ESPN updated their 2015 college football recruiting rankings today now that spring games and practices are in the rearview mirror. Let’s see what we can filter out from the early positioning:
Here’s a couple takeaways:
- No Florida, Auburn, Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, and other traditional recruiting powers, missing on the rankings because of uncommitted recruits. Kids these days and their darn iPhones.
- The final rankings, which usually end up every year with Alabama and LSU swapping places for the #1 spot, will depend on whether Nick Saban can convince a quarterback to forget that Lane Kiffin will be his position coach.
- New coaches Charlie Strong at Texas and James Franklin at Penn State have, at the moment, revived their fading programs by making good. Texan and Pennsylvanian tax payers rejoice!
Now let's pick out a couple stand-outs:
1) Alabama
2) Texas A&M
A&M won the Cotton and Chic-Fil-A Bowls mainly by using former coach Mike Sherman’s players, chief among them Johnny Football. Kevin Sumlin has his new SEC-caliber stadium to sell recruits, but it remains to be seen how his recruiting translates into wins.
3) Penn State
No doubt this has been the shocker. Not even two years from the crippling sanctions, James Franklin has vaulted Penn State from habitual recruiting mediocrity into the early returns. I’d bet he’d keep PSU in the top 15-20 classes in the country at the end of the cycle, but the scholarship reductions set a low ceiling.
4) LSU
5) Florida State
6) Tennessee
Another huge shocker, considering Knoxville is still recovering from their roster during the Lane Kiffin/Derek Dooley eras and coach Butch Davis being hired after I turned down the job.
7) Clemson
8) Texas
9) Notre Dame
This year, after a year of being suspended for grades, the Domers have back the QB who led them to the 2012 title game. We have the same situation here as we do at College Station: a coach’s success depends on players recruited by the guy he replaced.
10) Georgia
11) Miami (FL)
12) Nebraska
13) Oklahoma
14) UCLA
15) Baylor
