No Surprise to us!!!

[Mikey 16,751]

I personally think the best indication of how good a recruit is is not stars but his offer list. That is what worried me most about last year.

Yes but: Is there any way to verify if a prospect does, indeed, have an offer? I've read that the only place Rivals and Scout get their offer info from is the player himself. In that case, Jimmy Jockstrap could actually have NO offers and still claim AU, FSU, Notre Dame and Vandy have all offered and the recruiting services would post that bad info.

Anybody know any different?

[abrnfanatc 6]

I personally think the best indication of how good a recruit is is not stars but his offer list. That is what worried me most about last year.

This guy disagrees...

[SKCAUB 0]

Stars don't matter, right?

No, stars and recruiting mean everything now. Try to keep up with these changing times.

It would appear the asshats from West Vance made a big deal of stars meaning everything over the past two years.

All the while AU fans were telling us recruiting rankings didn't mean squat. Stars didn't mean anything. These guys will still have to play and show they are good. AU recruits character. AU didn't want them anyway. Rivals is run by bammers, their rankings can't be trusted. And so on, and so on. Come on, some of those phrases should sound pretty familiar to you. But now, you better believe that stars and recruiting rankings matter. Oh, except for when Alabama lands a highly ranked recruit. Any highly ranked recruit we get, we either cheated or the services are bumping his ratings. If AU lands somebody highly ranked, he's the next coming of Jesus. Especially since AU seems to be doing a little better than in the years past.

You obviously didn't read the part about NOT CARING ABOUT THE STARS, but being more concerned that the kid was a sort of the UNIVERSAL pick as the best receiver in the state, and yet he is NOT # 1 according to Scout, and NOT EVEN in their top 10 players in the state. See...that's the discussion.

Bamars...gotta laugh.

[runswithscissors 33]

I personally think the best indication of how good a recruit is is not stars but his offer list. That is what worried me most about last year.

I agree for the most part of all points in your previous post, and this one. In hindsight, our loss to ULM served as a good lesson to our team. That loss and the MSU loss that year served as motivation to the 08 team. They had pics of those scoreboards plastered all over the AD complex and locker room, and banners up to remind the players. While embarassing, it showed us something in the long run. As far as Utah, I think after the loss to UF you could pretty much tell that there was going to be a letdown. The players felt it was all over with, imo, so there was no use in putting forth the type of effort like they had in the previous 13 games. Utah knew they would have to play a perfect game and come out shooting to have a shot, and it just so happens that we never really showed up in the first place. And like you said, both teams had inferior talent compared to UA. However, I still stand by the fact that Utah had one HELL of a QB. We laid down and they definitely wanted it more, but damn that guy was good.

As far as AU recruiting, you guys are in the same exact boat Alabama was in when CNS first arrived. The team was fairly lax, the prior season was terrible, and there was obvious need at many positions. This allowed us to sell the point of playing time to some blue-chip prospects, and they bought it. There is no doubt about it; AU will bring in some talent over the next few years. Chizik will use that need to sell as many prospects on it, and he should. I'm not saying that the above reasons are the ONLY reason you guys will bring in talent, of course, but it is very helpful when convincing these kids to play for your team.

As far as judging a kid by his offers, I'm sort of the same way. You sometimes can't use the same criteria on a JUCO or PREP kid though, but to alot of kids I think it applies. For example, if there is a prospect that lives in Georgia and he is supposed to be a beast or something, but if neither UGA or Ga. Tech offer, then I'm going to wonder about that.

[SCBusPilot 72]

In hindsight, our loss to ULM Vandy served as a good lesson to our team. That loss and the MSU Alabama loss last year served as motivation to the 08 09 team. They had have pics of those scoreboards plastered all over the AD complex and locker room, and banners up to remind the players. While embarassing, it showed us something in the long run.

Fixed that for you. Good points, and lessons learned. See you in November.

