carney2
February 6th, 2008, 09:57 PM
I had an argument with myself and lost. I will be doing the Patsy Ratings of Patriot League recruiting classes again this year. I'm sure that you were holding your breath over that one. Anyway, here is the way it will be done.
The Patsy Ratings
(Patriot League Football Recruiting)
METHODOLGY
QUALITY: I wouldn’t know a “quality” high school recruit if I tripped over him while he was wearing a name tag. I therefore need to consult the “experts.” I run every recruit thru Rivals.com and Scout.com, who maintain data bases for football recruits. Neither is perfect
and there are “holes” in both data bases.
Rivals has much the larger data base and theoretically lists every senior high school football player who has created some D-I recruiting buzz. (Some people dislike Rivals and complain that “a recruit’s mother could write a letter and the kid would automatically be included in the Rivals data base.”) Beyond that, they separate the better recruits and rate them with a star system. Five stars is the highest rating and denotes recruits you will eventually find on the rosters at big time FBS schools. Patriot League schools will get players with one-star ratings and an occasional two star recruit, seldom more. Scout simply uses the 5-star system and does not list recruits who generated interest but who do not merit a star.
I award 1 Patsy Point for each recruit included in the Rivals.com data base who did not receive any stars. Two additional points are awarded for each star in a recruit’s rating. In other words, a one-star recruit earns 3 points (1 for being in the data base + 2 more for the star) for his chosen school. If there is a difference between the Rivals and Scout ratings, I use the higher rating to assign the Patsy Points. If a recruit is listed in both data bases but Scout is higher, the recruit will still get the 1 point for being listed in Rivals in addition to the appropriate points for Scout stars. A “rated recruit” is any recruit who was included in either data base.
(NOTE – There are other recruiting systems. I was either unable to find access, too lazy, and/or too cheap to pay for them.)
CLASS SIZE: Football is a physical game; a game of attrition. In addition, not all of these recruits are going to be up to the challenge of playing D-I football in a demanding academic environment. Some will get homesick, or will dislike their roommate or position coach, or their girlfriend back home will call to say that she’s pregnant. Males in this age group are among the most unpredictable and irrational creatures on the planet. In any event, quantity is, in many respects, almost as important as quality in the Patriot League recruiting process. Unlike many of the large state universities that have become FCS powerhouses, the Patriot League does not make a living off of FBS transfers. The overwhelming majority of the League’s key performers are high school recruits that have never attended another college.
It is arbitrary I admit, but I determined that a bare subsistence recruiting class should number 18. If you multiply this number by 4 years you get 72, which gives you three deep plus some leftovers for kickers, kick returners, “athletes,” etc. Most Patriot League preseason rosters number in the 90+ range, so this should not be a problem. I awarded 2 Patsy Points for reaching a class size of 18 and awarded an additional point for every three recruits above that number. For example, a recruiting class of 23 would yield 4 Patsy Points for that school – 2 for reaching 18 + 1 more for numbers 19 thru 21 + 1 more for numbers 22 and 23. There is, therefore, no difference between 22 and 23 – the point is awarded either way.
DISTRIBUTION: You need to keep the pipeline filled at each position. I therefore award 1 Patsy Point for each of the following positions where the team has at least one recruit: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, DB, and K/P. That is a maximum of 9 points. You can argue that Team X doesn’t need a kicker because last year’s freshman was great, or that Team Y already has 4 quarterbacks and doesn’t need one this year. You can argue...
SPEED: This one is really difficult, but since “speed kills," it needs to be considered. Times for the 40 are not tattooed on a recruit’s forehead and are rarely included in the college’s press release. Rivals or Scout will frequently (but not always) include this information for players in their data base. Other than that it is a matter of getting lucky with online resources. Freely admitting that I will most certainly miss a “burner” or two, or three, I award the Patsy Points for speed as follows: 4.8 – 4.701 = 1 point; 4.7 – 4.601 = 2 points; 4.6 – 4.501 = 3 points; etc.
