My Rendezvous With USC's Recruiting Class
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, February 11, 2008
Recruiting is a tough business. There are many suitors for most of the top players. Middle-aged coaches often find themselves kissing the butts of 17-year old boys. Many coaches will say anything, let along promise anything, to sign a certain player.
In short, recruiting is not for the faint of heart.
I’ve also seen too many four and five star superstars-to-be go bust at USC to concern myself with player ratings very much. Sometimes those ratings are right, sometimes they’re wrong.
But I’ve learned over the years that physical talent is important, but so is attitude, fortitude, willingness to work, enthusiasm, competitive drive, effort and on and on.
You know, all those so-called intangible things that most of the truly great players possess. But, unfortunately, they seem to account for very little in the recruiting game.
That’s why certain players lacking the eye-popping physical characteristics major Division I coaches are searching for get overlooked when it comes time to rate players or offer scholarships.
The best example I can think of on the Gamecocks right now is defensive back Captain Munnerlyn. I believe he was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school. Few big-time schools wanted him.
Now, he’s considered one of the top defensive backs in the SEC and has a great chance to be an all-conference player this season. He plays nearly every snap on defense and fields punts as well. He’s a warrior.
Having said that, I do have some concerns about USC’s most recent signing class:
Do I wish they had signed more in-state players like linebacker Sterling Lucas of Orange-Wilkinson High School?
Do I wish the class was ranked in the top one-third of the SEC?
Do I wish USC had done better compared to arch-rival Clemson, which supposedly signed one of the top classes in the nation?
Yes, yes and yes.
But, in the end, there’s only question that really matters: Is this class good enough to help the Gamecocks win in the SEC?
Looking at the class as a whole, I’d say right now the answer is yes.
If you go by the Rivals.com rankings, USC finished sixth among the 12 conference schools. They finished behind Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Auburn, and ahead of Ole Miss, Tennessee (!?!), Arkansas, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Does this mean USC is destined to finish in the middle of the SEC pack for the next four years? No, because many other factors like coaching come into play as well.
Frankly, the difference in perceived quality between Alabama at No. 1 and USC at No. 22 is not that great. While I’m not a big fan of star ratings for individual high school players, I will rely on Rivals’ player ratings for this one test.
Alabama’s average star rating is 3.72. USC’s is 3.18. That’s about half a star per player. I assure you that deficit can be overcome with superior coaching and a strong work ethic on the part of the players.
The difference between Clemson and USC? About one-quarter of a star per player. The last time I checked, that's not very much. The Gamecocks can easily make up that difference. Heck, that margin can be overcome just with a few fortunate bounces of the ball.
But if you don’t think coaching is important, consider Florida State, which has always finished near the top of the national recruiting rankings.
As we see every Saturday on TV, the Seminoles are one of the most poorly coached teams in the country, and are led by a Dead Coach Walking. Hence, FSU seems to underachieve every year, and will continue to do so.
There are a lot of players in USC’s class I like. I think Jarriel King and Chaz Sutton have the ‘potential’ (there’s that word again) to become big-time players.
But they’re not the only ones. Both running backs – Eric Baker and Kenny Miles – could make an impact this season, especially Baker since he’s already enrolled at USC and will enjoy the benefits of participating in spring practice.
I fully expect Charles Whitlock to contribute this year either as a wide receiver or defensive back, and certainly on special teams. Ryan Doerr could end up contributing the most of any freshman as the punter.
Defensive backs Akeem Auguste and Antonio Allen will battle for playing time in the secondary.
But I don’t judge the quality of a recruiting class based on how many freshmen are ready to play right away. If I had it my way, all 22 of USC’s signees would redshirt in 2008.
But, I know USC has not reached that point yet. Someday, they might. Remember, Georgia redshirted RB Knowshon Moreno in 2006 before unleasing him on an unsuspecting SEC in 2007.
When the day comes that USC starts signing and redshirting players like Moreno, I’ll know they’re on track to truly becoming a winning program in the SEC.
So, tell me, who are the top prospects for the 2009 signing class?
Just kidding.
