Impacts of Top Recruiting Classes

With so much attention being given in the last week with this year’s football recruiting classes. I wanted to look back and see just how impactful a number one recruiting class can be on the team’s following season. First, let’s take a look at what teams took home the country’s top recruiting classes. Below are the top classes for 2002 thru 2010 from the top three recruiting experts.

Year	Rivals.com	Scouts Inc.	ESPN
2002	Texas	Texas
2003	LSU	USC
2004	USC	USC
2005	USC	Tennessee
2006	USC	USC	Florida
2007	Florida	Florida	USC
2008	Alabama	Alabama	Miami
2009	Alabama	Ohio State	LSU
2010	USC	Florida	Florida

 

As we would expect, the big names litter the board. Teams like Texas, USC, Florida, and LSU took home most of the crowns. There are some interesting teams in the list, who took a step backwards after getting the best incoming freshmen. Tennessee, USC, and Miami have all replaced coaches since bringing in the top classes. To add to this list, below are the last nine Teams to be at the top of the AP Poll, USA Today Poll, and BCS Champions.

 

 

Year	AP Poll	USA Today	BCS Champion
2002	Ohio State	Ohio State	Ohio State
2003	USC	LSU	LSU
2004	USC	USC	USC
2005	Texas	Texas	Texas
2006	Florida	Florida	Florida
2007	LSU	LSU	LSU
2008	Florida	Florida	Florida
2009	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
2010	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn

The first thing that comes to mind is that  over the nine years, only three teams have won the next year’s national championship. The teams to accomplish this are USC in 2004, Florida in 2008, and Alabama in 2009. While there is no question that a top recruiting class will impact the overall direction of the team, just bringing in the best high school kids in a given year doesn’t guarantee your team a Championship.

Rolltide.com- Men's Basketball Defeats LSU, 70-46

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama men's basketball team continued its undefeated status at home this season with a 70-46 victory over LSU in front of a sellout crowd at Coleman Coliseum Saturday night.

Junior forward JaMychal Green led the way for Alabama (13-7, 5-1 SEC) with a 20-point and seven rebound performance. Sophomore forward Tony Mitchell added 12 points and four rebounds, while freshman guard Trevor Releford scored 10 points and handed out four assists. Sophomore guard Andrew Steele had a total of seven points in his first start of the season.

"I thought our defense really set the tone of the game," Alabama head coach Anthony Grant said. "In both halves our guys put together 40 minutes of the way we have to defend."

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Alabama Sets Dates for 2011 A-Day Game and Homecoming

The University of Alabama has announced the dates for its 2011 A-Day Spring football game and Homecoming game.

The A-Day game will be held on April 16th at Bryant Denny Stadium, and as in previous years, admission is free.

The 2011 Homecoming game will be on October 8th, when the Tide will host Vanderbilt at Bryant Denny Stadium.

Rolltide.com- Men's Basketball Team Beats Auburn on the Road

AUBURN, Ala. - The Alabama men's basketball team is off to its best conference start since the 2004-2005 season following a 68-58 win over the Auburn Tigers on Saturday at Auburn Arena.

Junior forward JaMychal Green and sophomore forward Tony Mitchell led a balanced Crimson Tide scoring attack with 15 points apiece, while freshman guard Trevor Releford and senior guard Senario Hillman each added 10 points. Green and Mitchell led Alabama with six rebounds apiece while Hillman added a game-high five assists. Green's first bucket of the game made him the 43rd player in UA history with 1,000 career points and he finished the night with 1,014 career points.

The Crimson Tide (12-7, 4-1 SEC) has won seven of its last eight and sits alone atop the Western Division after holding its 14th opponent under 40 percent shooting this season.

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ESPN’s Wojciechowski:The Cam Newton affair still stinks

Whether or not you believe Auburn’s or the SEC/ NCAA’s account of the Cam Newton saga. ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski still thinks there is something to it and it doesn’t sit pretty with him. Check out his latest article about Cam.

View article here.

Another Alabama Football Assistant Leaving

Curt Cignetti has added his name to list of Alabama assistant coaches that have left this off season. Cignetti is leaving to become the new head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

He has been the Tide’s wide receiver coach since 2007.

Alabama Leads SEC in Game Attendance

Nothing like a fall Saturday in Tuscaloosa with a hundred thousand of your closest friends enjoying a SEC football game. In fact, in numbers released by the NCAA, Alabama home game attendance ranked fourth in the nation and lead the SEC in accumulated attendance and average attendance per game this season. Here is the breakdown of the SEC schools, their national rank is in parenthesis.

