High Impact Freshman in 2015

There are several “perfect storm” factors that come into play resulting in a “high impact” freshman in big time college football. First, of course, you have to be good … real good. But, being good is not enough¸ you also have to have opportunity. There are plenty of real good freshman football players who, not only will not make an impact in year one, but will never even see the field in year one because there are better, more experienced football players ahead of them. Even though we, as fans, love to see that high impact freshman come into our program, it is often the sign that our favorite team has a “depth” problem at that position. It isn’t always a good sign that those highly touted, incoming freshmen are in the starting lineup in year one.

These young men also must make an adjustment, not just to the differences between high school and college football, but also an adjustment in their living environments, social lives, scholastic lives, etc. This life changing experience can make it difficult for some young men to assume the role of football superstar in their first year away from home. The ability to and time it takes to adjust to these all around changes have an impact on the first year football field performances of some of these young men. That is why many “high impact freshmen” are really red-shirt freshmen with 12 or more months under their belt adjusting to their new world order. Now, the newly popular, early enrollment path many college football players are taking helps prepare some of these young men to assume a starting role in their true freshman year, but that “opportunity” ingredient still needs to be there.

So, any list of “Potential Top Impact Freshmen” should not be confused with a list of “Best Incoming Freshmen”. Some of the best incoming freshmen will just have to wait their turn before making an impact. Having said all that, here is the short list of young men SOD is expecting to make a high level impact in the FBS.

The 3 young men whose names rise to the top of almost everyone’s list are:

• Byron Cowart, DE, Auburn
• Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
• Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

I suspect Byron and Malik to be monsters on the defensive side of the ball, but, given the position he plays, I am most curious about how Josh Rosen makes out in his freshman year at UCLA. The opportunity, it appears, is there for all three of these ballers, but, how they adjust to college life and how quickly they learn the system and earn a spot in the starting lineup is yet to be seen.

Three more young men that also appear likely to have an immediate impact in 2015 are:

• Trent Thompson, DL, Georgia
• Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
• Martiz Ivey, OL, Florida

Like noted earlier, the fact that these three are all on SEC teams either indicates that the SEC has a recruiting advantage (which, they probably do) or that SEC teams have more holes to fill (which, they probably do).

SOD believes those 6 names above have the most likely chance of being first year stars in 2015, but significant playing time and significant impact could also come from any or all of these young men, as well:

• Iman Marshall, DB, USC
• Kahlil McKenzie, DT, Tennessee
• Canton Kaumatule, DL, Oregon
• Derwin James, S, Florida State
• Solomon Thomas, DL, Stanford
• Daylon Mack, DT, Texas A&M
• Kevin Tolliver, CB, LSU

Now, the chances are that the real impact freshmen come from out of the blue and off of this list. Those less highly recruited young men that outperform their expectations or that are afforded opportunities to excel due to injuries, suspensions or other reasons that put them into the starting lineup. Those stories will develop as the season plays out. And, those are the stories we will be looking for.

Whereas, we do expect big things from the names on our list, just by being names on the list puts high expectations on these young men, some of whom might not be ready for that pressure. But, we will see and we can’t wait to watch.

And, don’t be upset of your rooting interest does not have a name on this (or anyone else’s) list – it may simply mean you’ve already got the talent on your team to win today without a new freshman superstar contributing a high impact to the results.

Trivia Tuesday – Football and Basketball Championships

March Madness is now upon us and SOD gets just as caught up in the basketball hysteria as many others of you. I, too, will fill out a bracket that gets all busted before the end of the 1st weekend. It’s a yearly tradition in our house; my wife, who doesn’t follow the game very closely, and I, who watches intently all season long, will each fill out brackets and track our results. She has about a 15 year winning streak going on me – she always kicks my football lov’n backside. But, this is a College Football Blog and it is Trivia Tuesday; so, today’s trivia will focus on Football and Basketball.

QUESTION #1. You probably heard in the build up to the National Championship game the coincidence that Ohio State and Oregon also played in the first ever NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The then called Webfoots from Oregon beat Ohio State, 46 – 33 in that game. But, do you know what other two teams made up the first Final Four?

QUESTION #2. This one is pretty easy. SOD looked to see how many times the same school was the reigning Football Champion and Basketball Champion. It has only happened once and that was pretty recently. What is the only school to be both Football Champions and Basketball Champions in the same off season? (It gets weird because the Football Champion is listed as the previous year – but, they would both be Champions over the same summer.) Not only that, but they achieved this feat by beating the same school in the championship for each sport.

