On the eve of Signing Day, today we look at whether or not to get caught up in recruiting rankings. Wilner provides one side:
There is a tendency, especially this week, to get caught up in the stars and the numbers, to fret about a recruiting class not cracking the scout or rivals or ESPN top 25.
But recruiting isn’t an inexact science because it’s not a science at all. It’s educated guesswork, with enormous potential for malfunction.
So if your tailback is ranked No. 40 in his class (Toby Gerhart in 2006) …
Or if your quarterback isn’t ranked at all (Aaron Rodgers in 2002) …
Or if your team’s class is ranked No. 78, 57 and 64 in consecutive years (Boise State from 2006-08) …
…. Try not to stress.
And Dr. Saturday has an article on how some basic arithmetic clears things up. It's too much to fit here, but I'll leave you with a compelling chart. Sure there are more 4, 3, and ≤2 stars who are All-Americans, but when you explore their sample pools a bit more, things get cleared up.
On the eve of one of the biggest news days of the year, we have only a few scraps today: Syd makes his place in Ted Miller's player rankings, JO finds out why Syd missed the Senior Bowl, Wilner hands out midseason basketball awards, and Faraudo tries to make sense of this past weekend in basketball.
Cal Football
- Syd comes in at 18th in Ted Miller's Pac-10 player rankings.
- Speaking of Syd, he didn't play in the Senior Bowl because he tweaked his groin in practice.
Cal Basketball
- Faraudo reviews yet another week in which things didn't get sorted out in the Pac-10.
- Wilner hands out his midseason awards and Randle earns "Best Player" and a spot on the all-conference team.