TRIGGER: Quarterback is the most important position on any college football team. I have therefore determined that demonstrably superior quarterback recruits should earn additional Patsy Points for their schools. I have again used the Rivals and Scout data bases to determine “superior,” and if you view this as merely a way to award additional Quality points, you are correct. I award one point for each star assigned by either rating service to a QB recruit. Again, I use the higher rating of the two systems in each case. For instance, a recruit that is 2-star rated by Rivals will earn 2 Patsy points for his school. (Please note that a QB who is merely mentioned by Rivals, but earns no stars in either rating system earns no additional Patsy “trigger” points.)
JUMBO: Size matters. Since Patriot League teams are not stealing skill position recruits from LSU or Ohio State (the kind of guys who could make a difference despite what is going on in the lines) my assumption is that, for the time being, line play – and the size of the people making that play – is critical. I therefore assign 1 Patsy point for each OL recruit of 275 pounds or more and 1 point for each DL recruit of 250 pounds or more.
NEEDS: New for 2008, and the most subjective and controversial area in the Patsy Ratings, is an attempt to answer the question “Did this program meet its recruiting needs?” Recently the usual list of suspects on the Any Given Saturday board was asked to state and prioritize the recruiting needs for their school. They were requested to distinguish between needs for the upcoming season where freshmen would not be expected to contribute vs. needs for 2010 and 2011 when these recruits will be in the two deep. The responses have been massaged into a prioritized list of each team’s three (3) greatest recruiting needs.* Patsy Points are awarded as follows:
Meeting need no. 1: 5 points
Meeting need no. 2: 4 points
Meeting need no. 3: 3 points
That’s a total of 12 potential points, but they will not be doled out on an all or nothing basis. They will be subjectively (that word again) graded. For instance, a team whose number 1 need is offensive line lists 6 recruits at this position but none is rated, and only one weighs 275 or more will almost certainly not receive all of the 5 potential points for meeting their number 1 need.
*Excluding kickers. My personal (color that arbitrary if you like) opinion is that if one of your school’s greatest needs is a kicker, you’re in fantastic shape.
SMILE. It’s all about fun, bragging rights and picking a (verbal) fight among friendly competitors. We all know that the All League team in 2011 will be peppered with kids that no one considered back here in 2008, but who worked their tails off and were the recipients of good coaching and good training. Anyone who says that this is crap because “nobody really knows,” is taking this way too seriously.
The Patsy Ratings
(Patriot League Football Recruiting)
METHODOLGY
QUALITY: I wouldn’t know a “quality” high school recruit if I tripped over him while he was wearing a name tag. I therefore need to consult the “experts.” I run every recruit thru Rivals.com and Scout.com, who maintain data bases for football recruits. Neither is perfect
and there are “holes” in both data bases.
Rivals has much the larger data base and theoretically lists every senior high school football player who has created some D-I recruiting buzz. (Some people dislike Rivals and complain that “a recruit’s mother could write a letter and the kid would automatically be included in the Rivals data base.”) Beyond that, they separate the better recruits and rate them with a star system. Five stars is the highest rating and denotes recruits you will eventually find on the rosters at big time FBS schools. Patriot League schools will get players with one-star ratings and an occasional two star recruit, seldom more. Scout simply uses the 5-star system and does not list recruits who generated interest but who do not merit a star.
I award 1 Patsy Point for each recruit included in the Rivals.com data base who did not receive any stars. Two additional points are awarded for each star in a recruit’s rating. In other words, a one-star recruit earns 3 points (1 for being in the data base + 2 more for the star) for his chosen school. If there is a difference between the Rivals and Scout ratings, I use the higher rating to assign the Patsy Points. If a recruit is listed in both data bases but Scout is higher, the recruit will still get the 1 point for being listed in Rivals in addition to the appropriate points for Scout stars. A “rated recruit” is any recruit who was included in either data base.
(NOTE – There are other recruiting systems. I was either unable to find access, too lazy, and/or too cheap to pay for them.)
CLASS SIZE: Football is a physical game; a game of attrition. In addition, not all of these recruits are going to be up to the challenge of playing D-I football in a demanding academic environment. Some will get homesick, or will dislike their roommate or position coach, or their girlfriend back home will call to say that she’s pregnant. Males in this age group are among the most unpredictable and irrational creatures on the planet. In any event, quantity is, in many respects, almost as important as quality in the Patriot League recruiting process. Unlike many of the large state universities that have become FCS powerhouses, the Patriot League does not make a living off of FBS transfers. The overwhelming majority of the League’s key performers are high school recruits that have never attended another college.
