UK will now climb up to #23 in the overall class rankings and aren't close to being done!

[EclipsingYou]

It looks like another Top 20-25 class for Kentucky in 2018 in the worst case scenario. A few more of these top players from Michigan will have give us what would probably be our first ever Top 15-20 overall ranked class.

I don't know how this staff is so good at evaluating talent early and convincing top players to come to Lexington over places like Ann Arbor, Columbus, Notre Dame, Athens, etc, but it sure is impressing as hell to see happen!

 

[EclipsingYou]

I had completely forgot that UK finished #17 in 2014! That's what we need every year and are lowly getting there on a consistent basis, IMO.

2015 - 35
2016 - 29
2017 - 26
2018 - 23 (So far...)

Showing OBVIOUS improvement.I'd really like to shake everyone on the staff's hand and tell them how thankful I am of their hard work on the recruiting trail.

The big talent gap we are used to seeing against Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida is quickly disappearing...

 

[Deeeefense]

You have to be carefully about drawing anything from the rankings at this stage because it's based on aggregate points (up to the top 20 players) so the more players you have committed the higher you will rank. Teams like Georgia, Florida and Standford that are ranked below us right now are still in single digits with their commitments but you can be sure at the end of the day they will be top 15 or higher.

Another way of looking at the rankings is the average star numerical rank. Right now we sit at 2.75 which would be good for somewhere in the 50s, however we have two unranked players committed currently that pull that average down quite a bit. The average should come up to around 3.2 when all is said and done which could put us in or near the top 25 IMO

 

[Blue Decade]

It looks like another Top 20-25 class for Kentucky in 2018 in the worst case scenario. A few more of these top players from Michigan will have give us what would probably be our first ever Top 15-20 overall ranked class.

I don't know how this staff is so good at evaluating talent early and convincing top players to come to Lexington over places like Ann Arbor, Columbus, Notre Dame, Athens, etc, but it sure is impressing as hell to see happen!

Current class rankings should change a lot by February. In June, class rankings only tell us about the earliest verbal commitments. Some early commitments don't stick. Later in the recruiting season, highly successful coaches like Harbaugh, Meyer, Saban turn some early commitments and load up on late deciders. This year, every coach will have to cope with the new December signing period. I believe the new rule ultimately favors the ranked programs that can afford to take gambles by passing on vanilla commits in December. For us, the question will be how many scholarships Stoops saves for February, and how effectively Stoops can leverage our upcoming bowl appearance into late commitments from top prospects. In other words, is Kentucky now 1 of those ranked programs that can gamble late and take advantage of the new rule? Maybe.

 

[vhcat70]

Another way of looking at the rankings is the average star numerical rank. Right now we sit at 2.75 which would be good for somewhere in the 50s, however we have two unranked players committed currently that pull that average down quite a bit. The average should come up to around 3.2 when all is said and done which could put us in or near the top 25 IMO

I choose to ignore unrated players in the stars averages. In that case, we are 3.3 and only 16 schools are higher than that. Of course other lower schools may have unranked players also that would drive them higher, but having two is a lot..

 

[Kaizer Sosay]

You have to be carefully about drawing anything from the rankings at this stage because it's based on aggregate points (up to the top 20 players) so the more players you have committed the higher you will rank. Teams like Georgia, Florida and Standford that are ranked below us right now are still in single digits with their commitments but you can be sure at the end of the day they will be top 15 or higher.

Another way of looking at the rankings is the average star numerical rank. Right now we sit at 2.75 which would be good for somewhere in the 50s, however we have two unranked players committed currently that pull that average down quite a bit. The average should come up to around 3.2 when all is said and done which could put us in or near the top 25 IMO

 

[jauk11]

You have to be carefully about drawing anything from the rankings at this stage because it's based on aggregate points (up to the top 20 players) so the more players you have committed the higher you will rank. Teams like Georgia, Florida and Standford that are ranked below us right now are still in single digits with their commitments but you can be sure at the end of the day they will be top 15 or higher.

Another way of looking at the rankings is the average star numerical rank. Right now we sit at 2.75 which would be good for somewhere in the 50s, however we have two unranked players committed currently that pull that average down quite a bit. The average should come up to around 3.2 when all is said and done which could put us in or near the top 25 IMO

Excellent point, In 2014 we led the nation for months before they caught up with us and 17 of the teams passed us. The second thing is that two of our commits aren't rated yet, and with one of them a kicker they will undoubtedly drag us down in the in the numerical ratings, but should give us a few more points for the team ranking..

But you are also using the "star" ratings, not the MUCH more accurate numerical ratings, which are readily available per the Rivals ratings. Our present numerical rating for the nine we have rated is an even 5.700, and excellent rating for anyone. Using your "star" rating of 2.75 for instance it appears we are recruiting at less than a three star average, when the 5.700 says we are recruiting at nearly a four star level. But your 2.75 average is too low also, they give the unrated players zero points, and even if they were the lowest rated two star like Dickie Lyons Jr was at a 4.9 they would still be two stars so your star average would go up to 3.0.

