New Rivals 100

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Anzalone got a fifth star. Hargreaves moves up to the #2 prospect in the country. UF has seven commits from the top 100. Not bad.

[gatorr4life]

Once signing day passes, stars are a thing of the past. Time to coach 'em up. This class has the makings of a national title contender. Only time will tell though. Can't wait!

[StrangeGator]

Rivals looks like the most reliable source this year. ESPN has too many outliers and 247 didn't seem to adequately adjust rankings for players who had great senior seasons.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

I personally believe Rivals has the best team for evaluating talent. Their class rankings have been pretty consistent with what teams have regularly occupied the top ten over the last decade or so. They were dead-on with the 2003 and 2006 (Gator recruiting) classes being as good as they were, as those two classes were the foundation of two national championships. 'Bama has owned signing day for the last five years, and just won their third national title in four seasons. Their rankings are fairly consistent. Look at the rest of the top ten over the last decade. USC dominated recruiting before Saban went to 'Bama, and they were in the thick of the national title chase every year.

'Bama, Florida, Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma, ND (they've had several good classes) and Georgia always recruit well, and always end up in the top ten. Auburn, USC and Texas recruit well too, but poor coaching has led to mediocre finishes over the last couple of seasons for those three schools.

[ArtDeco]

Are we talking about the same Rivals that consistently ranked average FSU classes among the Top 5 classes every year? Please.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Are we talking about the same Rivals that consistently ranked average FSU classes among the Top 5 classes every year? Please.

Yes, and FSU finished with an Orange Bowl win and a final #8 ranking. So, based off of their last few classes, their rankings were pretty consistent, proving that FSU upgraded in talent.

As for the classes they finished with under Bowden, their inability to put it together on the field was a direct result of a stale program that Bowden basically let become an undisciplined, big ball of mess over his last seven-eight years in charge.

[DuPontGator]

Yes, and FSU finished with an Orange Bowl win and a final #8 ranking. So, based off of their last few classes, their rankings were pretty consistent, proving that FSU upgraded in talent.

As for the classes they finished with under Bowden, their inability to put it together on the field was a direct result of a stale program that Bowden basically let become an undisciplined, big ball of mess over his last seven-eight years in charge.

How you figure? They play in the weak ACC. Their talent hasn't been upgraded.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

How you figure? They play in the weak ACC. Their talent hasn't been upgraded.

Look, I think FSU is an extremely talented team. They have athletes who could start for Florida next fall. They did bring in the number one class in the country a couple of years ago, and have had several good hauls over the last few seasons. They always recruited well under Bowden, but they failed to live up to expectations because Bobby was slowly running that place into the ground. They've started to play better under Fisher.

ACC or not, they won their conference, posted double-digit wins, and won a BCS bowl game.

[gator7_5]

Big bump for Anz. Must have really showed out at the AA game. Can't believe McMillan's not in their top 100. Probabaly our most ready and best, imo, lb recruit.

[WDGator]

Yes, and FSU finished with an Orange Bowl win and a final #8 ranking. So, based off of their last few classes, their rankings were pretty consistent, proving that FSU upgraded in talent.

As for the classes they finished with under Bowden, their inability to put it together on the field was a direct result of a stale program that Bowden basically let become an undisciplined, big ball of mess over his last seven-eight years in charge.

The Fsu rivals crap was more prevalent during those stale Bowden years. Just ask dot.

Sent from my iPad using GatorCountry

[stomp_and_chomp]

How you figure? They play in the weak ACC. Their talent hasn't been upgraded.

Exactly. And now they have Louisville to compete with. That's not a good thing for FSU... as I think Louisville in the coming years will be on the same level of recruitment as FSU, if not better. Strong has proven that he can go down into South Florida and come away with some decent names.

I will concede that FSU has more talented players on Defense than the majority of the nation, but to me, their Offense doesn't pop, for whatever reason. Though, I guess you could say that every state of Florida team (save for a couple) has more Defensive standouts than the rest of the nation... but that's the nature of the beast in Florida, our kids can play a mean D.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

The Fsu rivals crap was more prevalent during those stale Bowden years. Just ask dot.

Sent from my iPad using GatorCountry

I don't understand what you're saying.

Btw, you're daughter is absolutely adorable.

[gator7_5]

Exactly. And now they have Louisville to compete with. That's not a good thing for FSU... as I think Louisville in the coming years will be on the same level of recruitment as FSU, if not better. Strong has proven that he can go down into South Florida and come away with some decent names.

I thought the same thing, but was shocked to see hoe low they were rated on the recruiting sites. I know the whole "dade 2 star = 4 star everywhere else" garbage, but I don't subscribe fully. His class a couple of weeks ago wasn't in the top 70. They have gained a couple good players, but its not like he's killin it.

[StrangeGator]

Are we talking about the same Rivals that consistently ranked average FSU classes among the Top 5 classes every year? Please.

Did you ever really buy into the bias? Have you paid attention to the last three years of Rivals ratings? Have you compared them to the other sites? Please!

[gatormoe1]

FSU played a patty cake schedule and played a patsy in the bowl game. They got exposed for who they really are when they played Florida.

[grant1]

Agreed that stars do not put on pads (bunch of 3*s kicked a bunch of 4* butts in the Sugar Bowl), but we still only have one 5* recruit per Scout. 3*s with hustle will out-play 4*s w/o every time.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

So, now that the final 250 just dropped, I believe Florida has 14 prospects committed on that list. Hearns, in my opinion, is a bit iffy. I'm not sure whether he'll be a part of this class or not.

I'm surprised McMillian and DRob dropped in their rankings, after both had solid showings at the All-star games.

I have a feeling we'll all look back three years from now, and realize that this class brought in a lot of key players to accomplish some big things at UF. What a haul.

[MadduxFanII]

I'm surprised McMillian and DRob dropped in their rankings, after both had solid showings at the All-star games.

One of the Rivals guys said in the chat that McMillan looked great in practice but awful in the game and they knocked him because of it.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Oh, I didn't see the game. I just remember them raving about him during the practices leading up to his demise. It's funny how four quarters of football can do that to a high school senior.

Anyhow, I'm glad both he and Anzalone are on their way in.

[MadduxFanII]

Mike Farrell: Gators -- McMillian was good in practice but had a really bad game when the lights came on, he missed tackles, was out of position quite often and looked very lost. Has upside, but concerned us that when lights came on he wasn't as good as expected. saSA

[NoahBeanBizzel]

I would imagine more than half of those kids are playing in a game that is extremely out of their comfort zone. You're basically pulling a group of strangers together, running a simplified scheme that's a bit different than what many of them are used to, and hoping that they build up enough chemistry together in practice over a week's time to put a decent product on the field.

I would almost argue that the practices would tell more about the prospect's ability than the actual game itself. Certain positions, such as corners, receivers, and defensive linemen probably are at an advantage over position groups like QB, safeties and linebackers in those games. Running backs, I'm sure, are probably lost in pass protection during those games. You love a game like that if you're a CB prospect-you just line up in man and do your thing.

So, not to make excuses for McMillian, as I'm sure other LB's have stood out in those games before. But he'll be coached up by some of the better minds in the business, and I'd look more to his overall body of work as a better indicator of how he'll perform; not an isolated game, where he was probably out of his comfort zone.

[MadduxFanII]

Honestly, I never remember thinking that the offenses looked good in one of these games. For all the reasons you mention these HS all-star games tend to be cluster...er, clusterbombs of bad play. You throw a bunch of high school super stars together, say, "You have a week. Now play football" and things are going to get kind of cockeyed.

So it's possible that the practices are a much more accurate gauge of pure talent, if nothing else.