A new edition of our recruiting podcast covers some blue-chip commitments, quantity-versus-quality, Alabama's resourcefulness and more.
This week on the College Football Recruiting Podcast, I discussed a number of topics. The central theme evolved into how programs can maximize their resources, with a focus on the efficient job Nick Saban and his staff have done at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide have a lot going for them from a financial and recruiting standpoint, but Saban makes sure not to let any of it go to waste, and that's been a big part of Alabama's success.
The discussion of Alabama covers the last 3:30 or so of the podcast, if that's all you're interested in. But there's plenty more to talk about. Thanks to all who participated.
Blue-chip commitments
What I wrote about this week
- Camps! FSU landed five blue-chippers, and Tennessee landed eight commitments at Orange Carpet Weekend. Michigan got two elite Georgia kids.
- Fast starts in recruiting are often signs that teams are putting quantity over quality. That isn't a recipe for long-term success.
Listener questions
- Something on a lot of Ole Miss fans' minds is how an NCAA investigation can change a signing class. Can it? And how?
- Where do the freshly released Baylor commits end up? Is there a precedent for a June recruiting development like this?
- Do staffs have well defined recruiting roles? What are they?
- Who are the three best defensive players in Florida?
- Any recruits have opinions on #Brexit? (Hint: Not that I’ve seen.)
- How likely is another strong finish from the Longhorns? Was last year a trend or an anomaly?
- Who does most with least? Who does least with most?
- Do diminishing returns start when you stockpile too many elite QBs?
- How big of an impact will Nebraska's 2017 recruiting in California have on the program?
- How has Washington managed to consistently pull in top 25 classes and turn those guys into the NFL yet only win seven games each year?
- Does Usc finish top 5 in recruiting this yr?
- How loaded will California be with QB recruits in 2018?
- Do some states have a "type"? Like Texas seems to produce a bajillion tall lean fast dudes.
- Why do you wear funny hats?
- I'm always curious about why most of the better college football recruits come from the South/ West Coast/ warmer climates. I find the human migration from the northern climates to the southern climates to be the laziest excuse for better players in the south. Otherwise the best recruits would come from corridor from Washington DC through Boston. Is it harder for Northern players to gain extra stars due to their level of competition? FSU commit Alexander Marshall (from New Hampshire) comes to mind. I do think it's "relatively easy" to get a high rating when you are from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, etc.
- The stuff I've always wondered relates to how well recruiting matters vs. player development vs. tactics. I know recruiting matters the most, curious if you could guess how much by considering the following scenarios: We know based on your numbers and everyone else's that Bama has been the best recruiting team. If Saban and his staff are kidnapped by aliens and replaced by any other FBS staff, how much of a drop off is there this year? I'd assume the top flight coaches used to dealing with top guys(Urban, Jimbo) would probably do just as well and we'd never notice. If we brought in ANY D1 staff (be it from Clemson or Central Michigan) would all of them be able to do as well, or almost as well. Is there a scenario where a staff couldn't get 8-9 wins every year (barring just horrible luck)? If so, why?