247 Recruiting Update

[UNT Texas Hooligan]

For those that care/pay attention to recruiting rankings, 247 just updated the star rankings for our newest class. Good enough for top 100 in the country:

https://247sports.com/college/north-texas/Season/2023-Football/Commits/

[97and03]

I tend to focus on the average rating more that the ranking. 247 shows the class average at 84.17, which is comparable to AAC peers. UTSA and SMUt are unfortunately the two programs that had averages way above ours but everyone else was around what we got or lower. Even Tulane coming off that amazing season didn’t have a higher average, although admittedly they score more high end three stars but brought their average down with some lower ranked players at the bottom of the class. 
Pretty good class given the time frame. 

[El Paso Eagle]

35 minutes ago, 97and03 said:

I tend to focus on the average rating more that the ranking. 247 shows the class average at 84.17, which is comparable to AAC peers. UTSA and SMUt are unfortunately the two programs that had averages way above ours but everyone else was around what we got or lower. Even Tulane coming off that amazing season didn’t have a higher average, although admittedly they score more high end three stars but brought their average down with some lower ranked players at the bottom of the class. 
Pretty good class given the time frame. 

Still would like to see Rivals take another look. The only players they rated 3* were the two from North Shore, the rest 2*. This did not help our composite rating.

[jtm0097]

Alright, I just pulled some of the data from 247. Based on average, we are the 9th best class in the new AAC. Given the time this staff had, it's not a bad ranking. Chandler Rogers didn't even have a ranking so, take these numbers with a grain of salt.

Edited February 7, 2023 by jtm0097

[greenminer]

Does anyone remember the average score of Traylor's first class?

[jtm0097]

9 minutes ago, greenminer said:

Does anyone remember the average score of Traylor's first class?

Per 247, he had 24 commits. Ranked 90 overall and an average of 82.55

[GMG_Dallas]

Will be interesting to see how SMU's transfers work out. I didn't look at every player they got but out of the Miami transfers, only the RB got good playing time. One of their DL transfers was a 5th year junior last season and in 4 years of playing time, he has 60 total tackles and 3 sacks. I know stats don't paint the whole picture but that's not much production in 4 seasons.

The QB transfer from Iowa has thrown about 150 total college passes, never hit 50% completion in a season, and has 3 TD passes to 4 interceptions in his time at Iowa.

The Liberty transfers, Rahimi, Walker, and Meggisnon, appear to be ballers and should be impact players on defense.

Guess we'll see how they work out but if our experience with transfers are any indication, all their P5 transfers who didn't do much at the P5 probably won't do much at the G5 either. I'll give a pass on some of their younger transfers like the LSU CB and A&M RB but it appears a majority of their transfers are P5 guys who don't have much playing experience at the college level.

[chrisfisher]

1 hour ago, jtm0097 said:

Alright, I just pulled some of the data from 247. Based on average, we are the 10th best class in the new AAC. Given the time this staff had, it's not a bad ranking. Chandler Rogers didn't even have a ranking so, take these numbers with a grain of salt.

When the difference from 3rd to 10th is .74, what does that mean in real world, on the field terms? USF, 3rd place, had a .0087 (percent) better recruiting class than UNT, 10th place. Sounds like splitting hairs to me, and will boil down to coaching, assuming the star ratings are accurate. 

[NT80]

Recruiting is like drafting players, some players will be better, others worse, than anticipated.  It's really how coaches use them and develop them = wins/losses for the team that actually matters.  

Brock Purdy was literally a nobody at the NFL level until he got in games and was coached into confidence-building situations and now is a somebody = team wins. 

This recruiting class likewise can't really be judged until the coaches are judged by what they do with them, as in season results.

[jtm0097]

19 minutes ago, chrisfisher said:

When the difference from 3rd to 10th is .74, what does that mean in real world, on the field terms? USF, 3rd place, had a .0087 (percent) better recruiting class than UNT, 10th place. Sounds like splitting hairs to me, and will boil down to coaching, assuming the star ratings are accurate. 

It's been mentioned before that recruiting rankings are flawed. If this staff can recruit talented prospects and develop them on and off the field, I will be happy with that. At the end of the day, I would rather win a bowl game, be competitive in each game, and not have any off the field issues. Morris was not my first choice because I wanted Fuente. However, after learning about Eric and the staff he hired, I'm 100% on board with the direction the program is going. 

[El Paso Eagle]

1 hour ago, NT80 said:

Recruiting is like drafting players, some players will be better, others worse, than anticipated.  It's really how coaches use them and develop them = wins/losses for the team that actually matters.  

