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Ranking the FCS Recruiting classes

marceagfan5

Well-known member
Hero Sports had a nice article where they tried to rank the FCS classes, tough to gauge at this level but it appears it was well thought out. They only listed the top 30 and the Big Sky schools were ranked as follows:

4. MONTANA

THE SKINNY: As we pointed out in our article yesterday proclaiming the Grizzlies the Big Sky recruiting champion, the offensive linemen are the gleaming bright spot in what is an outstanding group of 22 freshmen (8 of the class of 30 are transfers). Along the with the above mentioned linemen, there's also 6-foot-7, 330-pound Oklahoma native Brandon Scott coming aboard, along with OT Conlan Beaver out of Virginia. This is the best O-line group in the nation, edging out North Dakota State's impressive group. Coach Bob Stitt and his staff packed the Griz class to the gills with impressive players--mining the state of Arizona particularly well.

15. EWU

QB signee Eric Barriere is slippery, fast and just flat out incredible. Add in a humble demeanor and leadership skills, and he's the total package. The offense was definitely a focus this year, and a great group of O-linemen are coming in, headed up by Jake Blackburn and Conner Crist

17. UC DAVIS

Last year's 2-9 finish is in the past and this recruiting class proved it. With one of the nation's most surprising recruiting finishes, UC Davis coach Ron Gould and his staff added studs like sackmaster DE Brandon Jamison and sure-handed TE Christian Skeptaris.

22. PORTLAND STATE


Following up a 2015 dream season, head coach Bruce Barnum was able to add some quality to the roster, starting with one of the top overall FCS recruits in the country in 6-foot-7 O-lineman Moustapha Toure. QB Davis Alexander is also a born leader and put up massive numbers in high school.

27. UND

The Fighting Hawks were spurned by the FCS Playoff system last year, but they certainly weren't spurned by the recruiting gods. With DBs being an emphasis, landing Evan Holm out of Minnesota was a huge victory. This program and this class are hungry. And mad.

29. NAU

The Lumberjacks did well in-state and O-lineman Steven Bailey is the cream of the in-state crop out of Litchfield Park (Ariz.). This is clearly one of the Big Sky's top groups in a conference that did well this week.


NDSU was ranked #1
 
marceagfan5 said:
Hero Sports had a nice article where they tried to rank the FCS classes, tough to gauge at this level but it appears it was well thought out. They only listed the top 30 and the Big Sky schools were ranked as follows:

4. MONTANA

THE SKINNY: As we pointed out in our article yesterday proclaiming the Grizzlies the Big Sky recruiting champion, the offensive linemen are the gleaming bright spot in what is an outstanding group of 22 freshmen (8 of the class of 30 are transfers). Along the with the above mentioned linemen, there's also 6-foot-7, 330-pound Oklahoma native Brandon Scott coming aboard, along with OT Conlan Beaver out of Virginia. This is the best O-line group in the nation, edging out North Dakota State's impressive group. Coach Bob Stitt and his staff packed the Griz class to the gills with impressive players--mining the state of Arizona particularly well.

15. EWU

QB signee Eric Barriere is slippery, fast and just flat out incredible. Add in a humble demeanor and leadership skills, and he's the total package. The offense was definitely a focus this year, and a great group of O-linemen are coming in, headed up by Jake Blackburn and Conner Crist

17. UC DAVIS

Last year's 2-9 finish is in the past and this recruiting class proved it. With one of the nation's most surprising recruiting finishes, UC Davis coach Ron Gould and his staff added studs like sackmaster DE Brandon Jamison and sure-handed TE Christian Skeptaris.

22. PORTLAND STATE


Following up a 2015 dream season, head coach Bruce Barnum was able to add some quality to the roster, starting with one of the top overall FCS recruits in the country in 6-foot-7 O-lineman Moustapha Toure. QB Davis Alexander is also a born leader and put up massive numbers in high school.

