What Happened To the 2010 Alabama Recruiting Class

Alabama did not finish first in recruiting according to Rivals this year. This was after winning a national title, fielding a Heisman winner and more All-Americans than any other team in history. What happened?

The 2008 recruiting class was considered by many the most talented in Alabama history. It was listed as the No. 1 class on Rivals and scored an amazing 2,836 in quality points. We now know the results of this class. The proof is a crystal football for the Tide trophy case.

So what happened in 2010?

Some will say the last two SEC national champions experienced a falloff in recruiting. This is misleading. Florida was 11th in recruiting in 2009, but they returned practically their entire team. Alabama lost a big portion of their defense and some big guys on offense as well.

Why did Alabama not get a boost in 2010? The answer is simple, they did. Florida will be the No. 1 rated recruiting team in 2010. Their class was rated an eye popping 2,938 quality points. This eclipses the 2008 Alabama class by 98 points. In fact there are three teams that recruited classes with similar or greater quality point totals than the 2009 No. 1 Alabama class. They scored 2,786 quality points. 

Alabama recruiting did not fall off any this year. Other teams simply picked up the pace. In many years the 2010 Alabama recruiting class would be at or near the top of the nation with 2,308 quality points.

The Rivals formula has been adjusted over the years and perfected more. So merely looking back at totals does not tell the tale. If one applies today's formula to old classes, Alabama could have been No. 1 in some years.

One word to Alabama fans every where: be content with the 2010 class. The Alabama staff did another great job. While Florida, USC, Texas and Auburn are higher this year, it is not due to a lack of effort. These other teams simply upped the ante. The standard has risen for future years.

This is a great Alabama class and should be looked upon as such.