Recruiting Riddle

USC.UCLA.2016.3I often point out how teams like Stanford and Utah ranked way lower than USC in recruiting and still beat the Trojans. Well, my colleague Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has this stat on UCLA: “Here’s how the Bruins’ 2008-16 recruiting classes have been ranked (by Rivals) within the Pac-12: 2, 2, 2, 7, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1

“The Bruins have never been better than 6-3 in conference play during (Jim) Mora’s five-year tenure. Yet in that same five-year span, eight of the 11 other teams have posted at least one season of 7-2 or 8-1 (Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Oregon, USC, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State).”

Recruiting rankings can mean a lot . . . or a little.

53 thoughts on “Recruiting Riddle

  1. Since there are no scientific means by which stars are awarded, they mean nothing. At the very most they indicate potential. Film can be misleading. I like the interview coaches do to form opinions.

    • Best way to recruit is to try to watch the player in a game. Films don’t show the whole story.

      • Agreed Steve…I try to follow our guys in hs and watch games as often as I can… Oddly I see 3* guys rip it up

        • Like Vorhees…3*, but huge and tears kids heads off…but he’s raw, not elegant and needs 2years to possible greatness… Easy 6’6 320

  2. The bruins have always had a losing football culture. The only thing a bruin can always be counted on to bring up about their entire football heritage is that once upon a time, lone ago, in another galaxy, they actually beat USC eight times in a row (twice as long as the current UISC basketball streak) but managed to do nothing else.

    Since then, USC has made the baby bruins pay dearly for their little streak and has beat up on the little gutties by winning 14 of the next 18 games played.

    Tradition means a lot. USC football is loaded with it. ucla hasn’t won a Rose Bowl in over 30 years and its last four crappy coaches go by the names of Buffet Bob, Radio, Slick Rick and The Chimp.

    It doesn’t matter who ucla signs. They’ll always be mediocre.

    • It’s a great night. Trump knocks it out of the park with a great Supreme Court nominee and the best in the nation are lining up to sign with USC tomorrow morning.

      • Oh yeah Goop. The “rump’s” first authorized combat mission, is a disaster in Yemen, The Special Op Team came under heavy fire, lost 1 dead Navy Seal, and Osprey. The special Op team killed an 8 year old female. F**K’g huge.

        Making Amarika great again, one dead child at a time.

        Goosestep on goop.

  3. Scotty, it is a combination of many things which include, evaluating, shopping for competition against the person you are recruiting, evaluating, and more evaluating. Once the recruit signs, then it is up to the coaches to make them the best that they can be. From the time a coach looks at a recruit until they graduate, they have spent three years in high school and four to five years at a college. That is eight years of dealing with the college. That is over one third of the young man’s life dealing with the college. That is a lot of time on both sides. At the end of the day, It is just using your best judgement when selecting these young men.

  4. Like i said. Jim Mora is still living off of three wins against a team who was without 30 scholarships.
    He’s a let down.
    USC owns UCLA and Clay Helton owns Jim Mora. Not trying to be a cocky SOB but it’s the truth.

    USC is BACK.

    • Jim Mora is a con man and that’s no exaggeration. Consider, when he was coming to UCLA, he and his people let it be known that if they wanted to compete at the highest level and chase championships, they needed to get serious and hire him. A little obnoxious but we would see. The first year, loaded with talent leftover, he exceeded good expectations by a decent chunk. Now here’s why I really can’t stand this guy–remember he sold himself as the program Savior with his five year plan. He had been there less than a year and he was already sniffing around for NFL gigs. That’s some set of balls on this guy. Since they were doing well during the first season, where, when, how did he have the time to start contemplating his next move? Why would he?
      If a coach gets fired, the school has to buy out his contract. Well if a coach uses the leverage of the school being desperate to compete on the highest level and they’re going to have to overpay. You being an NFL assistant, with a famous father to get that huge contract–you are asking the school to make a five year (hopefully more) commitment to you– then when you go actively looking and talking to NFL teams and you let it be known, so you can back to the school and hit em up for more money for assisstants. That’s foul. In that instance, I would like to see that contract cancelled and take back any signing bonus.
      Since Mora has been the coach, he has not won money game. Think about it, every time he won enough for you to say, ok this next big game will be a benchmark to where the program is–whiff, whiff, whiff!
      Think I am being to hard? When you play enough big games , odds are you’re going to win some. You can then extrapolate what those wins mean for you the coach and your program.
      Not this guy–O-fer, nada, zilch, nothing doin’.
      Let me be clear, with his same record ,and if he didn’t pull that crap I wouldn’t have said word one. I don’t like con men liars.

