Recruiting in college football is the life-line of every program, similar to what the draft is to the NFL. Underclassmen play much more now than in years past. It used to be handicappers would focus on the recruiting classes from three and four years ago. Not anymore. Now, all four classes must be considered. The reasons are they come in better prepared out of high school, many enroll early in order to participate in spring practice, and there is more opportunity with so many underclassmen declaring for the NFL draft. I used a grading system based on the stars you see in recruiting services. I am a fan of Rivals, so I use their numbers. I put them in my spreadsheet and calculate an average. The grade scale is as follows: • A 3.75 – 4.00 • A- 3.50 – 3.74 • B+ 3.25 – 3.49 • B 3.00 – 3.24 • B- 2.75 – 2.99 • C+ 2.50 – 2.74 • C 2.25 – 2.49 • C- 2.01 – 2.24 Here are some interesingt findings: 1. Alabama and USC are the only A’s 2. No SEC team graded below a B- 3. The only PAC 12 team below a B- was Colorado 4. No Big 12 team graded higher than a B+ 5. Florida St and Ohio St were the only schools in their respective conferences to grade higher than a B+ 6. 6 SEC teams graded higher than a B+, as did Notre Dame 7. Most mid-majors graded C or worse except USF (B-), Cincinnati (C+), UCF (C+) and Boise St (C+) The average numbers per conference are as follows 1. SEC 3.35 2. PAC 12 3.11 3. ACC 3.00 4. Big 10 2.98 5. Big 12 2.93 What does this all mean? Obviously, you have to have talent. Looking at the averages, the SEC has proven to be the strongest conference, by far, in recent years. The Big 12 looks to be the conference on the outside looking in, all things being equal, when it comes to the CFP. That has proven to be the case thus far. Part of the reason is they only have 10 teams. Finally, you have to be able to turn that talent into production on the field. Texas and Miami (both B+) are examples of teams struggling to do that. It’s not surprising that both have had coaching changes the past few years. I hope this helps as the summer camps come along and you begin your preseason handicapping. AC
 

Paul Chirimbes
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