[woody 11]

All the while AU fans were telling us recruiting rankings didn't mean squat. Stars didn't mean anything. These guys will still have to play and show they are good. AU recruits character. AU didn't want them anyway. Rivals is run by bammers, their rankings can't be trusted. And so on, and so on. Come on, some of those phrases should sound pretty familiar to you. But now, you better believe that stars and recruiting rankings matter. Oh, except for when Alabama lands a highly ranked recruit. Any highly ranked recruit we get, we either cheated or the services are bumping his ratings. If AU lands somebody highly ranked, he's the next coming of Jesus. Especially since AU seems to be doing a little better than in the years past.

AU recruits character and UaT recruits players who sell textbooks.

I figured my post would make too much sense for you to have a relevant, intelligent response.

Once again your overly inflated opinion of yourself rears it's pointy little head. For the record relevance and intelligence are never things that come to mind when considering your post.

Say It's not true. A overly inflated opinion of him self!!!!!!! No way, I have never noticed that

Next You will be saying PC chump is a bama fan.

[The Prowler 1]

I guess the same way the kid from Millbrook jumped from honorable mention (AKA also ran) all-state to #1 corner in the country when he committed to UAT. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if the beholder is a bamzo, well, there ya' go.

He was the #1 corner before he committed to Alabama.

Rivals lists him as the #1 CB

Scout lists him as the #1 CB

ESPN has him in the ESPN 150 Watch List

So, again I ask, are all of those sites in on the Alabama recruiting conspiracy?

Fowler......that is all. Oh nevermind, it must've been all of the camps that he went to, wait he hasn't been to any camps. Oh, it must've been the spring practices that the recruiting web....wait he's not able to practice with the team anymore. Okay I got it, it must've been because he was highly rated last year, that the recruiting gurus thought that they should leav....there I go again, unless 2 stars is highly rated.

[AFTiger 282]

Just for conversation:

In recruiting game, University of Miami finds film doesn't lie

By Shandel Richardson | Sentinel Staff Writer

June 21, 2009

CORAL GABLES — Recruiting had become simple for the University of Miami football staff.

While counterparts were scouring the country for the next All-American, the Hurricanes' coaches likely were parked in front of a computer with a pad and pen. They surfed Internet recruiting sites in search of talent, almost forgetting their own evaluation in the process.

After following the advice of recruiting gurus helped lead to the program's recent decline, the Hurricanes have returned to trusting themselves when it comes to finding talent. Third-year coach Randy Shannon continues to emphasize strongly the idea of recruiting based on staff judgment instead of some Web site's rankings.

"That's accurate," UM recruiting coordinator Clint Hurtt said. "We spent way too much time recruiting off [internet] lists and finding these top guys instead of truly evaluating. You can't just go off hearsay or just because Florida, Florida State or Alabama is recruiting him. That doesn't mean a thing."

Hurtt, also the defensive line coach, said the staff realized it was being burned too frequently by recruiting busts.

How else to explain a school once considered college football's top NFL factory having just one player — linebacker Spencer Adkins — taken in this year's draft? Although unfair to place all the blame on recruiting failures, it widely is considered the biggest factor in the decline.

"If you go back and you look at each class, I can go down the list and find some guys who were major recruits that never lived up to the billing," Hurtt said.

In the past six years, the Hurricanes signed top-20 players such as quarterback Kyle Wright, receiver Lance Leggett and tackle Reggie Youngblood. All had decent college careers, but never reached the expectations of their "can't-miss prospect" labels.

That's more that can be said about linebacker Willie Williams and running backs James Bryant and Charlie Jones, considered four-star or higher recruits. Williams was the nation's No.6 recruit in 2004, according to Rivals.com. After unspectacular performances, all three transferred.

ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill said the Hurricanes often were caught in the hype machine that occurs in the world of online recruiting. Many Web sites claim to rank the best players, but Luginbill said the moment coaches start paying attention to the "star system" is when "a program starts walking off a cliff."

