2022 #1 K (Kohls) Alex McPhearson Commits To Auburn

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

43 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said:

It's been this way forever and it irritates me. The number 1 rated place kicker in the country is a 3 star. That sooo does not make sense when it comes to winning football games. Same with punters. A great punter turns the field. around. So, I may be wrong but I assume Alex will be the placekicker and we have someone else punt, even though he can punt really well. I've seen too often when a kickers leg gets tired towards the end of the year and doing both may cause this to happen.

I agree. Daniel Carlson is the all time SEC leading scorer. I get that rankings are based off of NFL projections, but kickers are important in the NFL as well. 

[Rednilla 5,390]

10 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

I agree. Daniel Carlson is the all time SEC leading scorer. I get that rankings are based off of NFL projections, but kickers are important in the NFL as well. 

What I think he's getting at is that because the career of a good kicker generally lasts 20+ years, and because there's not really any need for a backup kicker, that means there are only 32 slots, so far less kickers make the pros than players of other positions.

[WFE12 9,191]

5 hours ago, bigbird said:

Was that in regards to his, "ball over brand" tweet?

Not sure about that

[AUBwins 10,075]

Our kicking recruiting is exactly how it’s done. Get the top guy, let him show out for 2-3 years and get the top guy replacement to learn a year or two. Then repeat cycle. Now if only we could accomplish that everywhere.

[cbo 7,836]

Love this so much. I'll never understand why so many undervalue a great kicker. Very glad to see that the new regime does not. 

[DAG 33,979]

This is probably one of the most valued recruits we will have over the next 3-4 years

[SumterAubie 3,031]

[AUpreacherman22 3,885]

Kicker U continues….

War Eagle!!!!

[Beaker 2,457]

Just like this someone  said,  "after McPhearson commits, the dominoes will start falling."

 

I guess they were right!

 

[aubiefifty 16,761]

is this kid the one legged kicker i keep hearing about?

[ken woolley 37]

aubiefifty, I have heard that he kicks with only one leg.  Unbelievable I know.

[JFDTiger80 790]

On 7/7/2021 at 4:11 PM, McLoofus said:

Recruiting sites base their rankings on projected NFL viability, because it's the least subjective way for them to measure the accuracy of their ratings. NFL teams usually only carry one kicker and one punter, and their careers can last eons. So there are very, very few openings for college kickers or punters in any given year, and therefore not much chance of even a "5* kicker" making it to the next level. (The fact that our last two guys made it is beyond remarkable.)

That is a bullcrap way of rating HS players. This rating should be based on what they will do at the College/University level, not the pro level. That is was NFL draft ratings are for. 

[AUApostle 7,651]

12 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said:

That is a bullcrap way of rating HS players. This rating should be based on what they will do at the College/University level, not the pro level. That is was NFL draft ratings are for. 

It shouldn't be that hard:

5 star: All American potential

4 star: Major All conference potential

3 star: Multiyear starter on a major conference team

2 star: Career backup

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, JFDTiger80 said:

That is a bullcrap way of rating HS players. This rating should be based on what they will do at the College/University level, not the pro level. That is was NFL draft ratings are for. 

Too much uncertainty in college. Darius Slayton was a legitimate 4* WR, but was he allowed to produce like one in the offense he played in?? Nope. But the NFL found him, so the ranking was accurate.

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Best HS kicker in the country and has a low star ranking.  As important as kickers are to a teams success I find it hard to believe that all kickers get a low ranking. I would think ranking would reflect how good a person is by the position they play. So many games are won and lost by kickers it is unrealistic to think they are not important. Saban learned that the hard way.

[McLoofus 35,182]

17 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Best HS kicker in the country and has a low star ranking.  As important as kickers are to a teams success I find it hard to believe that all kickers get a low ranking. I would think ranking would reflect how good a person is by the position they play. So many games are won and lost by kickers it is unrealistic to think they are not important. Saban learned that the hard way.

Explained this earlier in the thread. Star rankings are tied directly to NFL potential. Kickers have extremely low chances of making it to the NFL. Only 32 spots total and many of them stay in the league for a very long time, so new openings for rookies are hard to come by. 

