The SoapBoxers

Top recruit Dorial Green-Beckham. Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Sign On the Dotted Line

The best quote of all time in my opinion can be tied to recruiting. Former Oklahoma Sooner coach Barry Switzer once said. “It’s not about the X’s and the O’s, it’s about the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s. Essentially meaning, I don’t have to be as good of a coach if I have superior talent.

Signing day is over. Now it is time for the chat rooms from all the schools from Oregon to Miami to gripe about the guys that got away (and for Bret Bielema to complain that Urban Meyer is poaching players) , and laud the praises for the recruits that were landed.

Too much time and attention is given by the media, the fans, and the message boards about recruiting classes. Grades are arbitrary. They are handed out based on film, a few people’s opinions, and some tangible measurements such as height, weight, “reported” speed and the like.

5 Star Treatment

Recruits are given a “star” rating by recruiting services. The two most respected are Rivals and Scouts. Both of these services came into prominence for rating football recruits around 2002. Prior to that there were a myriad of services, including a “straw poll” vote from the coaches so to speak. So before 2002 it is tougher to put an exact rating While these for some part are a shot in the dark, it is still likely the best thing out there in helping to determine the viability and talent of the athletes that are being brought into a program.

But it is far from an exact science. Let’s look at the facts from 2011 as an example:

• 47 College Football players at the Division 1 Level were named to one or more of the various “All-American” teams.
• Of those 47 players – 7 were 5 star rated by the recruiting services.
• 18 of the 47 were players that were rated 3 star or lower on the 5 star system

So this would appear on the surface that chasing the “4-star” player lands yours best odds (it is almost half of the total All Americans this year) but what this is really saying is that recruiting is still a crap shoot.

Which Came First?

Often times the more big name schools that get interested in a player, the higher the perceived rating will go as now suddenly there is the logic that “This guy must be good if Alabama, USC, Ohio State, LSU, and Oregon are after him” where if the same player is being chased by schools perceived as not as strong in the football arena they are not likely to get as many stars. You won’t see a 5 star guy being chased by just schools like Toledo, Iowa State and Idaho.

So it begs the question. Does the rating given to an athlete dictate which schools are chasing a player – – or does the schools that are interested in a particular player dictate their “star” rating?

Kind of like asking which came first the chicken or the egg?

What Do The Experts Know?

I recently read an older article on SI.COM ranking the top 15 recruiting classes of all time. As you scroll through the list a number of them won’t surprise you on the surface. The reason they are on this list of the top 15 recruiting classes of all time is that the teams were exceptionally talented and ending up having tremendous success.

While it is now a 2 year old article it points out some interesting teams that had success.

More interesting is that the 1992 class for Nebraska – which is mentioned as basically the top “modern era” football recruiting class of all time was not viewed very highly at all during the time it originally took place. In 1992 the various recruiting services at the time had the Nebraska class as high as 5th best in college that year to a low of 18th best recruiting class. You would think to finish 2nd on an ALL TIME list you would have been a slam dunk #1 ranked recruiting class in 1992.

The recruiting classes in the two year both before and after 1992 were ranked even lower. Nebraska won National Championships in 1994, 1995,and 1997.

Many players that are recruited never pan out. Some get hurt, some don’t adjust to college life well, some are as good as they are ever going to be the day they step on campus, some get in trouble, some can’t make grades.

Just as many are unheralded people that mature and develop well once they enter college, get good coaching and get stronger and faster and more confident.

Recruiting is definitely an inexact science. In the winter months it is yet another thing that keeps us focusing on football….at least until Spring practices begin.

Until next time, stay classy Cibolo, Texas

This story originally ran on December 10, 2010.  It was a very quick story to write – probably 45 minutes from when the idea struck me to when I finished.  I’ve always liked it, so I’m re-running it today.

He lay prone on the ridge above the canyon. He watched as the object of his attention came into view. Muriel was as beautiful as the day he had first seen her. That first day, too, he had watched her from afar. She had laughed melodiously as she chatted with friends. And then the inevitable had happened – the boyfriend had shown up.

The boy’s name was Chet, he had later found out. Chet and Muriel were high school sweethearts, and had remained close through college. They moved away from home, taking new jobs out of state. And this was how Philip had come to see them in the apartment building. After he caught his first glimpse of Muriel, he was in love. He would have to convince Muriel that he, Philip, was her true love – or else.

And, so, on this warm day in June, Philip found himself lying in dew kissed grass, waiting for Muriel to enter the clearing and give him a clear shot.

Philip had needed to go to a friend to get what he had needed for this outing. “This should definitely have the range you need,” his friend had assured him. “You could probably get a squirrel from a mile away with this.”

