New Story Inside the rankings

[Blair Sanderson]

Here's a look at how Iowa's 7 early commits add up to the #13 ranked class in the nation right now.

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Inside the rankings
Blair Sanderson | Editor

Three-star offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger is the latest commitment for Iowa.
Rivals.com

Ever wonder how the Rivals.com team rankings work? Or would you just like to see a simplified breakdown of how points are assigned for the team rankings? Check out what HawkeyeReport.com has put together for you right here.

To basically explain it, players are assigned a set number of points based on their Rivals Rating (RR). A 6.1-ranked prospect receives 150 points, a 6.0-ranked prospect receives 135, a 5.9 ranked prospects receives 120, and so on down the line in increments of 15.

Additionally, players ranked in the Rivals250 receive bonus points depending on how high they are ranked. The No. 1 prospect in the country gets +100 bonus points. The No. 25 prospects gets +55 bonus points. The No. 166 prospects gets +19 bonus points... And all those bonus points are added to the points they receive for their Rivals Rating. It's all explained in greater detail here - Rankings Formula.

TEAM RANKINGS | POINT VALUES | COMMITMENT LIST | RECRUITING BOARD

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[nu2u]

Ever wonder how the Rivals.com team rankings work?

Appreciate the breakdown. Some day maybe I'll try to better understand Rivals' rating system but, personally, I do not place great emphasis on the star-based rating system even though I think it is useful as a basis for further evaluation (such as film, quality and quantity of offers, comments from coaches, etc).

That said, with regard to player ratings, it is a bit confusing to me how A. J. Epenesa can be ranked the #1 DE recruit in the nation by Rivals and still not receive their highest star rating. The only reasonable explanation I can think of for not getting the highest star rating (5 stars) is that Rivals considers the 2017 DE recruit class to be relatively weak even though Epenesa is the nations top recruit at that position. Can you clarify that?

Also, do you have a guess on how many recruits Iowa will sign in 2017?

 

[madmustang4]

interesting to see Kentucky up there.

 

[nu2u]

That said, with regard to player ratings, it is a bit confusing to me how A. J. Epenesa can be ranked the #1 DE recruit in the nation by Rivals and still not receive their highest star rating. The only reasonable explanation I can think of for not getting the highest star rating (5 stars) is that Rivals considers the 2017 DE recruit class to be relatively weak even though Epenesa is the nations top recruit at that position. Can you clarify that?

Not that it matters much but does anyone know anything about this apparent anomaly? Just curious.

 

[spbc7]

Not that it matters much but does anyone know anything about this apparent anomaly? Just curious.

Because he's the 3rd highest rated out of all the DE, not 1st. The other two ahead of him are 5*, but listed as WDE, not SDE. Kind of strange to distinguish them like they are.

 

[nu2u]

Because he's the 3rd highest rated out of all the DE, not 1st. The other two ahead of him are 5*, but listed as WDE, not SDE. Kind of strange to distinguish them like they are.

Thanks, did not know that, Curious that Rivals would distinguish and separately rank DEs, but since they did, it would seem logical that any player nationally ranked #1 at a designated position would get the highest rating in any event. What do I know.

 

[spbc7]

Thanks, did not know that, Curious that Rivals would distinguish and separately rank DEs, but since they did, it would seem logical that any player nationally ranked #1 at a designated position would get the highest rating in any event. What do I know.

I guess if it's a down year for top end DE talent, it doesn't make any sense to devalue the 5 star rankings given to previous players just because they're the best the position has to offer this year. The rankings are based more on NFL draft projection than they are in comparison to other players in the class, so 5 star rankings aren't necessarily dependent on ranking within the position.

 

[Hawk68]

interesting to see Kentucky up there.

Kentucky has been up there for the last three years with Stoops, but they still don't win many SEC games.