Magnus

January 19th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^

It's not a stupid question. I think 247 refrains from naming kids 5-stars too early, because there's so much fluidity to the rankings. Then if a kid drops from 5-star to 4-star, it's potentially stressful/annoying to the recruit, his family, etc.

So they start out the top recruits as 4-star guys, let things shake out a little bit longer, and then determine whether to upgrade (yay!) kids.

I prefer that process. It seems fairer to the kids.

Magnus

January 19th, 2018 at 11:34 AM ^

I mean, it's a 2020 kid. If he graduates in 2020, you're talking about someone who's maybe 15 years old right now. Why attach a 5-star ranking to a kid when you haven't even evaluated a great deal of the kids who also just finished up their sophomore years in high school?

At a certain point, we're talking about just regular kids in their mid-teen years, not kids who are going to be real live legal adults in the blink of an eye. 

swan flu

January 19th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^

So i work in projecting value for a fortune 100 company. Extrapolation is fucking hard.

Extrapolation two years out is almost not worth doing at all.

Refraining from giving out 5stars that early is not just a way of keeping kids happy. It's a hedge on their own evaluations because they are aware of how difficult it is to do what they do.

CalifExile

January 19th, 2018 at 1:19 PM ^

The evaluators are hedging partly to reflect the uncertainty of their evaluation.

It is impossible to accurately predict how they will turn out when you don't know how they will grow or how they will measure up against higher caliber competition. A kid who is ahead of everyone else at an early age may get passed as other kids develop. Your complaint only makes sense in terms of complaining about doing any evaluation at all. Because there is a demand for the evaluation it's fine to do the work. You can just ignore it since it doesn't meet your needs or demand for accuracy. Put another way, companies shouldn't stop making vanilla ice cream just because you don't like vanilla ice cream.

PurpleBeaverEater

January 19th, 2018 at 4:11 PM ^

This ^^^^

Also, they are still ranking the players in comparison to the rest of the class. So, in that regard, the rankings still hold some weight. Does it really matter if the #1 player has a 99 or a 97 score? It’s all perspective anyway...The #1 player is better than the #2 player and so on. The scores are just used to numerically quantify and support the ranking system.

mgobaran

January 19th, 2018 at 12:00 PM ^

Here is 247's ranking explanation:

110 - 101 = Franchise Player. One of the best players to come along in years, if not decades. Odds of having a player in this category every year is slim. This prospect has "can’t miss" talent.

100 - 98 = Five-star prospect. One of the top 30 players in the nation. This player has excellent pro-potential and should emerge as one of the best in the country before the end of his career. There will be 32 prospects ranked in this range in every football class to mirror the first round of the NFL Draft.

97 - 90 = Four-star prospect. One of the top 300 players in the nation. This prospect will be an impact-player for his college team. He is an All-American candidate who is projected to play professionally.

They ranked Bresee #1 overall with a 97 rating. You can choose to think that is because they are protecting his feelings. I'll stick with that they just feel they can't label a 15/16 year old as a bonafide NFL 1st Rounder.

Ecky Pting

January 19th, 2018 at 1:20 PM ^

It’s always been my understanding that a 5* rating indicates a player who is able to make an immediate contribution at the college level without additional development. Since the kid is still a Sophomore in high school, his making an immediate contribution as of now is unlikely.

Magnus

January 19th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^

All the momentum belongs to OSU, but I got an e-mail from someone saying it was going to be Michigan because [Michigan] had too big of a lead to make up and [the family] likes the development of Michigan's DL better.

It feels like an Isaiah Wilson situation to me, but I don't know.

Honk if Ufer M…

January 19th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^

Alan Trieu was just on Spath's show & said Friday isn't coming or Trieu doesn't think he's coming. I didn't catch his exact words but I heard the two of them talking about what he said right after he said it so I'm not sure exactly how definitive he was but Spath summerized it or translated it into he's not coming.

Mr Miggle

January 19th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^

Cheating was just what he did. I haven't heard a single credible account of Meyer cheating even though he has boosted OSU's recruiting.

Does Bama cheat under Saban? He is an expert at pushing the limits of the rules. but it seems like schools trying to keep up with him are doing much of the cheating.

trueblueintexas

January 19th, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^

Regarding Meyer & OSU - I agree, unlike other schools, there are not the widely accepted rumors about paying guys to commit. They do continue to self report many minor recruting violations every year. Michigan has done this as well, but not on the scale OSU does. You can laugh that off, but even the tiniest advantage in recruting can make a difference. When you do 100 - 200 little things a year, which is what OSU has admitted, it adds up. So yes, I think there is a culture of slightly stepping over the line at OSU. 

Regarding Saban & Bama. Yes, going back to the begining of his time at Bama there have been widely accepted rumors of paying guys to commit. Given his competitive nature and the efforts of other schools to catch up, I have no reason to believe this practice does not still continue. 

Arb lover

January 19th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^

I'm actually very hopeful for two recent but slightly extrapolated reasons.

I posted the other day that it looks like Friday tweeted he was going to announce at 2:33pm on Tuesday, which was likely hours if not minutes after our coaches ended their in person visit.

Secondly, yesterday he asked the principal if the entire school could attend his announcement at 2. The school loves Michigan and the connections here, and a lot of classmates would love it if he ends up at Michigan with everyone else, lots might be a bit let down if he picks Osu. Usually kids don't care that much about the home crowd they are leaving, but if he wants them to share this with him, to me its likely not OSU. I think bama is in play, but even bama doesn't think it's them..we will see.

Sorry I'm in a meeting, can't link stuff, but the local NJ paper has been reporting the good stuff on Friday.

maize-blue

January 19th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^

UM is going to try to get another DB in the 2018 class? Vincent Gray will be on campus this weekend and Sam W. reporting an Utah grad transfer DB will also be on campus. Would UM take both or is it a one or the other type of deal?