A look at UK, UL & FSU recruiting

[CardHack]

For the sake of clarity, we have two SEC transfers as starters which are Shaq Wiggins and Harvey-Clemons; the other SEC transfer (from Texas A&M), JaQuay Savage I don't think has taken a snap this year and while an initial starter early last season (we lost Jamari Staples preseason due to injury) I can't recall him on the field as a primary receiver once all receivers were healthy. I think Savage has been unavailble this year due to injury.

We also have Devonta Fields who was booted from TCU (Big XII) and Jamari Staples who matriculated to Louisville once UAB's program was shutdown. Malin Jones is a special teams player who came to us from Northwestern and probably sits about fifth on the depth chart for RBs. By my count in our two deep, we have five JUCO transfers--Jeremy Smith a 2nd string RB, Kaola Mahoni the starting RG, Drew Bailey a starting DE and Chris Williams a 2nd string DT/DE in a 4-3/3-4 and Ronald Walker is a backup CB and like London Iakopo (SS) has become a critical special teams contributor.

 

[RUPPsRevenge1]

It doesn't end with just straight recruiting as mentioned above. Work still has to be put in with transfers and other players.

 

[Blue Wildcat]

I think this whole idea that Stoops and Co are amazing recruiters has been drastically overblown by a lot of people even if you don't consider the lack of player development and simply look at the numbers. He had that flukey 2014 class but the 2013 and 2015 classes were good/not great and he seems destined to sign another class ranked somewhere between 30-45.

Also, rivals was kinder to Stoops' classes than the other sites. If you look at the 247 composite rankings its:

2013 - UK 34-UL-37
2014 - UK 22-UL-45
2015 - UK 38-UL-32
2016 - UK 34-UL-38

AVG- UK 32-UL-38

The difference between the 32nd ranked class and the 38th ranked class is basically nothing.

Also, recruiting class rankings aren't really as good of an indicator of the talent in the class as avg recruit rankings. The avg composite recruit rankings over the last 4 years for UK and UL are:

UK - 84.43
UL - 84.49

So this idea that Stoops is drastically recruiting better than Petrino is being drastically over exaggerated. The top of Stoops classes have been better from a pure star ranking standpoint but it seems Petrino wins in the overall top to bottom quality of the classes.

All things considered equal recruiting wise, the UofL staff is getting it done with player development. Won't be long before their on field success translates into better recruiting. His performance at all stops shows that he can coach. If he stays put, he will have them in the hunt for a major bowl every year. They will be tough to beat this year and will be a favorite to win it all if things progress as they have to this point.

 

[BMo643]

All things considered equal recruiting wise, the UofL staff is getting it done with player development. Won't be long before their on field success translates into better recruiting. His performance at all stops shows that he can coach. If he stays put, he will have them in the hunt for a major bowl every year. They will be tough to beat this year and will be a favorite to win it all if things progress as they have to this point.

I somewhat agree. Petrino has never really been a type of coach that signs top ranked classes. His highest ranked class was 25th one time at Arkansas. Petrino relies on his scouting and the system fit. I think the one aspect you may see UL shy away from as they continue to build quality depth is that they may move away from taking a lot of transfers unless they players are elite level like Harvey-Clemons and Fields and I think the JUCO recruiting will go down but I'm not sure Petrino will ever bring in a top 25 class at UL. But we will see, with Lamar only being a Sophomore and Jawon Pass redshirting the QB position seems to be locked up for the foreseeable future and he a stable of elite WRs when you look at the '16 and '17 classes ....the one thing we know is that if Petrino has a QB and WRs...he'll put points on the board so we'll see if he starts recruiting different.

 

[wvcat54]

I think that all of the coaches since Curci have failed because UK abandoned the state of Florida as a primary focus of recruiting circa 1982. I feel that this was by design. Whether it came from the administration (AD or University President) or coach it has hampered UK's efforts to be competitive in the SEC since then. HS football in the state of FL is light years ahead of Kentucky. It is my opinion there are 300+ FL HS football players who would be in the top 10 in Kentucky. They are just sooooo much faster and stronger an play against better HS competition.

I've heard the opinions for years that UK can't recruit head to head down south against the FLs, GAs etc. While we may not get the FL 4* or 5* athletes there are plenty of others to go around. Other schools like Louisville, West Virginia many others that have built relationships in FL since the late 70s and early 80s. As a previous poster indicated these teams have built relationships. They have developed relationships with HS coaches that will guide these teams toward the "diamonds in the ruff" and away from the players who have athletic talents but may have a lot of other issues.

I don't think that UK will be successful recruiting in Ohio to a point that they will be competitive in the SEC. I feel that Stoops' recruiting theory is flawed and his teams are doomed to fail. It won't be necessarily because of the Xs and Os but because of the Jimmy and Joes. I don't care how smart of a coach you are or how you line up if my players are bigger, stronger and faster than yours 99% of the time I'm going to win.

 

[LeonThe Camel]

Like I said in another post.

Sneaky P figured it out long ago. You can be average everywhere but the QB.

