Question - Scout vs Rivals

Different scouts often have differing opinions....

It's the eye black...that made him better on Rivals

All of them have pluses and minuses.
Rivals is better looking and widely regarded by fans as the go to choice.Rivals has also been proven to give out higher ratings to kids based on certain coaches and if a particular scout has a very high opinion of a kid(see Barton Simmons/Floyd Raven).I'm sure every site does this but they've actually been caught numerous times.Rivals is also very high on 7 on 7 stuff which is not a real good guide as far as pure football skills unless you're a wr.All about athleticism.Also have the Army game to which they'll give the participants a higher chance of moving up at the end.(not as bad as ESPN though)
Scout is not pretty to look at but most coaches and independent evaluators actually prefer them.They give out way too many 5 stars and 4 stars but they're actual position rankings are usually more in line with what people think.You just have to not look at the *s.They also have a huge problem actually going out and scouting players.They usually do most of their evaluating a year in advance and change rankings based on SR performances by the kids they already have ranked or evaluated.Very rarely will you see a kid not already evaluated by the summer get evaluated properly.Look at the list of 3 *s and 2 *s they have and you'll see that they miss a lot of kids.
ESPN is very poor imo.They are way too biased toward FL and the southeast in general.(I believe the best and most prospects are in the south but 48 FL kids in the 150?no way)They also stick to their guns with most kids.If you're rated high or low early it's hard to move alot with them.Also they make some very head scratching rankings.It seems they are trying to pick certain kids out and hope that they make it big so they can trump up the fact that they had them ranked ahead of other services.Sylve as the #3 wr this year is a great example.Even us as LSU fans that loved the kid early would never have him #3 in the country.Probably not even top 10.They also only really evaluate the Under Armour game.If a kid is in the Army game he basically has no chance to move up based on performiong in the practices and game.
I look at all the recruiting sites and just take all of it with a grain of salt.The best thing to do is look at the film yourself and make your own opinion.Trust me you have just as much chance of being right as they do.

Scout does a better job at trying to rank everybody and I think in general, have better film and camp evaluators. Rivals concerns itself with guys who already have the big names. Neither does a damn thing to help promote kids and college coaches give these sites no legitimacy. These are strickly fan sites. They also vigorously review what the other has as rankings and often follow. Individually, the Scouts and film reviewers at Scout are better, although Rivals does edit film submitted by coaches, etc on kids.

go with the one that has LSU ranked higher

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lsufanva

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You make many good points!

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lsufanva

You make many good points!

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Definitely agree.

Most of all, take everything with a grain of salt.

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I also tend to trust Saban, Meyer, Miles and other coaches who offer kids. They have first had experience with the kids and evaluate the intangibles as well as tangibles. So, their is no "one" site to use. Use them all.

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Agree with this, too. A name that comes to mind is Tyrann Mathieu. I really had never heard of this kid, and he seems like a serious player to me. When I first read about him having an offer out of camp from Coach Miles, I wondered what he was thinking. I read that he was 5'9" and 175 pounds. I originally interpreted that as coachspeak with him being 4'1" and a poster child for anorexia. This proves something that I have suspected all along. Les Miles is a better evaluator of talent than I am. Reading a laundry list of accomplishments from Rivals or Scout is fine, but it's the up close and personal that reveals the heart of a kid. And for every Tyrann, there is a miss somewhere else on the roster. This is sometimes like picking horses. Read the racing form before the race, and you can't lose. Read it after the race, and you have a whole new impression of the race.

When it comes to recruiting, I have often thought this. There are people who make things happen. There are people who watch what happens, and there are other people who wondered what happened. I sometimes wonder how often a fan sees a kid at a high school game and emails the staff about a "can't miss prospect." I am sure others can shed some light on that.