UofL vs UK 2015 Class Comparison

[Steelers2012]

Pretty close in average player rankings with UofL an edge in team ranking. Could change some based on other teams final recruits.

Rival:
UofL: #30; average player ranking: 3
UofK: #34; average player ranking: 3

Other teams on our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #4, Auburn #6, NC St. #34, Virginia #44, BC #47

247 Sports: (don't think includes transfers)
UofL: #31; average player ranking: 85.45
UofK: #36: average player ranking: 84.59

Other teams our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #7, Auburn #8, NC St. #29, Virginia #47

ESPN:
UofL: #28 (have to be member to get average player ranking)
UofK: not listed (rankings ends at 40 for non-members)

Other teams our schedule next year: FSU #2, Clemson #3, Auburn #8, NC St. #32,
This post was edited on 2/4 1:40 PM by Steelers2012

 

[rockycard]

Coaching

Louisville 5*
Kentucky 2*

 

[zipp]

Originally posted by rockycard:
Coaching

Louisville 5*
Kentucky 2*Yeah, they need a lot better recruiting than what they're getting.

LPT Football: Fun while it lasted...

This post was edited on 2/4 2:21 PM by zipp

 

[W.W.W.]

Originally posted by Steelers2012:
Pretty close in average player rankings with UofL an edge in team ranking. Could change some based on other teams final recruits.

Rival:
UofL: #30; average player ranking: 3
UofK: #34; average player ranking: 3

Other teams on our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #4, Auburn #6, NC St. #34, Virginia #44, BC #47

247 Sports: (don't think includes transfers)
UofL: #31; average player ranking: 85.45
UofK: #36: average player ranking: 84.59

Other teams our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #7, Auburn #8, NC St. #29, Virginia #47

ESPN:
UofL: #28 (have to be member to get average player ranking)
UofK: not listed (rankings ends at 40 for non-members)

Other teams our schedule next year: FSU #2, Clemson #3, Auburn #8, NC St. #32,
This post was edited on 2/4 1:40 PM by Steelers2012

Are you guys expecting to add anyone after NSD?

Just a couple of points here: I don't think JUCO DT Courtney Miggins has been evaluated by Rivals. His 247 ranking is impressive. Also, it doesn't look like JUCO DE Alvonte Bell has been recently evaluated by 247. His high school 247 stuff is pretty good, but they list him as a 2 star in JUCO. He's rated a 3 star by Rivals.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this class all things considered. UK closed strong, moving up 16 spots since yesterday morning. Pretty happy to finish at 35th after losing so many guys in such a short amount of time.

 

[The Red Ass]

5 star fields loi not yet in. This will bump up UL s ranking

 

[W.W.W.]

Originally posted by The Red Ass:
5 star fields loi not yet in. This will bump up UL s ranking

I'm not sure about 247, but on Rivals Fields is already accounted for in the rankings. Rivals now has UofL at 32, with UK still at 34.

I noticed that LB Darrien Mcnair still hasn't committed. Are you guys hearing anything about him choosing UofL?

 

[cards62878]

Don;t care about class ranking but, I'll take Petrino over Stoops as a football coach everyday of the week.

 

[Steelers2012]

Final Numbers from NSD:

Rivals:
UofL: #32; average player ranking: 3
UofK: #35; average player ranking: 3

Other teams on our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #4, Auburn #6, NC St. #35, Virginia #44, BC #46

247 Sports: (don't think includes JUCOs)
UofL: #32; average player ranking: 85.45
UofK: #40: average player ranking: 84.41

Other teams our schedule next year: FSU #3, Clemson #8, Auburn #9, NC St. #30, Virginia #47

Scout (Since UK wasn't listed on ESPN):
UofL: #32; average player ranking: 3
UofK: #44; average player ranking: 3.05

Other teams our schedule next year: Auburn #3, FSU #11, Clemson #15, NC St. #38,

One other note:

Per ESPN Recruiting Nation Top 50 Class rankings by conference:
SEC: 14
ACC: 12
B1G: 7
Big 12: 7
Pac-12: 7
This post was edited on 2/5 11:05 AM by Steelers2012

 

[thecycle21]

The problem for both teams is they are both a long way the teams at the top of their conference. UK is a tough spot because they will always be 20 to 30 spots below the top teams in their conference. On top of that every team they face in the SEC has equal or better coaching. The chances that Stoops is going to outcoach anyone in the SEC on a consistent basis are slim and none. The bottom line is the ceiling for UK football is very low.

