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2022 Class Rankings and Discussion


Leathernecks

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42 minutes ago, btownqb said:

https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Season/2022-Football/Commits/

After Smith and Hoover were 34th overall. I don't think it's reassessed since Smith committed. I think this is only with Hoovers rating factored in. 

And the best part is that we still have a lot of really good prospects out there.  Guys like Cooper, Spells, Strickland, Gaines, Curry (I can dream, right?), Moore, Durant, Lyons.  Probably some guys I missed too, and some guys we don't know about yet.  We have a really good shot at finishing with a top 25 class.

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1 minute ago, Leathernecks said:

And the best part is that we still have a lot of really good prospects out there.  Guys like Cooper, Spells, Strickland, Gaines, Curry (I can dream, right?), Moore, Durant, Lyons.  Probably some guys I missed too, and some guys we don't know about yet.  We have a really good shot at finishing with a top 25 class.

And I think its safe to say we lead for 2 of those. Cooper and Spells. Moore and Strikland we have to be Top 3. Keep climbing 

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Thanks Leathernecks.  I also agree with you on the thinly veiled objective of ranking services (interest->money).  To your point, they are playing to the crowds of the most popular teams.  Stating the obvious, these teams are popular because they win, and they win because they consistently reload with higher caliber players.

It might seem based on my post that I place a large emphasis on rankings but that's not actually the case.  I think rankings are a useful gauge of relative potential... and one other thing that I'll mention in my last paragraph.  There are many posts in the forum where people state they don't care at all about rankings, and not a whole lot that proudly admit to viewing them as extremely important.  I find it hard to believe than anyone truthfully doesn't care at all.

Regardless how we fans view rankings, I'm pretty confident there is one group of people who care a ton, follow them closer than they would publicly admit, and most importantly are at least somewhat influenced by them.  That would be the high school kids being recruited.  In the social media age it's quite clear that the level of communication between recruits is next level compared to even a decade ago.  Perceptions are shared on a daily basis and that leads to influence.  Maybe they want to play at a buzz-worthy school, maybe they want to be a part of a class that is numerically recognized as great, or simply play with other guys that are perceived to have a certain level of ability based on a ranking. 

It's fair to say that perceptions created by individual player rankings and the ranking of a school's class have potential to factor into a recruit's assessment of a school and ultimately where they commit.  For that reason alone we shouldn't completely discount the importance of where we stand, even if we know there is biased gamesmanship in place to drive revenue over truth.  It becomes a closed loop, especially in football.  We need to be inside that closed loop if we want to sustain year over year consistency as a destination school for the types of players needed to compete in the BCS.

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1 hour ago, olsontex said:

Thanks Leathernecks.  I also agree with you on the thinly veiled objective of ranking services (interest->money).  To your point, they are playing to the crowds of the most popular teams.  Stating the obvious, these teams are popular because they win, and they win because they consistently reload with higher caliber players.

It might seem based on my post that I place a large emphasis on rankings but that's not actually the case.  I think rankings are a useful gauge of relative potential... and one other thing that I'll mention in my last paragraph.  There are many posts in the forum where people state they don't care at all about rankings, and not a whole lot that proudly admit to viewing them as extremely important.  I find it hard to believe than anyone truthfully doesn't care at all.

Regardless how we fans view rankings, I'm pretty confident there is one group of people who care a ton, follow them closer than they would publicly admit, and most importantly are at least somewhat influenced by them.  That would be the high school kids being recruited.  In the social media age it's quite clear that the level of communication between recruits is next level compared to even a decade ago.  Perceptions are shared on a daily basis and that leads to influence.  Maybe they want to play at a buzz-worthy school, maybe they want to be a part of a class that is numerically recognized as great, or simply play with other guys that are perceived to have a certain level of ability based on a ranking. 

It's fair to say that perceptions created by individual player rankings and the ranking of a school's class have potential to factor into a recruit's assessment of a school and ultimately where they commit.  For that reason alone we shouldn't completely discount the importance of where we stand, even if we know there is biased gamesmanship in place to drive revenue over truth.  It becomes a closed loop, especially in football.  We need to be inside that closed loop if we want to sustain year over year consistency as a destination school for the types of players needed to compete in the BCS.