27. UND

The Fighting Hawks were spurned by the FCS Playoff system last year, but they certainly weren't spurned by the recruiting gods. With DBs being an emphasis, landing Evan Holm out of Minnesota was a huge victory. This program and this class are hungry. And mad.

29. NAU

The Lumberjacks did well in-state and O-lineman Steven Bailey is the cream of the in-state crop out of Litchfield Park (Ariz.). This is clearly one of the Big Sky's top groups in a conference that did well this week.


NDSU was ranked #1

But that can't be possible... Bozeman State won the state in recruiting this year and they're not even in the top 30?! :eek: :lol:
 
I think NAU would have the 2nd best class if they didn't lose QB Jack Smith who is going to sign with Arizona State to play safety. I think UC Davis has the 2nd best class, but we've heard that before....
 
My rankings

Big Sky recruiting class rankings:

1) Montana - quality and quantity; added in transfers for much needed depth at each spot; so many playmakers on offense; the Griz definitely got better

2) EWU - added more offensive firepower at every level; I still just don't know what their plan is on defense

3) UC-Davis - came out of nowhere with a great class; their QB recruit was big time along with a 3-star receiver and defensive end along with several other two-star recruits on each side of the ball; good for the Aggies

4) NAU - added a lot of offensive talent and a whole lot of secondary players; very good spread out class

5) MSU - the quality of the out-of-state kids (8/9 were star rated), especially the transfers, helped this ranking along with the Montana kids; the Cats still have scholarships left so this class isn't done yet

6) PSU - plenty of talent on the offensive side led by a three-star offensive line recruit and QB; Barnum has changed that program

7) Cal Poly - added a lot of talent on the defensive side which they needed

8) UND - beefed up offensive line and receiving corps; I guess I'm just not as high on this class on their defensive recruits

9) UNC - Class was highlighted by three 3-star recruits on offense...that was about it

10) Sac State - definitely got some difference makers on both sides of the ball; got bigger on the lines

11) Weber State - got some really high quality defensive recruits, especially on the defensive line

12) Southern Utah - loaded up on defensive side of the ball but not a lot of star rankings; I don't know I just didn't see this class as being great, especially after winning the conference

13) Idaho State - I don't know I just didn't see a ton of quality here; got a few stud defensive players
 
marceagfan5 said:
Hero Sports had a nice article where they tried to rank the FCS classes, tough to gauge at this level but it appears it was well thought out. They only listed the top 30 and the Big Sky schools were ranked as follows:

4. MONTANA

THE SKINNY: As we pointed out in our article yesterday proclaiming the Grizzlies the Big Sky recruiting champion, the offensive linemen are the gleaming bright spot in what is an outstanding group of 22 freshmen (8 of the class of 30 are transfers). Along the with the above mentioned linemen, there's also 6-foot-7, 330-pound Oklahoma native Brandon Scott coming aboard, along with OT Conlan Beaver out of Virginia. This is the best O-line group in the nation, edging out North Dakota State's impressive group. Coach Bob Stitt and his staff packed the Griz class to the gills with impressive players--mining the state of Arizona particularly well.

15. EWU

QB signee Eric Barriere is slippery, fast and just flat out incredible. Add in a humble demeanor and leadership skills, and he's the total package. The offense was definitely a focus this year, and a great group of O-linemen are coming in, headed up by Jake Blackburn and Conner Crist

17. UC DAVIS

Last year's 2-9 finish is in the past and this recruiting class proved it. With one of the nation's most surprising recruiting finishes, UC Davis coach Ron Gould and his staff added studs like sackmaster DE Brandon Jamison and sure-handed TE Christian Skeptaris.

22. PORTLAND STATE


Following up a 2015 dream season, head coach Bruce Barnum was able to add some quality to the roster, starting with one of the top overall FCS recruits in the country in 6-foot-7 O-lineman Moustapha Toure. QB Davis Alexander is also a born leader and put up massive numbers in high school.

