Rivals' No. 2 players since 2002
While reading about Da'Shawn Hand last week (he apparently committed to one of those SEC schools - Missitucky?), I came across a list of Rivals' No. 1 players for every year since 2002. It's quite a list, and it got me wondering about their No. 2 players during that time, because Michigan does of course have the No. 2 player in the country per Rivals. The list is below.
2002 - Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon
2003 - Reggie Bush, RB, USC
2004 - Ted Ginn Jr., WR, OSU
2005 - Patrick Turner, WR, USC
2006 - Andre Smith, OL, Alabama
2007 - Joe McKnight, RB, USC
2008 - DaQuan Bowers, DL, Clemson
2009 - Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
2010 - Seantrel Henderson, OL, Miami
2011 - Curtis Grant, LB, OSU
2012 - DJ Humphries, OL, Florida
2013 - Vernon Hargreaves, DB, Florida
That's not as outstanding as the list of No. 1 guys, but it nonetheless looks like being No. 2 in the country carries with it the strong likelihood of success.
November 18th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
"it none-the-less looks like being No. 2 in the country carries with it the strong likelihood of success"
you don't say...
November 18th, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^
Rivals could be crappy at making predictions...I'm just trying to find a little sunlight here, but I am deeply sorry if I wasted your time. Please resume your AIDS research immediatley, doctor.
November 18th, 2013 at 6:51 PM ^
I don't think he is saying your post is bad overall, just that the line he quoted has a little too much Captian Obvious in it. Also, "nonetheless" is just one non-hyphenated word.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^
Now you just sound pathetic.
Look, Erik, he didn't say your post was a waste, he was merely commenting on one of your statements in your summary. You don't have to get all defensive about it, jeez.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:28 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:34 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^
I don't diagree with your overall point, but this only became a big deal when Erik decided to get all upset about it. Guess what - people will critique you if you make a post, whether you think that's good or bad. Especially when you make bold statements like "Being the #2 recruit is a good thing." You don't like his critique? Ignore it. Starting a fight with an idiot only makes you look like one too.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:58 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^
If you left out the name calling i'd be perfectly with you. Taking potshots at anyone who you deem negative is a no-no in itself.
November 18th, 2013 at 8:57 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 9:24 PM ^
I did something constructive, and he was negative in response to that. He did something negative and pointless, and I was negative in response. We're not equally positioned.
November 18th, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 11:10 PM ^
It's not really a false equivalence.
You're complaining about people acting like dicks, while acting like a dick.
November 18th, 2013 at 11:34 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:42 PM ^
The only thing that I've seen change is that there are no longer posts looking soley for up votes. I definitely remember snark being quite prevelant around here since I've been paying attention.
November 18th, 2013 at 8:33 PM ^
Exactly. Witty comments like the first reply are exactly what made this board entertaining. Erik is just being a sensitive douche. That's all I got. Nothing witty.
November 18th, 2013 at 9:20 PM ^
...to sit back and do nothing and criticize. We have a whole team of people who do nothing but that. I hope you're enjoying being on that team, because you guys bring so much to the table!
November 18th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
You're right. Thank you for informing me that having highly-ranked recruits is a good thing.
November 18th, 2013 at 11:31 PM ^
November 19th, 2013 at 8:29 AM ^
Damn you. Now I feel bad. Let's hug it out.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:44 PM ^
Meh, I feel like the pithy sarcastic replies have been a staple of this board since its inception. Nothing new.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:58 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 9:45 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 11:37 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:16 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^
I'd say that's a pretty damn strong group. There are very few on that list that didn't become extremely good college players.
November 19th, 2013 at 1:15 AM ^
can take JT Floyd to an above average corner in one year, imagine what they can do with Peppers.
November 18th, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
Hand went to Louisibama
November 18th, 2013 at 7:06 PM ^
No snark from me, Erik. Thanks for compiling this list!
November 18th, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^
It's an interesting list, to be sure.
One thing that I have always wondered about, and I wonder if it has even been done on MGoBlog, is if it would be of value to create a histogram of the Top 10 rated players from one of the service from 2002 to now and count how many went to which school. The results might be interesting and give another angle on the trends in recruiting over time.
November 18th, 2013 at 7:44 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^
He will be dominant. Worst case, he is Hall. Best case, he is Law.
November 18th, 2013 at 8:16 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 8:48 PM ^
lol...
For a school that has Charles Woodson...I'm pretty sure we all know what the best case is.
Especially after he was talking about learning the defensive but willing to play both ways TODAY (or at least in today's blog post).
November 19th, 2013 at 1:35 PM ^
Special kind of stupid going on in your comment. I obviously know who Woodson is. I don't think it is realistic to think that Black's upside is as high as Woodson's considering he is probably the best player ever to wear a Michigan uniform. That is why I compared him to Law -- who is a stud -- just not at Woodson's level. Get a clue, Spanky.
November 18th, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^
November 18th, 2013 at 8:54 PM ^
I for one would like to see this list of number ones. I'm way to lazy to find it myself
November 18th, 2013 at 9:22 PM ^
Lighten up, it's a quality post. It might be even more interesting to list, say, the top 5 from each class and see how they panned out. Then look at the draft picks from each class and see how that looks. What you really want to know is how often the 20th ranked player is as good as one in the top 5 etc. I'm guessing pretty often.
Losing Hand stings but shouldn't slow Michigan down as long as they keep getting a lot of top 100 recruits. There will be plenty of gems in that group.
November 18th, 2013 at 10:24 PM ^
but all those other guys that are out of school made the NFL, which is pretty good for Peppers. I think our front seven will be fine the next few years. Having Jabrill back there with Countess could bring the no fly zone to AA next year.
November 19th, 2013 at 12:14 AM ^
Smith was an All-American at Bama, won the Outland award,and was a top ten pick for the Bengals. Definitely worthy of his ranking.
November 18th, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^
Eric:
You are one of my three or four favorite posters here. You seemingly always bring insight and value to the stuff you take the time to research and post and almost without fail you make me think when you post. I love the way you make a point, defend it and use logic and reason to try and get people to see things from a different perspective.
That being said I think you're way off base on your responses to Go16Blue. There certainly exists a cadre of posters who exists seemingly for one reason and that's to criticize the work of others - you're correct there- but Go16Blue is definitely not one of them. Look at his posts over the past several months and you'll see he generally adds quality insight and opinion (like you) and trys to funny on occasion (again like you) and when I read his comment on your post that's all I did, chuckle, and moved on. It wasnt till I read your comments that was taken aback at how upset you were cause I didnt see anything other than a fellow quality poster lightly needling you and that was it. He didnt mean anything by it and he certainly is not a negative guy.
Now you kids shake hands and say you're sorry or mom and I will send both of you to your rooms!
November 18th, 2013 at 11:28 PM ^
November 19th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^
No hard feelings whatsoever, it shows maturity to apologize after (and I really don't mean to be rude/disrespectful here) digging yourself a hole. Hug it out, buddy.
November 19th, 2013 at 1:11 AM ^
This is the internet. There is no making up over stupid arguments.
You bastards.
November 18th, 2013 at 10:41 PM ^
Good sign: Prettym uch everyone on that list that can, are playing on NFL teams right now.
November 18th, 2013 at 10:42 PM ^
Well, this is a waste of a thread. I thought I would read some insightful comments regarding the original post. I'll just go elsewhere.