QUESTION #3. Now here’s the tougher one. To make what the team that is the answer to Question #2 did so remarkable, there are only 10 schools that have ever won at least 1 of each national championships over all the years. Name the 10 schools that have at least 1 National Football Championship and 1 National Basketball Championship.

THE BUFFER ZONE

ANSWER #1. In the semi-finals of that first ever NCAA Championship Tournament, Ohio State defeated Villanova, 53 – 36 in the East Bracket and Oregon defeated Oklahoma, 55 – 37 in the West. The entire tournament consisted of only 8 teams and was played on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanstown, IL.

ANSWER #2. The Florida Gators won the BCS Championship Game over Ohio State to conclude the 2006 season and then won the 2007 NCAA Basketball Championship by beating the Buckeyes again on the hardwood.

ANSWER #3. The 10 schools to have at least 1 National Football Championship and 1 NCAA Basketball Championship are:

Arkansas – Football Co-Champs in 1964 (with Alabama and Notre Dame); Basketball Champs in 1994

California – Football: 1920, 1921 (with Cornell), 1922 (with Cornell); Basketball: 1959

Florida – Football: 1996, 2006, 2008; Basketball: 2006, 2007

Maryland – Football: 1953; Basketball: 2002

Michigan – Football: 1901, 1903 (with Princeton), 1904 (with Pennsylvania), 1918 (with Pittsburgh), 1923 (with Illinois), 1933, 1948, 1997 (with Nebraska); Basketball: 1989

Michigan State – Football: 1952, 1965 (with Alabama), 1966 (with Notre Dame); Basketball: 1979, 2000

Ohio State – Football: 1942, 1954 (with UCLA), 1957 (with Auburn), 1961 (with Alabama), 1968, 1970 (with Nebraska and Texas), 2002, 2014; Basketball: 1960

Stanford – Football: 1926 (with Alabama); Basketball: 1942

Syracuse – Football: 1959; Basketball: 2003

UCLA – Football 1954 (with Ohio State); Basketball: 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995

NOTE: This information is from the NCAA List of recognized champions. SOD did not look at NIT Champions for the years that this was the premier end-of-season basketball championship.

The Coaching Carousel 2015

All in all, not a bad year for college football head coaches; out of a total of 128 FBS football teams, only 15 will have a different head coach roaming the sidelines in 2015 than who they had to start the 2014 season. That is a very manageable 11.7% turnover.

Of those 15 schools with new head coaches:
• 9 teams are getting new, new Head Coaches
• 7 teams play in Power 5 Conferences
• 6 teams had winning records in 2014
• 2 bring in coaches from the NFL
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a Division III program
• 1 brings in a Head Coach from a High School program
• 0 promoted from within

* First time Head Coach
** Head Coach at Div III

There are a few surprises, caused by the ripple effect of a few surprises. Although, it wasn’t a surprise that Bo Pelini was asked to depart the Nebraska job (some might question the soundness of that decision, but it was not a surprise that he was asked to step down), it was a mild surprise that Mike Riley, at 61 years of age, decided to fill that void. That move lead to an even bigger surprise when, after only 2 years, Gary Andersen decided to leave destination job, Wisconsin, for the spot Riley vacated in Oregon State. Time will tell whether or not Coach Andersen’s move was a good one for him, but, SOD is still shaking his head over that one. Patt Narduzzi fills in the spot at Pittsburgh ending that chain of events that put 3 teams on this list that might otherwise have not been there.

Jim Harbaugh comes back to the college football ranks after wearing out his welcome in San Francisco despite having some very successful years for that NFL franchise. Some suggest that Jim’s abrasive personality is better fit for college programs where the roster turns over every four to five years. By the time his players have grown tired of his antics, they are already moving along. There might be some validity to that. Without a doubt, however, Jim Harbaugh’s hiring makes the biggest splash and comes with the highest set of expectations. When you are the Head Coach at Michigan, splashes and high expectations are what you should get.

It will be interesting to see what Lance Leipold can do at Buffalo after having just a ridiculously successful time at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, amassing a record of 109-6 with 6 National Championships in 8 years. Buffalo is a tough job; you might have wondered if Lance could have held out for a better first-time FBS gig, but this might just prove to be a nice stepping stone for Coach Leipold.

