Olympic Figure Skating And SEC Recruiter Rankings
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, February 09, 2009
Despite directing South Carolina to a No. 12 national ranking in the final Rivals.com rankings, Beamer was all but ignored when the individual awards were handed out late last week.
Considering what Beamer accomplished during his two months on the job – keeping USC’s stellar class together despite the loss of six coaches and convincing WR Alshon Jeffery to spurn Southern California in favor of the Gamecocks – his efforts were certainly worthy of a place among the Top 10 recruiters in the SEC.
Unfortunately, the judges (are they from Russia?) at Rivals.com saw it differently.
Even Steve Spurrier recognized Beamer’s performance during his National Signing Day press conference, describing them as “fantastic” and lauding him for his efforts in recruiting Jeffery.
In my opinion, Beamer’s efforts in stealing Jeffery away from the Trojans on the final day of recruiting was worthy of considerably more attention than it got. When was the last time USC beat Southern Cal for a prospect? I think it’s fair to say it doesn’t happen often.
Incredibly, Georgia had two coaches honored among the Top 10 of the SEC – Mike Bobo and Rodney Garner - even though they finished just three spots ahead of the Gamecocks at No. 9.
The average rating of Georgia’s class was 3.83 stars, while USC’s was 3.34, about a half-star difference. But here’s another statistic showing the miniscule difference between the two schools – both schools signed 14 four and five star prospects.
Really, the only difference between the classes inked by the two schools was Georgia managed to sign one 5-star prospect, while USC had none. But USC signed one more four-star prospect (14) than the Bulldogs (13).
Frankly, in doing the research, it was difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Rivals.com SEC recruiters honor roll was similar in many respects to Olympic figure skating. The judges entered the competition with preconceived notions about who the top competitors were and didn’t deviate from that when they did their voting, despite the fact others may have outperformed the favorites.
Where are Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding when you need them? In this case, it’s Rivals.com that whacked Beamer across the knees.
As I mentioned last week in this space, while South Carolina finished No. 12 in the final Rivals.com recruiting rankings, only four schools in the nation signed more four and five star prospects than the Gamecocks – Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and USC. By the way, those schools finished 1-2-3-4 in the final national rankings.
That statistic alone was worthy of a mention by somebody, but it wasn’t in the eyes of the people doing the judging.
Fourteen of the 29 players signed by USC were rated four-star prospects, and no one defected in the final days. Considering the way USC finished the season, that’s amazing. And Beamer should get most of the credit.
Florida also had a coach honored in the Top 10 (Billy Gonzales), yet they signed fewer four and five star prospects (12) than USC did.
But it doesn’t end there. Four schools – Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky - which finished behind USC in the final rankings had coaches honored by Rivals.
Kentucky is particularly galling. The Wildcats finished No. 42 in the final rankings with just three four-star prospects and an average star ranking 2.69, yet Joker Phillips was listed among the Top 10 recruiters in the SEC. Really?
Maybe the class was decent by Kentucky’s standards, but it paled in comparison to USC’s group. Rivals.com said six of the 10 prospects signed by Phillips were three-star recruits and that he did most of his “damage” in the State of Georgia.
If that’s true, it’s probably news to Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Kentucky didn’t sign a single prospect among the Top 50 in Georgia. In fact, you have to scroll down to No. 55 before you see “Kentucky” next to a recruit’s name.
Kentucky signed only one other player ranked in the Top 75 in Georgia. Yet, Rivals.com asserts Phillips effected “damage” in that state. Yeah, right.
Heck, New Mexico signed the No. 39 player in Georgia. Was Kentucky out-recruited by the Lobos in the Peach State? You could pass the snicker test if you presented that argument.
Rivals.com even found time to honor a recruiter from Mississippi State despite their No. 22 finish in the national rankings with seven four star prospects, half the number of the Gamecocks.
I’m sure they were celebrating in Starkville.
Meanwhile, Beamer and the rest of the USC staff went unrecognized and that’s a shame. Maybe Beamer shouldn't have received the gold medal, but he was certainly deserving of a silver or bronze medal.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Shane Beamer got hosed.
