National Signing Day for South Carolina is successful if …
Jan. 30, 2017
South Carolina fans, if you don’t give a hoot about star ratings and prospect rankings on National Signing Day, you’ve come to the right place.
Well, not quite yet. Just wait a second, if you could. We’ll get there shortly.
Believe it or not, there is some value in quantifying which of the best high school football players have a chance to be the best college football players. Clemson and Alabama didn’t just luck into consecutive national championship games.
Both teams had talent, and lots of it.
Look at some of the major players for the Tigers: Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams, Ben Boulware … everybody but Hunter Renfrow.
Williams and Boulware were both 4-star prospects in the 2013 haul. Williams was the No. 35-ranked wide receiver and Boulware was the eighth-best inside linebacker. Watson, a 4-star recruit in the next cycle, was the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country.
The Tide’s top guys: Middle linebacker Reuben Foster, tight end O.J. Howard and running back Bo Scarbrough were all 5-star recruits. Foster and Howard were the top-ranked players at their respective positions in 2013. Scarbrough was the No. 2-ranked running back the following cycle.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The 2017 South Carolina class doesn’t have to play in consecutive national title games to be labeled a success. At least, not from this perspective.
However, four or five years from now, if we’re looking at a program that’s in the 10-win ballpark and competing for a spot in the SEC title game, then we’re talking.
To get a true sense of how good a signing class is, results on the field need to be more heavily weighted. Right now, they’re not weighted at all.
When South Carolina was winning 10 games a season with Connor Shaw, Marcus Lattimore, Jadeveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore, Gamecocks coaches were winning with relatively strong signing classes. From 2009-11, when all four were signed, on average, their classes were ranked 19th in the country.
Over the next three recruiting cycles (’12, ’13, ’14) South Carolina’s classes finished 17th, 20th and 19th. But that success hasn’t translated to as many wins on the field.
During the Shaw, Lattimore, Clowney and Gilmore heyday, South Carolina regularly topped the 10-win mark (’11, ’12, ’13).
Since 2014, the Gamecocks have won 16 games.
Stars matter, but doing something with them — winning games, competing for the division title, leaving a positive mark on the field — that’s where the stars are really counted.
SECCOUNTRY
Jan. 30, 2017
South Carolina fans, if you don’t give a hoot about star ratings and prospect rankings on National Signing Day, you’ve come to the right place.
Well, not quite yet. Just wait a second, if you could. We’ll get there shortly.
Believe it or not, there is some value in quantifying which of the best high school football players have a chance to be the best college football players. Clemson and Alabama didn’t just luck into consecutive national championship games.
Both teams had talent, and lots of it.
Look at some of the major players for the Tigers: Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams, Ben Boulware … everybody but Hunter Renfrow.
Williams and Boulware were both 4-star prospects in the 2013 haul. Williams was the No. 35-ranked wide receiver and Boulware was the eighth-best inside linebacker. Watson, a 4-star recruit in the next cycle, was the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country.
The Tide’s top guys: Middle linebacker Reuben Foster, tight end O.J. Howard and running back Bo Scarbrough were all 5-star recruits. Foster and Howard were the top-ranked players at their respective positions in 2013. Scarbrough was the No. 2-ranked running back the following cycle.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The 2017 South Carolina class doesn’t have to play in consecutive national title games to be labeled a success. At least, not from this perspective.
However, four or five years from now, if we’re looking at a program that’s in the 10-win ballpark and competing for a spot in the SEC title game, then we’re talking.
To get a true sense of how good a signing class is, results on the field need to be more heavily weighted. Right now, they’re not weighted at all.
When South Carolina was winning 10 games a season with Connor Shaw, Marcus Lattimore, Jadeveon Clowney and Stephon Gilmore, Gamecocks coaches were winning with relatively strong signing classes. From 2009-11, when all four were signed, on average, their classes were ranked 19th in the country.
Over the next three recruiting cycles (’12, ’13, ’14) South Carolina’s classes finished 17th, 20th and 19th. But that success hasn’t translated to as many wins on the field.
During the Shaw, Lattimore, Clowney and Gilmore heyday, South Carolina regularly topped the 10-win mark (’11, ’12, ’13).
Since 2014, the Gamecocks have won 16 games.
Stars matter, but doing something with them — winning games, competing for the division title, leaving a positive mark on the field — that’s where the stars are really counted.
SECCOUNTRY