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It’s been five days since Signing Day, so this is a good time to stand back and reflect on Steve Spurrier’s fourth class since he took over as head coach in November of 2004.
Recruiting is a tough business. There are many suitors for most of the top players. Middle-aged coaches often find themselves kissing the butts of 17-year old boys. Many coaches will say anything, let along promise anything, to sign a certain player.
In short, recruiting is not for the faint of heart.
I’ve also seen too many four and five star superstars-to-be go bust at USC to concern myself with player ratings very much. Sometimes those ratings are right, sometimes they’re wrong.
But I’ve learned over the years that physical talent is important, but so is attitude, fortitude, willingness to work, enthusiasm, competitive drive, effort and on and on.
You know, all those so-called intangible things that most of the truly great players possess. But, unfortunately, they seem to account for very little in the recruiting game.
That’s why certain players lacking the eye-popping physical characteristics major Division I coaches are searching for get overlooked when it comes time to rate players or offer scholarships.
The best example I can think of on the Gamecocks right now is defensive back Captain Munnerlyn. I believe he was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school. Few big-time schools wanted him.
Now, he’s considered one of the top defensive backs in the SEC and has a great chance to be an all-conference player this season. He plays nearly every snap on defense and fields punts as well. He’s a warrior.
Having said that, I do have some concerns about USC’s most recent signing class:
Do I wish they had signed more in-state players like linebacker Sterling Lucas of Orange-Wilkinson High School?
Do I wish the class was ranked in the top one-third of the SEC?
Do I wish USC had done better compared to arch-rival Clemson, which supposedly signed one of the top classes in the nation?
Yes, yes and yes.
But, in the end, there’s only question that really matters: Is this class good enough to help the Gamecocks win in the SEC?
Looking at the class as a whole, I’d say right now the answer is yes.
If you go by the Rivals.com rankings, USC finished sixth among the 12 conference schools. They finished behind Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Auburn, and ahead of Ole Miss, Tennessee (!?!), Arkansas, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Does this mean USC is destined to finish in the middle of the SEC pack for the next four years? No, because many other factors like coaching come into play as well.
Frankly, the difference in perceived quality between Alabama at No. 1 and USC at No. 22 is not that great. While I’m not a big fan of star ratings for individual high school players, I will rely on Rivals’ player ratings for this one test.
Alabama’s average star rating is 3.72. USC’s is 3.18. That’s about half a star per player. I assure you that deficit can be overcome with superior coaching and a strong work ethic on the part of the players.
The difference between Clemson and USC? About one-quarter of a star per player. The last time I checked, that's not very much. The Gamecocks can easily make up that difference. Heck, that margin can be overcome just with a few fortunate bounces of the ball.
But if you don’t think coaching is important, consider Florida State, which has always finished near the top of the national recruiting rankings.
As we see every Saturday on TV, the Seminoles are one of the most poorly coached teams in the country, and are led by a Dead Coach Walking. Hence, FSU seems to underachieve every year, and will continue to do so.
There are a lot of players in USC’s class I like. I think Jarriel King and Chaz Sutton have the ‘potential’ (there’s that word again) to become big-time players.
But they’re not the only ones. Both running backs – Eric Baker and Kenny Miles – could make an impact this season, especially Baker since he’s already enrolled at USC and will enjoy the benefits of participating in spring practice.
I fully expect Charles Whitlock to contribute this year either as a wide receiver or defensive back, and certainly on special teams. Ryan Doerr could end up contributing the most of any freshman as the punter.
Defensive backs Akeem Auguste and Antonio Allen will battle for playing time in the secondary.
But I don’t judge the quality of a recruiting class based on how many freshmen are ready to play right away. If I had it my way, all 22 of USC’s signees would redshirt in 2008.
But, I know USC has not reached that point yet. Someday, they might. Remember, Georgia redshirted RB Knowshon Moreno in 2006 before unleasing him on an unsuspecting SEC in 2007.
When the day comes that USC starts signing and redshirting players like Moreno, I’ll know they’re on track to truly becoming a winning program in the SEC.
So, tell me, who are the top prospects for the 2009 signing class?
Just kidding.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.