"In my opinion, you've got to stay true to your own evaluation, your own blueprint," Luginbill said. "Don't worry about what everybody else is saying, but that's a very difficult thing to do. ... What happens is there is so much information out there about guys. Most of it can be untrue. A lot of it is perpetuated by people who are claiming to be recruiting analysts, but don't know if a football is pumped or stuffed."

UM learned the hard way.

Recruiting misfires factored into the Hurricanes going from playing for consecutive national titles after the 2001-02 seasons to a 19-19 record the past three seasons. Much of it occurred under Coach Larry Coker, who was fired after the 2006 season. The Hurricanes landed several highly rated recruiting classes under Coker, but even outsiders noticed they were focusing solely on recruiting sites.

"I used to go in the coaches' offices, and sometimes they would literally have Rivals.com up on their screen," said Matt Shodell, who covers UM and its recruiting for CaneSport.com. "I won't name the coaches, but they would be writing names down on pieces of paper. I don't know how much film they were looking at."

The Hurricanes have since turned to their eyes as the best evaluator of talent. Recruits commonly now say they have yet to receive a UM scholarship offer, because coaches haven't seen film.

Hurtt said the staff also avoids highlight tapes that often appear on recruiting sites. Even those can provide false hope.

"The big difference is we're evaluating game film now," Hurtt said. "A lot of times, it was highlight tapes, highlight tapes, highlight tapes. That could be just a big teaser for you. You watch it, and all of a sudden, people are geeked up. Then you find the actual game tape, and he doesn't know where he's going on the field and things like that. You find out things in the game film."

For the latest recruiting news, go to OrlandoSentinel.com/recruiting. Shandel Richardson can be reached

[runswithscissors 33]

I guess the same way the kid from Millbrook jumped from honorable mention (AKA also ran) all-state to #1 corner in the country when he committed to UAT. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if the beholder is a bamzo, well, there ya' go.

He was the #1 corner before he committed to Alabama.

Rivals lists him as the #1 CB

Scout lists him as the #1 CB

ESPN has him in the ESPN 150 Watch List

So, again I ask, are all of those sites in on the Alabama recruiting conspiracy?

Fowler......that is all. Oh nevermind, it must've been all of the camps that he went to, wait he hasn't been to any camps. Oh, it must've been the spring practices that the recruiting web....wait he's not able to practice with the team anymore. Okay I got it, it must've been because he was highly rated last year, that the recruiting gurus thought that they should leav....there I go again, unless 2 stars is highly rated.

And I see you totally ignored my point on this in another thread.

-Rivals has Fowler as a 5.8 4* and #29 RB in the country.

-Scout has Fowler as a 4* and #1 FB (which is what he will be at Alabama) in the country.

-ESPN has Fowler rated as a 77 OLB. (High end 3* basically)

So, WHAT is your beef? You always blame Rivals of being biased, but Scout gives him an even better rating than Rivals. Is Scout in on the conspiracy as well? The kid played in 08, so you're saying that since he won't play with his team in 09 that his ranking should automatically be downgraded? Hell, I guess we should just go ahead and drop every senior's rating that won't be starting their freshman year in college too. Whats wrong, since I totally blew your Milliner theory out of the water you need to switch to Fowler now to try and prove a point? You care to give a response to what I posted about Milliner, or are you just going to meander through all of our recruits rankings until one might fit your argument?

[Mikey 16,751]

Whats wrong, since I totally blew your Milliner theory out of the water.....

Your opinion of your own posting is waaay over-inflated. Milliner, a "Not Quite Third Team All State" in '08 jumping to the #1 CB in the nation is a thorough and complete joke. Dream on, bamzo. The only person you have convinced is yourself.

[runswithscissors 33]

Whats wrong, since I totally blew your Milliner theory out of the water.....

Your opinion of your own posting is waaay over-inflated. Milliner, a "Not Quite Third Team All State" in '08 jumping to the #1 CB in the nation is a thorough and complete joke. Dream on, bamzo. The only person you have convinced is yourself.

So, what is the motivation for 2 and quite possibly all three services to move him up since it was undeserved. What should he be ranked?

