If Kentucky football played in a conference of mere mortals...
[caption id="attachment_151014" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics[/caption]
Ready for a futile exercise? Good, me too. Much has been made about Kentucky's outstanding crop of football recruits. You know the names, how excited everyone is, how unprecedented this success is at UK, etc. I'm not here to rain on that parade, however, a scary truth exists. According to 24/7, Kentucky's class ranks 10th out of the 14 teams in the SEC. Let me get a few disclaimers out: rankings are calculated in strange ways, we clearly have signed talented players, who cares about stars or rankings, and the talent gap in this conference when the teams recruit at this level is likely small.
I agree with all of these things--to a point. I think that if a thorough study were done--by someone other than me of course--more often than not, these recruiting rankings are pretty accurate as far as general success is concerned. The fact that Kentucky signed this historic class yet still sits in the middle of the pack is a reminder of the behemoths that Stoops and his team will face every Saturday in conference play.
What would it be like if Kentucky were in another conference? Who knows. What I do know, is that this class would be ranked A LOT higher in every single conference in the country. How much higher though? Here is a look at the major conference rankings if Kentucky were a member(according to 247 rankings):
ACC (4th out of 15)
1. Florida State
2. Miami
3. Clemson
4. Kentucky
10. Louisville
Big 10 (3rd out of 15)
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Kentucky
Big 12 (3rd out of 11)
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Kentucky
AAC (1st out of 12)
1. Kentucky
Pac 12 (5th out of 13)
1. USC
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. Oregon
5. Kentucky
In every other conference in the country, Kentucky would be sitting near the top of the rankings. Other services (Rivals, ESPN), would have Kentucky ranked even higher. The above is a testament to the unbelievable recruiting job that is done in the SEC and is a clear display as to why it is so hard to win in this conference.
Regardless of what the standings say, this class is clearly special. If the staff can string a few more of these together, I have a feeling that the standings that matter--the ones at the end of the season--will be higher than 10 out of 14. As I said above, I think recruiting rankings are probably an accurate gauge of general success on the field. I'd also be willing to wager that the talent disparity between the 10th best class and the 20th best class would be minimal. For this reason, if the Cats can stay at this level consistently, Stoops is going to do things that haven't been done at Kentucky for a long time.
I leave you with a sign of (hopefully) things to come:
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics[/caption]
Ready for a futile exercise? Good, me too. Much has been made about Kentucky's outstanding crop of football recruits. You know the names, how excited everyone is, how unprecedented this success is at UK, etc. I'm not here to rain on that parade, however, a scary truth exists. According to 24/7, Kentucky's class ranks 10th out of the 14 teams in the SEC. Let me get a few disclaimers out: rankings are calculated in strange ways, we clearly have signed talented players, who cares about stars or rankings, and the talent gap in this conference when the teams recruit at this level is likely small.
I agree with all of these things--to a point. I think that if a thorough study were done--by someone other than me of course--more often than not, these recruiting rankings are pretty accurate as far as general success is concerned. The fact that Kentucky signed this historic class yet still sits in the middle of the pack is a reminder of the behemoths that Stoops and his team will face every Saturday in conference play.
What would it be like if Kentucky were in another conference? Who knows. What I do know, is that this class would be ranked A LOT higher in every single conference in the country. How much higher though? Here is a look at the major conference rankings if Kentucky were a member(according to 247 rankings):
ACC (4th out of 15)
1. Florida State
2. Miami
3. Clemson
4. Kentucky
10. Louisville
Big 10 (3rd out of 15)
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Kentucky
Big 12 (3rd out of 11)
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Kentucky
AAC (1st out of 12)
1. Kentucky
Pac 12 (5th out of 13)
1. USC
2. Stanford
3. UCLA
4. Oregon
5. Kentucky
In every other conference in the country, Kentucky would be sitting near the top of the rankings. Other services (Rivals, ESPN), would have Kentucky ranked even higher. The above is a testament to the unbelievable recruiting job that is done in the SEC and is a clear display as to why it is so hard to win in this conference.
Regardless of what the standings say, this class is clearly special. If the staff can string a few more of these together, I have a feeling that the standings that matter--the ones at the end of the season--will be higher than 10 out of 14. As I said above, I think recruiting rankings are probably an accurate gauge of general success on the field. I'd also be willing to wager that the talent disparity between the 10th best class and the 20th best class would be minimal. For this reason, if the Cats can stay at this level consistently, Stoops is going to do things that haven't been done at Kentucky for a long time.
I leave you with a sign of (hopefully) things to come:
But forreal, how does me and @GeorgeCampbell0 sound at UK turning around the program? 😎 #BBN #WhyNot
– Damien Harris (@Damien_D1Harris) February 7, 2014
That sounds really good to all of us. Will you throw in Eli Brown? #WhyNot
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