As many of you may have read, Rival's Mike Farrell posted today that Stanford's 2018 recruiting class dropped from #19 in 2017 to #62 in 2018, the greatest point drop in the country. Rival's rating system is heavily numbers weighted and includes the top twenty recruits by team so with only 14 in the class, Stanford yield six zeroes to average into Rival's aggregate score. Last year's score of only 19 despite several whales was similarly adversely impacted by low Farrell does mention the low numbers as impacting the rating but also the lack of elite prospects that Stanford has been accustom to.
What I perceive as more relevant is average star rating. At 3.21, Stanford is tied for 25th with Mississippi State. Not as high as most years, but still respectable and no where near #62. I agree with Matt that four and five star numbers are a reasonably reliable predictor of future success but also believe that Stanford under both Harbaugh and Shaw have picked unripened fruit that frequently has often emerged into top players. I believe that several in this class such as Bonner have similar potential Miezan, if we land him, could top that group.
Nevertheless, the Class of 2019 will be absolutely critical to add both quality and numbers.
What I perceive as more relevant is average star rating. At 3.21, Stanford is tied for 25th with Mississippi State. Not as high as most years, but still respectable and no where near #62. I agree with Matt that four and five star numbers are a reasonably reliable predictor of future success but also believe that Stanford under both Harbaugh and Shaw have picked unripened fruit that frequently has often emerged into top players. I believe that several in this class such as Bonner have similar potential Miezan, if we land him, could top that group.
Nevertheless, the Class of 2019 will be absolutely critical to add both quality and numbers.
