The Rest of College Football

[DennisT]

Have fun, Pharaoh.

[Hannibal]

And Dior and Jake.

[entropy]

As part of ESPN The Magazine and RecruitingNation's joint project looking at ESPNU 150 recruiting data from 2007 to 2011, we ranked college football's 10 best recruiting programs following signing day. One thing readers pointed out in the comments section was that we didn't give credit to schools that do more in the long run with lower-rated high school prospects. Admittedly, our project focused solely on elite ESPNU 150 talent and failed to take into account how those preps panned out or whether they even made it onto the field in college.

So in advance of the NFL scouting combine, we looked at the combine invite lists for 2011 and 2012 to determine (1) programs that have produced the most invitees in the last two years, and (2) programs that are molding recruits off the ESPNU 150 radar into NFL-caliber prospects.

After narrowing down the field to the 13 schools that were responsible for at least 12 total invitees, we ranked them by the percentage of those players that were non-ESPNU 150 prospects. Now, there's one thing we need to reiterate before diving into the rankings: being lower on this list is not an indictment of your team. This is simply a list of the 13 programs (out of 120 in the FBS) that had at least 12 players invited to the 2011 and 2012 combines. In other words, these teams can find elite-level talent and prepare players for the next level. Some schools just capitalize on potential more often than talent.

T-1. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2011-12 combine invitees: 13
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 0

Yes, the Cornhuskers are known for their "feed-'em-and-lift-'em" recruits who remain in Lincoln for four, if not five, years. But players like CB Prince Amukamara and RB Roy Helu are testaments to Nebraska's recruiting acumen. Amukamara transitioned from a 6-foot, 185-pound, three-star running back into the No. 19 overall pick in 2011, and he just won a Super Bowl as a member of the New York Giants' secondary. Helu was a fourth-round pick after coming out of high school as a 5-foot-11, 180-pound running back. This year, Nebraska's pipeline has produced two-star DT Jared Crick and three-star CB Alfonzo Dennard, who each put on 20 pounds as Huskers.

T-1. Boise State Broncos
2011-12 combine invitees: 12
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 0

Maybe it should come as no surprise that Chris Petersen's team is near the top of this list, considering the head coach appears to intentionally ignore top-rated recruits yet still frequents BCS bowls. But consider this: The Broncos had more draft picks last season (WRs Titus Young and Austin Pettis and DB Brandyn Thompson) than Notre Dame. RB Doug Martin, a one-star recruit, could go as high as the second round this year, and two-star QB Kellen Moore (6-1, 170 when he signed) should hear his name called.

3. Iowa Hawkeyes
2011-12 combine invitees: 16
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 2

Coach Kirk Ferentz had every reason to believe that DE Adrian Clayborn (a four-star linebacker out of high school) and DT Christian Ballard (an ESPNU 150 TE), would pan out. But QB Ricky Stanzi, SS Tyler Sash and DT Karl Klug were all one-time projects who turned into 2011 selections. Another of Ferentz's unheralded recruits, Riley Reiff, who came to Iowa City as a 235-pound defensive end but left as a 300-pound offensive tackle, should be taken in the top 10 this year.

4. Wisconsin Badgers
2011-12 combine invitees: 15
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 3

The Badgers' invite total includes five offensive linemen and a punter, but coach Bret Bielema certainly saw what others didn't in 2011 first-round DE J.J. Watt, who signed with Central Michigan as a one-star recruit but transferred to Wisconsin after one season. This year, Bradie Ewing (a 205-pound running back who developed into a 245-pound fullback), Peter Konz (a 285-pound tackle who became a 300-pound center) and OG Kevin Zeitler (284 pounds to 315 pounds) are all currently ranked in Mel Kiper's top five by position despite registering three stars or lower.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes
2011-12 combine invitees: 13
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 3

A program known for reeling in blue-chip recruits, Ohio State actually had five players selected in 2011 who weren't members of the ESPNU 150, including first-round DE Cameron Heyward (three stars) and fourth-round CB Chimdi Chekwa (two stars). But two ESPNU 150 prospects, OT Mike Adams and C Mike Brewster, help pad the Buckeyes' total combine numbers, as well.

