Don't get bent our of shape with # of stars
- Thread starter moondog24
- Start date
That's a great post, depending on what you as a fan expect out of your team. If you are good with 7-5 type seasons with a couple 10-11 win seasons sprinkled in every decade, then I agree. If you want and expect your team to compete for national championships/playoffs, than stars 100% matter. Look at the teams that competed in the Playoffs last year. The average star rating for the last 4 classes were as follows:
Oregon: 3.34
Ohio State: 3.68
Florida State: 3.68
Alabama: 3.86
You will always have a team that will have a good 1,2 and maybe even 3 year run, but it's the teams that recruit well that maintain the 10-12 win seasons and compete for championships.
And if we're really being honest, both lines are normally the hardest to evaluate coming out of high school, as a lot of these kids don't have the proper technique and have just been the biggest kid on the team/in the conference. It's no coincidence that most of the 2 and 3 stars that have been developed are non "skill" (WR, RB, QB) positions. Good weight programs/position coach can help develop these kids. It's easier to improve flexibility, strength and technique than it is to improve ball skills, cutting abilities and speed.
The only fan bases arguing that stars don't matter are the ones that can't get top talent. I'm guessing you won't go to the any of the boards that have top 25 recruiting classes and see a thread with the tone of "let's wait and see......remember, stars don't matter."
Some of you have beaten to death that our recruiting sucks and we don't have enough 'stars', but I have yet to hear any ideas on how to get all these big 'stars'. I don't know if you noticed, but the same schools consistantly get the 'stars' regardless of who the coach is. So if we brought Saban here (which would never happen because he knows you can't get the big 'stars' to a school like iowa without paying them) all the top recruits would come here instead of Alabama? Not!
When Evy was here, he cheated like hell (not a big secret) and was able to field some good teams. Hayden had a pipeline to Texas and New Jersey and mixed that with the best the state had (a bunch of big iowa farm boys, and a few stud skill players here and there) and had a great run. Kirk was able to find the best of the rest and got into chicago for a couple years and did a fabulous job of developing them. Now with the advent of the internet and other technology, recruiting has changed dramatically and I have no doubt KF understands that. So what is the answer? There are 50 to 100 schools out there that are trying to figure out how to get the big star kids away from the 10-15 schools that are harvesting them. I think he brought in a new recruiting coordinator to try to figure this out...We are not a glamorous destination and do not have the 'storied' programs that these top tier schools do. So what is the answer? Changing coaches isn't.
When Evy was here, he cheated like hell (not a big secret) and was able to field some good teams. Hayden had a pipeline to Texas and New Jersey and mixed that with the best the state had (a bunch of big iowa farm boys, and a few stud skill players here and there) and had a great run. Kirk was able to find the best of the rest and got into chicago for a couple years and did a fabulous job of developing them. Now with the advent of the internet and other technology, recruiting has changed dramatically and I have no doubt KF understands that. So what is the answer? There are 50 to 100 schools out there that are trying to figure out how to get the big star kids away from the 10-15 schools that are harvesting them. I think he brought in a new recruiting coordinator to try to figure this out...We are not a glamorous destination and do not have the 'storied' programs that these top tier schools do. So what is the answer? Changing coaches isn't.
Clearly we are not Alabama/USC etc. Nor are we even Mississippi which has much more talent within driving distance. But we could be MSU, Wisconsin or Nebraska in recruiting level. We aren't. I don't know how to fix it, as it's not my field, but I am confident that what we have going on now will not get us to the Conference Championship game.
That was my point as well. Teams/coaches aren't even allowed to talk about individual recruits until LOI's are signed, so the only way these sites get info on offers they list are from the recruits (or possibly parents/HS coaches). If a kid commits early and tells anyone else that calls "no thanks", you aren't going to see long offer lists.
I'm certainly not saying stars and offers don't matter in the big picture because overall they do, just saying that there is a potentially significant fudge factor here that has to be applied when you are talking about in-state kids who commit early and are not interested in exploring other offers.
Re: Don't get bent our of shape with # of stars[/URL]FranklinHawk posted on 2/6/2015...
I'm certainly not saying stars and offers don't matter in the big picture because overall they do, just saying that there is a potentially significant fudge factor here that has to be applied when you are talking about in-state kids who commit early and are not interested in exploring other offers.
I've posted this direct quote from Tom Lemming 3 or 4 times, but here it is again:
"Tom Lemming is considered the godfather of recruiting analysts. Whenever a recruit or parent calls to complain about a low star rating - which happens often - Lemming tells them, "Believe me, these stars mean nothing [in the big picture]."
Good grief! Don't take the experts and originators of the service word for it. What would he know? lol
That was my point as well. Teams/coaches aren't even allowed to talk about individual recruits until LOI's are signed, so the only way these sites get info on offers they list are from the recruits (or possibly parents/HS coaches). If a kid commits early and tells anyone else that calls "no thanks", you aren't going to see long offer lists.
I'm certainly not saying stars and offers don't matter in the big picture because overall they do, just saying that there is a potentially significant fudge factor here that has to be applied when you are talking about in-state kids who commit early and are not interested in exploring other offers.
I've posted this direct quote from Tom Lemming 3 or 4 times, but here it is again:
"Tom Lemming is considered the godfather of recruiting analysts. Whenever a recruit or parent calls to complain about a low star rating - which happens often - Lemming tells them, "Believe me, these stars mean nothing [in the big picture]."
Good grief! Don't take the experts and originators of the service word for it. What would he know? lol
You're right stars mean nothing.
It's not like the teams that are constantly ranked in the top 10 have top recruiting classes. I am sure there are a lot of consistently top ranked schools recruiting in the 50 - 60 ranking range.
Our "don't worry about the stars" classes over the last few years are showing you what you get when you are loaded with "Rudy's".
It's not like the teams that are constantly ranked in the top 10 have top recruiting classes. I am sure there are a lot of consistently top ranked schools recruiting in the 50 - 60 ranking range.
Our "don't worry about the stars" classes over the last few years are showing you what you get when you are loaded with "Rudy's".
The difference is that Higdon had someone on his high school coaching staff that was a "Michigan Man" that inserted himself into the process and was super aggressive in getting him to flip. He is the one who was in direct contact with the MI staff to spark their interest. Then, of course, he was in Higdon's ear. He was the aggressive coach here.
Another poster thinking with his heart and not his head.
For every Robert Gallery, Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders, and other you want to cite, there are 10 or more low rated kids who prove that out perfectly in college.
Iowa has been bad in recruiting in recent years and it shows on the field; plain and simple. Continue to try and spin however you want but this cant be denied.
Have you been happy with Iowa's results in the past 5 years? You do know dont you we are below .500 in the B1G over the past 5 years?
