TTB: A History of #1 Rated Recruits

Submitted by Magnus on

In the aftermath of landing overall #1 prospect Rashan Gary last week, I wrote up a history of the #1 recruits for each year going back to 2000. It includes guys like Adrian Peterson, Vince Young, Dorial Green-Beckham, Robert Nkemdiche, etc. Interestingly, a lot of them went on to college success that they struggled to replicate in the pros. Hopefully Gary can accomplish both feats.

Here's the link:

http://touch-the-banner.com/a-history-of-1-rated-recruits/

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Rashan Gary

Magnus

February 8th, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^

LOL. MGoBlog would murder the servers I'm using. Getting as much traffic as MGoBlog would be a good problem to have, though.

I'm considering switching to GoDaddy, Host Gator, or some other big hosting service. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

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Farnn

February 8th, 2016 at 12:26 PM ^

I'm surprised by Nkemdiche's stats, would think he'd have a lot more sacks and TFL after the way the announcers were gushing about him in the Alabama game. Didn't watch any of his other games, was he just not that dominant or heavily double teamed?

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alum96

February 8th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^

On firefox I notice that the left edge of some of the ads overlap the right edge of the text.  Maybe it's just on my computer but it's been consistent issue since your new site design.

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Magnus

February 8th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^

People have mentioned things like this to me with Firefox and iPads, but whenever I check them on those browsers/devices, they work fine for me. The site loads for me on an iPhone, Chromebook, PC, iPad, etc. I'm not quite sure how to fix the problem since it doesn't seem to be consistent.

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moffle

February 8th, 2016 at 9:18 PM ^

I have the same thing happening on both Chrome and Firefox. As someone else noted, you can solve this problem by making the browser either sufficiently wide or sufficiently narrow. However, at least on my 13.3" screen, "sufficiently wide" is wider than the screen itself, and "sufficiently narrow" is also rather unnaturally narrow.

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PopeLando

February 8th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

So it looks like any #1 recruit can count on at least a chance in the league. I'd feel better about linemen than high-variance positions like QB or RB. Those two positions depend so much on scheme and OL strength to succeed, whereas planet-sized QB-terrorizing monsters will stay planet-sized and monstrous. Good luck Mr. Gary. Your future looks bright.

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Kevin13

February 8th, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^

a good break down of those players. If memory serves me right I believe Michigan basically finished second for both DJ Williams and Kevin Jones.

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Mr. Yost

February 8th, 2016 at 7:45 PM ^

IMO recruiting didn't become what it is today until '08 or '09. There's just so much more information, there is so much more emphasis on the summer camps. We have all the 7v7 stuff, all the ESPN combine type stuff. There is much more of a consensus now than there was at the beginning of that list.

This makes me feel like everything is more accurate now than before.

So that said, I'd take the averages and info from the players since Bowers and go from there. I'm guessing the draft position and other things go up as well.

Only Clowney and Nkemdiche had the hype and ratings of Gary. And Gary is said to have a better attitude and work ethic. This feels like a strong bet for a top 15 pick with him being a favorite to be top 10, top 5 down the road.

My last thought has to do with coaching...how many guys were took to coaching and how many had guys like Greg Mattison coaching them?

What Gary can be, is kind of scary when you think about it. Especially after seeing glimpses of what Peppers could be this year and what Lewis has turned into. Toss in DL mates like Glasgow and Wormley? You have the making of a Bama type defense in terms of the number of NFL level players ON the roster. Not guys who can make the NFL, guys who'd be playing in the NFL right now if they left Michigan and moved on.

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Magnus

February 8th, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^

Regarding the accuracy of the recruiting rankings, I'm not sure I buy your theory that we're more informed now. I mean, *we* (as in you and I) are more informed, but those first seven guys (2000-2006, not including Taliaferro) turned into 1st round picks. Since then you've had McKnight, Barkley, Powell, Green-Beckham, etc., who have all arguably underperformed at the next level. In fact, since 2007 I would say the only two guys who have arguably reached their potential have been Jadeveon Clowney (despite a so-so junior year) and Leonard Fournette so far.

As for coaching, I don't know... I mean, I like Greg Mattison a lot, but there are plenty of other coaches who know what they're doing, too. Miami was known for churning out linebackers when D.J. Williams was there, Andre Smith went to a pretty good OL-producing program at Alabama, Ernie Sims went to a well respected NFL factory in FSU, etc. Without going back to look at all of their specific position coaches at the time, I think a good chunk of those guys got some quality college coaching.

I do agree that Gary has a chance to be very, very good, though. I think he will mesh well with Harbaugh's idea of competition, and I think he'll get along with Mattison, too. (I wouldn't be surprised if Mattison retires before Gary finishes his college career, though.)

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Magnus

February 9th, 2016 at 8:16 AM ^

One interesting thing I think about the USC situation is that they get so many good athletes, maybe that's not a great place for someone like Joe McKnight to go. You could go somewhere else, be a jack-of-all-trades, and be the focal point of the offense. But with all the talent going to USC, someone like him is still going to have a battle on his hands to get on the field and touch the ball.

Take Jabrill Peppers, for example. If Peppers went to USC or Alabama, he would be good. But would he be as revered or utilized in as many different roles as he is at Michigan? Probably not, because they have guys who can run the ball, who can return punts, etc. He would be a safety and maybe returning some kicks.

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