T-6. Georgia Bulldogs
2011-12 combine invitees: 16
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 4

ESPNU 150 WR A.J. Green (2011 No. 4 overall pick) had pro potential the day he arrived in Athens, Ga., but third-round LB Justin Houston was a three-star defensive end who had to put on 50 pounds after coming out of high school. TE Orson Charles is the second-best prospect at his position in 2012 after three years under coach Mark Richt, while DT DeAngelo Tyson and OT Justin Anderson, both ESPNU 150 recruits, won't go early in the 2012 draft.

T-6. LSU Tigers
2011-12 combine invitees: 16
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 4

You say ESPNU 150 CB Patrick Peterson (2011 No. 5 overall pick), but we say LB Kelvin Sheppard and RB Stevan Ridley, who were both three-star recruits and were selected in Round 3. It's no surprise that WR Rueben Randle (ESPNU 150) and two four-star recruits (CB Morris Claiborne and DT Michael Brockers) have first-round potential in 2012. DeAngelo Peterson, on the other hand, grew from a 190-pound wide receiver into a 230-pound tight end who should be drafted.

8. North Carolina Tar Heels
2011-12 combine invitees: 18
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 6

If there was ever a four-year window for a team to succeed, the Tar Heels certainly missed it. Of course, that was due in large part to off-field issues -- two ESPNU 150 recruits (DT Marvin Austin and WR Greg Little) were drafted without playing a down their final seasons -- but second-round LB Bruce Carter, who was recruited as a three-star, 195-pound safety, certainly took advantage of his time on the field. The same can be said for three-star DE Quinton Coples, who packed on 50 pounds and is arguably the top player at his position in the 2012 class.

9. Miami Hurricanes
2011-12 combine invitees: 17
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 6

Two ESPNU 150 alumni (CB Brandon Harris, DE Allen Bailey) and three three-star recruits (CB DeMarcus Van Dyke, WR Leonard Hankerson, LB Colin McCarthy) made up five of Miami's top six 2011 selections. (OT Orlando Franklin was a late qualifier and didn't receive a rating out of high school.) All eight Hurricane combine invitees this year were four-star prospects or higher, including four members of the ESPNU 150.

10. Alabama Crimson Tide
2011-12 combine invitees: 14
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 5

The Tide produced four first-round picks in 2011: WR Julio Jones and RB Mark Ingram (both ESPNU 150 recruits), juco signee OT James Carpenter and three-star DT Marcell Dareus. In 2012, Alabama produced six combine invitees rated three stars or higher, plus junior college recruit CB DeQuan Menzie and two-star prospects DT Josh Chapman and WR Darius Hanks.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks
2011-12 combine invitees: 12
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 5

CB Chris Culliver and DE Cliff Matthews were the Gamecocks' only draft picks last year, and both were members of the ESPNU 150. Juco transfer OT Rokevious Watkins is the only non-three-star recruit that the Gamecocks are sending to the 2012 combine, but SS Antonio Allen and Melvin Ingram, who signed as a 225-pound linebacker and is the second-best defensive end in the 2012 class, prove that coach Steve Spurrier can spot talent outside the ranks of the blue chips.

12. USC Trojans
2011-12 combine invitees: 15
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 9

Four of the Trojans' eight 2011 invitees -- CB Shareece Wright, FB Stanley Havili, DT Jurrell Casey and TE Jordan Cameron -- weren't former ESPNU 150 recruits. OT Matt Kalil is one of five former ESPNU 150 prospects who received invites in 2012, alongside FB Rhett Ellison (three stars) and DT Christian Tupou (two stars).

13. Clemson Tigers
2011-12 combine invitees: 13
Former ESPNU 150 recruits: 9

Clemson is always chasing ESPNU 150 prospects (nearly 70 percent of their invitees), but the Tigers have done some talent mining, including three-star DT Jarvis Jenkins (2011 second-round pick) and DE Andre Branch, who came in as a 235-pound linebacker and is now ranked by Kiper as the fourth-best player at his position in 2012.