One can complain about recruiting services basing their evaluations on NFL potential, but there's not really a more objective way to do it or to gauge the accuracy of their evaluations. College production and accolades are too heavily tied to circumstances beyond a player's control.

For example, how often is a bama kicker called upon to win a game and how often do they need to attempt 50+ yarders? Whereas Auburn kickers have to do it all the time, lol. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

Explained this earlier in the thread. Star rankings are tied directly to NFL potential. Kickers have extremely low chances of making it to the NFL. Only 32 spots total and many of them stay in the league for a very long time, so new openings for rookies are hard to come by. 

One can complain about recruiting services basing their evaluations on NFL potential, but there's not really a more objective way to do it or to gauge the accuracy of their evaluations. College production and accolades are too heavily tied to circumstances beyond a player's control.

For example, how often is a bama kicker called upon to win a game and how often do they need to attempt 50+ yarders? Whereas Auburn kickers have to do it all the time, lol. 

Great points. I realized that it was based on NFL Potential but I still think that Kickers and Punters are unique and should be rated differently as they can have a huge impact on winning or losing a game. A Punter who can change field position or start opposing team inside the 10 or a kicker who can make a winning kick when the game is on the line is important.  Rating services needs to evolve, not just on kickers and punters but transfer portal players need to be included in class rankings.  

[fredst 9,064]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

One can complain about recruiting services basing their evaluations on NFL potential, but there's not really a more objective way to do it or to gauge the accuracy of their evaluations. College production and accolades are too heavily tied to circumstances beyond a player's control.

If we are talking about HS players it seems like their *college* potential would be the way to rate them since very few period are going to make it to the NFL. A lot of really good, highly productive college players never move on to the next level, especially kickers. But, ultimately as long as everyone understands why players get rated the way they do what does it matter? Another reason to not obsess over player rankings so much IMO

Edited July 29, 2021 by fredst

[toddc 13,194]

1 hour ago, fredst said:

If we are talking about HS players it seems like their *college* potential would be the way to rate them since very few period are going to make it to the NFL. A lot of really good, highly productive college players never move on to the next level, especially kickers. But, ultimately as long as everyone understands why players get rated the way they do what does it matter? Another reason to not obsess over player rankings so much IMO

I’ve gotten where I pay more attention to their offer list than anything else. Then rating and then fulfillment of our needs last.

 

[fredst 9,064]

2 minutes ago, toddc said:

I’ve gotten where I pay more attention to their offer list than anything else. Then rating and then fulfillment of our needs last.

 

Fulfilling needs is high on my list. The unbalanced classes and poor roster management are hopefully things of the past

[augolf1716 21,109]

1 hour ago, fredst said:

If we are talking about HS players it seems like their *college* potential would be the way to rate them

Totally agree

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 hours ago, fredst said:

If we are talking about HS players it seems like their *college* potential would be the way to rate them since very few period are going to make it to the NFL. A lot of really good, highly productive college players never move on to the next level, especially kickers. But, ultimately as long as everyone understands why players get rated the way they do what does it matter? Another reason to not obsess over player rankings so much IMO

 

1 hour ago, augolf1716 said:

Totally agree

Absolutely. It's just that you have guys like Slayton and Stidham who are NFL guys that didn't get the opportunity to look like it in college. 

[toddc 13,194]

16 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

 

Absolutely. It's just that you have guys like Slayton and Stidham who are NFL guys that didn't get the opportunity to look like it in college. 

I think both of them looked like NFL guys in college. Maybe they would have looked more like it with different circumstances.

Edited July 29, 2021 by toddc

[McLoofus 35,182]

21 minutes ago, toddc said:

I think both of them looked like NFL guys in college. Maybe they would have looked more like it with different circumstances.

I don't think either of them put up NFL numbers, though. In fact, maaaaany Auburn fans questioned Slay for leaving early and very few complained about Stiddy leaving at all.

Sorry, I've gone on too long about this. I'll pipe down.