Things that will be argued about today regarding recruiting:
– Stars are the greatest indicator success/are irrelevant.
– Alabama/Texas/Florida State has the top class in the country.
– Notre Dame in the top 10 again? Meh/This class proves Brian Kelly will bring Notre Dame back to the top.
– The pronunciation of Cyrus Kouandjio.
One thing that cannot be debated, however, is the fact that the majority of the country’s talent either comes from, or is migrating to, the southern states. With the SEC winning the last five national titles, and USC and Texas technically being located in the southern half of the country, we probably shouldn’t be surprised by this.
But still, the results are staggering: As of Wednesday afternoon, eight of the top 10 teams in the Rivals rankings were from the southern half of the country (the others are Notre Dame/Oregon/Ohio State, depending on the time of day you looked). Of course, a look at the Rivals 100 shows that most of the top prospects in the country come from the south.
This is obviously not a coincidence.
After the jump are eight quick-hit thoughts (I stole that from Anthony) on Signing Day.
1. Florida State just may have the best class in the country. The Seminoles added to an already huge class on Signing Day with the commitment of defensive tackle Tim Jernigan. The class includes James Wilder Jr., a running back who might be the most college-ready prospect not named Jadeveon Clowney. And I know what you’re saying, Florida State does sign top-ranked classes every year. But in his first full-recruiting cycle, Jimbo Fisher did a hell of a job.
2. Speaking of Clowney, we’ll have to wait on him. The consensus seems to be that the monster from South Carolina will announce on Valentine’s Day that he’ll be staying at home and joining Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. He’s going to make an impact next season no matter where he goes. Just look scroll back up to the top and look at him.
3. USC had an up and down day. The Trojans lost four-star defensive end Jalen Grimble to Miami early in the day, and were beat out by Notre Dame for four-star OL/DL prospect Troy Niklas. Not to mention the much rumored defection of five-star athlete DeAnthony Thomas to Oregon (he was set to decide Wednesday night). The Trojans did pull in a couple of four-star commitments, however, getting linebacker Lamar Dawson out of Kentucky and offensive lineman Aundrey Walker out of Cleveland. The question is, however, with nearly 30 kids coming in with this year’s class, how will the Trojans handle the upcoming scholarship limitations?
4. Notre Dame has a good class. No, seriously. Brian Kelly’s first full class at Notre Dame was heavy on defense, especially the defensive line. Many will point to the Big 3 the Irish brought in — defensive ends Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt and Ishaq Williams — and they should, as all three are considered a five-star recruit by at least one of the major services. But four-star end Ben Councel will likely be heard from as well, and was gaining steam as a top prospect during the all-star circuit. The addition of Niklas gives Kelly and the Irish a little bit of flexibility, as he can play on either the offensive or defensive line. Now we get to see if Kelly has better luck with these top recruits than his predecessor did with his.
5. Brady Hoke salvaged Michigan’s class, but it’s still mediocre by Michigan standards. You have to give Hoke a ton of credit for keeping some top guys like defensive back Blake Countess and linebacker Kellen Jones on board for the Wolverines. He also brought in eight (!) recruits in about two weeks time to bulk up the class, including Ohio linebacker Antonio Poole who could contribute right away. But the decommitments from this class — five-star back Dee Hart foremost among them — really sting. Hart may have left anyway, but the coaching change/search definitely hurt the Wolverines with some other prospects. None of that can be pinned on Hoke, but I’d imagine even he knows next year has to be a lot better in order to keep up with Ohio State and Notre Dame. (Update: Michigan added four-star tight end Chris Barnett, an Arkansas decommit, this afternoon. Big pick-up for Hoke).
6. Clemson keeps getting big-time recruits. If there’s a school that has had recruiting classes flame out more than Notre Dame, it’s Clemson. But that hasn’t slowed the Tigers recruiting momentum. This year’s class includes four five-star commits according to Rivals. That’s more than anyone in the country, and just to point out how ridiculous that is, Rivals only names 26 players as five-star talents. Two of them — linebackers Stephone Anthony and Tony Steward — were Signing Day additions.
8. And just for the heck of it, Alabama went ahead and used its “fax cam” to remind us of another great recruiting advantage in the south.
