On the heels of a terribly disappointing season, the boards are blowing up with frustration and anger - and rightfully so. Fans want a better product on the field. There's nothing wrong with that. But it should not be a surprise to anyone that follows recruiting on any level that this team is as bad as it is. A comparison between the conference recruiting rankings over the previous 5 years and the conference rankings over the past 5 years certainly suggests that there is a connection.
Below is the past 5 years' average national recruiting rankings among SEC teams
Both Mississippi State and Missouri were able to "coach their players up," while A&M and Tennessee were unable to translate recruiting success to wins on the field. It should also be noted that at Mississippi State that there was significant consistency with HC Dan Mullen for the past 9 years, but it still remains to be seen if new Bulldog HC Joe Moorehead can continue that trend. As for Missouri - the Tigers benefited greatly from a trend where the SEC East was down for a period of time, and their current HC, Barry Odom, has been with the Tigers for the past 5 years. Tennessee on the other hand saw Butch Jones get fired as a result of his inability to convert highly ranked recruiting classes in '14 & '15 (both were ranked #5 in the nation) into winning football; and A&M parted ways with Kevin Sumlin after watching him fail to take three top 10 recruiting classes to better than a 4th place finish in the western division of the SEC.
Now I'm not saying that success is ALL about recruiting, and fully acknowledge that coaches still have to develop the talent once it gets on campus; but there is a very clear correlation between recruiting success and winning. As the saying goes: "It's not the X's and the O's. It's the Jimmy's and the Joe's." There's also the lack of depth of talent in the state at the prep level, and the extended streak of lack of success in the SEC. Remember that in 26 years of the Hogs being in the SEC, they have only tied for the western division title four times, and have never finished better than 2nd in the division in the Saban-era.
With that being said - this season should not have surprised anyone. You can't expect a team that routinely finishes near the bottom in the conference in recruiting to have a new coach come in and win right away - especially when that coach's system is so drastically different than the previous staff's. It was a lost season, but one I lay squarely at the feet of Bret Bielema.
Below is the past 5 years' average national recruiting rankings among SEC teams
- 2.4 - Alabama
- 5.2 - Georgia
- 7.4 - LSU
- 10.0 - Auburn
- 11.8 - A&M
- 12.0 - Tennessee
- 14.2 - Florida
- 19.0 - South Carolina
- 22.6 - Ole Miss
- 27.2 - Kentucky
- 27.8 - Mississippi State
- 33.8 - Arkansas
- 39.2 - Missouri
- 51.0 - Vanderbilt
- 7.2 - Alabama
- 5.4 - Georgia
- 5.0 - LSU
- 5.0 - Auburn
- 4.6 - Florida
- 4.2 - Missouri
- 4.0 - Mississippi State
- 3.8 - A&M
- 3.8 - Ole Miss
- 3.6 - South Carolina
- 2.8 - Tennessee
- 2.4 - Kentucky
- 2.2 - Arkansas
- 2.0 - Vanderbilt
Both Mississippi State and Missouri were able to "coach their players up," while A&M and Tennessee were unable to translate recruiting success to wins on the field. It should also be noted that at Mississippi State that there was significant consistency with HC Dan Mullen for the past 9 years, but it still remains to be seen if new Bulldog HC Joe Moorehead can continue that trend. As for Missouri - the Tigers benefited greatly from a trend where the SEC East was down for a period of time, and their current HC, Barry Odom, has been with the Tigers for the past 5 years. Tennessee on the other hand saw Butch Jones get fired as a result of his inability to convert highly ranked recruiting classes in '14 & '15 (both were ranked #5 in the nation) into winning football; and A&M parted ways with Kevin Sumlin after watching him fail to take three top 10 recruiting classes to better than a 4th place finish in the western division of the SEC.
Now I'm not saying that success is ALL about recruiting, and fully acknowledge that coaches still have to develop the talent once it gets on campus; but there is a very clear correlation between recruiting success and winning. As the saying goes: "It's not the X's and the O's. It's the Jimmy's and the Joe's." There's also the lack of depth of talent in the state at the prep level, and the extended streak of lack of success in the SEC. Remember that in 26 years of the Hogs being in the SEC, they have only tied for the western division title four times, and have never finished better than 2nd in the division in the Saban-era.
With that being said - this season should not have surprised anyone. You can't expect a team that routinely finishes near the bottom in the conference in recruiting to have a new coach come in and win right away - especially when that coach's system is so drastically different than the previous staff's. It was a lost season, but one I lay squarely at the feet of Bret Bielema.
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