27. UND

The Fighting Hawks were spurned by the FCS Playoff system last year, but they certainly weren't spurned by the recruiting gods. With DBs being an emphasis, landing Evan Holm out of Minnesota was a huge victory. This program and this class are hungry. And mad.

29. NAU

The Lumberjacks did well in-state and O-lineman Steven Bailey is the cream of the in-state crop out of Litchfield Park (Ariz.). This is clearly one of the Big Sky's top groups in a conference that did well this week.


NDSU was ranked #1


Just what the GRIZ need, EWU having another stud athletic QB!!!! How in the hell do they do it with QB's and WR's there? Imagine what they could do, if they had a better place.
 
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.
 
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.
Here you go....... http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-Sky

This is a composite ranking from all the recruiting sites. UM #1 by a huge margin over #2
 
WaGriz4life said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.
Here you go....... http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-Sky

This is a composite ranking from all the recruiting sites. UM #1 by a huge margin over #2

I wouldn't trust 247sports, they only have about 1/3 of the actual recruits listed for each team, including UM...
 
WaGriz4life said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.
Here you go....... http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-Sky

This is a composite ranking from all the recruiting sites. UM #1 by a huge margin over #2

Yeah but that list only includes 5 Montana players and 5 Montana State players. The Griz had more kids with star rankings as did the Cats. NAU is over-ranked and EWU is under-ranked according to that list. My list would be a true composite list. I'm working on it.

I'm glad they do a composite ranking but the list doesn't even do the Griz justice along with other Big Sky teams.
 
mtgrizrule said:
marceagfan5 said:
Hero Sports had a nice article where they tried to rank the FCS classes, tough to gauge at this level but it appears it was well thought out. They only listed the top 30 and the Big Sky schools were ranked as follows:

4. MONTANA

THE SKINNY: As we pointed out in our article yesterday proclaiming the Grizzlies the Big Sky recruiting champion, the offensive linemen are the gleaming bright spot in what is an outstanding group of 22 freshmen (8 of the class of 30 are transfers). Along the with the above mentioned linemen, there's also 6-foot-7, 330-pound Oklahoma native Brandon Scott coming aboard, along with OT Conlan Beaver out of Virginia. This is the best O-line group in the nation, edging out North Dakota State's impressive group. Coach Bob Stitt and his staff packed the Griz class to the gills with impressive players--mining the state of Arizona particularly well.

15. EWU

QB signee Eric Barriere is slippery, fast and just flat out incredible. Add in a humble demeanor and leadership skills, and he's the total package. The offense was definitely a focus this year, and a great group of O-linemen are coming in, headed up by Jake Blackburn and Conner Crist

17. UC DAVIS

Last year's 2-9 finish is in the past and this recruiting class proved it. With one of the nation's most surprising recruiting finishes, UC Davis coach Ron Gould and his staff added studs like sackmaster DE Brandon Jamison and sure-handed TE Christian Skeptaris.

22. PORTLAND STATE


Following up a 2015 dream season, head coach Bruce Barnum was able to add some quality to the roster, starting with one of the top overall FCS recruits in the country in 6-foot-7 O-lineman Moustapha Toure. QB Davis Alexander is also a born leader and put up massive numbers in high school.

27. UND

The Fighting Hawks were spurned by the FCS Playoff system last year, but they certainly weren't spurned by the recruiting gods. With DBs being an emphasis, landing Evan Holm out of Minnesota was a huge victory. This program and this class are hungry. And mad.

29. NAU

The Lumberjacks did well in-state and O-lineman Steven Bailey is the cream of the in-state crop out of Litchfield Park (Ariz.). This is clearly one of the Big Sky's top groups in a conference that did well this week.


NDSU was ranked #1


Just what the GRIZ need, EWU having another stud athletic QB!!!! How in the hell do they do it with QB's and WR's there? Imagine what they could do, if they had a better place.

