A curious change in the recruiting rankings...

I don't fully agree with the way Scout raises teams based on their overall # of recruits, however I do like that USC is 4th in the Pac 10, and only a few spots above Oregon.

I wonder if USC's consecutively small classes will hurt its depth in the next year or two.

Saw that update from yesterday. Go Bruins! Top 10 recruiting class here we come!

None of this matters until Wednesday.

With a strong finish we might make the top 10...could climb to #7 or so and then be passed up by Georgia, Ohio State and 'SC (sorry I had to say that, but they aren't done with this year yet).

I don't get it. I look at the RANK of all the Pac-10 teams and at the far right look at PRVS RANK and they are identical.

So, who is moving up?

Current head-to-head rankings on the big three recruiting sites:

Scout.com
UCLA - 15
USC - 19

Rivals.com
USC - 11
UCLA - 13

ESPN.com
USC - 10
UCLA - 17

I have heard Trojans labeling Scout.com as the least respected of the three, but that's completely subjective. Any way you slice it, UCLA is looking quite good, and particularly by Scout.com's analysis, has not only caught USC, but passed them.

Another argument Trojans will make has to do with average ranking of each player. And in that area USC has the highest of any other school (4.0+). You have to give them that. But you can't discount quantity--the last time I checked, you put 24 players on the field each game (counting kicking game), not to mention special teams. That's why avg per player is only one piece of the overall equation.

I think it's very telling, however, that since Carroll stepped down on Jan 10, USC has received only one soft verbal. On that day, USC's class was ranked #12, and UCLA's was ranked #26. So, since Kiffin took over, UCLA has jumped 11 spots, while USC has dropped 6.

This is fun but there's only one week with a ranking that matters. In 2009 Alabama was #2 in recruiting but I don't think they cared much come January.

UCLA was #5 in 2009 and Oregon wasn't in the top 25. Who smelled roses?

The only problem, Encinitas, is that USC hasn't necessarily dropped 6 - other teams have passed them up while they have only gotten one soft verbal, as you note. If they fill out the typical 25 or so scholies on signing day they will be back in the top 10 and it could be very close as to who ends up with the better class - 'SC or UCLA. Many of the other programs currently above us won't move much as they are already at or close to the limit for the number of scholies they can give out this year - both the LA schools have a little room to add.

I think Ohio State smelled the roses. Re SC's class, there's no doubt it's loaded with some talented guys. We'd kill for Woods, Uko or a few others. That said, they're not getting guys to fill current holes, which will hurt them in a few years. Recall RN had a reputation for being all sizzle no steak with his recruiting at UW and Colorado - lots of skill kids but nobody there to help. That's SC's class in a nutshell. I'm pretty happy to see that RN focused on our areas of need and has apparently filled them this year.

Encinitas Bruin just wrote more about USC than UCLA.

Just sayin'

Before we get too carried away with five star versus four star HIGH school athletes let's remember kids mature and develop at different rates making it tricky to predict with any certainty material differences between five star and four star players after two or three years in the program. This is shaping up to be another extraordinary recruiting year for the Bruins but these are still high school kids.

USC looks like it should be going after linebackers as they'll be out of them next year but they also have a history of starting freshmen so it's hard to tell if they'll run out. And that's always been their big selling point. If Kiffin does become Little Caesar (to Pete Carroll's Caesar) things won't change.
I'm sure they point to Maualuga and Cushing as proof of freshman who started at linebacker going on to be NFL draft picks.

And it's like Encinitas Bruin said, there can only be so many players on the field at a time. Wasn't getting "stacked" in one possession their problem with running backs the last few years? With Stafon Johnson graduating and Joe McKnight rolling out of town in a Land Rover they only have two RB's with experience, which makes everyone happy.

Caesar is Roman, not Trojan, n'est pas?

The numbers don't show it but Stafon Johnson looked good in the senior bowl. He only had a few carries but showed he isn't afraid to block and mix it up when he didn't have the ball in his hands. It will be curious to see if, with a solid combine is able to get drafted. That would be impressive after missing all that time.

I don't get why Washington is ranked so high. Quantity of quality? A school can sign 35 kids and have the #1 class? Kind of stupid.

UB,

The Caesar title wasn't made in relation to being a "Trojan," or even as something positive. It was Scott Wolf taking a shot at Pete Carroll for what Wolf believed was Carroll's hubris and need to control everything.

For some reason, Rivals does not show Rykeem Yates as a UCLA commit, so our ranking on their site should be higher. SUC also just lost another player - punter Matt Darr & should drop at the next update. FYI