Brock Purdy was literally a nobody at the NFL level until he got in games and was coached into confidence-building situations and now is a somebody = team wins. 

This recruiting class likewise can't really be judged until the coaches are judged by what they do with them, as in season results.

Keep in mind also since there are different people doing the ratings, even if they have a process they follow, three different people might rank the same player differently. I'm not sure how they split up the responsibilities to  rank the HS players, but I find it curious that for UNT with Rivals, the two North Shore are the only players they rated 3 stars. Not saying they did not deserve, but none of our others?

[NT80]

10 minutes ago, El Paso Eagle said:

Keep in mind also since there are different people doing the ratings, even if they have a process they follow, three different people might rank the same player differently. I'm not sure how they split up the responsibilities to  rank the HS players, but I find it curious that for UNT with Rivals, the two North Shore are the only players they rated 3 stars. Not saying they did not deserve, but none of our others?

Agree. I think who recruits them matters too (it shouldn't).  They would be 4 stars had they signed with Neon Deion.

[97and03]

Just ignore RIvals and ESPN.  247 does a decent job but even they rushed evals of our guys and three have exactly the same rating.  On the plus side, they had ignore Nelson who had a ton of offers and finally gave him a solid score.

Edited February 4, 2023 by 97and03

[p_phelps]

9 hours ago, greenminer said:

Does anyone remember the average score of Traylor's first class?

I did a deep dive into Traylors top recruits (snowed in and bored) his top guys haven't really produced... he's living off the previous staffs guys (they were recruiters too)  I'll be interested to see what it looks like in 2025 

[All About UNT]

37 minutes ago, p_phelps said:

I did a deep dive into Traylors top recruits (snowed in and bored) his top guys haven't really produced... he's living off the previous staffs guys (they were recruiters too)  I'll be interested to see what it looks like in 2025 

Oh yeah because he admitted himself that students are used to help with finding talent. Eric's desire to take less pay and build a solid recruiting staff is going to pay dividends for him. And when he really starts winning and we start filling that stadium he'll get the raise he would deserve at that point.

[Jonnyeagle]

I'll take dudes over stars any day.

Trust In Morris (TIM)

[El Paso Eagle]

1 hour ago, 97and03 said:

Just ignore RIvals and ESPN.  247 does a decent job but even they rushed evals of our guys and three have exactly the same rating.  On the plus side, they had ignore Nelson who had a ton of offers and finally gave him a solid score.

100% agree and On3 seems to have really improved. The problem is rivals is used in the composite ratings so their crappy work impacts us.

[Dpony14]

On 2/3/2023 at 9:35 PM, El Paso Eagle said:

100% agree and On3 seems to have really improved. The problem is rivals is used in the composite ratings so their crappy work impacts us.

On3 is toying with the idea of changing the weighting to 35% On3/247 and 15% rivals/ESPN. This would be a good thing for G5s IMO.

 

 

[greenminer]

5 minutes ago, Dpony14 said:

On3 is toying with the idea of changing the weighting to 35% On3/247 and 15% rivals/ESPN. This would be a good thing for G5s IMO.

 

 

The correct move here for On3 is the one that would benefit Mean Green.  That is the mathematically accurate way to go.

[dodgefan]

On 2/3/2023 at 11:05 AM, GMG_Dallas said:

Will be interesting to see how SMU's transfers work out. I didn't look at every player they got but out of the Miami transfers, only the RB got good playing time. One of their DL transfers was a 5th year junior last season and in 4 years of playing time, he has 60 total tackles and 3 sacks. I know stats don't paint the whole picture but that's not much production in 4 seasons.

The QB transfer from Iowa has thrown about 150 total college passes, never hit 50% completion in a season, and has 3 TD passes to 4 interceptions in his time at Iowa.

The Liberty transfers, Rahimi, Walker, and Meggisnon, appear to be ballers and should be impact players on defense.

Guess we'll see how they work out but if our experience with transfers are any indication, all their P5 transfers who didn't do much at the P5 probably won't do much at the G5 either. I'll give a pass on some of their younger transfers like the LSU CB and A&M RB but it appears a majority of their transfers are P5 guys who don't have much playing experience at the college level.

