Gardner Ranking Jump at Rivals
Rivals now has Devin Gardner ranked as the number 53 player in the country.
http://michigan.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=2369
September 1st, 2009 at 1:38 PM ^
note that also makes him the No. 1 QB prospect, regardless of style (pro or dual threat)
September 1st, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
I saw that too, but only 3 spots above Heaps for BYU. Hopefully he will continue to rise after a successful senior season, and solidify the #1 spot!
September 1st, 2009 at 4:05 PM ^
That's pretty cool. I wonder if we've ever landed the #1 QB nationally before. (Drew Henson was #2 or #3 depending on the source, behind Ronald Curry and sometimes also Matt Holliday.)
September 1st, 2009 at 1:40 PM ^
Rivals also says Gardner is now the #1 QB overall, and the #1 player in Michigan as well.
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=982895
September 1st, 2009 at 1:47 PM ^
is the 17th rated player in the country? Wow.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:59 PM ^
That might be one of, if not the most, bizarre rankings by one of these services I've ever seen.
Seriously, Ohio State has passed on this guy. Not only is Anderson from Ohio, but he's from GLENVILLE of all schools, and Ohio State has passed on him. There is just no way such a player is the 17th best player in the country and a five-star. Tressel's not an idiot.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:05 PM ^
You're right, Tressel is not an idiot. He just doesn't want to deal with the laundry list of attitude and discipline problems that would accompany Latwan.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
If it were purely based on talent, Anderson would probably have an offer (and have accepted that offer) from OSU.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:42 PM ^
Do the rankings ignore character issues? Also, I've heard people say a recruits ranking can be weighed down by eligibility concerns, is this actually true? I know weird stuff like NFL potential is factored in.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:10 PM ^
I don't know for sure. Rivals has said that 5-star prospects are people they see as potential first-rounders in four years, so that part is true.
But I don't know that character issues or eligibility concerns weigh kids down. There have been a fair number of 5-star recruits who have remained there despite concerns.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:02 AM ^
Character and off the field issues do come into play sometimes. For example, this year alone, Jamel Turner (OSU Commit) went from a top 50 kid to outside the 250 because of all of his off the field stuff. The Rivals guys said they weren't sure if he would even be able to play college ball at this time so they dropped him.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:47 PM ^
Has the top rated QB ever been ranked so low overall? Usually there's at least a couple QBs in the top 10-20. Is this year's crop of players especially strong at other positions or comparably weak at the QB position?
September 1st, 2009 at 1:48 PM ^
but regardless we'd take a QB, ranked #53 nationally even if he wasn't the top ranked QB any year.
September 1st, 2009 at 3:11 PM ^
I don't remember suggesting that this fact makes him less desirable, let alone insinuating that we "wouldn't take him." I was just pointing out how odd it is that the top player in the most researched and high-profile position on the field is ranked in the mid-50s. Either the crop of 2010 QBs are comparably weak or there are many exceptional players at other positions.
Thanks for the strawman though.
September 1st, 2009 at 3:33 PM ^
I don't think he was disagreeing with you.
I assumed he just meant any quarterback ranked that high is probably pretty talented and we would welcome him regardless of what else is going on in the rankings or the program.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:13 PM ^
If the rankings keep this way, this would be the first year that a QB was not ranked in the top 10.
I highly doubt this will be the case.
Heck of a job M.r Gardner!
September 1st, 2009 at 1:47 PM ^
I just watched a video interview of Devin on Rivals (believe it's behind a paywall) after his team's loss, and I've got to say it was impressive. He was hurt with back spasms in the week leading up to, and during, the game. I couldn't tell if the pained expression on his face was from being hurt, his team's loss, or just his neutral face, but it really made me feel for the guy. The interviewer asked Devin how he would rate his own performance and he just looked back at him like he was crazy, exclaiming, "We lost. I have to improve everything." This kid really is better than you.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:47 PM ^
Ahead of Gholston. Nice.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:53 PM ^
Just b/c we have the #1 player in the state and the #1 QB in the country, we don't own the state of michigan for recruiting, and hence we aren't worthy of the state's love/devotion/respect.
Anybody else having this feeling like this week was the week our opponents shot The Godfather, and even though we tried to make peace, it's time to go to the matresses? Someone get me my gun, cannoli, and foam #1 finger. It's on bitches.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
This post was great until it came to "it's on bitches," then it became fantastic. Well done sir
September 1st, 2009 at 2:38 PM ^
Except in 4 days time we fast forward to that part of The Godfather where Michael takes everybody out systematically.
I hereby officially nominate "Its on bitches" to replace " the power of the Forcier...." on the home page.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:47 PM ^
Play the march for the Godfather when RichRod comes out.... Then watch Mike Barwis go to Columbus while Tressel is getting his weekly massage, take off his glasses and stab him in the eye with them.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^
congratulations to him. i bet he's happy to see his hard work pay off.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:25 PM ^
Has him as the #2 QB but I don't see anyone rated higher then him.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
Position rankings are updated after overall rankings / star rating are changed.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:34 PM ^
Also, Cullen Christian drops a bit. Mike Farrell on why:
Cullen Christian struggled a bit as a pure corner at the ESPN event, he wasn't as fluid and his change of direction wasn't as sharp against smaller, quicker receivers. He handled the bigger guys okay but not the fastest guys. He looked more like a safety than the cornerback we saw at NIKE.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:39 PM ^
I have been saying for a while that Christian would make a better safety than corner. I'm hoping we can get enough corners in the fold to allow Christian to move to safety. I would be supremely happy if we could pull in Grimes and then one more corner to go along with Avery.
September 1st, 2009 at 2:34 PM ^
The story that said Devin Gardner is better than you is now officially true, because he is literally the best QB in the nation now! I'm so excited about him!
September 1st, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^
Was gonig to comment on this and then saw your post. I just checked - the lowest rated "top QB" on Rivals 100 since 2002 is Mark Sanchez, checking in at #7 his year. Matt Stafford, a year later, checks in at #6, there are a few top QBs that were #5 (Bomar, I think), and then mostly #1s or 2s (Barkley, Pryor, Vince Young).
Crazy
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:43 AM ^
I had no idea the difference would be that stark, but wow. There's some sort of strange disconnect there; I wonder if Rivals has/will address it.
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 AM ^
Although Gardner may have been promoted to top QB overall, he still won't be awarded the prestigious fifth star. His rivals rating before the new rivals 100 releasing was 5.8, they have since upgraded him to a 5.9, and the highest score for a 4 star player is 6.0(Jordan Hicks). Essentially, they think he's leaped ahead of other QB's, but hasn't shown enough to be granted the fifth star, which probably means that this year's QB class is lacking in comparison to others.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:58 AM ^
Gardner looked REALLY good against Pioneer. I think he finished 11-15 passing, but he easily could have completed 13 or 14 of those passes. His receivers dropped a couple. The kid was in the zone.
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 AM ^
As someone mentioned, still no five star from rivals (though scout upgraded him awhile ago). You have to see that changing soon....I just cant imagine the top ranked QB being ranked in the 50s and only getting 4 stars by seasons end. Usually the #1 or #2 OVERALL is the top QB. Based on the "impact factor" that QBs produce, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the top 10 eventually.