Evaluating the 2006 Recruiting Class
by DrB on Jun 18, 2010 2:15 PM EDT
in Recruiting
Email
Print
Taking an idea someone gave us for things to talk about in the offseason, we've decided to review the most recent graduating class and current seniors and see whether Rivals and Scout got their ratings right in the first place. I have my own thoughts about what I take star ratings to really mean, and it always becomes a point of contention between people who live by the ratings and those who trust the staff to make evaluations regardless of rating.
The 2006 signing class was ranked #16 by Rivals, #22 by Scout and #13 by ESPN, behind FSU in the ACC rankings. Miami was ranked behind us only in the ESPN rankings in that year, and ahead in both Rivals and Scout. ESPN does not have star ratings for 2006, but they give a "grade" rating that I've turned into an equivalent star rating based on how they have it set up currently.
| Pos | Player | Rivals | Scout | ESPN | Boom or Bust? | |
| RB | CJ Spiller | 5 | 5 | 5-150 | Great big duh. | |
| DE/LB | Kevin Alexander | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Had all the measureables you want from a DL, but never really produced to the level everyone thought he would. He played quite a bit, so 3-stars seems a fair rating. |
|
| CB | Crezdon Butler | 4 | 4 | 3 | A good corner for Zone, and not bad at man/man coverage either in our opinion. Didn't quite live up to the "best in the ACC" hype that some people gave him though. Still, he played and played well for years here, so the rating is right. | |
| LB | Jeremy Campbell | 3 | 2 | 2 | Role Player coming into this season, surprised us a little during the bowl game with his skills there, but still not expected to start. Ratings are correct. | |
| RB | JoJo Cox | 3 | 3 | 3 | Never made it in, AARC got him. | |
| DE | Jamie Cumbie | 4 | 4 | 4-150 | I was always high on Cumbie's gap discipline and technique until he got himself tossed off the team. Lost one year to injury. On most teams he would start, but behind Thompson and Jenkins, not much chance. Slight overrating perhaps. | |
| WR | Jacoby Ford | 4 | 3 | 2 | ESPN definitely got it wrong here didn't they? Picked by the Raiders in this year's NFL draft in the 4th round. Perhaps not utilized as well as he could've been at CU over his career. | |
| DB | Darius Gaither | 4 | 3 | 3 | Left after one season as a KR/PR,after basically being told he'd never get on the field. Rivals250 safety. Ended up at Charleston Southern. Definite bust. | |
| OT | Chris Hairston | 3 | 2 | 2 | Looks like the services got him wrong. Anchor on Clemson's OL for the last two years and expected to be the same this year. I think he could make the next step if he got in shape. Highly underrated. | |
| K | Richard Jackson | 3 | 3 | 3 | Misses XPs, shoot him. | |
| WR | Kendrick Johnson | 3 | 3 | 3 | Transferred after the 2006 season. | |
| CB | Byron Maxwell | 4 | 4 | 5-150 | Always been a good backup behind Chancellor and Butler, but for a high 4 to 5-star player you would expect him to have done better than that. Will finally get his chance to start this season. Overrated coming in. | |
| SS | DeAndre McDaniel | 4 | 4 | 4-150 | All-American and likely 1st round pick. Services underrated him a little. | |
| OL | Jamal Medlin | 3 | 3 | 3 | Never did anything but left the team due to microfractures in his knee a couple years ago. Difficult to say he was poorly rated because of the injury. | |
| WR | Jeff Ogren | 3 | 2 | 3 | Waste of scholarship. 3-stars is an overrating. | |
| TE | Mike Palmer | 2 | 2 | 2 | Overperformer of the class, but was underrated by the services for the same reason he didn't get drafted by the NFL: lack of speed. Signed with the Falcons as a UFA. | |
| Ath | Chris Russell | 2 | 3 | - | JUCO player. Reserve for a couple years. | |
| DE | Ricky Sapp | 5 | 5 | 4-150 | 5th round pick by the Eagles. Has had the measureables that the scouts love back into HS as you can see, but never the on-field production. Never was as awesome as he should've been with his speed. If he had a better senior year he would've gone higher. | |
| QB | Michael Wade | 3 | 3 | 3 | Glue guy, needed for the team as a key special teams contributor, but should not ever see the field as a QB. 3 stars is probably too high but hes a guy we can't do without either. | |
| LB | Julius Wilkerson | 3 | 3 | - | Never made it in, never got the scores. Ended up at SC State. | |
Notice the lack of OL in this group. Is it any wonder that we are short on quality linemen now? On the whole I'd say the scouting services were not terribly off the mark. They were on the mark with some and well off with others.
Whats your opinion on the 2006 class as a whole?
7 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
IMO when you look at it as a whole some of it is a little lack luster but when you look at how integral certain players are this was one of our top classes in recent memory. Between Spiller, Ford, Palmer, and Hariston our offensive success last season is heavily dependent on those 4. Considering defensive contributions from Sapp and specifically McDaniel our defensive dominance is also reliant on this class. These 6 alone are a major reason for our record last year.
Point of clarification
Does this include kids who pledged, didn’t make it in, then later came to Clemson? How do you decide what class to include?
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
Tomahawk Nation: Nole-Holds-Barred Analysis of FSU Sports!
Follow Tomahawk Nation's Twitter feed!
Good article.
I think they missed on Gaither, Hairston, and Palmer, but you could make the argument the rest were not too far off. Players like Maxwell and Cumbie would have started for most teams but got behind equally as talented and more experienced players and did not technically start, even though they played a lot of downs. ESPN missed on Jacoby, but Rivals got it right.
Overall, I agree this was one of our best classes, so our overall rank was probably correct.
There is something in these Hills!
McDaniel
DeAndre was a 2006 signee, but he had to go to Hargave first. Finally came in with the 2007 class.
I’d be interested in a piece as the season draws closer that looks back at the 07 class and maybe talks about what we could expect for 2010 from those guys.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