Louisville on the other hand has one of the better coaching staffs in the ACC. The challenge at Louisville is can they consistently recruit a top 20 class? If they are able to get recruiting to that level that will put them 3rd or 4th in the ACC recruiting rankings. The talent gap, between Louisville, Clemson & FSU, closes at that point. Coaching at that point takes over and Louisville can compete year in and year out for the top spot in the ACC. The ceiling is very high at Louisville.

The question is can Louisville consistently recruit classes in the Top 20? I really think that is a tall order purely off location. Louisville has to get most of their players out of someone elses back yard. It would be nice to have 10 guys 4-5 star guys that are in your backyard that want to only play for your school. Louisville will never have that luxury. They have to do things differently i.e. second chances, transfers etc.

 

[beantowncard]

Yeah, both schools face geographic and demographic challenges. They both also have trouble holding on to good coaches.

 

[Mike'sMarbles]

Originally posted by thecycle21:
The problem for both teams is they are both a long way the teams at the top of their conference. UK is a tough spot because they will always be 20 to 30 spots below the top teams in their conference. On top of that every team they face in the SEC has equal or better coaching. The chances that Stoops is going to outcoach anyone in the SEC on a consistent basis are slim and none. The bottom line is the ceiling for UK football is very low.

Louisville on the other hand has one of the better coaching staffs in the ACC. The challenge at Louisville is can they consistently recruit a top 20 class? If they are able to get recruiting to that level that will put them 3rd or 4th in the ACC recruiting rankings. The talent gap, between Louisville, Clemson & FSU, closes at that point. Coaching at that point takes over and Louisville can compete year in and year out for the top spot in the ACC. The ceiling is very high at Louisville.

The question is can Louisville consistently recruit classes in the Top 20? I really think that is a tall order purely off location. Louisville has to get most of their players out of someone elses back yard. It would be nice to have 10 guys 4-5 star guys that are in your backyard that want to only play for your school. Louisville will never have that luxury. They have to do things differently i.e. second chances, transfers etc.

This is a pretty good assessment. The only thing I'd change is, it's not Top 20 recruiting but Top 20 evaluating and then developing. Ultimately if Petrino can glue together a team of transfers, JUCO's, and some diamonds in the rough, the team can over-achieve.

You're spot on about UK. All of the services I looked at had Kentucky ahead of only Vandy in recruiting in the SEC. And your point about Stoops is right on, it's just hard at this point to imagine him coaching up his players to a level where they can compete with even the middle tier schools in the SEC on a regular basis. Stoops seems just "okay" but he's in a league loaded with great coaches and some HOF'ers.

 

[HedleyLamarr]

ESPN has Louisville at 30 and Kentucky at 43. Not that big a difference, but Louisville has several highly rated transfers that aren't included, and Petrino has a long history of recruiting kids that prove to have been under rated. Overall, a long, long way from where the big blew smack tack was trending....

 

[zipp]

Originally posted by thecycle21:
...The challenge at Louisville is can they consistently recruit a top 20 class? If they are able to get recruiting to that level that will put them 3rd or 4th in the ACC recruiting rankings...Coaching at that point takes over and Louisville can compete year in and year out for the top spot in the ACC. The ceiling is very high at Louisville.

The question is can Louisville consistently recruit classes in the Top 20?...
I'd encourage you guys who think that U of L needs better recruiting classes to compete with the top teams in the country to look at Baylor's and TCU's recruiting classes and their national rankings. You'll find that they've never scratched the Top 20.

Now, were those teams in this year's Final Four?...No. But in retrospect, should at least one have been? I wonder where they'll be ranked next year going into the season?

And looking at this year's class rankings, TCU's class at 34 on Rivals and Baylor's at 43 sure doesn't look like success on the field immediately translates to big time success in recruiting. (I knew that previously based on the recruiting rankings of other teams.)

There are several fallacies that many people are walking around with in their heads:
1. Wins and bowl games translate to recruiting success in short order.
2. You need great recruiting classes to challenge for championships.
3. The ACC will dramatically improve our recruiting.

None of those things are supported FACTUALLY. And the reason #2 isn't--the basis for this thread--is that coaching plays such an important role. Check that box for us...

 

[CardFan1130]

Originally posted by beantowncard:
Yeah, both schools face geographic and demographic challenges. They both also have trouble holding on to good coaches.

In UK's case you have to be going all the way back to Bear Bryant. Not sure they've had a truly "good" coach since then.