[Mikey 16,751]

What should he be ranked?

Unranked, until he actually does something that deserves more than "honorable mention all-state".

[runswithscissors 33]

What should he be ranked?

Unranked, until he actually does something that deserves more than "honorable mention all-state".

So, what about the first part of my question? What would motivate the top three recruiting services to rank somebody, who according to you is obviously undeserving, as the top CB? It should be a simple question to answer since you obviously believe that he should be unranked. I would like to hear your point.

Also, what qualifies a recruit like Jonathan Mincy, for example, to be a 3* but Milliner should be unranked? Mincy hasn't even been awarded All-State Honorable Mention or Area Defensive Player of the Year. So, should Mincy be unranked as well? Milliner has been a beast at camps over the off-season, and has impressed alot of people. Thats how he went from a 4* to a 5*. I remember after the Tiger Prowl when alot of AU fans thought they had a good shot at Milliner, he was elite. But now he's a scrub. What is it about him specifically that makes him so undeserving of his ranking? Obviously AU wanted him pretty bad. Had AU landed him, you would be rubbing it in our faces that Chizik was pulling top talent in the state his first year.

If he is good enough to the likes of teams like UA, AU, LSU, UGA, UT, Oklahoma, etc, then I would say he is good enough for me.

[Mikey 16,751]

"I remember after the Tiger Prowl when alot of AU fans thought they had a good shot at Milliner, he was elite....

I don't remember anything like that. Got a link?

[runswithscissors 33]

"I remember after the Tiger Prowl when alot of AU fans thought they had a good shot at Milliner, he was elite....

I don't remember anything like that. Got a link?

Sure do!

Look no further than the first two posts. But what is amusing, is after he committed to UA, there was another thread where TigerDevil was then putting Milliner down after talking him up in the thread listed above. Of course, the second thread was after his commitment. Funny how that works, isn't it?

So, do you care to hit on any of my other questions that you keep dancing around, or do you have nothing of evidence to offer other than "Because I say so and I'm pissed we didn't get him."? You keep coming up with all of this other BS but you will not answer a legitimate question. Gee, I wonder why? Again:

-Why do all of the major recruiting services rank him highly if he is obviously undeserving?

-If Milliner is obviously so undeserving, and according to you should be unranked, then what makes somebody like Jonathan Mincy deserving of a 3* ranking?

-What specifically about Milliner's performance makes him undeserving?

[BamaGrad03 0]

What should he be ranked?

Unranked, until he actually does something that deserves more than "honorable mention all-state".

I think running a 4.28 and a 4.31 and blowing up at camps where the best competition comes to play would do it.

It's a CONSPIRACY!

[Mikey 16,751]

Why do all of the major recruiting services rank him highly if he is obviously undeserving?

Monkey-see, monkey-do. Some bamzo gave him a bogus ranking and the other sheep followed.

If Milliner is obviously so undeserving, and according to you should be unranked, then what makes somebody like Jonathan Mincy deserving of a 3* ranking?

He isn't, unless he's done something that indicates he deserves it.

What specifically about Milliner's performance makes him undeserving?

His nonperformance makes him undeserving.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Monkey-see, monkey-do. Some bamzo gave him a bogus ranking and the other sheep followed.

Link?

[Mikey 16,751]

I think running a 4.28 and a 4.31 and blowing up at camps where the best competition comes to play would do it.

I read somewhere that these times were incorrect. Done with a timer hand-held by his own HS coach. Results of the state 100 meter dash, in which Milliner finished a distant fourth would seem to bare this out.

In other words, those times were as bogus as a bammer National Championship.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I think running a 4.28 and a 4.31 and blowing up at camps where the best competition comes to play would do it.

I read somewhere that these times were incorrect. Done with a timer hand-held by his own HS coach. Results of the state 100 meter dash, in which Milliner finished a distant fourth would seem to bare this out.

In other words, those times were as bogus as a bammer National Championship.

100M not the same as 40YD.

That's why they do 40YD times at the combine, not 100M.