What recruiting guru is Phillip Marshall calling out here?

[RunInRed 16,430]

Recruiting rankings make Tuberville laugh

Posted by Phillip Marshall, The Huntsville Times July 02, 2007 1:48 PM

Tommy Tuberville didn't feel much like laughing. After all, he was only a few days removed from having undergone an appendectomy, and he was still in pain when the telephone caught him at his beach house.

But he laughed anyway.

The question was about recruiting. What was Tuberville's reaction to "recruiting analysts" who say Auburn is lagging behind, particularly one who went on a Birmingham radio show and said that, while Alabama was off to a great start, Auburn wouldn't finish in the top 30.

"I've never even met that guy, never talked to him," Tuberville said. "We're going to do fine. None of that stuff means anything."

Tuberville has never put any stock in the star ratings self-proclaimed recruiting experts put on players. "Recruiting out of magazines," he says, is the surest way for a coach to find himself doing something else for a living.

It's kind of hard to argue with a guy who has won gone 33-5 in his last three seasons, who has a 13-0 season and has won or shared five West Division championships in his eight Auburn seasons.

What do those star ratings really mean?

It doesn't take an expert to see that some high school players are likely to become standouts in college. Most of the so-called five-star players go on to do good things. But beyond that, the star ratings mean virtually nothing.

It's not that so many five-star players are flops. It's just that a lot of players who aren't glorified as high school players end up being as good or better than a lot of those five-star types.

By my quick count, 24 former Auburn players actually played in NFL games last season. Redskins' quarterback Jason Campbell, Bucs' tailback Carnell Williams, Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes and, if you want to count former junior college guys, Giants' running back Brandon Jacobs were the only five-stars in the bunch.

Jets' linebacker Mark Brown is from Germantown, Tenn., and wasn't recruited by Tennessee. Giants' wide receiver Tim Carter was a high school quarterback who was signed late by Auburn only because other prospects got away. Eagles' defensive back Rod Hood was a walk-on. Vikings' defensive tackle Spencer Johnson, from Southern Choctaw, wasn't offered a scholarship by Alabama. Giants' defensive end Reggie Torbor was a high school running back who moved from Louisiana to Auburn because he didn't get the time of day from LSU. Dolphins' offensive lineman Jeno James was not considered a recruiting prize out of Montgomery, but he has seven NFL seasons to his credit.

You get the point.

Any college coach would like nothing better than for every player he signed to have, coming in, everything it takes to succeed on the field and in the classroom. That doesn't happen anywhere, but the reality is that USC can come a lot closer to doing that than Auburn can.

For most schools, including Auburn, the evaluation of players is the key. It's not easy to project what an 18-year-old will be like when he's 22. Few have done it better than Tuberville and his staff.

The record speaks for itself.

More copies of Phillip's book, "The Auburn Experience," have become available for purchase at a reduced price. An oversized coffee table book published in December 2004, the book features more than 300 slick pages of stories and photographs of many of Auburn's greatest traditions, teams, players and coaches in every sport. Originally selling for $69, it is available now for just $20, plus $5 shipping and handling. For orders of multiple books, there will be just one $5 charge for shipping and handling. Send check or money order made payable to Phillip Marshall to The Auburn Experience, P.O. Box 968, Auburn, AL 36831.

link

[MDM4AU 332]

Not sure. Had to be some boob on Finebaum.

But, the article mentions Takeo Spikes...I saw him in the Cracker Barrel on Hwy 119 Saturday. He's a monster.

[WAR-MATT 2]

Tom Luginbill

Second from the top in the audio section.

MontyBurns

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Tom Luginbill.

Which always makes me think of a bird, for some odd reason.

[Tigerwalkin 2]

Just another reason why I don't subject my ears to PFB's show......