 

[UofLHouse]

Yea, we won the recruiting rankings battle. Do we get to scream YAHTZEE! now or when we stomp them on the field again?

 

[AzCard]

By whatever numbers you look at (rankings, average stars, average numerical rating of the players, class size), the two classes appear to be pretty darn close. The one thing that separates the two classes in my mind is that Petrino signed all his primary targets save one (Redwine) while Stoops had to scramble to fill up his class with whomever was left available on signing day. Also, 1/3 of Petrino's class is already in school, giving them a nice leg up on the newly signed recruits on both teams.

 

[mwatson61]

Originally posted by UofLHouse:
Yea, we won the recruiting rankings battle. Do we get to scream YAHTZEE! now or when we stomp them on the field again?

YAHTZEE, One of the dumbest slogans I have ever heard come out of the UK marketing department. You can't help but laugh at the Bluenecks when they post it. What a sad bunch.

 

[Louisvillian]

Originally posted by rockycard:
Coaching

Louisville 5*
Kentucky 2*

That's the biggest factor that rarely gets mentioned outside of this board. Not only is comparing Stoops coaching to BP's like comparing Ron Zook to Urban Meyer, it's that I'll trust Petrino's, Grantham and McGee's eye for talent 10x over Porky and his patch-work band of wannabes anyday.

It's like a hall of fame thoroughbred horse trainer knowing how much talent his horse has by watching him train and then seeing some dork that has to depend on his stopwatch and ask other people what he is looking at.

 

[Steelers2012]

I can't take credit (or blame if it's not accurate) for the info below; it was provided on the UK board, and I just copied and pasted it here for a comparison on the player's offer, between UofL and UK recruits. I was impressed by the number of recruits we beat out SEC offers to sign (13 with Mississippi St. offers alone).


Louisville:


Akron 2

Alabama 2

Appalachian St. 3

Auburn 6

Cincinnati 10

Clemson 5

East Carolina 2

Florida 4

Florida Atlantic 3

Florida Intl. 2

Florida St. 3

Georgia St. 3

Georgia Tech 2

Iowa St. 3

Jacksonville St. 4

Kansas St. 2

Kentucky 6

La. Lafayet. 4

LSU 2

Marshall 4

Memphis 5

Miami (FL) 5

Middle Tenn. St. 6

Minnesota 2

Mississippi 3

Mississippi St. 13

Missouri 4

N. Carolina 3

N.C. State 3

Nebraska 4

Ohio St. 2

Purdue 4

South Alabama 4

South Carolina 4

South Florida 7

Southern Miss 5

Syracuse 4

Tennessee 3

Troy 4

UAB 6

UCF 3

W. Kentucky 3

West Virginia 4

Kentucky:

Akron 3

Arkansas 3

Boston Coll. 3

Charlotte 2

Cincinnati 6
Connecticut 3

Duke 2

Florida 4

Florida Atlantic 2

Florida Intl. 3
Georgia Tech 4

Illinois 7

Indiana 7

Iowa State 2

Louisville 7

Marshall 5

Maryland 2

Miami (FL) 3

Michigan St. 3

Middle Tenn. St. 2

Minnesota 3

Mississippi 3

Mississippi St. 3

N.C. State 6

Nebraska 3

Ohio St. 2

Old Dominion 3

Penn. State 2

Pittsburgh 4

Purdue 3

Rutgers 2

South Alabama 2

South Florida 4

Syracuse 4

Toledo 3

UAB 2

UCF 4

Umass 2

Virginia 4

Virginia Tech 2

W. Kentucky 3

W. Michigan 4

Wake Forest 7

Washington St. 2

West Virginia 5

 

[HedleyLamarr]

Aside from rivalry bragging rights, Kentucky recruiting is a problem because they are losing ground in their conference. Their average rank for the past four years is about 36, while the SEC average is about 18. They are staying roughly even with Vanderbilt (and Louisvillle), but falling behind the rest of their league. Based on recruiting rankings alone, Kentucky will only be favored to win four or five games a year. That is just not a sustainable position, unless the coaching staff can begin to show the ability to exceed expectations. The last six games of last season did not support that possibility, at all. Stoops needs to exceed expectations next year, or what little momentum they've had will start grinding to a halt. That grinding sound may have already started.

 

[Petjurino]

Class Comparison? That's easy UofL has class while Big Blow has none. It's that simple. Coach Stupids has kids beating down EKU (EKU for goodness sakes) players while Coach Cow is....well Coach Cow. I don't need to say any more as he is the sleaziest.