Five Things You Should Know - Recruiting (IV)

4. Debunking the Rankings

As evidenced by the 2007 Kansas squad, recruiting classes do not need to be fueled by four and five-star athletes to produce BCS teams. Mangino devoured (pun intended) two and three-star talent in constructing his Orange Bowl team, including former two-star recruits QB Todd Reesing and CB Aqib Talib (projected as a 2008 NFL first-round draft pick). As Husker fans watch Big 12 Rivals Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Texas A&M, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State all secure higher ranked recruiting classes this year, it may be discouraging to the dream of BCS bowl births in the near future. With the '07 Jawhawks in mind, the Buckle will attempt to debunk the recruiting hype that dominates all of the college football talk from the end of the BCS bowl season to the start of spring practice.
Let's start by looking at how widespread praise affected our very own Corn Cobs. Callahan's nationally heralded 2005 recruiting class that Rivals ranked number five in the nation and recruiting pundit Tom Lemming called the most talented class in the country, failed miserably to produce anything that resembled its internet-fueled hype. Of the 13 four and five-star players signed in 2005, four left the program. Deserters included highly-touted QB and future used car salesman Harrison Beck (right). RB Leon Jackson, who found himself buried on the depth chart as a freshman, bolted back to his home state to play for Ty Willingham at the University of Washington. He then spurned the Huskies, change his name to Leon Wright-Jackson and enrolled at Hawaii. Hey Leon, learn a lesson from Sean Combs, changing your name does not keeping you from sucking.

The only players out of that top-ranked class worth their projected ratings were four-star JUCOs Steve Octavian and Ola Dagunduro. Zack Bowman's injuries and Marlon Lucky's attitude prevented them from living up to their five-star status. The jury is still out on Ndamakong Suh, Phillip Dillard, and Zach Potter (all four-stars). The other four-star busts still with the team include Chris Brooks and Frantz Hardy. The best player to come out of the 31 signees was three-star QB Zac Taylor who single-handedly carried the West Coast offense to its moderate 2006 success. The most promising story for Husker fans heading into this fall will be the play of senior QB Joe Ganz during his '07 late season surge. Ganz was a two-star nobody in Callahan's 18-recruit 2004 class.

Callahan's failure to provide results with his signature recruiting class is not without company. According to Rivals.com, in 2005 Bobby Bowden signed the second rated class, Phil Fulmer inked the fourth best class, Loyd Carr's recruits ranked sixth, and Dennis Franchione had the number eight best list. Two of these men joined Callahan in the unemployment line this year (Carr, Franchione). Florida State finished out of the Top 25 and Tennessee's 10-4 finish ranked in the middle of SEC supremacy this season. USC, Oklahoma, and Georgia's recruiting success in 2005 coupled with strong seasons play a devil's advocate to dumping on everything the recruiting services have to say. But Rivals.com may want to revisit the '05 rankings when they realize that the 2008 BCS hosted five teams with sub-Top 20 recruiting classes three years ago - Kansas (48th), LSU (22nd), West Virginia (31st), Illinois (51st), and Hawaii (85th). Missouri's class which (unfortunately) belonged in the '08 BCS elite ranked 39th in 2005.

Not to completely downplay the importance of four and five-star headliners, it is important to remember where the odds lie. Despite two-star surprises like Reesing, Talib, or Indiana's star wideout James Hardy (left), who many credit as the best in the country, there is no kidding yourself. Chances are a solid four-star high school star will carry on at that level than a two-star player projecting as an All-American. But not everything lies in the star-rating as Rivals.com and Scout.com may lead you to believe.

In fact, you can just as easily miss with a five-star athlete. In looking back at the 2004 class, no one would argue with the five stars handed out to Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma), Ted Ginn Jr. (Ohio State), Charles Johnson (Georgia Tech), Glenn Dorsey (LSU), or Chad Henne (Michigan). But what about five-star rated Jeff Schweiger (USC), Jeff Byers (USC), Willie Williams (Miami), Xavier Carter (LSU), and Drew Kelson (Texas)? Who??? Exactly. For every five-star NFL prospect singled out after his senior year of high school, there is one player who opts to transfer to San Jose, blows out his hip with torn cartilage, gets hit with a possession charge for marijuana, opts to run track, or never rises above a special teamer, respectively.

In the end, Husker fans can hope that Pelini will do more with less - that a class full of two-star and three-star players will field a future BCS team. Osborne could do it. Solich could not. Callahan did less with more. One thing we know for sure in college football is great coaching finds its way to rise above great recruiters. What will Bo do with the talent he has been handed? The question will play in the minds of Husker fans over the next several months. Can Nebraska rebound next season with eight or nine wins or will it be another four years of false hope? August 30th cannot get here soon enough.