Our BEST recruiting class ever (since the rating systems) was the 14 class that had TEN four stars, and they finished at a 5.703 average, but for 28 commits. Our 2007 class for instance, which has a LOT of great help, averaged a 5.625 numerical average for 24 commits. Nothing wrong with that class.

While we will fall down in the ratings our average rating is quite excellent right now, and I think it could continue to be close to that average to the end, not the 26 four star and ABOVE that Bama signed last year that averaged over a 5.9, lol, but still very good.

And look at the 19 class so far, a 5.8 average!!! And him being a top 100 player will add even more points to our rating total.

 

[Snowcats86]

Its so fluid right now with teams getting and loosing so many commits. I do think we are on a good path to land our 2nd highest rated class only behind the 2014 which I think finished 17th. I dont think we get that high but I think we have a very good shot at finishing between 20-25. We are sitting in 26th right now but D. Williams just got ranked as a 5.5 3* so that will move us up a spot or 2. We got a very strong group at the top and if we can land the likes of Peters, Oats, etc. that will go a long way in keeping us in the top 25. It always helps that we are signing a big class. They only count your 20 highest rated recruits but signing a big class helps out in that we likely wont have any 2*s counted and only a few 5.5 3*s.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Excellent point, In 2014 we led the nation for months before they caught up with us and 17 of the teams passed us. The second thing is that two of our commits aren't rated yet, and with one of them a kicker they will undoubtedly drag us down in the in the numerical ratings, but should give us a few more points for the team ranking..

But you are also using the "star" ratings, not the MUCH more accurate numerical ratings, which are readily available per the Rivals ratings. Our present numerical rating for the nine we have rated is an even 5.700, and excellent rating for anyone. Using your "star" rating of 2.75 for instance it appears we are recruiting at less than a three star average, when the 5.700 says we are recruiting at nearly a four star level. But your 2.75 average is too low also, they give the unrated players zero points, and even if they were the lowest rated two star like Dickie Lyons Jr was at a 4.9 they would still be two stars so your star average would go up to 3.0.

Our BEST recruiting class ever (since the rating systems) was the 14 class that had TEN four stars, and they finished at a 5.703 average, but for 28 commits. Our 2007 class for instance, which has a LOT of great help, averaged a 5.625 numerical average for 24 commits. Nothing wrong with that class.

While we will fall down in the ratings our average rating is quite excellent right now, and I think it could continue to be close to that average to the end, not the 26 four star and ABOVE that Bama signed last year that averaged over a 5.9, lol, but still very good.

And look at the 19 class so far, a 5.8 average!!! And him being a top 100 player will add even more points to our rating total.

Rivals only counts your top 20 in their rankings, we have a couple of 2*, one is a kicker that pulls ours down. But come signing day, they won't count towards the rankings, unless we sign less than 22, don't think we will do that, not sure "The Goose" will be in our class signing day either. At the present our class isn't looking real good, according to the people who are suppose to have more access than the rest of us peons we should get 6 more by the time fall camp starts. The first one next week, but we will see, some of our biggest targets, 4 are going to carry it out to the end, we don't usually do very well with those guys.

 

[Snowcats86]

Now that D. Williams is ranked as a 5.5 we just jumped to 21. If the Kicker get a 2* ranking which is most likely we would move up to 19. I think we have a great shot to hang around the high teens for a while then finish around 20-25 come February.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

Now that D. Williams is ranked as a 5.5 we just jumped to 21. If the Kicker get a 2* ranking which is most likely we would move up to 19. I think we have a great shot to hang around the high teens for a while then finish around 20-25 come February.

Going off of recent recruiting trends, that might be a little high, 2-3 teams ranked ahead of UK that UK is very likely to pass, but 10-12 behind with less commits that could pass UK if they recruit alone the lines of the last 4-5 years. But 1 kid can make huge difference in your rankings at the end when spots are separated by 2-3 points.

 

[HoptownCat93]

I think rankings are a good indication of depth and athleticism/talent/potential.

We were usually anywhere between 50-70 ranked classes in the old days. Those classes just could not keep up with the size and speed of the competition.

Being top 30 usually will keep our guys in line with the middle tier of the conference where they just arent plain "better" when they line up on the field. It then comes down to coaching, but with better talent you are not in the hole you once were.

Rich Brooks could have 6-7 wins a year with less talent, but I think he hit a wall because he was working at a disadvantage compared to the other guys.

 

[Snowcats86]

Going off of recent recruiting trends, that might be a little high, 2-3 teams ranked ahead of UK that UK is very likely to pass, but 10-12 behind with less commits that could pass UK if they recruit alone the lines of the last 4-5 years. But 1 kid can make huge difference in your rankings at the end when spots are separated by 2-3 points.

We just flipped a UofL commit (totally made my night) to move up a few spots. We other than in 2014 when we finished 17th overall we have been around 25-30. With us off to a strong start and still in on some big recruits I think we have a very good chance to finish 20-25 this year. If we land linebackers Xavier Peters who will definitely get bumped up to a 4* sooner than later and Chris Oats is already a 4* that would go a long way in keeping us in that 20-25 range. We are defiantly tne favorite for Peters and likely the favorite for Oats