Accumulated Attendance:

1. Alabama (4): 712,747
2. Tennessee (6): 698,465
3. Auburn (7): 688,692
4. LSU (8): 649,023
5. Florida (9): 633,579
6. Georgia (14): 556,476
7. South Carolina (15): 536,675
8. Kentucky (23): 462,488
9. Arkansas (24): 413,591
10. Ole Miss (28): 391,289
11. Mississippi State (30): 384,995
12. Vanderbilt (70): 232,885

Average Attendance Per Game:

1. Alabama (4): 101,821
2. Tennessee (6): 99,781
3. Georgia (7): 92,746
4. LSU (8): 92,746
5. Florida (9): 90,511
6. Auburn (10): 86,087
7. South Carolina (17): 76,668
8. Arkansas (22): 68,932
9. Kentucky (25): 66,070
10. Ole Miss (35): 55,898
11. Mississippi State (37): 54,999
12. Vanderbilt (72): 33,269

Alabama vs. Kentucky: Post-Game Press Conference

RollTide.com- Men's Basketball Beats No. 12 Kentucky, 68-66

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - - The University of Alabama Men's Basketball team knocked off No. 12 Kentucky, 68-66, in front of a raucous crowd at Coleman Coliseum to remain undefeated at home this season.

Junior forward JaMychal Green led the way for Alabama (11-7, 3-1SEC) with his fourth double-double in ten games, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Tony Mitchell added 15 points and 7 rebounds, while senior guard Charvez Davis scored 9 points by going 3-of-8 from the three-point arc.

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Men's Basketball defeats no. 12 Kentucky 68 to 66.

Alabama Selected 2011 Preseason No. 1 by College Football News

CollegeFootballNews.com has recently published their 2011 First Look Rankings, selecting the top 10 teams for the 2011 season. At the top is the University of Alabama, who they think will rebound on offense and have a dominant defense for next season.

The Top Ten Teams are:

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Wisconsin
5. Ohio State
6. Florida
7. Oklahoma State
8. Nebraska
9. Bosie State
10. Florida State

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Alabama Sends Three Seniors to Senior Bowl

This year’s Under Armour Senior Bowl will include three members of the 2010 Crimson Tide Football team. They are offensive tackle James Carpenter, tight end Preston Dial, and quarterback Greg McElroy.

Joining them are 19 other seniors from the SEC, which is the most from any conference. Florida and Mississippi State lead the SEC teams with four representatives each. The game will be held on January 29th and start at 4:00 PM EST on the NFL Network. The game is held in Mobile, AL at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Below are the representatives from each SEC team.

• Alabama
• Offensive Tackle- James Carpenter
• Tight End- Preston Dial
• Quarterback- Greg McElroy
• Arkansas
• Offensive Tackle- DeMarcus Love
• Tight End- D.J. Williams
• Auburn
• Linebacker- Josh Bynes
• Safety- Zac Etheridge
• Offensive Tackle- Lee Ziemba
• Florida
• Safety- Ahmad Black
• Punter- Chas Henry
• Offensive Guard- Marcus Gilbert
• Center- Mike Pouncey
• Georgia
• Offensive Tackle- Clint Boling
• Kentucky
• Running Back- Derrick Locke
• LSU
• Kicker- Josh Jasper
• Defensive Tackle- Drake Nevis
• Linebacker- Kelvin Sheppard
• Mississippi State
• Defensive End- Prenell McPhee
• Offensive Tackle- Derek Sherrod
• Linebacker- Chris White
• Linebacker- K.J. Wright
• Tennessee
• Tight End- Luke Stocker

BAMA Men’s Basketball to host Kentucky

The University of Alabama men’s basketball team will host the no. 12 Kentucky Wildcats tonight at Coleman Coliseum. The team looks to bounce back from its loss to Arkansas over the weekend.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 PM CST and will be televised on ESPN.

Also, prior to the game, the Crimson Tide baseball team will be signing autographs in the East Concourse of the Coleman Coliseum from 6:45 to 8:00 PM.

AL.COM- Alabama defensive back B.J. Scott will transfer to South Alabama

TUSCALOOSA -- B.J Scott will follow through with a transfer to South Alabama when he enrolls in classes Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the process has confirmed.

The former Vigor star and redshirt junior-to-be appeared in 15 games for Alabama and finished with six tackles and one interception as a defensive back.

Scott will be eligible to play for the Jaguars next season and is expected to help fill a need in the defensive secondary.

 

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The Auburn “Family” Photo Shoot

RollTide.com- Barron Will Return to Alabama for Senior Season

Jan. 15, 2011

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Safety and team captain Mark Barron, a 2010 First-Team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) has elected to return to Alabama for his senior season in 2011, he announced at a press conference Saturday morning.

"There were a lot of pros and cons in this situation," Barron said. "The pros of coming back were getting closer to my degree and the possibility of winning another national championship. Hopefully, I'll be able to improve my draft stock and hopefully be a top ten or top 15 pick next year.

 

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RollTide.com- Stoutland Named Offensive Line Coach

Jan. 14, 2011

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama head football coach Nick Saban announced on Friday the hiring of Jeff Stoutland as offensive line coach. Stoutland most recently served as the offensive line coach at the University of Miami. He replaces Joe Pendry, who officially retired from coaching following his fourth year with the Crimson Tide.

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Huntsville Times- Alabama unlikely to see any more juniors jump to the NFL

TUSCALOOSA -- The chance of Alabama losing more juniors to the NFL draft sounds unlikely.

An Alabama spokesman said Thursday there was nothing new to report on the matter. The deadline for juniors to declare for the NFL draft is Saturday.

