Not bitchin', not even complaining or whining a little. Just asking.

[elrongator]

All anyone can do to stop USC from cherry picking the entire west coast is hope some of the other programs out there wake up and get competitive.
The only other alternative is that the NCAA grows some balls and actually polices that cess pit of cheaters to keep a level recruiting field.
I'm not holding my breath for either.

[oakgator]

Originally Posted by elrongator

All anyone can do to stop USC from cherry picking the entire west coast is hope some of the other programs out there wake up and get competitive.
The only other alternative is that the NCAA grows some balls and actually polices that cess pit of cheaters to keep a level recruiting field.
I'm not holding my breath for either.

Oregon, Stanford,and even O State were all quite good this year. Oregon has been competitive for years now consistently. USC is going to get theirs regardless. Built in advantages.

[Bushmaster]

One of the best HS teams I ever saw had not one super star on it. Not one. Not a single D1 player anywhere on the roster. I saw/played against Pensacola High in 1985+1986, Escambia High in 84+85. Those teams had a lot of superstar talent on them and while I would put this team on quite the same level as PHS and EHS those years, it was pretty damn close.

If you rate players on a team from 1-10 with 10 being the best and 5 being an average HS player, this team had no one that would rate under a 6.5 on its two deep roster and not one that would rate higher than a 8.

And that would include the back up punter and place kick holder.

That team went undefeated, won a state title, and beat everyone that year by at least 21 points.

The point about 5 star players is you can win without them. The other side of the argument is it is sure nice to have them. You have to be solid at every position. The 06 and 08 teams were above average at almost every position on the field. I still think that 08 team would be rated the top 5 best in history.

[HotlantaGator]

Make no mistake, stars do matter when you look at a program's recruiting track record over a number of years.

Teams who sign more 4 and 5 star players, year over year, do better than teams who do not.

Not every 5 star will end up a superstar obviously.

Everyone is quick to point out that one three star who is a stud (Morrison, actually a 4 star on Rivals) or that 1 5 star (Debose) who is not.

But look at our D roster:

Sharriff FLoyd
Dom Easley
Jelani Jenkins
Matt Elam

All 5 stars on our defense, and, for the most part, our playmakers.

ANd yes, Morrison made some freshman All American teams.

But look at UF's other Frshmen All Americans:

Fowler
Bullard
Humphries

5 stars all.

[Minister_of_Information]

Originally Posted by jms

Antonio Morrison, nough said!

Exactly, bring me hard nosed physical football players (not just athletes) who love the game and are willing to grind, extra stars by their name are just a bonus.

[fubar1]

Originally Posted by HotlantaGator

Make no mistake, stars do matter when you look at a program's recruiting track record over a number of years.

Teams who sign more 4 and 5 star players, year over year, do better than teams who do not.

Not every 5 star will end up a superstar obviously.

Everyone is quick to point out that one three star who is a stud (Morrison, actually a 4 star on Rivals) or that 1 5 star (Debose) who is not.

But look at our D roster:

Sharriff FLoyd
Dom Easley
Jelani Jenkins
Matt Elam

All 5 stars on our defense, and, for the most part, our playmakers.

ANd yes, Morrison made some freshman All American teams.

But look at UF's other Frshmen All Americans:

Fowler
Bullard
Humphries

5 stars all.

Couldn't be laid out any clearer.

If you want the best predictor of a program's long-term success, and the quality of that success, look no further than team recruiting rankings.

They're not perfect, but the best predictor.

Coaching matters as well, but I find it interesting that Brian Kelly is now a demi-God in coaching circles. He's no doubt good, but recruiting Manti Teo (a 5-star) to be the ring-leader of the best front-seven in college football is directly related.

[gator1986]

Originally Posted by fubar1

Couldn't be laid out any clearer.

If you want the best predictor of a program's long-term success, and the quality of that success, look no further than team recruiting rankings.

They're not perfect, but the best predictor.

Coaching matters as well, but I find it interesting that Brian Kelly is now a demi-God in coaching circles. He's no doubt good, but recruiting Manti Teo (a 5-star) to be the ring-leader of the best front-seven in college football is directly related.

Perfectly said...

[deathroll]

Originally Posted by HotlantaGator

Make no mistake, stars do matter when you look at a program's recruiting track record over a number of years.

Teams who sign more 4 and 5 star players, year over year, do better than teams who do not.

Not every 5 star will end up a superstar obviously.

Everyone is quick to point out that one three star who is a stud (Morrison, actually a 4 star on Rivals) or that 1 5 star (Debose) who is not.

But look at our D roster:

Sharriff FLoyd
Dom Easley
Jelani Jenkins
Matt Elam

All 5 stars on our defense, and, for the most part, our playmakers.