    • Early in the 2016 season Sambo, you whined loudly about Helton. You claimed Helton would ruin the bozo u FB program and should be fired immediately

      Now on a bozo u blog you whine long and loudly about JimmyBall. Gosh Sambo, thanks for the pointing out the obvious. But Sambo, you’re FOS, w/o a single original thought of your own.

      BTW, Mora hasn’t lost 52 – 6 lately.

      And Sambo, I should add that for the 51st consecutive time a former bozo u QB won’t be starting the SB.

      So, bozo u is 0 forever in BB NC’s and starting SB QB’s.

      • Keep digging my friend. I’ve said long, long, long ago i was happy to be wrong about CH.

        Man up. Does USC Basketball have your respect? 4 in a row……..
        Does Enfield and USC have your attention and respect???

        • Sambo, no doubt about it, you’ve been FOS for a long, long, long time.

          No!

          No!

          Talk to me when bozo u wins a BB NC.

          • Got it.
            You’re taking the ball home with you after the 4th consecutive @** kicking.

            I read you loud and clear.
            Hey, 5th times the charm right?

            #MAN UP

  5. I’m not sure anyone here has caught this, but according to TOS there was a tweet put out by a 2017 Boise St. commit. A 3-star defensive end named Aisa Kelemete tweeted that he received an offer from USC some four hours ago. Now the tweet has been taken down and the kid was making it up. Bizarre.

  6. Scott (“Notice” that “I” never use Your name?)

    “I often point out how teams like Stanford and Utah ranked way lower than USC in recruiting and still beat the Trojans” ???

    What is that ?

    SANCTIONS, SANCTIONS, SANCTIONS !!!

    “B” four, the SANCTIONS, what were “those” [ WINNING ] PERCENTAGES ??

    ONE MORE TIME…

    What Team in “modern” College Football “History” boarded a “flight” to the “East” Coast with “44” players on board to “play” against a “Team” filled “85” total (DEEP) ?????

    How Stupid !!!

    Hey “Bama”, do-the-same ?

    AND GET CREAMED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Hey “Bama”, make-a-“Bowl”-GAME-every-year UNLESS THE RUG HAS BEEN PULLED OUT FROM UNDER YOUR FEET !

    “SANCTIONS” – MATTER, “DEPTH” – MATTERS…

    Scott, You are getting “worse”, not better !

    If “You” despise the USC Trojans, then do the best for “EVERYONE”………

    FADE AWAY (Like Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, ASU, Colorado, etc…….)

    “No” one can “hold” a Champion Down !

    USC Trojan – FightOn

  7. As to the question why a few PAC-12 teams have had success against USC who had better recruiting classes: When you have been top heavy in offensive recruiting (as in Kiffin & Sarkisian) and treat defense as a necessary evil, you will not always win games by having to outscore your opponent by the end of the game who does have a good defense. Enough said!

  8. Found this: Since 2000, USC has averaged the top class in the nation and never dipped below No. 13 even amid sanctions, according to recruiting analyst Dave Bartoo.

    Which means that USC is USC. All this worrying about sanctions, and, then mediocre seasons, whether or not we beat UCLA, beat Notre Dame, how it looks getting blown out by Alabama, etc., etc., etc., none of it matters;

    Our grandmothers could recruit a great class to USC.

    Player development. That’s what’s overlooked…

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