 

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Huntsville Times: Alabama welcomes eight early enrollees for the spring semester

TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama announced Wednesday it has welcomed eight spring enrollees to join the football program.

Among them are three junior college transfers and five high school players.

The group is highlighted by the additions of Arizona Western College transfers Jesse Williams and Aaron Douglas, and East Mississippi Community College transfer Quinton Dial.

The trio were among the highest rated junior colleges prospects in the nation, and are expected to compete immediately for playing time.

 

Read Article from Huntsville Times Here

Auburn’s Cam Newton to Enter NFL Draft

In a move everyone knew would happen except the Auburn “family,” Cam Newton has entered his name in the NFL Draft.

Offensive Line Coach Joe Pendry Stepping Down

Alabama Football offensive line coach Joe Pendry has stepped down as the Tide’s offensive line coach. He could still stay on staff in some other capacity, but will relinquish all duties as offensive line coach.

Miami offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland resigned his post Wednesday, according to a Miami source, and Alabama was expected to announce his hire at any time.

Stoutland was in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday for an interview.

Ingram, Dareus, and Jones Declare for NFL Draft

At today’s press conference, juniors Mark Ingram, Marcell Dareus, and Julio Jones all decided to forgo their last years at Alabama and enter into the NFL Draft. Also present at the press conference was junior linebacker Dont’a Hightower who has elected to return to the Capstone for his senior year.

Mark Ingram and Marcell Dareus to Enter NFL Draft

ESPN has reported that sources close to Mark Ingram and Marcell Dareus have both decided to enter the NFL Draft.

The Alabama Football program has announced a noon press conference today where the two are going to officially announce their decisions. What is still uncertain is whether other juniors on the team, such as Julio Jones, will also be making the jump to the pros.

While most sources have Julio leaning towards the pros, some sources close to him and the team still say he was still uncertain on the choice. Hopefully today at noon we will hear on more decisions being made.

AL.com- Alabama assistants Kirby Smart and Scott Cochran receive contract extensions and pay raises

TUSCALOOSA -- Kirby Smart and Scott Cochran both received contract extensions and pay raises Wednesday approved unanimously by the compensation committee of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama System.

It marked the second time in less than a year both Alabama assistants got a bump in pay.

Smart's amended contract was extended three years and his pay jumped to $850,000 annually. In February, Smart had his annual salary nearly doubled to $750,000.
Smart, who received the 2009 Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach, is considered one of the hottest coaching prospects in the nation. He turned down his alma mater last year to become Georgia's defensive coordinator. He also denied a recent report last week about joining Florida coach Will Muschamp, his close friend, as the Gators' defensive coordinator.

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Bo Davis Leaves for Texas and Replaced by Chris Rumph

While there has been no official announcement. It seems that assistant coach Bo Davis has accepted a job at the University of Texas to become the Longhorn’s new defensive tackles coach. He has been at the Capstone for 4 years as the Tide’s defensive line coach. The job was left open after Mike Tolleson retired at the end of this season.

It also seems that as fast as he decided to leave, Coach Nick Saban has found his replacement. Again, with no official announcement, Clemson’s defensive line coach Chris Rumph could be on his way to Tuscaloosa. Rumph has built some pretty impressive defensive lines at Clemson and should be a welcomed addition to Saban’s coaching staff.

AL.com- Dee Hart heading to Alabama, Clinton-Dix says

Dee Hart, one of the nation's top running back prospects who committed to Michigan over Alabama in September, has apparently changed his mind.
Hart, who had been reconsidering his commitment to the Wolverines for weeks, committed to Alabama on Sunday, according to his best friend and Orlando-Dr. Phillips teammate, Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix.

"His top two schools were always Michigan and Alabama, but I guess he feels that he has more of a feel for Bama now, as far as not going that far away from home, away from family," said Clinton-Dix, a top safety prospect who has also committed to the Tide.

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RollTide.com- Football Beats Michigan State 49-7 in the 2011 Capital One Bowl

Jan. 1, 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. - The No. 15 Alabama football team (10-3) beat No. 7 Michigan State (11-2) 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl Saturday.

"It was a great win for our team," UA head coach Nick Saban said. "We told the team before the game that they'd be defined by how they finished. I was pleased with how the players finished this game today. They really played well and dominated the game."

Alabama's defense was outstanding, shutting out the Spartans until the 5:45 mark in the fourth quarter and holding MSU to -48 rushing yards and just 171 yards overall. Junior linebacker Courtney Upshaw, who was voted the game's MVP, led the way for the Crimson Tide with a pair of sacks, five tackles, including three for a loss as well as forcing an MSU fumble.

Alabama amassed 546 total yards (275 rushing, 271 passing) on the day, the second-best total offense by the Tide in a bowl game, standing just behind the 586-yard output against Syracuse in the 1953 Orange Bowl. The 49-7 victory ranks as the second-largest margin of victory by UA in a bowl game. The largest margin was in that same 61-6 win in the Orange Bowl win over Syracuse.

 

See article Here.