Central Michigan was a late-comer to this party after Head Coach Don Enos bolted for a spot on the Arkansas staff just two weeks before signing the incoming class of freshmen. That makes it rather difficult finding a quality Head Coach this late in the process, but the Chippewas found an alum in John Bonamego willing to take a chance at the Head Coach’s position coming from the Detroit Lions as their Special Teams Coach.

Exactly 0 coaches were promoted from within to fill the Head Coach vacancy at their school. I guess that can be expected when a coach is asked to leave the program, that sometimes tarnishes the whole staff, but when a coach leaves on his own choosing, it is sad to see that there is no natural progression to fill in his spot. Nonetheless, several well deserving Offensive/Defensive Coordinators are getting a chance to fulfill their Head Coaching dreams, albeit in new surroundings. Only Pat Narduzzi, Michigan State’s Defensive Coordinator in 2014, steps into a Head Coaching position at a program in a Power 5 Conference. The rest of the new, new head coaches will learn their trade outside of the Power 5 with, no doubts, dreams of coaching their way into a bigger program some day.

Good luck gentlemen, we will see you in the fall.

Trivia Tuesday – Power 5 Conferences

In recent years, there has been a lot of shuffling of College Football Conferences. And, if you believe Some Other Dude, there is more yet to come as we advance upon the age of the Mega-Conferences. But, SOD wonders, how well do you know the history of the current Power 5 Conferences?

THE TRIVIA CHALLENGE

Name the original teams in each of the current Power 5 Conferences.

THE BUFFER ZONE

THE ANSWERS

The Atlantic Coast Conference.  Even though we appear to be headed to 16 team Mega-Conferences, back in history there was an even mega-er conference; the Southern Conference.  The Southern Conference, at one time, consisted of 23 teams and eventually splintered into other, smaller conferences.  One of those splinter conferences was the ACC which officially formed as a conference in 1953.  The 7 charter members of the ACC were: Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest.  Only South Carolina no longer calls the ACC home as they eventually joined the other splinter conference with former Southern Conference brethren.  Link to information source.

The Big 12.  The history of the Big 12 is a little more convoluted than that of the other conferences.  The Big 12 itself wasn’t formed until 1994 when teams from the Big 8 merged with teams from the Southwest Conference.  The Big 8 Conference was originally chartered in 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and eventually became known as the Big 6 and then grew up to become the Big 8.  The original members of this conference were: Iowa (two-timing with the Big Ten), Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington University in St. Louis.  Only Kansas remains as a current member of The Big 12.  Link to information source.  The Southwest Conference was first formed in 1912, consisting of: Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, Texas and Texas A&M.  Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas remain as current members of the Big 12.  Link to information source.

The Big Ten.  The name “The Big Ten” was actually not officially incorporated until 1987, but the conference referred to as the Big Ten has been around since 1905.  The original conference was made up of 7 teams in what was known as the “Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association”.  In 1917, when the conference had expanded to 10 teams, it was labeled the “Big Ten” by members of the media.  The original members of this so-called Big Ten Conference were: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, University of Chicago and Wisconsin.  Only the University of Chicago is not a member of that conference today.  Link to information source.

The Pac 12.  The Pac 12 Conference started off as a little seedling conference that eventually grew up into the Pac 12.  Forming in 1916 as the Pacific Coast Conference, its original members stood at only 4 schools: California, Oregon, Oregon Agricultural College (later known as Oregon State) and Washington.  All four schools still remain in the conference today.  Interestingly, Idaho and Montana were one time members of this conference and the conference was disbanded and re-assembled in 1959 due to a pay-for-play scandal.  The re-formed conference was called the Athletic Association of Western Universities, commonly known as the Big 5. After growing once again, the conference started being referred to as the Pacific 8 in 1964 and officially became the Pacific 8 in 1968, the Pac 10 in 1978 and the Pac 12 in 2011.  Link to information source.

The SEC.  The SEC preceded the ACC in splintering away from the huge Southern Conference when 13 schools left in 1932 to form their own conference.  The 13 schools that made up the first version of the Southeastern Conference were: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Sewanee (University of the South), Tennessee, Tulane and Vanderbilt.  Georgia Tech now resides in the ACC; Tulane, although still an FBS school is no longer a member of a Power 5 Conference; and, Sewanee, after having decided to de-emphasize sports in 1940, currently competes in Division III athletics.  Link to information source.

