A top 10 recruiting finish is nothing to sneeze at, especially in what many considered to be a 'down year' in Louisiana, but I'm starting to think this class might actually be a good bit more impressive than its ranking suggests. We all know about the headliners, and the talent possessed by the big names on our list is inarguable... but I still think our class is under-rated as a whole, particularly when it comes to the names lower down on the list. Consider these prospects and their current rankings:
2* Blake Ferguson
2* Josh Growden
Its well-known that Rivals defaults their specialists to 2* status and only the most remarkable of them have even a chance to move up to a 3*. Ferguson is an All-American whom has been described by scouts as 'NFL ready' right now. Growden comes to us from the same place as Kheen and Wing, both of whom's talent and production has been undeniable.
2* Justin McMillian
2* Lanard Fournette
2* Foster Moreau
These rankings just smack of laziness on the part of Rivals to me. As a senior, McMillian completed 65% of his passes for 2,854 yards, 37 TD's and just 4 INT's, leading his team to a state championship in Texas' highest classification. Lanard and Foster are more talented than a 2* ranking would suggest as well - would anyone have batted an eye had Rivals just rated these kids as 3*'s instead?
3* Chidi-Okeke
Rated by some as the #2 OT prospect in the nation (behind Teuhema), the kid may be all potential, but isn't that exactly what you're looking for? Even if you don't accept his ranking as a 5* by other services, how is the kid at least not a consensus 4*?
3* Nicholas Brousette
All this kid has done is break the state record for rushing in Louisiana. Take a minute and think about what that means, about the names that come to mind when you think about great LA running backs... this kid has outrushed them all. He also finished 6th nationally with 137 career rushing TDs. But he's a 3*.
3* Derrick Dillon
3* Jazz Ferguson
3* Brandon Martin
I don't know that there is a collection of 3* WR's in the nation that are more impressive as a group. After watching footage on all three of them, I honestly can't understand why they weren't all four stars. Brandon Martin's film in particular is ridiculous, and I suspect he got low-balled by Rivals in part due to concerns about his qualifying. I've never understood that aspect of their evaluations as sometimes it seems to apply (remember Daquaille Williams?) and sometimes it doesn't (too many examples to count).
4* Donte Jackson
Now this kid wasn't exactly screwed by the ratings services, not by a longshot. Rivals has him as their highest possible 4* and that's the lowest I've seen him. Still, an argument can be made that he's the most talented prospect in the state of Louisiana and that's some pretty heady company to be in.
Add a star to each of these 11 prospects and think where we'd be right now. By my calculations we'd be sitting at #3 in the nation according to Rivals, and considering staff turn-over and limited instate talent this season, that would be cause for some serious celebration.
This post was edited on 2/5 10:31 AM by LSUwiggz
2* Blake Ferguson
2* Josh Growden
Its well-known that Rivals defaults their specialists to 2* status and only the most remarkable of them have even a chance to move up to a 3*. Ferguson is an All-American whom has been described by scouts as 'NFL ready' right now. Growden comes to us from the same place as Kheen and Wing, both of whom's talent and production has been undeniable.
2* Justin McMillian
2* Lanard Fournette
2* Foster Moreau
These rankings just smack of laziness on the part of Rivals to me. As a senior, McMillian completed 65% of his passes for 2,854 yards, 37 TD's and just 4 INT's, leading his team to a state championship in Texas' highest classification. Lanard and Foster are more talented than a 2* ranking would suggest as well - would anyone have batted an eye had Rivals just rated these kids as 3*'s instead?
3* Chidi-Okeke
Rated by some as the #2 OT prospect in the nation (behind Teuhema), the kid may be all potential, but isn't that exactly what you're looking for? Even if you don't accept his ranking as a 5* by other services, how is the kid at least not a consensus 4*?
3* Nicholas Brousette
All this kid has done is break the state record for rushing in Louisiana. Take a minute and think about what that means, about the names that come to mind when you think about great LA running backs... this kid has outrushed them all. He also finished 6th nationally with 137 career rushing TDs. But he's a 3*.
3* Derrick Dillon
3* Jazz Ferguson
3* Brandon Martin
I don't know that there is a collection of 3* WR's in the nation that are more impressive as a group. After watching footage on all three of them, I honestly can't understand why they weren't all four stars. Brandon Martin's film in particular is ridiculous, and I suspect he got low-balled by Rivals in part due to concerns about his qualifying. I've never understood that aspect of their evaluations as sometimes it seems to apply (remember Daquaille Williams?) and sometimes it doesn't (too many examples to count).
4* Donte Jackson
Now this kid wasn't exactly screwed by the ratings services, not by a longshot. Rivals has him as their highest possible 4* and that's the lowest I've seen him. Still, an argument can be made that he's the most talented prospect in the state of Louisiana and that's some pretty heady company to be in.
Add a star to each of these 11 prospects and think where we'd be right now. By my calculations we'd be sitting at #3 in the nation according to Rivals, and considering staff turn-over and limited instate talent this season, that would be cause for some serious celebration.
This post was edited on 2/5 10:31 AM by LSUwiggz
