When it comes to winning battles of signatures on paper, winning on the football field sometimes is overrated.
Yes, national champion Florida is the unofficial No. 1 team in February’s recruiting sweepstakes. The recruiting game’s usual top 10 schools, including Texas, Notre Dame, Southern California, Tennessee and LSU, are jockeying to the wire.
Then there’s Colorado, 2-10 last season, weighing in at No. 27 in recruiting rankings on Rivals.com. Illinois, also 2-10 in 2006, is No. 15. Ole Miss, which usually struggles in the Southeastern Conference, is No. 18 with national signing day coming Wednesday.
On the flip side, Fiesta Bowl champion Boise State, the only unbeaten major-college team in the country last season, ranks No. 65. Atlantic Coast Conference champion Wake Forest, which played in the Orange Bowl, leads only Duke in the ACC’s recruiting rankings.
“The class we’re having is pretty good. People seem amazed that we won only two games and we’re getting this good a level of recruits,” CU coach Dan Hawkins said. “Parents and coaches get to know you and about your staff and about your program. No one likes to win only two games. Most parents, most high school coaches understand the nature of the game, that we want to get it turned around as a staff.”
Talk to a high school coach in California and he sounds as if he has been Hawkins’ buddy for years, yet Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson just met Hawkins this past year. “Those guys are going to get it turned around,” he said of the Buffs.
Getting the best player in Colorado, Columbine lineman Ryan Miller, brought instant credibility to the CU staff after an exodus of five-star talent from the state in recent years.
There might be a love/hate relationship between college coaches and recruiting experts, but two national analysts have no trouble explaining CU’s recruiting success relative to last fall’s results.
Jeremy Crabtree, the recruiting editor for Rivals.com, said of Miller: “This is a watershed-type recruit for the Buffs. It sends the signal around the state that it’s OK to sign with CU again.”
Crabtree points to Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, a Chicago product who was a starter as a freshman, as the catalyst for the Illini’s surprising recruiting success.
“Illinois has done a tremendous job in Chicago,” he said. “It sent a signal to the high-profile guys.”
Tom Lemming, a recruiting analyst for nearly three decades, said of CU: “I’ve heard real positive things about Hawkins and a hard-working staff. He’s been playing with (predecessor Gary) Barnett’s players and the last two years Barnett didn’t recruit well. Hawkins will turn it around once he has his own players.”
Heading into the final weekend, CU hadn’t picked up an oral commitment since mid- December. But the Buffs’ staff was on the road, reportedly arranging contingencies if more players decommitted.
Colorado State also got most of its oral commitments early.
“I think our class is as good as in some years when we went to bowls,” said CSU coach Sonny Lubick. “You’d be surprised how well-received we were.”
Crabtree is the first to admit the recruiting rankings are an imperfect system. “Wake Forest and Boise State don’t go after the four- or five-star guys. They go after guys who fit their scheme and style of play,” he said. “You can’t measure heart, and Wake Forest and Boise State do an excellent job finding those players.”
