Grade the recruiting class

**NewJersey GATA** · 8th February 2018, 03:52 PM

With all things considered, I think this coaching staff did an outstanding job.

As for the future of recruiting, the next step for Southern would be competing in the range of Temple, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Marshall etc. Consistently getting into the top 75 should be our goal as long as the program consistently is winning!

**eagle#58** · 8th February 2018, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by AcctEagle221

Think we did ok at OL, we signed 3. Its unfortunate that we had to go JuCo, but I think we got 2 really good ones there that will buy us time to really evaluate some for next year. H/TE, RB, ILB, and DT would be where I would have added more, but at this point I have to trust that Lundsford knows the roster enough to make those calls.
It will take time for CCL to get us where we need to be, but I hope we can start recruiting some guys well enougb ahead to start getting some early enrollees in the future. The more guys on the spring roster, the better we will be.

I gave the class a A-, mostly due to the outstanding job CCL and his staff did in showing a solid front to recruits and their families along with a great gameplan for getting GS back on track. I'm very happy with the overall class of signees. Not too worried about OL because we already have a metric s*&t-ton of OL on the roster now...I'm just not sure if those guys are really right for us moving forward. The two JuCo guys will give us 2 and 3 years respectively to develop the other talent we have and recruit more. And though we're losing two QBs (and a potential 3rd in Richardson) at the end of 2018, I believe I saw at least two or three of our signees were HS QBs with the size and speed we're looking for, plus a fourth from down the road that could absolutely do in a pinch when he's not punting. As for DL...well...regardless of how well Quin Williams played H-back in HS, I want to see that guy after two years in the weight room as a 6'-4" 270 lb. monster edge rusher. We haven't had a DE like that since I've been hanging 'round the 'boro. If we can put up some good defensive numbers this year, I believe we'll be able to entice a few more good DTs into our next recruiting class.

Is it September yet?

**AppFan82** · 8th February 2018, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by AcctEagle221

Thought to consider with our conference mates who signed full classes early. When players sign with G5s, the grading pretty much stops. Those players could have been adjusted up or down if they continued to get graded, but recruiting services don't care too much about G5 signees. The focus after that point is going to be the remaining guys with P5 offers. Who knows if a class like App would have gone up, down, or stayed the same. I wouldn't write off their class for that very reason. I'm not saying they are intentionally underscoring G5 guys. Im just saying all of the interest is going to be in the P5 guys.

That sounds like a fair assessment. I've never put much stock in a kid's stars, particularly the guys who end up as late season 3's or 2's. Time and coaching will tell how well they do at the next level. As much as I love to hate GS, it was fun to see all the excitement over your recruiting class yesterday. For now, I'll just trust that our coaches can get some quality football out of the 7th ranked class in one of the lowest ranked conferences. 204 days to kick off.

**GSU08** · 8th February 2018, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by AppFan82

That sounds like a fair assessment. I've never put much stock in a kid's stars, particularly the guys who end up as late season 3's or 2's. Time and coaching will tell how well they do at the next level. As much as I love to hate GS, it was fun to see all the excitement over your recruiting class yesterday. For now, I'll just trust that our coaches can get some quality football out of the 7th ranked class in one of the lowest ranked conferences. 204 days to kick off.

You guys are very much the outlier when it comes to recruiting and outcome though.tou guys have also had a much more stable coaching staff than most g5 programs, which can greatly help overcome recruiting.

**Eskimojoe** · 8th February 2018, 10:58 PM

I’m worried about the lack of QBs we are signing and flipping them to other positions. That was our recruiting hallmark for years.

**TCM** · 9th February 2018, 08:46 AM

I gave this class an A. When you look at our W-L record the past two years, making a coaching change, hiring a new staff and early signing date I think this staff did an outstanding job. Looking for our recruiting to improve considerably going forward with this staff in place. Of course we will see how strong this class turns out to be in a couple of years.

**BillyBob** · 9th February 2018, 09:44 AM

If you went less than an A-, I'd like to know what you're reasoning is. Is it because you think we ought to have top 50 classes or don't think we addressed a particular need?

I'm not particularly worried about a lot of the "two-star" guys. We always get more from them than anyone else, and we'll keep doing that in this class and have some great more coveted players on top of that.

**GSU2011fan** · 9th February 2018, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by eagle#58

I gave the class a A-, mostly due to the outstanding job CCL and his staff did in showing a solid front to recruits and their families along with a great gameplan for getting GS back on track. I'm very happy with the overall class of signees. Not too worried about OL because we already have a metric s*&t-ton of OL on the roster now...I'm just not sure if those guys are really right for us moving forward. The two JuCo guys will give us 2 and 3 years respectively to develop the other talent we have and recruit more. And though we're losing two QBs (and a potential 3rd in Richardson) at the end of 2018, I believe I saw at least two or three of our signees were HS QBs with the size and speed we're looking for, plus a fourth from down the road that could absolutely do in a pinch when he's not punting. As for DL...well...regardless of how well Quin Williams played H-back in HS, I want to see that guy after two years in the weight room as a 6'-4" 270 lb. monster edge rusher. We haven't had a DE like that since I've been hanging 'round the 'boro. If we can put up some good defensive numbers this year, I believe we'll be able to entice a few more good DTs into our next recruiting class.

Is it September yet?

Why not have Williams at LB? I think having a guy so highly rated there would be huge. We need some nice size and speed back there.

**Indy** · 9th February 2018, 09:54 AM

So for all you guys that are giving the class an A, does that mean you think this is as good as it can be, or are you just grading on the curve? I'm not being critical, but an A+ is as good as it gets and I don't think that's the case. I think we can get to the mid 60's overall, so with that in mind I think this is a solid C on my scale. I'm glad we have bounced back, but not where I think we can get to.

**eaglewraith** · 9th February 2018, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Indy

So for all you guys that are giving the class an A, does that mean you think this is as good as it can be, or are you just grading on the curve? I'm not being critical, but an A+ is as good as it gets and I don't think that's the case. I think we can get to the mid 60's overall, so with that in mind I think this is a solid C on my scale. I'm glad we have bounced back, but not where I think we can get to.

They're giving an A+ based on the situation of where we are at this moment and how the staff performed.

A class ranked this low nationally next year would not get the same rating, but then again we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now.

Eventually we should get to where we have an expectation of what our recruiting classes should look like. We were headed that way before the unmitigated disaster we just went through. We had to reset, and as part of that you have to reset how you evaluate things.