Reading ON3 and 247, said SMU brought the Iowa quarterback in as a 3rd string emergency guy, behind Preston Stone and the freshman from South Oak Cliff. Speaking of SOC, The Ponies got a commit last night from a 4 star athlete out of SOC, offers from a$m, UT, Georgia etc... he's their 2nd 4 star for the 24 class. They also got a bigtime transfer center from Miami yesterday, 39 starts in the ACC, with offers from Mizzu, LSU and some others I can't remember. Rhett learned well from his time with Sonny. It will be interesting to see what TCU does, when the May portal window opens.

[Wag Tag]

1 hour ago, dodgefan said:

Reading ON3 and 247, said SMU brought the Iowa quarterback in as a 3rd string emergency guy, behind Preston Stone and the freshman from South Oak Cliff. Speaking of SOC, The Ponies got a commit last night from a 4 star athlete out of SOC, offers from a$m, UT, Georgia etc... he's their 2nd 4 star for the 24 class. They also got a bigtime transfer center from Miami yesterday, 39 starts in the ACC, with offers from Mizzu, LSU and some others I can't remember. Rhett learned well from his time with Sonny. It will be interesting to see what TCU does, when the May portal window opens.

After last year Rhett is under the gun to get a Tulane like year, now! The alumni are  not paying out big bucks for a June 2.0!

[Dpony14]

1 hour ago, Wag Tag said:

After last year Rhett is under the gun to get a Tulane like year, now! The alumni are  not paying out big bucks for a June 2.0!

Yup. No more excuses. He's got his QB (He signed Stone right before he took the Miami job). He's got his players, 6 of which were at Miami with him. A majority of the transfers were starters at their previous schools. Its time to win some games. 

[DentonStang]

On 2/3/2023 at 11:05 AM, GMG_Dallas said:

Will be interesting to see how SMU's transfers work out. I didn't look at every player they got but out of the Miami transfers, only the RB got good playing time. One of their DL transfers was a 5th year junior last season and in 4 years of playing time, he has 60 total tackles and 3 sacks. I know stats don't paint the whole picture but that's not much production in 4 seasons.

The QB transfer from Iowa has thrown about 150 total college passes, never hit 50% completion in a season, and has 3 TD passes to 4 interceptions in his time at Iowa.

The Liberty transfers, Rahimi, Walker, and Meggisnon, appear to be ballers and should be impact players on defense.

Guess we'll see how they work out but if our experience with transfers are any indication, all their P5 transfers who didn't do much at the P5 probably won't do much at the G5 either. I'll give a pass on some of their younger transfers like the LSU CB and A&M RB but it appears a majority of their transfers are P5 guys who don't have much playing experience at the college level.

 

As you point out, the most  questionable transfers are from Miami...... where Rhett just coached them and knows first hand if they weren't playing because they were busts or if they were just behind a better ACC stud. We had some severe deficiencies last year and serviceable ACC backups are major upgrades. 

Some transfers are for depth (another critical deficiency) and may not start, but is still a major upgrade over the disastrous 2nd string we were dealing with previously.

The QB is a special case - not expected to play, knows that, and wants to coach. Job is to come, bring a P5 mindset, help coach Stone and KHJ, and not be a disaster if he has to play.

We needed a prime WR1, didn't get it, needed more TE help, but overall MASSIVE, MASSIVE upgrade to total team talent. NIL is a miracle.  An NIL player is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Edited February 7, 2023 by DentonStang

[Wag Tag]

1 hour ago, DentonStang said:

 

As you point out, the most  questionable transfers are from Miami...... where Rhett just coached them and knows first hand if they weren't playing because they were busts or if they were just behind a better ACC stud. We had some severe deficiencies last year and serviceable ACC backups are major upgrades. 

Some transfers are for depth (another critical deficiency) and may not start, but is still a major upgrade over the disastrous 2nd string we were dealing with previously.

The QB is a special case - not expected to play, knows that, and wants to coach. Job is to come, bring a P5 mindset, help coach Stone and KHJ, and not be a disaster if he has to play.

We needed a prime WR1, didn't get it, needed more TE help, but overall MASSIVE, MASSIVE upgrade to total team talent. NIL is a miracle.  An NIL player is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

As I stated before no G5 and many P5’s won’t be able to compete with SMU on NIL. That doesn’t mean you will get results on the field as seen this year. 

[SMU2006]

5 hours ago, Wag Tag said:

After last year Rhett is under the gun to get a Tulane like year, now! The alumni are  not paying out big bucks for a June 2.0!

I think it was a decent first year for Rhett given the fallout from Sonny.  

He's pulled in a top five transfer class in the nation and currently has two four star high school recruits committed for 2024.  With the financial resources he enjoys at SMU another 7 or 8 win season won't be acceptable.  He knows this.