Also, you don't have to get a lot of 4 stars or a couple 5 stars. You just have to make sure that the 3 stars have the natural speed and athleticism to match those types of guys. Then you hire good position coaches and coordinators to develop those guys to be succesful

While CMS has been locking down the in state talent, fighting the big 10 for Meyer n Harbaugh left overs across the river, and going toe to toe with Nick Saban for an NT and RB (two positions that won't change a program), Sneaky P has been raiding the left over diamonds in the rough in Florida, UGA, SC.

It's comical. He wasted no time on Elam and Harris, he let CMS battle Saban and he went on down to SEC country and found him a game changing, program lifting, once in a generation (for a program like "da ville") heisman caliber QB....

Petrino gets it, always has.

It all goes back to having a plan and knowing what players or type of players fit your system. Some coaches want big running backs, someone who can punish the defense. A typical Georgia, LSU, Alabama type. Others recruit pure speed guys like Florida State. Petrino seems to go after a QB he can use to stretch the field and athletic big defensive players.
Set up a game plan, establish your style and go recruit the best you can for that style. Mumme went for fast receivers with good hands. He stayed with it and outscored opponents.
At this point, we do not know what Stoops looks for. It appears to be high stars but a mixture of skill sets. One running back is a slasher, one is a bruiser. A drop back QB one year and dual threat running QB the next. Stoops needs to establish his offense and defense around style and not stars.

 

[megablue]

I think that all of the coaches since Curci have failed because UK abandoned the state of Florida as a primary focus of recruiting circa 1982. I feel that this was by design. Whether it came from the administration (AD or University President) or coach it has hampered UK's efforts to be competitive in the SEC since then. HS football in the state of FL is light years ahead of Kentucky. It is my opinion there are 300+ FL HS football players who would be in the top 10 in Kentucky. They are just sooooo much faster and stronger an play against better HS competition.

I've heard the opinions for years that UK can't recruit head to head down south against the FLs, GAs etc. While we may not get the FL 4* or 5* athletes there are plenty of others to go around. Other schools like Louisville, West Virginia many others that have built relationships in FL since the late 70s and early 80s. As a previous poster indicated these teams have built relationships. They have developed relationships with HS coaches that will guide these teams toward the "diamonds in the ruff" and away from the players who have athletic talents but may have a lot of other issues.

I don't think that UK will be successful recruiting in Ohio to a point that they will be competitive in the SEC. I feel that Stoops' recruiting theory is flawed and his teams are doomed to fail. It won't be necessarily because of the Xs and Os but because of the Jimmy and Joes. I don't care how smart of a coach you are or how you line up if my players are bigger, stronger and faster than yours 99% of the time I'm going to win.

 

[mrhotdice]

You can draw your own conclusions about the recruiting rankings, but to me, this shows what a tremendous coach Petrino is. I know that he has a lot of unsightly baggage, but that is the only reason that UK could have hired one of the best coaches, in the business. As one poster said, I would be hiring him to coach my football team not to be my preacher. While he may be an Ahole, and someone that you wouldn’t want to be close friends with, that can be said about a lot of coaches. As far as we know, he has kept his nose clean since Arkansas. When you look at the recruiting rankings, there is no reason to believe that BP wouldn’t have had the same success at UK that he is having at UL. Here are rivals rankings.


2013 ranking FSU 10, UK 29, UL41

2014 ranking FSU 10, UK 29, UL41

2015 ranking FSU 10, UK 29, UL41

2016 ranking FSU 10, UK 29, UL41

Avg FSU 4.75, UK 27.5, UL 36.25

You also have to put the rest of the SEC teams before you draw any conclusions.

 

[megablue]

Stoops came in with what looked like a great plan - recruit the heck out of Ohio and sell those Midwestern kids on the allure of playing in the SEC. That was at a time when the Big 10 was down (Michigan sucked, Meyer had just been hired at OSU), and the SEC was really the only conference that mattered. If you're a kid in central Ohio, not recruited by OSU or Michigan, would you rather go to Purdue or Iowa or somewhere like that and play boring football that few cared about, or go to UK and play in the bright lights of the SEC? It seemed like a brilliant sales pitch. And it worked for a couple of years.

Flash forward four years and things have changed. Other than Alabama, the SEC has taken a big step back. With the resurgence of OSU and Michigan, the Big 10 is now the focus of a great deal of attention. And, the nearby ACC (and Louisville) has risen in prominence. For players outside the deep south, the allure of playing in the SEC is not what it was a few year sago.

Throw in the fact that Stoops has had little to no success on the field, or in developing the highly rated players he recruited. I would expect that whoever the next UK coach is will refocus UK's recruiting back to the south.

Last year, Ohio State had five (5) players drafted in the top twenty (20) of the first round of the NFL draft. Only one (1) of the five (5) was from Ohio. Urban Meyer has stated that OSU needed to recruit more nationally to compete at the highest level and recent OSU recruiting rosters support this strategy, focus and emphasis. Based on the 2017 listing on this site, OSU has eighteen (18) commitments, with only four (4) from Ohio. Kentucky is showing thirteen (13), with four (4) from Ohio.

It would be interesting to know whether, in an hypothetical situation, if all of our Ohio recruits had played their high school careers in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, etc...., whether their star ratings would be the same? I suspect they would they would be lower.