December 28th, 2018 at 11:47 PM ^
How this happens?
A lot of taller WRs (6'5"+) end up doing nothing.
Don't think so?
Alabama has a top 100 overall, 4 star 6'6" WR from the class of 2017 you've probably never heard of: Tyrell Shavers.
Shavers has 0 receptions, 0 yards, and 0 TDs in 2 seasons (one redshirt) thus far in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
https://247sports.com/Player/Tyrell-Shavers-84668/high-school-146603/
Ask yourself this:
How many productive 6'5" - 6'6" WRs are there in the NFL out of all the WRs in the NFL?
There are a few like Mike Evans. Vincent Jackson was another but he retired.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:04 AM ^
I was thinking the same thing as I read the OP. He was physically gifted but was born with oven mitts on his hands.
December 29th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^
So, you're saying the recruiting analysts are just making educated guesses?
December 28th, 2018 at 11:49 PM ^
Watching the game as well. Butler is truly a phenomenal talent. Glad for him and love the 2star kids who develop into nfl talent. It keeps hope alive for all high school players
December 29th, 2018 at 9:40 AM ^
Not sure what Kenny Golladay's HS rankings were but nobody ever heard of him until draft day and now he's one of the better wideouts in the NFL. There are tons of great physical athletes...the ones who really become good have a mental epiphany and the lights go on. It takes both.
December 28th, 2018 at 11:51 PM ^
Antonio Brown was also a 2 star.
December 29th, 2018 at 1:57 AM ^
Antonio Brown was mostly not academically qualified coming out of HS and followed an assistant coach from Florida to CMU. If he was qualified coming out of HS, he would've been in a major college program.
December 29th, 2018 at 6:14 AM ^
I don't think being academically qualified ever effected a star rating. 4 and 5 stars have ended up at prep schools or JC's before.
December 28th, 2018 at 11:52 PM ^
Damnit, pep can't recruit!!!
December 28th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
I dunno, but I suspect that recruiting rankings are not an exact science.
December 29th, 2018 at 12:30 AM ^
That's going out on a limb. How are we to know if someone is good or not, without a recruiting ranking???
Was not a 5*. Cannot possibly be good. Your eyes are lying to you!
December 29th, 2018 at 7:37 AM ^
It’s not an exact science. Where was Baker Mayfield in the ranking? He had to walk-on to two programs. Hand was a 5*, played nowhere near it and wasn’t drafted first day. There are too many HS kids to properly evaluate every year, some slip through the cracks for whatever reason.
I think saying it’s not an exact science is dead on.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:31 AM ^
Whatever. Like we’re supposed to trust a guy with only one star next to his name.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
That’s one more star than you have bud.
December 28th, 2018 at 11:59 PM ^
There are always late bloomers. Butler seems like that kind of kid who figured out how to use his body once he got into college.
December 29th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Exactly! My friend's son is 7 years old and just a little uncoordinated. The boy is already 5'4" tall. As his coordination increases, matures, and with his families genetics he will likely become a great athlete. This is the overall same concept.
December 29th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
Uhhhh if he's already 5'4 at age 7, he's on track to be over 7 and a half feet tall
December 29th, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^
How about the podcast going around w Ron English and his stories how we had DeMarco Murray and Desean Jackson wrapped up but was told no at the last minute.
December 29th, 2018 at 12:32 AM ^
I didn’t hear that, but I did read the story about Zach Harrison’s best friends creating the livestream for his announcement. The night before the announcement he told them he was going to OSU and they were shocked because they watched The Game with him and he was wearing UM gear for it and wore more UM gear the next weekend also. I think it’s safe to say if Urban doesn’t retire, he’s picking the good guys. That’s a trade off I would make every time and I for some reason feel better about losing out on a top 5 recruit.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:09 AM ^
As much as I’d like to have him, I think he made the right decision for his family. Could you imagine what they’d go through, if they chose to reside in that shithole on a daily basis? I heard the phrase “fuck Michigan” no less than a dozen times while visiting my grandfather who was battling cancer in a Columbus hospital. All I was carrying was my Michigan lanyard/keychain. The fuckers sniffed that thing out from a mile away.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^
Not saying you're lying, but you're lying. Hope your grandfather gets better.
December 29th, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^
I would imagine that a big part of something like that (ie being under the radar as a recruit) is that he moved halfway across the country during the crucial recruiting period for his class (and to a recruiting hot bed, at that, in which much of the recruiting was surely already baked in).
December 29th, 2018 at 12:43 AM ^
I think his 40 and 100 were slower then the top WR. But he was good rout runner and has the ability to get open. Just goes to show there are sleepers all over the country.
December 29th, 2018 at 1:11 AM ^
Jerry Rice
Terrell Owens
Antonio Brown
They didn't have star ratings for all these guys, but I am pretty sure based off their college they would be 2 star guys.
December 29th, 2018 at 2:01 AM ^
Were recruiting websites even around when Jerry was in highschool?
December 29th, 2018 at 2:09 AM ^
Hehe - websites
Look up Tom Lemming
December 29th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
Cave drawings
December 29th, 2018 at 1:27 AM ^
Well, there were 200,000+ players in his class, I bet he wasn't the only one mis ranked.
December 29th, 2018 at 1:38 AM ^
How does this happen? It happens because there are suckers out there who believe that recruiting services are infallible. Sort of like people who don't believe Tom Brady can't be great because he was a 6th round draft pick.
That's how.
