I’m not the one to get overhyped on national signing day.
On the surface, I thought Nebraska had some great signings yesterday, and few guys get away they would have liked.
I’ll always be the first to point out that sometimes five-star recruits end up never contributing, while two-star guys sometimes turn into All-Americans. But it’s hard to deny that overall class rankings mean at least something in the overall scheme of things.
Take a look at the last five national champions, and their recruiting classes the five years leading up their respective titles, per 247sports.com, with the most recent class listed first.
2016: Clemson (11th, 9th, 17th, 15th, 15th) - AVG: 13.4
2015: Alabama (1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st) - AVG: 1
2014: Ohio State (3rd, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 15th) - AVG: 6.4
2013: Florida State (11th, 3rd, 2nd, 7th, 13th) - AVG: 7.2
2012: Alabama (1st, 1st, 5th, 2nd, 3rd) - AVG: 2.4
For some further comparison, the Big Ten champion’s class ranks, the last five years:
2016: Penn State (20th, 15th, 24th, 33rd, 46th) - AVG: 27.6
2015: Michigan State (22nd, 25th, 35th, 34th, 32nd) - AVG: 29.6
2014: Ohio State (3rd, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 15th) - AVG: 6.4
2013: Michigan State (35th, 34th, 32nd, 21st, 26th) - AVG: 29.6
2012: Wisconsin (65th, 37th, 45th, 44th, 38th) - AVG: 45.9
Bear in mind, 2012 Wisconsin was just 4-4 in the Big Ten, but won their division due to numerous post-season bans. Plus, Penn State was recruiting on a limited number of scholarships in the wake the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
To give you an idea, Nebraska’s class ranks, dating to 2008, which would cover every class recruited by Big Ten and national champions from the past five years:
24th, 30th, 36th, 22nd, 31st, 16th, 27th, 42nd, 25th. Average: 28.1
So while Nebraska’s overall class rank doesn’t come close to stacking up to those of national champions, they are in line with teams that have won the Big Ten title four of the past five years.
Obviously, there’s more to building a winner than just winning on national signing day, buy its still an encouraging sign.
This year’s class rank for the Big Red? 23rd.
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It wasn’t the best showing for Nebraska hoops Thursday night.
Michigan State was on fire from three the entire night, and got 31 points from their bench.
Meanwhile, the Huskers just never found an offensive rhythm, despite getting the best game of Jordy Tsimanga’s young career.
I didn’t necessarily expect the Huskers to win Thursday night, but they’re still facing an uphill battle to get to .500 before the year is over. It would have been nice to have that one.
On a side note, Nebraska finally retire Tyronn Lue’s jersey at halftime of the game. It feels long overdue to me. Are there really many players that have amounted to more than Lue in Nebraska’s history?
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The situation at Baylor keeps getting darker and darker.
I’m not quite sure what to make of the latest reports, but it doesn’t sound good, at all.
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It feels like picking the Super Bowl seems to be coming down to two key factors: The Brady-Belichick experience factor vs. the Falcons overall roster advantage.
I’m leaning towards the Patriots at this point, for what it’s worth.
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Speaking of which, our Championship Round Table event is today from 4-6 at the Nebraska Brewing Company Tap Room, located at 108th and Harrison.
2x champion Dave Tollefson, former Husker Tony Veland, Chris Bober, and Kenny Onatolu will be our guests. It’s a great broadcast - stop out and grab a beer and listen to some great football conversation if you’re free.