Even though they are far from perfect, I'm one who is still a big fan of rankings.  Nothing predicting the future will ever be perfect.  Even with some bumps in ratings to attract interest from certain schools, rankings are still a decent gauge.  In general, the more highly ranked players we get, the more talent we'll have.

We have gone from hoping we can find diamonds in the rough to routinely getting the guys who are missing out on the blue bloods.  We have so many commits this year already who have major P5 offers.

I love how our recruits are doing a lot of recruiting too.  Dasan said during or after his visit this last weekend that he hoped he made IU a place where top recruits could come, and named Curry and Cooper by name.  I think Allen had so much success with LEO that he was able to change the perception of IU in a hurry.  I thought it would be a slow grind, but our recruiting is definitely taking off.  I can't wait to see who else we get, and hopefully we can make this a top 25 class.  That will send a big message, especially to in state recruits.

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11 hours ago, Leathernecks said:

Even though they are far from perfect, I'm one who is still a big fan of rankings.  Nothing predicting the future will ever be perfect.  Even with some bumps in ratings to attract interest from certain schools, rankings are still a decent gauge.  In general, the more highly ranked players we get, the more talent we'll have.

 

I agree. Of course the rankings aren’t infallible but I think they help indicate the odds, not guarantee, of success. It’s easy to find a 5 star that flopped and a 2 star that became a stud but a team with a number of highly ranked players has a much better chance of winning big than a team with a bunch of 2 stars.  That being said you can certainly point to coaches such as Allen doing well with less than elite (but rapidly improving) talent while Harbaugh has been horribly underachieving at UM in spite of landing some quality classes.

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11 hours ago, Leathernecks said:

We have gone from hoping we can find diamonds in the rough to routinely getting the guys who are missing out on the blue bloods.  We have so many commits this year already who have major P5 offers.

Plus 1.

In addition to looking at a recruits rankings I look at who else has offered them and am blown away by who we are beating out. We are landing kids with multiple BT, SEC and ACC offers. Back in the Lynch, Hep, Dinardo etc years we had classes in which IU was the only power 5 offer for nearly the entire class. We were beating out Central Michigan etc back then as opposed to Tennessee, MSU, Auburn, etc etc these days. Really excited for the season to start.

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11 hours ago, Leathernecks said:

Even though they are far from perfect, I'm one who is still a big fan of rankings.  Nothing predicting the future will ever be perfect.  Even with some bumps in ratings to attract interest from certain schools, rankings are still a decent gauge.  In general, the more highly ranked players we get, the more talent we'll have.

We have gone from hoping we can find diamonds in the rough to routinely getting the guys who are missing out on the blue bloods.  We have so many commits this year already who have major P5 offers.

I love how our recruits are doing a lot of recruiting too.  Dasan said during or after his visit this last weekend that he hoped he made IU a place where top recruits could come, and named Curry and Cooper by name.  I think Allen had so much success with LEO that he was able to change the perception of IU in a hurry.  I thought it would be a slow grind, but our recruiting is definitely taking off.  I can't wait to see who else we get, and hopefully we can make this a top 25 class.  That will send a big message, especially to in state recruits.

My only big issue is the COMPLETE over ranking of WRs. Look at the top 500 players, Malachi Bennett is a FR was ranked 425th overall and the 67th WR. Absurd. OL/DL way underrated for importance. 

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20 hours ago, btownqb said:

I realize OL and DL aren't sexy.. but if Moore is as good as he's rated he should be target #1.. he and Strickland. 

OL and DL are sexy to me ...LOL. Those are positions that were partially responsible for us to struggle for many years. We had plenty of seasons with good skill players but did not win much because of being dominated on both sides of the ball.

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11 minutes ago, btownqb said:

My only big issue is the COMPLETE over ranking of WRs. Look at the top 500 players, Malachi Bennett is a FR was ranked 425th overall and the 67th WR. Absurd. OL/DL way underrated for importance. 

Don't tell that to Brohm. If you don't take at least 8 WR, it isn't a real class.

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6 hours ago, btownqb said:

Another absolutely massive recruiting weekend... 

Headlined by Joe Strickland. 8 guys coming in.. 7 players in the top 600 and the other one is Kaiden Turner LB who is already committed. 

Does Strickland have a timeline on a decision? I believe he was at PU last weekend. 

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