Florida #1 Class on ESPN and Rivals #3 on 247

[oakgator]

Originally Posted by oakgator

It is not a conspiracy but is a business plan in my opinion. I don't buy the regional scouting excuse since any service who is continually under rating the recruits in SEC states must be doing so purposefully based in the demonstrable quality of SEC players/recruits over time.

I looked back and Scout's historical rankings and they don't appear to have as much regional bias as I recalled. I would have to do a detailed comparison of all the services over several years to detect any specific bias and I am not willing to put in that effort on an issue that I think really is of marginal importance anyway.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by oakgator

It is not a conspiracy but is a business plan in my opinion. I don't buy the regional scouting excuse since any service who is continually under rating the recruits in SEC states must be doing so purposefully based in the demonstrable quality of SEC players/recruits over time.

Or maybe that legitimates the point since those same regional scouts cover the same region and therefore are prone to the same errors. Besides, how exactly does rating certain regions higher than others increase business? I never paid for a site because it favored Florida or the SEC, but because it offered more services, whether videos or commentary or articles, etc. Do people really pay to be flattered?

[thedyc09]

Originally Posted by rserina

Or maybe that legitimates the point since those same regional scouts cover the same region and therefore are prone to the same errors. Besides, how exactly does rating certain regions higher than others increase business? I never paid for a site because it favored Florida or the SEC, but because it offered more services, whether videos or commentary or articles, etc. Do people really pay to be flattered?

Do we really need to answer this?

Just glance over this or any other message board (these are the type of people who subscribe to recruiting services).

"ESPN hates us."

"Rivals hates us."

"Scout hates us."

People want to believe that their recruits are the best, and will subscribe accordingly.

[oakgator]

Originally Posted by rserina

Or maybe that legitimates the point since those same regional scouts cover the same region and therefore are prone to the same errors. Besides, how exactly does rating certain regions higher than others increase business? I never paid for a site because it favored Florida or the SEC, but because it offered more services, whether videos or commentary or articles, etc. Do people really pay to be flattered?

I certainly wouldn't pay for Scout this year since they are under rating us. If you assume that fans of other schools would act similarly and if you assume that one service consistently over or under rates teams in specific regions, then it could be a business plan to attract those fans.

However, as I said, in my brief review of the Scout rankings over several years I could not detect a consistent over or under rating.

[MadduxFanII]

Sometime tonight, when I'm not at work, I might go through the services and see where they rank each of our players. What I'm betting is that the difference between the number one class and the number six class is possibly just a bundle of small differences in opinions over a number of different recruits. So ESPN has Taylor as the best running back in the country, Scout has him eighth. ESPN has Hargreaves as the best corner in the country, Scout has him...maybe third or fourth. Pile enough of those relatively small differences on top of each other and you might get a five-spot difference in rankings.

I'm actually excited about doing that research.

[rpmGator]

ESPN always rerank's after the UA game. We had a few move up after the game so we now have more five stars than before.

We may not have the top final ranking after signing day, but I am going to be happy anyhow with the recruits we are getting.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by oakgator

It is not a conspiracy but is a business plan in my opinion. I don't buy the regional scouting excuse since any service who is continually under rating the recruits in SEC states must be doing so purposefully based in the demonstrable quality of SEC players/recruits over time.

This... And a "business plan" can be a conspiracy (of one) plan too, IMHO.

[oakgator]

Originally Posted by Gatorrick22

This... And a "business plan" can be a conspiracy (of one) plan too, IMHO.

Totally agree, but "conspiracy" is a loaded term even though it only means an agreement to undertake concerted action which happens in every endeavor on this planet every single day.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by oakgator

Totally agree, but "conspiracy" is a loaded term even though it only means an agreement to undertake concerted action which happens in every endeavor on this planet every single day.

Concerted collusion to defame.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

This is one of the best classes I've ever seen Florida sign. Last year's class was heavy on defensive talent, but it failed to adequately address the WR, OL and running back positions. The players we brought in were great, but failing to sign both Diggs and Agholor, along with other players who could've provided a spark offensively, contributed to a sagging offense. I also think the Georgia game could've gone differently with either one of them.

Assuming that we have nobody back out before signing day, there really isn't a weakness in this class. It would be nice to add another elite corner or defensive tackle, but neither is a necessity. The talent already on-board is unreal, Florida is dominating instate, and every position has been addressed with great players. You can't ask for a better job by Muschamp and his people.

Like any class, time will tell how good it really is. But it's as good-on paper-as any class Florida has ever brought in, regardless of whether it finishes #1 or not by all the recruiting boys.