College Football National Champions Trivia

Most of us know that Oregon participated in the National Championship Game in January seeking their first ever College Football National Championship title. Unfortunately for Duck fans, they are still seeking their first title. But, this got SOD to thinking – What was the last team to win a National Championship for the first time? Researching this answer led to the discovery of some other interesting (or, at least, SOD thinks they are interesting) facts. So, SOD thought he would see if any of you wise-crackers and college football aficionados know the answers to these National Championship related questions. All of these questions are based on AP/Coaches/USA T/ESPN Poll Rankings since 1936 (as recognized by the NCAA), the BCS Championship format from 1998 – 2013, and the Playoff Championship format for the 2014 season:

Q1. When was the last time that a Division I team won a National Championship for the 1st time?

Q2. When was the last time that a Division I team won a National Championship for their one and only time?

Q3. Of the teams that have won 4 or more National Championships since 1936, which team has gone the longest since their last title?

Q4. Of all the teams that have won a National Championship since the start of the AP Polls in 1936, which team has gone the longest without winning their 2nd Championship?

Q5. Which team expands the longest period of time between their first Championship and their most recent Championship (1936 – present)?

Q6. Which team that has won 2 or more National Championships had endured the longest gap between two Championships?

Q7. Of all the teams that have won a National Championship since 1936, only 3 of them do not currently play in a Power 5 Conference – name those three teams.

Q8. Who was crowned the 1st National Champion by the AP Poll in 1936?

Q9. What was the last team to win the National Championship prior to the start of the BCS? HINT: There were two-champions – It was a split title.

Q10. Who won the first BCS Championship Game? And, who did they beat?

ANSWERS

A1. 1996 – Florida. Florida won its 1st National Championship in 1996. Every team that has won the National Championship since 1996, including Florida’s two additional Championships, had won a previous Championship earlier than 1996.

A2. 1991 – Washington. The Huskies won a share of the National Championship with Miami-FL for its only National Championship in 1991. Washington was named Champion in the Coaches Poll and Miami was #1 in the AP Poll.

A3. Minnesota. Minnesota has 4 National Championships to its name, but hasn’t won one since 1960. There are 8 other teams with 4 or more championships, and they have all won at least one of them since 1960.

A4. TCU. TCU won the National Championship in 1938 and is still looking for the next one.

A5. Ohio State. Having won their 1st National Championship in 1942 and their most recent Championship in 2014, the Buckeyes expand 72 years between 1st and most recent.

A6. Auburn. The 53 years between Auburn’s National Championship in 1957 and the one they won in 2010 represents the longest gap between Championships of any Division I team.

A7. Notre Dame (8 Championships), Army (2), and BYU (1). All three teams are currently Independent football teams.

A8. Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were also recognized as the National Champions by the NCAA for the two years prior to the existence of the AP Poll (1934 and 1935) as determined by the polls then recognized by the NCAA.

A9. Michigan and Nebraska. In 1997, Michigan was crowned Champion in the AP Poll; Nebraska was ranked #1 in the USA/ESPN Poll.

A10. Tennessee / Florida State. Tennessee triumphed over Florida State, 23-16, in the first BCS Game held on January 4, 1999, ending the 1998 College Football season.

A Look Back on the 2014 5-Star Recruits

You know, it wasn’t that long ago when most of us would not have been aware tomorrow is Signing Day for High School seniors to sign their Letters of Intent (LOI) with the colleges and universities they planned to attend in the coming fall. My how things have changed.

Now, there are subscription web-sites with 100s of thousands of subscribers, chat rooms full of discussions, rankings of stars all over the place and television stations with all day coverage of the faxes coming in. Just amazing!

And, this changes the landscape a little bit. The attention some of these high school kids get is both phenomenal and disgusting. There are thousands of people following their every move on social networking sites. There are press conferences set up in high school gyms and the, sometimes infamous, selection of the hat. Just unbelievable. And, Some Other Dude is caught up in it just like the rest of you.

One interesting phenomena, I think, that comes out of this is the “flavor of the month” aspect. We follow our teams’ recruiting efforts; see who made verbal commitments and how many stars they wear. We know the names and statistics for hundreds of kids and have seen video for dozens of them. We have high hopes for many who have yet to even enroll in the school, yet alone played one down of college football. Then, signing day comes, we get all excited, re-read the profiles of the kids who did sign the dotted line and then start looking at next year’s prospects – the new flavors.

Then, the kids who were in the spotlights the year before get red-shirted, get injured, can’t adjust to the new environment, or are just buried in the depth chart and are, so it seems, quickly forgotten. We seem to expect the new year’s recruits to unseat last years’ recruits just because they didn’t immediately become superstars, or even starters. And, because we started following these kids back in their junior years in high school, if they don’t start on the college team before they are juniors there, we forget about them completely and write them off as busts. Funny how that works.