Philip hefted it as he waited for Muriel. As she closed the distance to the clearing, he picked her up in the scope. He trained the crosshairs on her as she moved between rock formations. The formations gave her ample cover, making a clean shot from this angle impossible.

His mind wandered as he waited for Muriel. In his mind’s eye, he could see himself waking up in the morning and gazing at her sleeping form next to him in a comfortable king size bed. He imagined exploring every curve of her body in the dim light of the rising sun.

Philip realized that he was daydreaming and returned his attention to the figure down in the canyon. Muriel had not only entered the clearing, but was nearly to the other side. If he was going to get off a good shot, he needed to take it now.

Philip focused on the figure of Muriel below. He waited for her to cease movement, and then took his shot.

He cursed as Muriel stooped to pick a wildflower, ducking below the spot where he had aimed. It was a momentary setback. When Muriel stood upright again, Philip took another shot. His aim was true, but Philip took three more shots in rapid succession, just in case the first shot had failed to do the job.

Philip stood upright and shook the dirt from his clothes. He removed the expensive lens from the camera and extracted the memory card. By the time Muriel had returned to the ridge, her husband had already uploaded the stunning morning photos to their web site.

Obama robs Florida McDonald’s at gun point

Obama was recently spotted at a Riviera Beach, Florida McDonald’s. This happened on January 29th, 2012 just after 6:00 am. Barack Obama was seen walking into McDonalds with a chromed semiautomatic handgun displayed. He ordered the employees into an office and ordered them to open the safe. Obama left the restaurant after ordering everyone to stay in the office or he’d kill them. Obama left on foot with nearly $1,000. While this story is true, I left out one detail. The armed robber was actually wearing an Obama mask.

When I read this story I had to laugh just a little at the irony here. It made me wonder if the robber is just a dirt bag thief or was trying to send a message to the American people. I really just chalked him/her up as an idiot thief (because I can’t stand thieves and untrustworthy people). When Kosmo reminded me that I had an article coming up though, I thought about the flip side to that story. What if the thief really was trying to speak to us without words? What would his/her message be?

I believe the message would be one of fiscal nature since the person was stealing money. Obama is also trying to steal our money. Not for his personal financial gain (or is he?) but for the tax coffers of the US Government. Obama is said by some to be a socialist and that really seems true. Build a large government, give the government your money and let the government spend it how it determines best. Remember the Joe the Plumber “event” where the phrase “Spread the wealth around” was coined? That is socialism at its core and in my opinion is nothing short of theft.

I’ve written in the past about Obamacare and what that will do to our taxes. The CBO has told us that the estimates provided don’t make sense; they won’t cover costs and hat it will need to be bailed out by the US People. How does that happen? Taxes need to increase. There probably has been be a time when the government had an excess and they could find that money elsewhere, but that time is NOT now. Charlie Gibson is clearly a liberal reporter and even he understands the issues with this. Why Obama continues to push liberal agendas and tax increases is beyond me. I once had someone tell me that they thought it would be great if everyone would give 100% of their paycheck to the government and then they could let the government provide for them. I have never heard such non-sense and I still don’t understand that thinking today. I don’t understand why anyone would work harder than others, innovate, create, put in long hours and weekends, etc. if they were just going to give all their money to the government. If any of the readers understand this, please explain it to me.

Election News

Romney just won big in Florida taking their 50 votes. We still see Ron Paul and Rick Santorum still going through the motions and trying to win…something. I understand why Newt is still in it, because he may have a chance. Ron Paul and Santorum though…the time has come to hang it up. They stand no chance. I realize that there have only been four “primaries” (quotes due to some being caucuses) but the results and the polls are clear. I would however be interested in knowing if anyone has ever recovered from a similar situation. I suspect that Santorum and Ron Paul will hang on until Super Tuesday (March 6th this year) and then reconsider if their positions haven’t changed. Newt has already indicated that he’s in this for the long haul so we can expect that battle to drag out for quite a while.

True conservatism seems dead.

Squeaky…

Today we sit on the precipice of one of the most hallowed days of the year – Groundhog Day.  It’s your day, Phil.  The world will be watching.

And you better do the right thing.  I know where you live.  Once you come out of your hole, you aren’t going back in.

How can I be so certain?  One word.

Quikrete.

Lots of Quikrete in your hole as soon as you take two steps outside.  You might as well enjoy the sunshine, because you can’t go home again, you little rat.  Not unless bust out the concrete with a jackhammer.

I want my spring, Phil, and I want it now.  If you dare to sic more winter on me, we’ll be having groundhog-ka-bobs for dinner tonight.