But just a quick note before we dive in. I absolutely HATE the star-rating system used by nearly every recruiting service. It's taken me a while, but I've finally vowed to go cold turkey when it comes to recruiting stars. I've touched on this before, but since this is the first major release of star ratings for 2011, I thought now was the time to put it out there.
Here are the recruits who made the list, that are being actively recruited by Penn State. There are some big discrepancies between the four recruiting services, particularly around Curtis Grant and Doran Grant. But a few other recruits get the nod from one or two sets of rankings, but nothing in others.
Tom Lemming releases 100, like Rivals and Sporting News. But ESPN releases 150 recruits in its rankings, meaning they have more room to work with.
| Player | Rivals 100 | ESPNU 150 | SN 100 | Lemming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Kouandjio | 7 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Curtis Grant | 8 | 44 | 34 | 39 |
| Doran Grant | 23 | 67 | 11 | 89 |
| Ishaq Williams | 52 | 27 | - | - |
| Savon Huggins | 57 | 31 | 16 | 49 |
| Marquise Wright | 61 | - | - | - |
| Darius Jennings | - | 97 | - | - |
| Brandon Phelps | - | 111 | - | - |
| Tobias Singleton | - | 127 | 82 | 70 |
| Kiaro Holts | - | 143 | - | - |
| Damiere Byrd | - | - | 52 | - |
| Terrell Chestnut | - | - | 53 | - |
| Angelo Mangiro | - | - | 86 | - |
| Jay Whitmire | - | - | - | 78 |
The Rivals 100 has the fewest Penn State recruits listed, while also having Curtis Grant way higher (26 spots higher) than any of the other rankings. But the Rivals 100 does have Marquise Wright ranked all the way up at No. 61, the only service to have him in their top list.
Sporting News' 100 seemed to go rogue on a few recruits, particularly Savon Huggins and Doran Grant. None of the other rankings have either player in their top-20. Keep in mind, though, that Grant has fallen away from Penn State in recent weeks. So, he's not exactly critical here. SN also ranks several players in their top 100 that don't show up in the Rivals 100, or even the ESPNU 150--Damiere Byrd, Terrell Chestnut, and Angelo Mangiro.
Lemming is kind of all over the place, but has the same gist as all the others. I'd say Jay Whitmire's No. 78 spot stands out the most, both figuratively and literally on the above chart.
With only about 15 or 16 scholarships available for 2011, Penn State could end up signing five or six top-100/150 recruits, if all goes well. Of the players who made the chart here, I'd say seven or eight are heavy Penn State leans, if not outright locks.
(Kouandjio Photo: ESPN)
Follow LBU on Facebook and Twitter Subscribe to Linebacker-U.com by Email Be sure to visit our new LBU Forums
seven or eight? That's a bit optimistic, don't you thi k?
ReplyDelete