So, SOD wonders, how many 5 stars actually make a big splash on campus their freshmen year? Lets take a look at last year’s class.

According to ESPN, the 2014 Recruiting Class included 15, 5 star recruits.

The number 1 recruit, RB Leonard Fournette lived up to the hype and, actually, did make a splash with LSU. Leonard carried the ball 187 times for 1,034 yards with 10 TDs and had 7 receptions for 127 yards. A good year that ended with a 143 yards rushing effort against Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl. No one will be forgetting Leonard Fournette any time soon. Splash.

The number 2 ranked recruit was Jabrill Peppers, a DB who signed with Michigan. Jabrill had a tough first year at Michigan. He played sparingly in the first four games before being sidelined by injury and applying for a medical red-shirt. Jabrill totaled 8 tackles in 2014. No splash.

Coming in at number 3 was Cameron Robinson an OT who signed with Alabama. Offensive line is typically a position that requires time to make the first team on the depth chart, and often, those recruits who are most easily forgotten. Cam, however, lived up to his billing and started in all 14 of Alabama’s games. Splash.

Number 4 was DE Myles Garrett who signed with Texas A & M. Myles had a terrific freshmen year for the Aggies leading the team in QB sacks (11.0), tackles for loss (12.5) and QB hurries (9) while also being 2nd amongst defensive linemen with 50 tackles. Splash.

Number 5 was Andrew Brown, a DT signing with Virginia. Andrew was one of four true freshmen to see playing time with the Cavaliers, appearing in 6 games, including the final 4 games. Andrew amassed 4 tackles in his playing time. It certainly is an accomplishment for a true freshman to find the playing field, but, there was no splash here.

The number 6 ranked recruit, according to ESPN, was Da’Shawn Hand, a DE who signed with Alabama. As a true freshmen, Da’Shawn played in 9 games and recorded 7 total tackles (4 unassisted, 3 assisted). Again, quite an accomplishment to find playing time on a team that competed for the National Championship, but not a splash … yet.

Number 7 in the class of 2014 was Speedy Noil, listed as an ATH, who signed with Texas A&M. Like fellow Texas A&M signee, Myles Garrett, Speedy had a terrific first year for the Aggies. Speedy performed as a receiver and return man throughout the year. Speedy led the Aggies in all-purpose yards, punt return yards and kickoff return yards despite missing a game due to injury. Speedy amassed 559 yards on 44 receptions with 5 TDs; 575 yards on 24 kickoff returns (24.0 avg); and, 178 yards on 14 punt returns (12.7 avg). All in all, a nice splash.

The number 8 recruit was Tony Brown, a CB who signed with Alabama (man, I’m beginning to see a pattern here – the SEC killed it!). Tony played in 13 games, starting 2 (games 4 and 5). Tony recorded 10 total tackles (7 ua, 3 a). A good start to a promising career, but not quite splash status.

Coming in at number 9 was Adoree’ Jackson, a WR signing with USC. Adoree’ played in all 13 Trojan games, starting the last 9. Adoree’ had 10 total receptions for 138 yards and 3 TDs; 1 rush for 5 yards; 2 punt returns for 12 yards; and, 23 kick returns for 684 yards. Adoree’ showed lots of promise and, indeed, made a splash, especially with his kick return abilities.

Rounding out the top 10 was Quin Blanding, a S who signed with Virginia (lots of repeat team names at the top of this list). Quin was another one of the four true freshmen to start a game for Virginia and, in fact, was one of 10 Cavaliers to start all 12 games. Quin finished the year with 123 tackles which ranked him #2 in the ACC and #12 nationally. And, Quin led the team with 3 interceptions in the 2014 campaign. Big splash.

The number 11 recruit was Jalen Tabor, a CB signee with Florida. Jalon played in all 12 of Florida’s games in 2014 recording 31 total tackles (22 ua, 9 a) and 1 interception on the year. Jalen had a nice start to his career with Florida, worthy of splash status.

Number 12 in the class was yet another Alabama signee, ATH Bo Scarbrough. Although Bo signed with Alabama, he was not cleared to enroll in the fall due to some academic eligibility issues. Bo worked on these issues and was enrolled in Alabama in January and attended Bama practices leading up to the Sugar Bowl. No splash in 2014, but just wait.

