DeMeco Ryans: 1 Star/NR 6-2/215/4.60
Derrick Pope: 5 Stars/JC 6-0/235/4.45

I remember Pope… but vaguely.. I remember Ryans… emphatically.

NFL comparison… Heck, we’ll spot 5 star Pope the extra two years of competition and he’s a distant second, with 147 tackles in 55 games (Dolphins), DeMeco has 283 in 32 games (Texans).

Again, I’m excited about the possibilities… but sometimes I’d rather have a player who’s committed rather than convinced.

i could give two shits abourt bragging rights. I want my team to win SEC and national championships. also beating big ten teams like tOSU doesn’t hurt either. bama is 3-0 vs the bucks btw, but im not bragging, merely pointing out

You’re right, 33% of Auburn’s class last year didn’t even make it in.

And are you sure you don’t want to change your stance? The artist is agreeing with you.

Jesus fuck. First, “bullshit” is one word. Second, if you find your league at a disadvantage take it up with your league offices and spare us the diatribes.

Post of the day. Was wondering the same thing.

2 of the 32 count back to last year’s limit (Corey Smith a kicker and Chris Jackson, WR both already enrolled). 1 of them will probably get a Bryant Scholarship for Wesley Neighbors who is a legacy (who knows). So we over-signed by 4. I have no problem fixing it, since it appears only the Big Ten does this (Oregon State signed 35 guys last year..)

You right-Alabama went 10-2 with a bunch of 2 and 3 stars on their defense during a probation period. I don’t care who is on my team as long as we are winning. But yes if we get a nice big talent base to choose from it is nice to have as well. Auburn has been in the top 10 4 times since 2002 and only out of the 15 twice. You keep on barely scraping by Auburn, it seems to work out since you keep on beating Bama at any rate.

and bragging rights bitches. #1 recruiting class, you can never take this away from me. I got my ring ordered already.

Great points. Alabama fans are out of control because they are so glad to finally have something to brag about. That is all they really care about. Nick Saban knows that, we know that, he even said it in a press conference one day. “You all put winning before doing things right, and I think that is wrong.” I know he said it to the media, but it was a message to the fans as well. And he is dead right. The average Alabama fan only cares about one thing: BRAGGING RIGHTS.

And that is why I fucking hate alabama fans…

2002 – 2007 is only 6 seasons.

Alabama fans…congrats on our class…looks like the 100 million dollar upgrade in facilities and 40 million dollar upgrade in coaching wasn’t enough to beat ULM, but it does enable you to rack up recruits…especially when immediate playing time is available. Now let’s see what the highest paid coaching staff…by far when compared to the average coaching staff salary…can do with all that talent.

But more importantly let’s talk about this oversigning issue.

I know everyone wants to write it off as not being an advantage, at least that is what SEC fans will tell you, but there is absolutely no doubt that oversigning is what contributes to the overall depth of a team.

I was talking to a Bama fan and he told me that the “few” extra guys they signed weren’t that big of a deal, in fact, if anything, they hurt Alabama’s ranking more than it helped. How? I asked. he said it was because the few extra guys they signed were only 2-3 stars and that they brought down the star average and might have kept them from signing more 4-5 star guys.

I made the point that he talked about these 2-3 star guys like they didn’t matter and they were most likely going to end up on the scout team. I laughed. I told him that it only takes a couple of those 2-3 star guys who really turn into a stud to make a huge difference. Take for example, Troy Smith. He was the last guy signed in his class and he was a 2 star athlete…he turned out to be a Heisman winner and 2 time winning quarterback vs. Michigan.

Now he was signed as the last guy in his class of roughly 22. Imagine if there were another ten guys in his class who Tressel could kind of weed through and see who might or might not pan out. That’s 10 more shots of landing a Troy Smith like player.

It happens all the time…not everyone who turns into a stud starts off as a 5 star recruit. Just look at the players on your team who were 2-3 stars who blossomed into studs.

So don’t give me this bull shit that those few extra guys don’t count because they were only 2-3 star guys or they probably won’t qualify. That is Bull Shit to the highest degree and we all should admit it.

It is an advantage. I offers a cushion and the ability to take more risks.

Tressel has signed 116 guys since 2002…the national average is 143.

Last year alone the SEC had 40+ academic non-qualifiers and the Big Ten had 4.

It is really a mystery to everyone why the SEC has been on such a run lately? Until we have standard recruiting practices across the board, just like everything else in college football, we are going to continue to have this arguments.

Auburn actually has been ranked pretty high recently. Ahead of Alabama pretty much ever year until this one. Rankings matter to some extent, but one class doesn’t fix everything. Finishing consistently high is a decent indicator of success. Coaching still plays a key role, which is why FSU has grossly underacheived.