It is arbitrary I admit, but I determined that a bare subsistence recruiting class should number 18. If you multiply this number by 4 years you get 72, which gives you three deep plus some leftovers for kickers, kick returners, “athletes,” etc. Most Patriot League preseason rosters number in the 90+ range, so this should not be a problem. I awarded 2 Patsy Points for reaching a class size of 18 and awarded an additional point for every three recruits above that number. For example, a recruiting class of 23 would yield 4 Patsy Points for that school – 2 for reaching 18 + 1 more for numbers 19 thru 21 + 1 more for numbers 22 and 23. There is, therefore, no difference between 22 and 23 – the point is awarded either way.
DISTRIBUTION: You need to keep the pipeline filled at each position. I therefore award 1 Patsy Point for each of the following positions where the team has at least one recruit: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, DB, and K/P. That is a maximum of 9 points. You can argue that Team X doesn’t need a kicker because last year’s freshman was great, or that Team Y already has 4 quarterbacks and doesn’t need one this year. You can argue...
SPEED: This one is really difficult, but since “speed kills," it needs to be considered. Times for the 40 are not tattooed on a recruit’s forehead and are rarely included in the college’s press release. Rivals or Scout will frequently (but not always) include this information for players in their data base. Other than that it is a matter of getting lucky with online resources. Freely admitting that I will most certainly miss a “burner” or two, or three, I award the Patsy Points for speed as follows: 4.8 – 4.701 = 1 point; 4.7 – 4.601 = 2 points; 4.6 – 4.501 = 3 points; etc.
TRIGGER: Quarterback is the most important position on any college football team. I have therefore determined that demonstrably superior quarterback recruits should earn additional Patsy Points for their schools. I have again used the Rivals and Scout data bases to determine “superior,” and if you view this as merely a way to award additional Quality points, you are correct. I award one point for each star assigned by either rating service to a QB recruit. Again, I use the higher rating of the two systems in each case. For instance, a recruit that is 2-star rated by Rivals will earn 2 Patsy points for his school. (Please note that a QB who is merely mentioned by Rivals, but earns no stars in either rating system earns no additional Patsy “trigger” points.)
JUMBO: Size matters. Since Patriot League teams are not stealing skill position recruits from LSU or Ohio State (the kind of guys who could make a difference despite what is going on in the lines) my assumption is that, for the time being, line play – and the size of the people making that play – is critical. I therefore assign 1 Patsy point for each OL recruit of 275 pounds or more and 1 point for each DL recruit of 250 pounds or more.
NEEDS: New for 2008, and the most subjective and controversial area in the Patsy Ratings, is an attempt to answer the question “Did this program meet its recruiting needs?” Recently the usual list of suspects on the Any Given Saturday board was asked to state and prioritize the recruiting needs for their school. They were requested to distinguish between needs for the upcoming season where freshmen would not be expected to contribute vs. needs for 2010 and 2011 when these recruits will be in the two deep. The responses have been massaged into a prioritized list of each team’s three (3) greatest recruiting needs.* Patsy Points are awarded as follows:
Meeting need no. 1: 5 points
Meeting need no. 2: 4 points
Meeting need no. 3: 3 points
That’s a total of 12 potential points, but they will not be doled out on an all or nothing basis. They will be subjectively (that word again) graded. For instance, a team whose number 1 need is offensive line lists 6 recruits at this position but none is rated, and only one weighs 275 or more will almost certainly not receive all of the 5 potential points for meeting their number 1 need.
*Excluding kickers. My personal (color that arbitrary if you like) opinion is that if one of your school’s greatest needs is a kicker, you’re in fantastic shape.
SMILE. It’s all about fun, bragging rights and picking a (verbal) fight among friendly competitors. We all know that the All League team in 2011 will be peppered with kids that no one considered back here in 2008, but who worked their tails off and were the recipients of good coaching and good training. Anyone who says that this is crap because “nobody really knows,” is taking this way too seriously.