Written by Andy Staples at CampusRush.com
While most coaches lie when they say they don’t care about recruiting rankings, they are absolutely correct when they say recruits need a chance to play at the college level before a cycle’s classes can be accurately ranked. So, since 2009, we’ve re-ranked the recruiting classes from three years earlier. Why three years and not four? This exercise is a lot more fun when most of the players have another year or two left in college. In this edition of Punt, Pass & Pork, we’ll revisit the class of ’13.
Unfortunately, this method gives short shrift to certain teams. You won’t find Michigan State on this list even though the Spartans have had one of the nation’s best programs since 2010. Michigan State has been so good at developing players that most don’t shine until their fourth or fifth years on campus. Sorry, Spartans. You’ll have to comfort yourself with all those wins and those two Big Ten titles in the last three seasons. TCU finds itself in a similar situation. So does Baylor, but given the uptick in those programs’ recruiting since they began to find success in the Big 12, don’t be shocked if they begin making this list with regularity as more talented youngsters make bigger early impacts.
Also, quirky roster situations affect these rankings. Stanford’s 2013 recruiting class produced only five major contributors to the team’s Pac-12 title last season, but that total is quite impressive considering the fact that the Cardinal signed only 12 players in ’13 because that’s how many scholarships the program had available. (Insert your own SEC West oversigning joke here.) Florida State also didn’t make the list because apart from a few standouts such as defensive back Jalen Ramsey, the prospects who signed with the Seminoles in ’13 slammed into a wall of firmly entrenched talent that didn’t leave until after the ’14 campaign. So, while those players went 27–1 over their first two seasons, they didn’t have a chance to truly make their mark.
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