[lineygoblue]

Maybe Nike will come out with a "FTM" uniform for Oregon to wear ....

[hack]

LOL but Oregon already is a massive failure in the category of monitoring uniforms.

[entropy]

Wisconsin voted against multiyear scholies
February, 24, 2012
Feb 24
11:27
AM ET

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By Adam Rittenberg
Wisconsin was one of nine Big Ten programs to award multiyear scholarships to its most recent football recruits who signed Feb. 1, but weeks later the school was the lone Big Ten institution to oppose a plan to award such grants.

As many of you know, the Big Ten has spearheaded the petition to begin awarding multiyear scholarships to athletes. The plan received approval from NCAA's board of directors in October and survived an override attempt last week.

The override drew the support of 205 of the 330 Division I institutions that voted, which equated to 62.1 percent, just shy of the 62.5 percent majority needed to overturn the petition. The Chronicle of Higher Education obtained the voting record, which shows Wisconsin as the only Big Ten school to support the override, or oppose multiyear grants.

Minnesota, Indiana and Purdue, the three Big Ten football programs that didn't award multiyear scholarships in February, voted against the override, or in favor of the multiyear grants. The Big Ten's official vote also opposed the override.

From The Capital Times:

UW associate athletic director Justin Doherty says the university can understand why student-athletes might like the idea of a multi-year scholarship, but notes the one-year deal offers the institution more flexibility.

Doherty stresses that UW doesn't have a history of treating student-athletes poorly.

"We have operated where we don't just randomly or haphazardly pull a scholarship from somebody," says Doherty. "There has never been a threat where a student-athlete goes into a year thinking, 'If I don't perform to a certain level I'm going to lose my scholarship next year.' That’s not the way we've operated. So from our standpoint, there was a feeling of, 'Why do we need this multi-year lock-in?'"


It's notable when a Big Ten school drifts from the pack on a policy, especially after seemingly falling in line. But Wisconsin isn't the only institution a bit torn on this issue. While Michigan offered multiyear scholarships to recruits in February, head coach Brady Hoke has some reservations about giving four-year grants. "I've got a feeling they'll revisit those things," he told me earlier this month. "I never saw a problem with the one-year, renewables. Maybe [the solution] is somewhere in the middle and they become two-year deals."

Other institutions opposing multiyear grants included Florida State, LSU, Alabama and the entire Big 12 conference.

[*JD*]

Sparty afraid to leave the state?

9 games in Michigan this season; 2 away games in Michigan; CMU & Michgan... Only games they'll leave the state is for Indiana, Wisky & Minnesota.

They want to stick around where people may have actually heard of them.

[Rob F]

Originally Posted by WM Wolverine
Sparty afraid to leave the state?

They want to stick around where people may have actually heard of them.

It'll help their probation officers, too, to keep better track of the ones on electronic tether

[Mike]

Rob, how do you quote from two different posts like you just did?

[Rob F]

Rob, how do you quote from two different posts like you just did?

I'm not sure I can clearly explain it---you may have to experiment a bit to get it down---but here goes:

There are a few different ways of doing it. You could open up a couple different windows and do it in multiple steps before hitting "submit reply" , or you can first post after using the "Quote" symbol to capture the first quote, then immediately click on "edit" in the lower right hand corner of your screen (after right clicking on the 2nd item you want to quote and copying), then use the "quote bubble" symbol up above on the message toolbar, insert the quote between the bracked "[QUOTE][QUOTE]" prompt. I have to admit, I kinda stumbled across my methods just by trying out different things , the so-called "trial-and-error" method.

[whodean]

Rob, how do you quote from two different posts like you just did?

I'm not sure I can clearly explain it---you may have to experiment a bit to get it down---but

You can easily do this with the "+ button on each post

[Rob F]

You can easily do this with the "+ button on each post

I didn't know that---now I'll have to try that method, too.

[Tony G]

Or just use a Word page to collect all the posts and then paste them at once.

[Mike]

You can easily do this with the "+ button on each post

There's a + button?

[whodean]

The "+ button, right next to the quote button