Final Thoughts Before LOI Day

As if the prospect of grown men sitting around on a "sick day" to watch the college football declarations of 18 year-old young men high school seniors wasn't potentially pathetic enough (and trust me, I include myself in the aforementioned category), I submit to you this final thought before we give ourselves over to the likes of the many "experts" we will be hearing from throughout the day on Wednesday.

The Associated Press reviewed the top 50 recruits as named by Scout.com and Rivals.com from 2002-04, two services that essentially began as start ups but sold in recent years for tens of millions of dollars. The AP found that when picking the 10 players with the brightest football futures, the services were right a little more than half the time, based on whether a player started 20 games or more in college, his recognition for awards or whether he made it to the NFL. When it got to picks 11-50, the services were even more hit and miss.

Recruiting is not an inexact science. It is a crapshoot. Careful inquisition to why one prospect receives no FBS offers while a seemingly 'lesser' prospect can receive multiple FBS offers will lead you down a road of but one conclusion; the "experts" are often as clueless as the rest of us, and more often subjected to long standing biases and scouting "hunches." So enjoy your school's recruiting class. Celebrate the accomplishments of your school's assistant coaches and proud tradition. Greet the glory of your University's next group of gridiron greats. But remember that when it comes to signing day you never hear ANYONE say "my school's class sucks." Let us just hope you won't be so inclined to disagree in four years.