Recruiting with the Heavyweights (300+ final class rankings on 24/7)

First time as OP.  I’d say “Be gentle”, but I know this board well enough by now to know that if you find this post worthwhile I won’t need the admonition and if you don’t… well… no amount of pleading will save me. 

Since 2002 only 14 teams have finished with a final class rating over 300, an average of one a year.  In 6 of those 14 years NO team cracked 300.  So historically, that’s a relatively high bar to clear and a good sign of recruiting at the highest level.  

I was spending some time this morning looking at how good our 2017 class might be when all is said and done.  If we get all of the kids we expect to get (Singleton, Anthony, Collins, Filiaga) and a handful of others we’re not sure about (Harris, Solomon, Tufele, Gay, Slaton), we’ll finish with a 24/7 composite class ranking over 300.  

Obviously Alabama and Ohio State are killing it this year and both are pretty much guaranteed to finish 300+ as well.

That got me to wondering how many times three teams have finished 300+ and the answer is… zero.  It’s never happened in the 24/7 composite era which extends back to 2002 (I'm ignoring 2000-2001 because the numbers don't seem comparable).

What’s also interesting is that there is a fourth team, Georgia, who could join that particular party this year as well.

Below is the projection I saw using the 24/7 class calculator based on recruits with heavy Crystal Ball leans to each given school:

OSU:  318.52 (adding Jeffrey Okudah, Darnay Holmes and Jaylen Harris)

Alabama:  313.64 (adding Labryan Ray, Jarez Parks, Devonta Smith, Henry Ruggs… losing Najee Harris)

Georgia:  301.43 (adding DeAngelo Gibbs, Nate McBride, Tray Bishop, Leonard Weaver)

Michigan:  300.43 (adding Harris, Solomon, Singleton, Filiaga, Collins, Anthony)

Michigan is also in the thick of it for Jay Tufele, Willie Gay and Tedarrell Slaton.  Adding any one of those would leapfrog us over Georgia.

Also of note… a lot has been made of OSU’s class this year.  If they finish according to the projection above, that will make for the fourth best class ever (behind 2010 Florida, 2014 Alabama and 2013 Alabama).  The Class Calculator doesn't give average player rating, but I suspect that's where OSU would be the top class in history.  Right now they're at 95.72 which is well above the previous high of 93 and change.

While I recognize that cracking 300 would take a lot of things falling our way, I think the fact that we have a realistic shot at it two years into Harbaugh's tenure speaks eloquently about how firmly the trajectory of the program has changed under his leadership and how bright the future is for our beloved Wolverines.

Go Blue!