December 29th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
Great point! You never know whats going to happen. The right guy in the right situation at the right time. Ka-Boom.
December 29th, 2018 at 2:27 AM ^
it happens because you a projecting what a 16/17 year old is going to be in 3 years.
it happens because there's tens of thousands of kids playing football every year...
Recruiting rankings aren't the gospel; they are a guide...
not sure why this is endlessly debated... there are 25 kids ranked as 5 stars every year. 300 as 4 stars... everyone else is 3* or less... what is that? 2500 other kids?
at a macro level, stars matter. Offers matter.
the fact that there are outliers doesn't change that fact.
if you can recruit a class of all 5/4 stars, you do that because it is more likely that those kids are more likely to pan out...that's what Bama, OSU year in year out. Of course coaching matters, but some kids just have higher ceilings built in
seth just put out a jimmystats article detailing this
December 29th, 2018 at 5:29 AM ^
Doug Baldwin was similarly ranked. Don't think there's a rhyme or reason to it other than recruiting rankings being imperfect.
December 29th, 2018 at 6:12 AM ^
Often kids who are lower rated don't camp. By not attending camps, kids don't get the exposure against other talented kids. Ratings are not an exact science as you can see with some of Michigan's 2019 recruits. Look at the rankings between, 247, Rivals and ESPN. Often there is a big disparity between recruiting services.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:09 AM ^
Butler was very stiff in high school, and with that size, he looked like he might have to move to tight end. I'm surprised he was a 2-star, but I'm not surprised that he wasn't a highly ranked guy.
December 29th, 2018 at 7:14 AM ^
Same questions. My son's high school has a senior RB who for the year has about 3000 yards and 40+TDs. 6k and 80+ for his career. North Virginia POY. Every team we played keyed on him because he was the only thing that brought us success. No one could stop him and the team had the best season in school history.
Set North Virginia record for yards gained. This is metro DC, a legit football region. Most rushes, yards, TDs in metro DC area. We have players on UM from this area.
Great, humble, hard-working kid. Doesn't get into trouble. Acceptable grades. Also starts at CB. Never missed a game because of injury.
Best offer is Morgan State. He's not even ranked. I don't get how the rankings work and I'm not even saying it's wrong. But I just don't get it.
Senior highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2Auhkv
December 29th, 2018 at 7:45 AM ^
interesting. it lists that kid at 5' 8", 165 lbs, and that might be the reason? says he has a 4.48 40, which would be lightning fast, but candidly looking at his tape for a minute i'd give that at least a few fakes. regardless, i wish the kid well. is great to see kids get to the next level and tear it up.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
Yeah, I'm sure size is important here which is also why I mentioned he hasn't missed a game in four years. Size keeps him out of Power 5 maybe, but to be completely unranked confuses me.
4.48 was laser timed at a UA camp, so that's legit.
I think his plan is to go JUCO to get more exposure then transfer from there.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:37 AM ^
maybe he'll go the JUCO route you mention, add 10-20 lbs, and with that laser-timed 4.48 be a great scat back from some D-1 team.
December 29th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
i was going to ask if he did camps; but the UA laser timing suggests that he did at least one..
its a bit surprising, cause sometimes kids don't get ranked due to lack of exposure, either geography or playing in a less competitive league or lack of camps...but it doesn't appear to be the case...surprised that Maryland hasn't offered something like a PWO at least based on what you have said
maybe he turns into one of those kids that turn up in the NFL and people say "how in the world did the colleges miss him"?
Again, tons of kids out there, services miss. Schools miss. The NFL however, will find you if you are good enough, i think that is demonstrable through the number of players in the NFL that are from "nowhere" colleges.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:08 AM ^
Plays amazing show proof of that.
just because his 6-6 doesn’t mean his a great wide receiver.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:58 AM ^
.... you do realize this kid just played on TV right? 9 catches for 192 yards in his bowl game? Ring any bells?
“Show proof” turn on your TV or use the Google.
December 29th, 2018 at 8:16 AM ^
Recruiting Gurus, See Maizen. He knows recruiting. The guy is so complete and thoroughly gifted in recruiting acumen that he has qualified to hire and fire Harbaugh. If he was coaching we would’ve had 10 Championships by now. Also all, of his aliases are smarter than any Harbaugh alive. I’d say that he’s better at calling plays than Pep and Jed Fisch, and more crafty than Greg Mattison teaching any defensive swim move. We already have our coach in waiting. Here’s to him or her showing up in today’s thread being as negative as possible. GO BLUE!!! Beat Flo Rida!!!
December 29th, 2018 at 9:03 AM ^
Antonio Gates wasn't even drafted to the NFL,
because he never played college football, just
played college basketball.
Why did he need a ranking?
December 29th, 2018 at 9:29 AM ^
well you may have heard this before but he was actually a higher ranked basketball player than football player (or more highly regarded). WRs, TEs and even offensive lineman who play basketball well tend to be under rated recruits. Can be a gold mine for defensive ends as well.
December 29th, 2018 at 9:33 AM ^
Charge your phone
December 29th, 2018 at 10:20 AM ^
How did everyone miss on Khalil Mack!!?!!! Spoiler alert: humans are in no way fucking perfect. Instead of perpetually questioning how it happens, unless one is looking to solve the complex mathematical equation to make sure all humans are properly evaluated on their talent in every field, one should try and celebrate those humans who work hard enough to overcome the labels (because star ratings are simply labels imposed by other humans) and shine on like the five-star they work themselves into being.