Despite directing South Carolina to a No. 12 national ranking in the final Rivals.com rankings, Beamer was all but ignored when the individual awards were handed out late last week.
Considering what Beamer accomplished during his two months on the job – keeping USC’s stellar class together despite the loss of six coaches and convincing WR Alshon Jeffery to spurn Southern California in favor of the Gamecocks – his efforts were certainly worthy of a place among the Top 10 recruiters in the SEC.
Unfortunately, the judges (are they from Russia?) at Rivals.com saw it differently.
Even Steve Spurrier recognized Beamer’s performance during his National Signing Day press conference, describing them as “fantastic” and lauding him for his efforts in recruiting Jeffery.
In my opinion, Beamer’s efforts in stealing Jeffery away from the Trojans on the final day of recruiting was worthy of considerably more attention than it got. When was the last time USC beat Southern Cal for a prospect? I think it’s fair to say it doesn’t happen often.
Incredibly, Georgia had two coaches honored among the Top 10 of the SEC – Mike Bobo and Rodney Garner - even though they finished just three spots ahead of the Gamecocks at No. 9.
The average rating of Georgia’s class was 3.83 stars, while USC’s was 3.34, about a half-star difference. But here’s another statistic showing the miniscule difference between the two schools – both schools signed 14 four and five star prospects.
Really, the only difference between the classes inked by the two schools was Georgia managed to sign one 5-star prospect, while USC had none. But USC signed one more four-star prospect (14) than the Bulldogs (13).
Frankly, in doing the research, it was difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Rivals.com SEC recruiters honor roll was similar in many respects to Olympic figure skating. The judges entered the competition with preconceived notions about who the top competitors were and didn’t deviate from that when they did their voting, despite the fact others may have outperformed the favorites.
Where are Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding when you need them? In this case, it’s Rivals.com that whacked Beamer across the knees.
As I mentioned last week in this space, while South Carolina finished No. 12 in the final Rivals.com recruiting rankings, only four schools in the nation signed more four and five star prospects than the Gamecocks – Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and USC. By the way, those schools finished 1-2-3-4 in the final national rankings.
That statistic alone was worthy of a mention by somebody, but it wasn’t in the eyes of the people doing the judging.
Fourteen of the 29 players signed by USC were rated four-star prospects, and no one defected in the final days. Considering the way USC finished the season, that’s amazing. And Beamer should get most of the credit.
Florida also had a coach honored in the Top 10 (Billy Gonzales), yet they signed fewer four and five star prospects (12) than USC did.
But it doesn’t end there. Four schools – Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky - which finished behind USC in the final rankings had coaches honored by Rivals.
Kentucky is particularly galling. The Wildcats finished No. 42 in the final rankings with just three four-star prospects and an average star ranking 2.69, yet Joker Phillips was listed among the Top 10 recruiters in the SEC. Really?
Maybe the class was decent by Kentucky’s standards, but it paled in comparison to USC’s group. Rivals.com said six of the 10 prospects signed by Phillips were three-star recruits and that he did most of his “damage” in the State of Georgia.
If that’s true, it’s probably news to Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Kentucky didn’t sign a single prospect among the Top 50 in Georgia. In fact, you have to scroll down to No. 55 before you see “Kentucky” next to a recruit’s name.
Kentucky signed only one other player ranked in the Top 75 in Georgia. Yet, Rivals.com asserts Phillips effected “damage” in that state. Yeah, right.
Heck, New Mexico signed the No. 39 player in Georgia. Was Kentucky out-recruited by the Lobos in the Peach State? You could pass the snicker test if you presented that argument.
Rivals.com even found time to honor a recruiter from Mississippi State despite their No. 22 finish in the national rankings with seven four star prospects, half the number of the Gamecocks.
I’m sure they were celebrating in Starkville.
Meanwhile, Beamer and the rest of the USC staff went unrecognized and that’s a shame. Maybe Beamer shouldn't have received the gold medal, but he was certainly deserving of a silver or bronze medal.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
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 @.