ANd yes, Morrison made some freshman All American teams.

But look at UF's other Frshmen All Americans:

Fowler
Bullard
Humphries

5 stars all.

Could not agree more. Has nothing to do with the original thread topic but that's not your fault, thing got hijacked long ago.

That said, stars very much do matter. The exceptions are just that, exceptions, but overall, teams loaded with 4 and 5 star players are going to be the better teams. An individual team's record may or may not reflect this fact in any given year, as many factors enter into a teams success, or lack thereof, on the field (schedule strength, injuries, coaching, etc.).

[Minister_of_Information]

Talent is just that, talent. Nothing more and nothing less. And there are talents that do not always end up in the ratings. At the end of the day, the team matters more than the talent of the players.

[fubar1]

Originally Posted by Minister_of_Information

Talent is just that, talent. Nothing more and nothing less. And there are talents that do not always end up in the ratings. At the end of the day, the team matters more than the talent of the players.

You made a funny.

[rpmGator]

Florida is so full of talent, that they can't even start giving out the proper stars.

The place I watch is the Florida top 100. The team that wins the most Florida talent, can compete for a national title.

[gator1986]

Originally Posted by rpmGator

Florida is so full of talent, that they can't even start giving out the proper stars.

The place I watch is the Florida top 100. The team that wins the most Florida talent, can compete for a national title.

Agreed 100%, but there are a few dark horse states out there obviously them queers in Texas and hippies in California produce massive amounts of talent but nothing like Florida. But North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, and even Mississippi I have seen lately sending some very good talent out. And dont forget a lot of Florida d lineman over the years come from the North East, in fact they get quite a few players from up there... Florida really recruits well everywhere other than Texas I can say... But if you can get the 2013 TE Smythe out of Texas, and with muschamps recruiting connections there being at Texas for so long I believe it will open a flood gate of recruits wanting to come to Florida, you already see A&M killing it right now, and a lot of its because those kids want to play in the SEC...

[gatordee]

Stars mean nothing when you do not know what to do with them. Just ask Kiffy.

[socraticsilence]

Originally Posted by deathroll

How many consensus 5 star players are out there and who's gettin' 'em?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know "stars don't matter" and we all "trust our coaches" (which we do) but I'm still curious. We have the #1, top rated, can't beat it with a stick, recruiting class in all the land, yet only one of these future Gators is rated 5 stars (least on the rating site I looked at).

What gives?

Funny thing about the "stars don't matter" thing-- stars do matter look at recruiting rankings vs. Titles and top 5 finishes they line up pretty well with a few exceptions (FSU wastes talent), the only title winner in the last decade that wasn't a team with dominant classes in the preceding years was Auburn and they had a 1 year wonder at QB.

[socraticsilence]

Originally Posted by dadx4

We have also seen a lot of highly rated guys just not live up to their potential at UF and even after they transfered they still didn't do anything. You can't tell me that U$C $till i$n't pulling their B$ in recruiting.

USC has a massive advantage no one else does- other than Oregon, they're the only big time semi-local program for players west of the Rockies.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Having talent is a must to win at an elite level consistently in the SEC. That said, getting "five star" recruits isn't quite as important as filling needs with the players you want to fit what you're trying to do.

An example of that would be the talent Florida has brought in at wide receiver. None of these guys appear to have that Julio Jones/Percy Harvin/A.J Green-type of ability to just come in and dominate at the next level. However, they certainly have the talent to succeed at the next level, and-more importantly-fit the direction Muschamp is trying to go in. Robinson is a physical player, who scouts say loves to block. Fulwood has a huge body, that basically lets him catch everything thrown his way. He's faster than people think. Hawkins looks to be a physical prospect as well. We've got what we need to improve at the position. Plus there are two other guys who look to be playmakers that we're bringing in.

Don't focus on "five star" prospects signing with Florida. We're getting the players we need to do exactly what Muschamp wants to do. I'd rather have the #12 class in the country, with a group of players that meets every need we have, than the #3 class in the country, loaded with three "five star" prospects, and a class that met every need we had on one side of the ball, while failing to address two or three critical positions of need on the other side of the ball.

[ofmgator]

# of stars mens nothing (for the hundreth time).Who is the person/persons that decide on how many stars a player is given? Probably the same guy who sets the price of gasoline... no one knows. Stars should be awarded after a freshman year not before.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by jms

Antonio Morrison, nough said!

Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes, Sharrif Floyd, Matt Elam, etc, nough said?

[SECund2nun]

Football players from California are very overrated. The state produces a lot of talent, but Florida talent is much better. Also I will take Louisiana talent etc over it as well.

[deathroll]

Also, you have multiple sources/sites that periodically update their rankings. Gets confusing for us casual observers.