SEC Spotlight: Breaking down the 2023 class

[Ryan Wright]

The entire 2023 SEC recruiting class is broken down on Rivals:

Rivals.com - SEC Spotlight: Breaking down the 2023 class

Five-star Keon Keeley is a big part of Alabama's top-ranked 2023 signing class.

n.rivals.com

 

[FltDoc]

We will never be taken seriously as SEC East contenders until our recruiting improves...

Just not sure how to take the next step ?!?

 

[Freetaxreturn]

Not bad, top 30 class and have a QB that can sling it around when healthy plus the OC is back and typically Kentucky always physical on defense 🍺

 

[Deli owl]

Stoops is going to have to figure out a way to get people thinking differently about Kentucky when it comes to 5* guys. He's done great with most positions but really needs to get a steady offense put together and get in the top 5 classes in the SEC to take the next step I believe. Would be crazy exciting.

 

[The-Hack]

Just not sure how to take the next step ?!?

We have to continue punching above our weight.

If you have followed the program growth, the cumulative Star ratings for both the 2018/19 and 2021/22 teams, alone, would not have indicated a winning record in the SEC or a Top 15 finish in the nation, but those teams did it.

2023 will see a new peak at UK for cumulative Star rankings, across the board, fueled by both strong HS and transfer portal recruiting.

Will the total mixture of talent and coaching allow a continued climb in the SEC?

Can we (finally) get a road win in Starkville, Mississippi?

That’s why we play the games.

If recruiting, alone, was the determinate factor, we would have lost 8 of the last ten to USCe and still have a lengthy losing streak with Florida.

 

[Soupbean]

We will never be taken seriously as SEC East contenders until our recruiting improves...

Just not sure how to take the next step ?!?

Agree to some degree but you have to be careful to not fall into the trap of judging our recruiting "status" just off rank in order. If you just do that it give a false impression that we're behind in the talent gap and every step on that list equals a step behind in real talent. Just not true. Every year once you get past the top 4 or 5 sec teams the next 7 or 8 in order could throw in a basket and be equally happy with any class you happened to pull out. No different this year.

Auburn and SC are #7 and #8 in the conference and top 20 nationally but the only difference in their class and ours is one of their 4's got a 5 star.

Then Ark and Miss St are ahead of us in order but you could easily stay or class on was as good or better in quality, they just has a few more players sign.

Our average star rating the as good as all 4 teams mentioned above. Even up there with UT's.

So yeah we will have to find a way to do something different to get to that next level of UGA, BAMA, LSU but other than that, we're not much different that the rest of the league and it comes down to whether or not you get a few difference makers at key positions especially QB, how many in your class pan out vs bust, how many diamonds in the rough blossom, how many stay healthy . . all vs the other guys class over time.

 

[zwynn10]

Agree to some degree but you have to be careful to not fall into the trap of judging our recruiting "status" just off rank in order. If you just do that it give a false impression that we're behind in the talent gap and every step on that list equals a step behind in real talent. Just not true. Every year once you get past the top 4 or 5 sec teams the next 7 or 8 in order could throw in a basket and be equally happy with any class you happened to pull out. No different this year.

Auburn and SC are #7 and #8 in the conference and top 20 nationally but the only difference in their class and ours is one of their 4's got a 5 star.

Then Ark and Miss St are ahead of us in order but you could easily stay or class on was as good or better in quality, they just has a few more players sign.

Our average star rating the as good as all 4 teams mentioned above. Even up there with UT's.

So yeah we will have to find a way to do something different to get to that next level of UGA, BAMA, LSU but other than that, we're not much different that the rest of the league and it comes down to whether or not you get a few difference makers at key positions especially QB, how many in your class pan out vs bust, how many diamonds in the rough blossom, how many stay healthy . . all vs the other guys class over time.

Good observation and I agree. I think the difference in talent recruited after you get by the top 3 or 4 is not that much different until you get to the bottom (Vandy). It comes down to player development and having players play at and occasionally above their talent level.

 

[The-Hack]

Agree to some degree but you have to be careful to not fall into the trap of judging our recruiting "status" just off rank in order.

True. While the lack of enough 4 and 5 Stars essentially guarantees 116 FBS teams have no serious shot at a national title, there are few other hard and fast rules based upon recruiting.

Stoops now has more wins than Jimbo since his arrival at A & M . . . . and Jimbo has WAY outrecruited Kentucky.

Same with USCe. They are usually marginally ranked higher than UK in recruiting.

 

[The-Hack]

I think the difference in talent recruited after you get by the top 3 or 4 is not that much different until you get to the bottom (Vandy)

I suggested 15 years ago, as SEC dominance was becoming very clear, that recruiting would become like a squeezed accordion. . . . and that there would be less and less room between SEC schools, and that all 12/14/16 schools would be ranked pretty high. This came to pass in 2022 . . . the lowest ranked SEC class was 32nd. Vandy’s 2022 class would have ranked like 4th in the ACC.

I hear folks from the West and the mid-west fret that college football has become a regional sport.

In reality, it always was, at least post-segregation.

There have always been some bright spots outside of Texas, Oklahoma and the SE, and there still are, but had there been playoffs dating back to 1970, the SEC would have won the most, and their main competitors would have been other southern schools in Miami, FSU and Clemson.

The rules predating the 90’s that prohibited No. 1 and No. 2 playing sort of concealed the South’s predominance.

With a 12 team playoff, if things stack up just right, there will be years when three of the final four are SEC teams, and maybe, rarely, all four.

 

[hmt5000]

True. While the lack of enough 4 and 5 Stars essentially guarantees 116 FBS teams have no serious shot at a national title, there are few other hard and fast rules based upon recruiting.

Stoops now has more wins than Jimbo since his arrival at A & M . . . . and Jimbo has WAY outrecruited Kentucky.

Same with USCe. They are usually marginally ranked higher than UK in recruiting.

I still believe that you need 2 superstars on both sides of the ball and then you just need competitive players for the rest. VaTech made a splash with this formula. Those stars don't have to be 5* ranked but if you land a qb that is 5* talent as a jr and wr that can take the top off then everyone else just has to be worthy of playing on a top 25 team and you can scheme your way to Atlanta.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

I still believe that you need 2 superstars on both sides of the ball and then you just need competitive players for the rest. VaTech made a splash with this formula. Those stars don't have to be 5* ranked but if you land a qb that is 5* talent as a jr and wr that can take the top off then everyone else just has to be worthy of playing on a top 25 team and you can scheme your way to Atlanta.

I don't thing it's so much the superstars, but that you have good players as every spot. By good I mean a shot at the NFL. The only superstar we have is Bowers, but everyone else has a shot at making a roster. Oddly enough the QB is probably the longest odds.