruited enough talent to be nationally relevant for years to come. Just as they do every year. Elite programs are elite because they reload. The top tier schools aren't going anywhere.

Florida State and Miami recruited great players, as always. This is nothing new, what matters is how well they develop, or fail to.

It doesn't matter if Clemson, or someone else had an amazing recruiting class. What matters is how they play. When Al Groh first came to Virginia, they had classes ranked in the top ten for a number of years. Those teams underachieved. Of all the super-recruits that we had, only Chris Long and Heath Miller were really worth it. Others may be in the NFL, but they didn't leave lasting impacts on the college level.

So let's wait to get excited about Clemson, or whoever. It simply doesn't matter. I recall something about a great coach being able to take yours'n and beat his'n and his'n and beat yours'n.

The #1 draft pick three years from now won't be any of the names being tossed around by everybody right now. It'll be the kid that works the hardest, and makes his team better.

The whole recruiting thing is insane to begin with, and the attention paid is getting more ridiculous by the year. I can't wait to simply recycle this column for signing day next year.

posted by Frazier @ 6:56 PM

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