An interesting comparison of recruiting classes / rankings
I was looking back through the last decade of SC's recruiting classes and noticed something interesting I wanted to share.
It's pretty well understood that our 2009 and 2010 classes are the main ones that turned around the SOS era and laid the foundation for our sustained success over the next 5-6 seasons.
However, those classes were viewed strikingly differently by recruiting services. Below, I've listed the difference-makers/heavy contributors to our 5-6 year run of success that we signed in each class... can you guess which class was rated higher just by looking at these players?
2009:
Stephon Gilmore
DeVonte Holloman
Alshon Jeffery
Chaz Sutton
DJ Swearinger
Jimmy Legree
Rokevious Watkins
2010:
Marcus Lattimore
AJ Cann
Victor Hampton
Connor Shaw
Ace Sanders
Nicky Jones
Ronald Patrick
Cody Gibson
Corey Robinson
JT Surratt
Dylan Thompson
Byron Jerideau
As you can see, both classes were loaded with players that played a huge role in our 5-6 year run and both had elite, top-end, generational talents (Marcus, Gilmore, Alshon)....BUT... that 2009 class was ranked 14th overall, whereas the 2010 class was ranked 34th!!
You could make a very convincing argument that the 2010 class had more of the pieces that contributed to our 5-6 yr dominance than the 2009 class, esp. when you consider the position they played and the relative impact those positions have on the outcome of a game. In 2010 we had, arguably, the greatest RB talent the school had ever signed (and who made an immediate impact) and also two QBs that would go on to be the winningest in school history and throw for the most yards in a season, respectively, in Connor and Dylan. There is also plenty of NFL talent strewn about both classes, including Rok Watkins who was a Composite TWO STAR.
I typically drive the bus for the Blue Chip Ratio, and this doesn't change that... you still need to have a certain ratio of BC talent on your roster to contend for a title; something Carolina has not yet achieved (and didn't even during our 5-6 yr stretch), but this above comparison just goes to show that two classes that are perceived significantly differently in the recruiting industry can actually be strikingly similar and contribute just as heavily to a program's success.
I was looking back through the last decade of SC's recruiting classes and noticed something interesting I wanted to share.
It's pretty well understood that our 2009 and 2010 classes are the main ones that turned around the SOS era and laid the foundation for our sustained success over the next 5-6 seasons.
However, those classes were viewed strikingly differently by recruiting services. Below, I've listed the difference-makers/heavy contributors to our 5-6 year run of success that we signed in each class... can you guess which class was rated higher just by looking at these players?
2009:
Stephon Gilmore
DeVonte Holloman
Alshon Jeffery
Chaz Sutton
DJ Swearinger
Jimmy Legree
Rokevious Watkins
2010:
Marcus Lattimore
AJ Cann
Victor Hampton
Connor Shaw
Ace Sanders
Nicky Jones
Ronald Patrick
Cody Gibson
Corey Robinson
JT Surratt
Dylan Thompson
Byron Jerideau
As you can see, both classes were loaded with players that played a huge role in our 5-6 year run and both had elite, top-end, generational talents (Marcus, Gilmore, Alshon)....BUT... that 2009 class was ranked 14th overall, whereas the 2010 class was ranked 34th!!
You could make a very convincing argument that the 2010 class had more of the pieces that contributed to our 5-6 yr dominance than the 2009 class, esp. when you consider the position they played and the relative impact those positions have on the outcome of a game. In 2010 we had, arguably, the greatest RB talent the school had ever signed (and who made an immediate impact) and also two QBs that would go on to be the winningest in school history and throw for the most yards in a season, respectively, in Connor and Dylan. There is also plenty of NFL talent strewn about both classes, including Rok Watkins who was a Composite TWO STAR.
I typically drive the bus for the Blue Chip Ratio, and this doesn't change that... you still need to have a certain ratio of BC talent on your roster to contend for a title; something Carolina has not yet achieved (and didn't even during our 5-6 yr stretch), but this above comparison just goes to show that two classes that are perceived significantly differently in the recruiting industry can actually be strikingly similar and contribute just as heavily to a program's success.