“Star” inflation has pretty much gotten out of control. By my count, Tulane has now offered at least 237 high school players across the nation, with more seemingly every day. Rivals has rated 178 of them, giving 131 of them 3 or more stars. That’s 73.5%. But that’s not particularly high. Scout has rated 121, issuing 110 3+ stars for a 90.9% rate. ESPN is a perfect 85 for 85 in those they’ve rated, with every kid getting at least 3 stars. And, 247, who many people now swear by, has rated 149 players from our “offer list.” They’ve rate 148 of them (all but one kid by my count) as a 3 star or higher. Of course, a large number of kids have not been listed or, if listed, not rated by the services. Eventually, virtually everyone who signs with a D-1 school will get a rating. Those who don’t sign will generally be downgraded to 2 stars and those with no ratings will suddenly become 2 or 3 stars without, best I can tell, any analysis other than “who they signed with.” That ESPN and 247 have the nerve to differentiate each level by dividing them into 10 separate ratings is beyond ridiculous. And I simply can’t duplicate 247’s supposed “consensus” rating with anything I find from other sites. There is some “magic” going on there, too.
Looking at Tulane’s recent history, I chose to only view Rivals, since they, at least, have some differentiation between star levels. And, we haven’t fared very well. Only 25 of the 103 high schoolers we’ve signed since 2012 were awarded 3 stars by Rivals (less than 25%).
In 2012, Toledo recruited four players who eventually signed with Tulane with 3 stars: Doss, Thompson, Jacquet, and Van Hooser. CJ came on to sign Monroe (4 stars), LaFrance, and Batiste, who each had 3 stars.
In 2013, CJ signed Edward Williams, Tanzel, Smart, Santa Marina, Badie, Chris Taylor, and Brandon Godfrey.
In 2014, he signed Diaz, Veal, Marbley, Ardoin, and Cuiellette
In 2015, he signed Darius Wiliams, Leeward Brown, and Nigel Anderson
And in 2016, none of the recruits who committed to CJ who eventually signed were awarded 3 stars. Fritz, however, despite a late start, brought on Tre Jackson, P.J. Hall, and Jacob Robertson, who were all three stars.
The interesting thing is that many of the 3-stars through the years didn’t or haven’t to date done much. And several left early. From 2012, Van Hooser was injured and Jacquet hardly played until his fourth year. Batiste, of course, after a good start, left the program. From 2013, Williams and Godfrey also left early and Santa Marina hasn’t played much entering his redshirt junior season. From 2014, Diaz became a starter after a redshirt year. Veal played well before departing and Ardoin, after a redshirt year, has split time at TE with two other guys. Cuiellette has yet to prove anything. The 2015 class only retains Leeward Brown and none of the “three stars” from that class has yet seen the field. And, of course, we all hope the 2016 class can make a real difference. To me, it is our best class in years.
As to 2017, the jury is obviously still out. With the number of camps our coaches have attended, they have seen literally thousands of kids who they’ve measured, timed, and interviewed. They clearly know more about these players than any of the recruiting services. On the downside, these multi-school camps have given many other schools the same opportunity to evaluate players and, to date, most of our commitments have not impressed many schools at the G5 or P5 level.
Stay tuned, a lot will happen between now and February.
Roll Wave!!!
Looking at Tulane’s recent history, I chose to only view Rivals, since they, at least, have some differentiation between star levels. And, we haven’t fared very well. Only 25 of the 103 high schoolers we’ve signed since 2012 were awarded 3 stars by Rivals (less than 25%).
In 2012, Toledo recruited four players who eventually signed with Tulane with 3 stars: Doss, Thompson, Jacquet, and Van Hooser. CJ came on to sign Monroe (4 stars), LaFrance, and Batiste, who each had 3 stars.
In 2013, CJ signed Edward Williams, Tanzel, Smart, Santa Marina, Badie, Chris Taylor, and Brandon Godfrey.
In 2014, he signed Diaz, Veal, Marbley, Ardoin, and Cuiellette
In 2015, he signed Darius Wiliams, Leeward Brown, and Nigel Anderson
And in 2016, none of the recruits who committed to CJ who eventually signed were awarded 3 stars. Fritz, however, despite a late start, brought on Tre Jackson, P.J. Hall, and Jacob Robertson, who were all three stars.
The interesting thing is that many of the 3-stars through the years didn’t or haven’t to date done much. And several left early. From 2012, Van Hooser was injured and Jacquet hardly played until his fourth year. Batiste, of course, after a good start, left the program. From 2013, Williams and Godfrey also left early and Santa Marina hasn’t played much entering his redshirt junior season. From 2014, Diaz became a starter after a redshirt year. Veal played well before departing and Ardoin, after a redshirt year, has split time at TE with two other guys. Cuiellette has yet to prove anything. The 2015 class only retains Leeward Brown and none of the “three stars” from that class has yet seen the field. And, of course, we all hope the 2016 class can make a real difference. To me, it is our best class in years.
As to 2017, the jury is obviously still out. With the number of camps our coaches have attended, they have seen literally thousands of kids who they’ve measured, timed, and interviewed. They clearly know more about these players than any of the recruiting services. On the downside, these multi-school camps have given many other schools the same opportunity to evaluate players and, to date, most of our commitments have not impressed many schools at the G5 or P5 level.
Stay tuned, a lot will happen between now and February.
Roll Wave!!!
