Will Muschamp on recruiting: 'I could care less what anybody else thinks'
May 24, 2018
Will Muschamp’s disdain for the star rating used by college football recruiting websites is well known. He expanded on his thoughts on the subject this week.
“I have never in my life looked at a star rating. I could care less what anybody else thinks,” Muschamp said. “I don’t care who offers him. None of that matters to me.”
The Gamecocks have finished ranked No. 19, No. 21 and No. 25 in the nation in recruitingin Muschamp’s three recruiting classes at South Carolina, but those rankings are based on the system that Muschamp dismisses.
“Recruiting is not an exact science,” Muschamp said. “I always look at the NFL Draft. In the first round there are 32 picks. How many of them are busts? About 50 percent, and they have unlimited resources for evaluation. They have great film. Some of the film I see looks like it was shot from the back of a pickup truck. (Pro teams) have 50 percent busts, and you’re going to tell me a ranking service is going to tell me how good a player is going to be?”
Muschamp, who has had 11 players drafted in the first two rounds of the last six NFL Drafts, pointed out former Florida defensive lineman Taven Bryan was a two-star recruit before going on to be a first round NFL Draft pick.
“Y’all beat us up when we sign those two-stars. I think he turned out pretty good,” Muschamp said.
Muschamp likes to point out that he was a walk-on at Georgia, where he went on to be a starter and co-captain, but he was being recruited his junior year of high school until he broke his leg during a baseball game. Muschamp’s injury likely cost him initial scholarship offers.
“The recruiting process is really three-pronged,” he said. “It’s the evaluation, it’s the recruitment and it’s the development when they get on campus. That’s how you break it down. Some kids have a desire and work ethic. Some kids lose the love of the game or they don’t have work ethic. They don’t have the work capacity to be successful. Different situations happen.”
May 24, 2018
Will Muschamp’s disdain for the star rating used by college football recruiting websites is well known. He expanded on his thoughts on the subject this week.
“I have never in my life looked at a star rating. I could care less what anybody else thinks,” Muschamp said. “I don’t care who offers him. None of that matters to me.”
The Gamecocks have finished ranked No. 19, No. 21 and No. 25 in the nation in recruitingin Muschamp’s three recruiting classes at South Carolina, but those rankings are based on the system that Muschamp dismisses.
“Recruiting is not an exact science,” Muschamp said. “I always look at the NFL Draft. In the first round there are 32 picks. How many of them are busts? About 50 percent, and they have unlimited resources for evaluation. They have great film. Some of the film I see looks like it was shot from the back of a pickup truck. (Pro teams) have 50 percent busts, and you’re going to tell me a ranking service is going to tell me how good a player is going to be?”
Muschamp, who has had 11 players drafted in the first two rounds of the last six NFL Drafts, pointed out former Florida defensive lineman Taven Bryan was a two-star recruit before going on to be a first round NFL Draft pick.
“Y’all beat us up when we sign those two-stars. I think he turned out pretty good,” Muschamp said.
Muschamp likes to point out that he was a walk-on at Georgia, where he went on to be a starter and co-captain, but he was being recruited his junior year of high school until he broke his leg during a baseball game. Muschamp’s injury likely cost him initial scholarship offers.
“The recruiting process is really three-pronged,” he said. “It’s the evaluation, it’s the recruitment and it’s the development when they get on campus. That’s how you break it down. Some kids have a desire and work ethic. Some kids lose the love of the game or they don’t have work ethic. They don’t have the work capacity to be successful. Different situations happen.”