KU Football: Recruit Rankings Have Me Seeing Stars

I am ashamed of how excited I get when I see the stars line up behind a KU football commit's name.  I should know better by now.

It's reasonable to compare how good a high school or JuCo gridiron athlete is relative to others.  It is unreasonable, however, for KU fans to place such high expectations on incoming recruits.

It would be great for KU's recruiting class of '09 to become our most productive ever, and "on paper," it appears that fans might be in luck.  Unfortunately, it's never that simple.

Firstly, I despise the term "on paper," because if I recall correctly, football is played "on grass" or "on turf."  I also find it ironic that, in college, a bad term paper or two could make a big difference in whether or not an athlete plays at all.

Secondly, Mark Mangino rarely gives his freshmen significant playing time.  More often than not, even if he doesn't change their respective position, he still redshirts them. At KU, It's never likely that fans will see more than two or three true freshmen contribute regularly.

Thirdly, the transition from high school to college is really intense without playing a sport.  Basketball has MAYB and AAU, but football players get very little preparation for college.

Finally, after studying everyone's favorite hype-site, Rivals.com, I have found glaring evidence.

This is the real reason recruit-rankings shouldn't be too heavily trusted.

2003 (the summer after Mangino's first season as head coach):

Gabe Toomey, until injury, was more than OK.  I still haven't figured out who Monroe Weekly, the only other four-star signee that year, is yet, though.  Joe Vaughn ('03 Big 12 newcomer of the year) and Cesar Rodriguez were both awarded two-stars and, eventually, starting jobs.

2004-2005

I kind of remember four-star recruits Brandon Duncan and Rodney Allen. On the other hand, a semi-casual fan may know who two-star guys Joe Mortenson, Charlton Keith, Anthony Collins, Aqib Talib, and James Holt are.

2006-2008

Ryan Murphy is still on our roster!  The same can't be said for Anthony Webb, Nathan D'Cunha, or (currently) Jocques Crawford, unfortunately.  Funny how Chris Harris, Jeff Spikes, Johnathon Wilson, and Jake Laptad all have starts and depth chart spots under their belts to show for their two-star efforts. 

KU football's 2009 recruits do, in fact, appear to be our best ever, and I'll be the first to admit that I love making predictions and comparisons.  However, recruiting classes are like the NFL draft, and it will be a few years before we know for sure.

This article is not meant to bash sites like Rivals or Scout.com.  To be honest, I love their work and keep up regularly with both.  I'm just trying to prevent great fans from having their hearts broken by the cruel world that is college football.

I guess what I am trying to say is, here's to hoping that Bradley McDougald, Toben Opurum, and Prinz Kande all fare well.  They could be the difference, over the next four or five years, between the Jayhawks being a mediocre program and a great one.

Finally, I wish the best of luck to Quintin Woods.  Exactly none of the Rivals.com four-star recruits from junior colleges during the Mangino era have been even close to as good as advertised.  The numbers aren't on your side, but KU football fans certainly are.