The number 13 recruit was Raekwon McMillen, an ILB who signed with Ohio State. Raekwon played in 13 of the 14 games Ohio State played in 2014, having to sit out the Alabama contest in the Sugar Bowl. Although Raekwon did not start in any games, Ohio State has pretty good depth at linebacker, he did contribute significantly with 54 total tackles (30 ua, 24 a). Raekwon also recorded 2.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Raekwon left no doubt in anybody’s mind that he will be a force to be reckoned with on the Ohio State defense – worthy of a splash.

Number 14 on the list was Lorenzo Carter, listed as a DE signing by Georgia. Lorenzo actually played as a linebacker for the Bulldogs, playing in all 13 games and starting in the last 5 games. Lorenzo recorded 41 total tackles (18 ua, 23 a), getting better as the season went on. Lorenzo also recorded 4.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss, and he is responsible for 1 fumble recovered. Lorenzo made a splash on the Georgia defense.

And, finally, the number 15 and last of the five star recruits from the class of 2014 – and, Alabama’s fifth signee from this class, was CB Marlon Humphrey. Marlon happens to play a position that is deep at Alabama. Fellow CB recruit Tony Brown was able to find some playing time, but Marlon did not find the field in 2014. Things look good for Bama in the future with concerns to their defensive backfield, but no splashes were made in 2014 with their 5-star CB recruits.

So, all-in-all, the 2014 5-star recruits were shining pretty bright. SOD counts 9 recruits who made a splash for their teams in their true freshmen year. Two 5-stars did not find the field in 2014 – 1 red-shirt and 1 academically ineligible. And, another 5-star was injured and applied for a medical red-shirt.

But, let’s not give up on our other recruits who have yet to make the starting roster. As we celebrate the incoming class – poised to sign their LOIs tomorrow – let’s keep the love for those young men we followed so closely in 2014, 13, 12 and, in some cases, even 2011.

Have fun tomorrow and good luck with your signing class.

Colleges Represented on NFL Rosters

Today’s blog is almost an extension of yesterday’s article on “The Rich Getting Richer”.

Yesterday, we made the observation that the FBS schools on top of the Recruiting Class list are the same teams on the top of the Team Rankings at the end of the year, and, these teams seem to be pretty much the same year in and year out with little variation. Seems rather obvious, wouldn’t you say?

So, with it being a Friday and all, and, with Some Other Dude’s brain already in weekend mode, let’s make another obvious connection: One would expect that these same schools would lead the list of colleges with the most ex-players (I almost typed “graduates” – what was I thinking!?) on NFL rosters. And, you would be right. Let’s take a look.

The following table tallies the top schools in terms of players on NFL rosters; shows their current ranking in 2015 recruiting classes (according to ESPN); their ranking in most appearances in the Final AP Poll; and their final ranking in the 2014 AP poll.

Just the vicious cycle one might expect to see: do well in recruiting, and you will do well in the polls, and you will put lots of players in the NFL. And, the reverse is also true – put lots of players in the NFL and do well in the polls and it will help you with recruiting.

A few anomalies do stick out, however. Like … what is California doing so high up on the list of players on NFL rosters!? The Golden Bears do not have highly rated recruiting classes; they don’t finish in the AP Final Poll too often, and yet, they have the 11th most number of former players in the NFL. That was a little surprising.

Clemson and Texas A&M have highly rated recruiting classes for 2015 (3 & 8 respectively) but only rank 23 and 25 in number of players in the NFL.  You would expect them to start moving up that chart with the recent recruiting success they have achieved.

This chart also supports the observation made in yesterday’s blog that Oregon is a relative newcomer to the elite football programs club with a low ranking in the number of appearances in the final AP poll but high rankings in all the other categories.

This chart also seems to suggest that Miami-FL and Florida are programs that are slipping a bit of late.  Also missing from the table are Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State – all programs that rank in the top 10 for number of appearances in the final AP Poll but not in the top 15 for current NFL players. This may suggest that their fall from the top has gone on a little bit longer.

With the Super Bowl just two days away, this chart has been making its rounds through social media.

A neat little chart, but with only a two team sample it can skew the real results. A school like Rutgers can wave this banner at potential recruits as evidence that they put good players in the NFL. Even schools like Utah State and Kent State can be proud of this chart. But, when you look at the whole picture, Rutgers ranks tied for 34th with 18 players on NFL rosters; Utah State falls in at tied for 60 with 11; and, Kent State ranks tied for 70th with 9.

All of this is just fun facts to throw around while we await the Super Bowl on Sunday and Signing Day on Wednesday. The fun just never stops.