Eastern does a great job at Signing and developing QB's and WR's. Having the history they do and the fact that Myers, Nichols, Mitchell, and soon to be Adams are all playing professional in some capacity still today really helps. Eastern is fine for the next few years on offense, its the other side of the ball that needs some work...
 
VimSince03 said:
WaGriz4life said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.
Here you go....... http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=Big-Sky

This is a composite ranking from all the recruiting sites. UM #1 by a huge margin over #2

Yeah but that list only includes 5 Montana players and 5 Montana State players. The Griz had more kids with star rankings as did the Cats. NAU is over-ranked and EWU is under-ranked according to that list. My list would be a true composite list. I'm working on it.

I'm glad they do a composite ranking but the list doesn't even do the Griz justice along with other Big Sky teams.

Also notice that the 247 listing doesn't include UC Davis, which if you look them up separately is higher ranked than any other Big Sky team based on their metrics.
 
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.

Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!
 
go96griz said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.

Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!

Yup I'm building it...hang tight guys!
 
WaGriz4life said:
I think NAU would have the 2nd best class if they didn't lose QB Jack Smith who is going to sign with Arizona State to play safety. I think UC Davis has the 2nd best class, but we've heard that before....

Drat.
 
VimSince03 said:
go96griz said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.

Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!

Yup I'm building it...hang tight guys!
I would definitely challenge the value of the two transfers MSU got that were 4 star ranked. If they were truly 4 star athletes they would be on the field playing for FBS team and have no reason to leave or if not playing much, the kid was over ranked (star) to begin with or you would have to assume has some baggage, didn't work hard etc.
 
NativeGriz said:
VimSince03 said:
go96griz said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.

Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!

Yup I'm building it...hang tight guys!
I would definitely challenge the value of the two transfers MSU got that were 4 star ranked. If they were truly 4 star athletes they would be on the field playing for FBS team and have no reason to leave or if not playing much, the kid was over ranked (star) to begin with or you would have to assume has some baggage, didn't work hard etc.

I would think that's a pretty fair statement regarding Bruggman. He's bounced around for a few years and really only saw the field last year and didn't really put up that great of numbers. However, with Hale, I would say he's the real deal four-star recruit. The dude started at Washington as a true freshman and played pretty well until getting kicked off the team. He was one of the top cornerbacks from his class in the entire nation
 
NativeGriz said:
VimSince03 said:
go96griz said:
VimSince03 said:
How would the rest of you rank the classes? I mean I know MSU is the last ranked all-time in the history of classes ever but do you guys want me to take the time and look up the number of star-ranked players for each class? Would any of you be interested in reading that data? What I would do is just take the highest rating from the three main sites (Scout, Rivals, 247). For example, Ashton Torres is a 2-star on Scout and a 3-star on Rivals so I would say he is a 3-star. My belief is star's don't matter but I know some like to see the data. Taking a quick look, UM and EWU got the most.

Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!

Yup I'm building it...hang tight guys!
I would definitely challenge the value of the two transfers MSU got that were 4 star ranked. If they were truly 4 star athletes they would be on the field playing for FBS team and have no reason to leave or if not playing much, the kid was over ranked (star) to begin with or you would have to assume has some baggage, didn't work hard etc.

I could also challenge the value of every star ranking of every player recruited in the Big Sky this year but I won't because that isn't the point of me doing this report. Believe what you want but they received the ranking out of high school and that's all I can really go off of.

Hale's play on the field was never the problem. When you start as a freshman at UW in the secondary, you aren't overrated. He had personal family issues he needed to take care of and he, thus far, has done just that. We will see.

