Bama's 2021 recruiting class has 13 of the Top 90 and 7 five-star players. Good grief. Rhetorical question: how the fuck does anyone compete with that? Difficult to neigh impossible.
did it with recruiting classes on average lower than ND's during that same year.
It's coaching...head coaching to be exact.
State and Oklahoma are generally the schools that get the higher rated people and the difference makers at key skill positions. We are now getting in the mix and it is showing. Kelly has coached his players up almost every year without difference makers which we now are beginning to get. It took a long time with how set back we were from our previous hires after Holtz. And please remember Holtz had great recruiting classes his first five or six years and it showed in our ability to be in the hunt from 1988-1993.
wanted? So ratings aren't everything. I would say, at most, it's half about ratings for ND.
-I think proper player identification like a JOK or an Ogundeji or Ademilola or many of the other diamonds in the rough we've found is equally important.
-I'd say player development is also incredibly important and we've all seen the difference Balis has made...an incredible difference (might be the most important guy on the staff).
-Lastly, the model we use is players staying longer and playing as Juniors and Seniors and Graduate Students. So, perhaps we can't reload with 5 star top 50 freshmen or sophomores, but our Sr's and GS's like an Adimelola taking over for Ogundeji can absolutely do the job of reloading at the CFP level.
So, while I completely agree and concede the point that recruiting is incredibly important and that we want to and can do better (and will do better if we continue to perform this way on the field), to simply say that we can't compete because they've got five stars and we got guys like JOK and Ogundeji and Ademilola is not exactly a complete or thorough discussion of the situation.
Let me take it one step further. Our front seven from last year:
Ogundeji - 3 star
Tagovailoa - 3 star
Hinish - 3 star
Hayes - 5 star
Liafau - 3 star
White - 3 star
JOK - 3 star
That is absolutely an elite and CFP caliber front seven. And 6 of the 7 players are 3 stars. So to say it's all about the number of stars a player has and the overall recruiting rating of our team is a ridiculous oversimplification of the situation.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a coach at ND who has had quite the same level of success that Brian Kelly has had when it comes to finding unheralded, three star recruits (often times, not even high three stars) and turning them into high level college players. He always seems to find 2-4 such diamonds in the rough every year, that with some polish, become fine collegiate players.
At the same time though, they do come with the label of "unpolished," and generally need a couple of years of development. I'm fine with that, provided that they aren't needed right away. However, if they're forced to play too early, then that can throw a monkey wrench into the machinery.
The upper echelon teams the likes of Alabama, tOSU, or Clemson, have plenty of high four star or five star guys who are ready to play from the start, and don't need much polish at all. These are the guys who are already making All-American lists by the time they're in their true sophomore years as well as posing a real probability of wrenching away starting positions from established juniors and seniors.
While we do have a couple such players the likes of Kyle Hamilton, and have had players the likes of Jaylon Smith, etc., they're more of the exception to the rule at ND.
As a season wears on, even the best plans for players get altered due to injuries, lost mojo, etc., and teams that have those polished, hungry freshmen and sophomores ready to play, generally don't lose steam.
blind squirrel.
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I'd take either one of those. Georgia and LSU are actually ahead of Clemson but, I don't know who does less with more than Georgia.
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so we need lots of luck
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Zero five stars and only one four star recruit. Currently ranked #31 according to 247. Behind Kansas! I think Saban has finally been exposed, and it is the end of 'Bama football greatness.
Link: https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/
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Dude, I'm joking obviously. Alabama will be top 3 when the dust settles, without any doubt --, and is a good bet for #1.
as the recruiting season progresses. And the guys they are waiting for are generally high 4 or 5 star guys. I have little doubt they will be a top 3 class at the end.
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