Oregon State gets no love from recruiting rankings...does it matter?

Signing day is nearing and that means a new hope for the future and a chance to see how everyone stacks up for the next 4 years.

Unfortunately, other than a few stats and opinions by "experts" there's really no way to know how any of these kids will pan out. The ratings are a bit of a joke. They take into account some NFL-esque stats, if they will have a chance to have an impact as a freshman, and maybe one look from someone who knows football, then throws a star ranking on them. But what it doesn't take into account is potential. I.E. a safety who is really fast, but maybe slow for a safety, who puts on 30 pounds and becomes a stud LB who is hard hitting and fast (Doggett, Barnett, Ellison). Or a short, slightly slow RB who is very shifty, tough, and does all the little things right (Simonton, Bernard, Rodgers).

What I'm saying is it doesn't measure potential at all. But coaches like Riley, Banker, Langsdorf, Cav, etc all do. They can build players into something that Rivals, Scout, and ESPN didn't expect and mold a collection of individuals into something greater when they are on the field.

So I cringe when I see another article like this one on ESPN:

Class of 2008 Pac-10 recruiting overview, part one

Saying we're going to be in the bottom half of the Pac-10 for recruiting. Part of that is pure numbers. We had a ton of Greyshirts from last year's class that will add to this current year.

I agree with this assessment:

Underrated Class: Skeptics continue to overlook the Beavers


So stay tuned on February 6th and lets see what the future looks like!


Oregon State 2008 Football Commitments (15) - Rivals.com

Beavers Football Recruiting List - Scout.com