LudicrousSpeedGO!
Well-known member
That tells me there was very little market for him. 5 star no more. On the other hand, some guy that was rated 2 or 3 stars worked his @$$ off and took his spot. Some guys make their own potential.
Serious question. Is the Blue Chip Ratio becoming outdated in the portal era?
- Thread starter Pennstate_one
- Start date
I think OL & DT are the most difficult to assess. Speed is speed but linemen depend more on strength. A 6'3" 280 lb kid can dominate in high school because of his size advantage. Then he meets other kids his size in college.
LudicrousSpeedGO!
Well-known member
Agreed. The big guys are definitely harder to project. But a lot of our players that people were upset about losing are headed to Temple and similar landing spots. There are a number going to Vo Tech and a few to Tenn because of familiarity. For the most part, those we lost aren't getting gobbled up by top teams. I don't consider Vo Tech a top team but at least that is lower level power 4.
Va Tech got the lion's share of our top recruits for 2026. Then they added Grunk & Reynolds in the portal. It seems that very few players wanted anything to do with PSU. That tells me they either loved Franklin or really hated what they saw going on at PSU. A lot of these kids were from PA and weren't willing to hang around to see what kind of money they would get or who the next coach would be.
I don't think there's a lot of familiarity at Tennessee. Coleman was 5*. Something tells me he was in the dog house at PSU. Gilliam was 4*. Campbell & Lane were high 3*. Tennessee could be a threat next year because their recruiting class was ranked #7 before adding these highly rated players from PSU.
The new model. Players who understand team culture and chemistry, and who are eager to work hard and compete in such an environment. High character. Mendoza, not Raiola. Indiana 56, Oregon 22
LudicrousSpeedGO!
Well-known member
They followed the coaches. Many committed to Franklin, not PSU. Some followed their coordinator. We did miss the 2026 recruiting class. Many posters on other site say that Franklin and those still on the staff that followed him had told kids and their parents that their scholarship offers were no longer valid. They cite quotes from some parents.
Not much we could have done there except what Campbell has done by raiding the best of ISU's class and getting a few flips and then backfill with young portal talent. Fortunately for us in this situation, the game has changed. You can miss a recruiting class and grab the talent in the portal. Plus, teams are getting to the very top by emphasizing production in the portal over potential.
Pennstate_one
Active member
I doubt it’s about Charlotte outbidding PSU. It’s probably about playing time and a clearer path in many of these cases.
Money matters, but opportunity also matters a ton too. If you’re not seeing the field, the portal gives you an immediate exit instead of waiting it out.
Team culture and chemistry works best if you can achieve it with the most talented players.
Tennessee players didn't follow their coaches when Knowles & Ponidexter replaced them. It seems to me that something was amuck at PSU.
I struggle to believe that PSU revoked all the 2026 scholarships. Why would they do that?
Losing the 2026 & 2027 classes makes rebuild a lot more difficult for PSU but I agree the portal helps. I think about how PSU's 2022 class carried them to 3 good years with fill ins from subsequent 15th ranked classes and a few portal transfers.
Agree but it seems he'll could have done a lot better than Charlotte.
Like those Hoosiers
5-Stars. 90% are from the sunbelt. The usual places. FL, GA, TX, CA. Because the gene pool is equally distributed around the US, it's safe to assume that 5-stars are just that based on environmental factors, and along with regional bias by the rankers. If Tyler Warren and Saquon Barkley, for example, played their HS ball in say Katy, TX, they'd be deemed 5-stars. And look at all those nattys coming out of Texas since 1970 (answer: one). So a PA old-timer by the name of Cignetti says, "F that Sh!t. I know good ball players when I see them".
LudicrousSpeedGO!
Well-known member
Tennessee like other teams is not immune. Tennessee players in the Transfer Portal
S Kaleb Beasley
DL Josh Schell
LEO Jordan Ross
IOL Brian Grant
IOL William Satterwhite
DL Jayden Loftin
K Max Gilbert
EDGE Emmanuel Okoye
EDGE Caleb Herring
CB Rickey Gibson III
WR Amari Jefferson
WR Braylon Harmon
OT Lance Heard
OT Bennett Warren
CB Colin Brazzell
WR Tommy Winston III
IOL Max Anderson
DL Herb Gray
OT Trevor Duncan
RB Peyton Lewis
QB Jake Merklinger
CB Marcus Goree Jr.
LB Brenden Anes
EDGE Kellen Lindstrom
DL Jamal Wallace
S Boo Carter
Not as long of a list as PSU but they didn't change out their entire staff. A lot of players commit to a head coach and that makes a difference.
Let me clarify. I am not saying PSU revoked an entire classes scholarships. I am telling you that on multiple sites it has been posted, mostly sourced from parents of recruits, that as Franklin left HE or his staff that followed him to Vo Tech told recruits that their scholarship offers were no longer valid. I cannot verify if this is true although I may ask a friend who coaches a former commit that bailed. I merely am relaying that this explanation has popped up citing players parents on multiple sites. It could check out considering that nearly all of the 2026 class bailed and didn't at other schools that changed coaching staffs.
marylovesthelions
Well-known member
Yes. Indiana has zero blue chip recruits. COACHING is the new blue chip. Even their portal gets were not blue chip. Iowa gets big farm boys and develops them into a top 3 B1G OL every year. We j7st lost a 5 star OL recruiting who was not a starter.
Sheriff Coffee
Well-known member
Here is the evidence of how far high school recruiting has fallen in the new era
I don't think this is evidence that H.S. recruiting has fallen as much as some people think. Indiana is an outlier that will have to prove their ability to sustain their 2 year run.Here is the evidence of how far high school recruiting has fallen in the new era
The P4 teams in the playoffs are: Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, A&M, Miss, Georgia, OSU, Miami, Texas Tech, and Indiana. Indiana is the only one to make it with classes ranked in the 50s. The next lowest is Texas Tech and they only made it because they won the weaker SW conference. The perennial powers all still have top H.S. recruiting classes.
Indiana is a great story but I think it's silly to think all of a sudden teams can win consistently with 50th ranked classes and 3* portal transfers. I understand that teams can improve through the portal. Miami is a good example. Their last 2 recruiting classes were ranked 14th and 4th which is pretty good but they supplemented that with portal transfers 9 of which were ranked 4* (including Carson Beck).
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LionDeNittany
Well-known member
Recruiting, from HS, has very little value today.
Yes, there will be correlation, but it doesn't truly matter.
All things being equal, top schools will attract top HS talent. That said, top HS talent may not pan out or may wish to play elsewhere after a year or two. Cignetti is correct. Performance over potential. Out of 22 starters, five could be home grown while 17 could be mercenaries. Coaching (player evaluations, schemes, play-calling), culture, and a big enough budget are now the primary factors determining success.
9 of the 10 P4 participants in this year's college football playoffs have had good H.S. recruiting classes (unless you throw out Texas Tech whose classes have only been ranked in the 20s).
4*/5* recruits in 2026 class:
USC 22
Oregon 16
OSU 19
Michigan 11
These schools are wasting a lot of time and money if H.S. recruiting really doesn't matter and Minnesota is just as likely to with the BiG.