As far as Bruggman, this post basically lines out what happened with him: "I have a friend who is an Alpha Cougar....a travel with the team or top booster flight Cougar. I recall how excited he was when they originally signed Bruggman. I called and talked to him when Bruggman was signed to see what he knew. He had nothing bad to say. He just said Bruggman arrived in Pullman ready to be the quarterback. Connor Halliday (another highly ranked QB) got hot and won the job. After Halliday, the job came down to a heavy battle between Luke Falk and Bruggman. Falk got the job. Sort of like Prukop-Bleskin. Bruggman wanted to play football, and having been very heavily recruited by Louisville, transferred. He was back in another battle and came up short a second time to another highly-ranked high school recruit. So what's going on in the mind of the kid at this point.... He lost the job, at a very young age at both his first and second choice schools, and now he's a second stringer at his second choice as a sophomore. So he goes home....he wants to play. And he does...comes back at a local JC....shakes off the rust and rewinds things to some extent. I like him because Choate likes him. Coach Choate knew him first time around and is the best position to tell if the kid is screwed up. Apparently he isn't. The exact opposite. So I don't view him as "damaged goods", being a second string quarterback as a freshman/sophomore at two pretty good FBS football schools. My friend told me what I think I already knew. Mike Leach has one of the most complicated offenses in all of NCAA and it can take a long time to learn and be productive. He thinks Bruggman can excel in another offense."

Regardless, MSU's redshirt freshman Jordan Hoy will give Bruggman all he can handle in the QB competition this spring. We will see if his "star" ranking matches up sooner than later.
 
HookedonGriz said:
NativeGriz said:
VimSince03 said:
go96griz said:
Yes, would love to see this. Thanks for all your great information!

Yup I'm building it...hang tight guys!
I would definitely challenge the value of the two transfers MSU got that were 4 star ranked. If they were truly 4 star athletes they would be on the field playing for FBS team and have no reason to leave or if not playing much, the kid was over ranked (star) to begin with or you would have to assume has some baggage, didn't work hard etc.

I would think that's a pretty fair statement regarding Bruggman. He's bounced around for a few years and really only saw the field last year and didn't really put up that great of numbers. However, with Hale, I would say he's the real deal four-star recruit. The dude started at Washington as a true freshman and played pretty well until getting kicked off the team. He was one of the top cornerbacks from his class in the entire nation

And it's all irelevant anyways...just proof the whole "star" system is an extremely in exact science.
 
AZGrizFan said:
And it's all irelevant anyways...just proof the whole "star" system is an extremely in exact science.

Totally agree with you. Vernon Adams was a no-Star recruit coming out of High School. So was Cooper Kupp. Matt Nichols played at a really small program and barely got any recruiting attention. Same is true of JC Sherritt and Greg Peach. I'm sure Montana has tons of examples of the same.

In reference to how the recruiting services rate different players - I think a lot of it has to do with the visibility of the program that the kid plays in. All of the 3-Stars that Eastern signed this year played in bigger programs. You can make the argument that the kids that play in those programs face stiffer competition, and thus, should get rated higher right off the bat - but I think there's a ton of kids that play at smaller programs that are equally as good but just don't get the exposure.

I think the whole "Star" system is a best guess at a kid's raw potential, but as we all know, it probably doesn't totally account for football IQ, work ethic, and how a player will develop over time. On paper, Eastern has maybe the best class in the history of the program...but I don't put too much stock into how many 3 or 2 Star players were signed. I don't think Baldwin does, either. More likely these kids show up to fall camp and learn very quickly that the coaches don't care who RIvals or Scout say they are.

Only the fans were seeing stars

While fans were reveling in the number of highly touted recruits in EWU’s class, Baldwin and the coaches barely noticed.

“We’ve never bought much into that,” Baldwin said. “Obviously you make note of it on this day and say, ‘We signed this two-star guy, because fans like it.”

Baldwin added that his coaches focus on “how an athlete looks on film, what the product is and meeting the young man in person.”

The Eagles signed a trio of three-star players, as rated by Scout.com and Rivals.com. They include quarterback Eric Barriere, running back Antoine Custer and offensive lineman Conner Crist. Five other EWU signees merited two stars.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2016/feb/04/ewu-football-signings-day-after/
 
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