The Blue Board

Did I read right that there are still some guys that could get bumped up that didn't make the Top 247 but had a * or score change? For example I thought Corey Robinson and James Onwaulu maybe in line for a 4* bump. When Corey Robinson is the lowest ranked player in your class that's a pretty darn good class.

Onwaulu had a big senior season, but we aren't comfortable enough with his speed to bump him to four-star status. Robinson may get moved to tight end and then up a tad, but not to four stars.

Have you guys ever thought of providing scouting reports on each prospect like the ESPN folks () do? Here is one for example:

SCOUTING REPORT
ESPN Analyst
Updated 08/13/2012

Corey Robinson

Robinson is a big, physically good looking prospect that in time could develop into a movement, flex TE/H-back. He has excellent height and already good bulk which is why we think he may blossom into an inside guy down the road. He is a galloper with a long stride and can be imposing off the line. He can create mismatches one-on-one and particularly in the red area on size and physicality alone. He shows good initial burst off the line and even though he builds speed as he goes, he can accelerate and he has sneaky short area burst for a big guy to gain separation. He shows flashes of being a quality route runner that knows how to attack alignment. He has a strong upper body and will outmuscle defensive backs and use his size to shield defenders from the ball. Knows how to gain position, will elbow to establish and can simply shield defenders from the ball. Is an imposing red zone target that will go up and fight for the ball and win jump ball contests. Has deceptive elusiveness in the open field and once he catches the ball, he shows first step quickness and is capable of making the first defender miss. Catches the ball away from his frame and does really good job of high pointing the jump ball. He is a vertical threat due to his height and arms. Shows body control to adjust to poorly thrown balls. The issue with Robinson is that he lacks great fluidity quick twitch athleticism. Is more of a lumbering athlete that may struggle to make many big plays after the catch at the next level. He is essentially a big, physical redzone and jump ball target that if used in this manner can create some match-up problems for smaller DB's. Robinson is a short and deep receiver when on the outside and we believe could be more productive if used as an H. Needs to be cautious of his pad level as a route runner. Is high cut and may struggle to sharply cut and get into and out of breaks vs. top defenders. He is a quality prospect with terrific measurables that may outgrow the position.

JC what are your thoughts on Kennedy Tulimasealii?

I know you might not have ever seen him live, but I have seen him play upwards of 20 times, and the only guys from Oahu that jumped out like him were Te'o and Mariota. Even then he flashes more dominance than they did IMO.

Savaiinaea is a great kid, but seems slow to me and never finishes through the ball carrier. Not nearly on the same level impact wise as Tulimasealii. Pagano isn't even in the same ballpark when you consider they play in the same league, and Kennedy had twice the production if not more.

I though Myles Jack would get bumped up, kid is a serious player with a good chance of being an all american wherever he ends up.

I think it definitely goes to how much quality there is in ND's class.

That's interesting considering how he blew up his senior year... Almost singlehandedly won the Texas State Title in Texas' toughest division as well. Just don't see how a guy his size, strength and speed isn't rated higher than a smallish, slowish guy like Ke'aun Kinner. But I guess that's why you guys get paid the big bucks and I don't!

I really like Kinner. Instinctively, he doesn't have many peers. He breaks as many tackles at 182-pounds as one will see. If he had the test score right now, he would be a nationally recruited back like others.

I also like Oregon State commit Damien Haskins upside more than Taylor, but just me.

A lot of quality RB's in Texas -with very little separation.

I like Kennedy and agree on the stiffness concerns with Savaiinaea. You may be on to something.

What do you mean by their respective states? Where they live or where they work? Three of us live in Nashville, but we work all over the country, including on the West Coast.

Your "theory" since we don't want to call it a conspiracy is that where an analyst lives or is based makes him unconsciously biased against prospects from different regions.

While I think that's true if you have a regional approach, we don't here at 247Sports. Most of our guys cover players from across the country. Our new guys from Rivals, Keith and Brian, are used to operating on a regional plan, so they work in that manner. The rest of us cover recruits from across the country.

So I will gladly post anything you want, but I will tell you you need to prove your theory. Show me where recruiting outlets that have folks based on the West Coast are better at ranking prospects from the West Coast by a large margin and I will consider your theory valid, take it as constructive criticism and try to formulate a plan. But if you can't, you are flapping in the wind a bit because you are butt hurt over USC commits taking a tumble. If that's the case, please feel free to complain about the actual rankings of players and not attempt to know how we do our jobs or what sets us up for success in our jobs, because you don't really know.

Yes, I am butt-hurt. USC commits are an *average* of 25 (this average includes Khaliel Rodgers, the only USC recruit higher than his composite ranking) spots below the composite ranking. From what I gather, the criterion for the massive drop is because Kiffin is a crappy head coach (I agree). Still, that is obviously an unusual criterion which becomes 100% useless if a USC commit flips to another school, because the ranking is predicated on the coaching staff.

Anyways, I don't know scouting. I have no connections and 247 is a great site. I rescind all statements I made since I neither have the facts nor resources to support this argument. I am just unhappy over the meteoric fall in USC commits' rankings.

are you seriously upset by an average 1.65 discrepency in the composite with 247 rankings as it pertains to recruiting rankings?

That's awesome! I think it will help fans understand why a particular player is ranked the way they are but from analysts who's analysis we actually find worthwhile. Only good thing about the ESPN recruiting coverage. Otherwise they suck