What is your general recruiting opinion?

[OH HSKR FAN]

Scout and Rivals has their system of stars. As a fan that follows recruiting do you concern yourself with the number of stars a recruit is getting? Or do you see who else he has gotten offers from?

Ex:

A 3 star that has gotten offers from Nebraska, Ohio State, USC, Florida, etc?

 

[Bucks21]

Not worried about stars at all. If the tOSU staff thinks a kid is deserving of an offer then I trust the staffs opinion and their record with evaluating talent. That is why they are actually on a real college staff and not some recruiting guru.

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

I put very little stock in recruiting services. I've seen the "stars" change owing to who commits when. I've seen a "adequate" back turn in to a must get... I've seen guru's pimp out 17 - 18 year old kids for a buck. The whole system, while there are some very good people involed, makes me sick.

That said, it is nice having some sort of evaluation system available. That is, there is simply no way I can know anything about these kids without them, and I am intersted in their skills, otherwise I wouldn't even be on this board.

 

[CrimsonStorm]

Wasn't AJ Hawk a 2 star coming out of HS? I put more stock into whether a kid has stars or has no stars rather than how MANY stars a player has. At least you know they're on the map if they have earned stars. If you're good enough to get stars, then it's all relevant after that.

 

[osugrad21]

Things I've witnessed over the last few years:

Negative:

--Kids who do not "play ball" by attending the combines...drop in rankings while lesser players are hyped.

--Committed players lose stars occasionally and late-game non-commits suddenly become hot prospects.

--Kids are told that they will not make national all-star games if they do not participate in a combine.

Positives:

--Recruiting guys who actually care about the kids and simply post the truth without the spin. Worst spin offenders imho: Michigan, ND, PSU, FSU, and WVU. (not going to specify Rivals or Scout but if you read the articles, you know which)

--Film breakdowns. There are some solid talent evaluators coming around now.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

I enjoy reading evaluations based on performances. Stars are interesting, and I don't think anyone can make a reasonable argument that "stars don't matter." First-hand game accounts, however, are always more accurate and informative.

For instance, many people who watched Zwick play in HS questioned whether his productivity would translate to the next level, and their concerns were clearly accurate (that is to say, Zwick is serviceable, but not elite). Troy Smith and Rob Schoenhoft, on the other hand, impressed those who saw them in action, even though they were not particularly successful with their respective passing stats.

And, again, Hawk was listed as a top-10 prospect in Ohio by Duane Long his senior season. I remember Long reluctantly placing him behind D'Andrea, Kudla, and Carpenter at LB, with the caveat that there was very little difference between them all as far as potential. I am continually tired of references to Hawk as an example of anything in recruiting. He went to camp and got offered.

 

[sandgk]

A 3 star that has gotten offers from Nebraska, Ohio State, USC, Florida, etc?

In the past yes, I agree it was one of the best independent yardsticks was and should be the actual offers a 3* recruit had in hand. For that matter an NR or 2* or whatever.

That said, one other example of spin, and a growing and worrying one I think, is the tendency of some (thankfully few) of these kids to claim offers when such do not exist, or were conditional, or contingent.
This trend has come into play because some kids play the system, perhaps to boost their ego. It is known that one can claim almost anything they want. Coaches at schools claimed to be issuing the offers have no ability to deny, or clarify the status of their interest in the "prospect" - by rule.

So, in the end, the eyeball test, whether from the coaches, or from those attending HS games beomes more highly valued. All the stars, and all the flashy 40-times mean nothing if that WR cannot run routes, block or catch the ball now, do they?

 

[Taosman]

I don't give the "stars" much thought.
I do look at offers.
And I find kids that get offers after camping, interesting and telling.

 

[calibuck]

You can never tell whether a kid has developed early, hence a great HS career, and hence 4-5*'s, or whether a kid has the frame, presence, etc. to BECOME a good/great player. The reference of Zwick and Smith is apt. Justin was all-world coming out of HS, and Smith was not. Both went to elite, but no one, other than OSU and WVU offered Smith as a qb (and that might have been a tad bit of pressure from Ted Ginn Sr).

Potential is what the recruiters pay for. How they determine that is through the college camps, the 'look' test, the way an athlete carries themselves, their police rap sheet. I marvel how Petey (USC) offers all of the 5*'s across teh country - you know that USC does NOT have the ability to scout them all, but maybe he places more faith in the star rating system than most of us do. Don't know, would love to hear other opinions. Tressel & Co offer 3*'s pretty regularly, and 'coach them up' to become All-Americans. Michigan seems to get the 4-5* and coach them down (Notre Domers seem to do this also). Iowa takes the 0*'s and turns them into Big Ten champions. How the kid fits your system, and maybe the intangibles you get sitting across the dining room table from he and his family during a recruiting visit. Quite an art, certainly not a science, methinks. Glad I don't depend on it for a living.

The inference about pimping a kid, or excluding them out to be punished severely. I've seen it, read about it, seen many 5* 'can't miss' guys never see the field. Also a guy puffing himself up on message boards regarding phantom offers from colleges. Yeah, I'll bet a nickel that some of our recruits will have more stars 'in the final analysis' just because OSU thought enough of them to recruit them. Doesn't make sense, but there it is.

Great question..........:gobucks3: :gobucks4: