NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Fans across the country eagerly track the recruiting progress of their favorite collegiate teams. They look to see where this year “five star prospects” are going and who in-state superstars will sign with. Although high school ranking are a way of judging the promise of an incoming class, is it the be-all-end-all judge of its potential? A Michigan football analyst asked this question because there has been some debate as to whether Michigan State has taken control of in-state recruiting because of the high ranking of its recent signees.

On one hand, of course you want to land the top players from your state. On the other hand, if those players aren’t the best players at the position, aren’t the best for your system, and there are better players nationally, then what’s the big deal?

I’m not so sure it matters.

Take Joe Boisture, for example. Obviously not a good fit for Coach Rodriguez’s spread option offense. Do we really care if Michigan doesn’t land him? But according to the pundits, we “lost” that battle. What about Devin Gardner? Do we get extra points because he’s exactly the type of quarterback for Coach Rodriguez’s system?

At some point, the “battle” really isn’t a battle because many of the prospects aren’t suited for either school.

Wouldn’t a better measure of the recruiting battle be to look at what the players actually do on the field? The counter argument presupposes complete reliance on the ranking services, which we know are ultimately flawed.

I’d like to measure the battle by the results on the field, not the number of stars assigned by an analyst who hasn’t seen a kid play one down of college ball.

I can understand why in-state players and particularly in-state coaches pay attention to the “in-state battle”. I can also understand why analysts love to talk about it because the in-state battle sells papers.

Objectively speaking though, from an out-of-state fan’s perspective, I don’t really care if MSU beats us in in-state recruiting every year. It doesn’t matter, as long as our overall class is stronger, and we win more games.

Oh yeah, and as long as we beat them on the field.

The same idea can be used by a student-athlete when evaluating a college program. While the prestige of a big program is appealing, a prospective athlete has to consider whether or not the program fits them. Does their style of play complement your skill set? What positional needs does the team have? Do you get along with the coach? Does the school fit your academic goals? What about the social life? The big campus life is not for everyone, especially an athlete who wants to compete for playing time right away.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 3:36 pm and is filed under Athletic Scholarships, Choosing the Right Fit, College Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.