Shea Dixon’s latest class prediction

Just like Billy's prediction this class looks like a whole lot of meh. Not a lot of elite talent here

This would almost certainly be a top 3-4 class (currently 291.35 on class calculator, which will unquestionably go up as overall ratings rise as the cycle progresses), though it's worth noting that it comprises 32 kids, which is an absolute frick ton, and imo fairly unlikely.



Also, regarding the statement from the poster above that this class is a bit lacking in high-end talent: Although it does seem that way at first blush, I actually dont think its much of a concern, for a number of reasons.



For one thing, ratings (rankings aside) go up as the cycle progresses, because these are 16 and 17yr olds and they will grow and get better. So whatever the average rating is now, the average rating of the same group will almost certainly be higher on signing day. And second, there are a few kids on this list where it seems that one service or another is simply behind in their eval, so we can reasonably expect those kids to get bumped up once everything catches up. For example, Bryant wesco is "only" a 96 on the 247 composite... but he's #9 overall per 247 and #25 overall per on3--it's the outdated ESPN (#192) and Rivals (#165) ratings that are pulling him down. Similarly, Christopher Jackson is a top 100 kid in the country per On3 but he's still completely unlisted on 247 and ESPN. So that's two guys right there who are much closer to being elite than their current ratings imply.



Second, there is the issue of Colin Hurley. We know he's supremely talented, but the recruiting services have basically come out and said that his rating is maxed out until he can show that he's capable of topping his 55% completion mark from last season. Keep in mind that that was only his *sophomore year* (given that he reclass'd), so improvement is to be expected. If/When he comes out and puts up 60%+ completion this season, he'll all but guaranteed to make a jump into the top 50 overall. And imo that's a pretty highly likely outcome--the services just want to see it first before they adjust.




Beyond that, we're also still very much in the thick of it for Colin Simmons, who is as elite as they come.



And finally, people are correct in identifying this as a down year in Louisiana... but you can also damn near bet the house that Louisiana will have one or two guys who make huge jumps during their senior year. That could easily add one or two elite guys to this class who currently are either off the radar or seem like depth pieces.

The bottom line is that when you actually dig into this projected class and dig into the ratings and rankings, you get a picture of a class with a lot more elite and potentially-elite talent than it seems at first. If i could sign today for this exact class, I'd almost certainly do it. If you threw Colin Simmons on top, I'd throw a party.

Texas has made it clear they aren't going to let Simmons leave the state

IF that’s the main thing that it’s about it then yea we aren’t playing that game and I’m ok with it

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Apparently Simmons family is highly “involved” in his recruitment. Lots of caring folks wanting to make sure he makes the “best” decision.

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Ie. highest bidder lol

Well probablys not since their instate classes are significantly stronger than Louisiana’s this year

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Do you think georgia and bama will only have 1 5 star in their class?

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If you went with their “pre committing to those schools ranking”, yeah. They’d probably have 2 at most. But we’ve all seen time and time again that 4 star get bumped to a “5 star” the week after he commits to those teams (especially Bama but it’s recently been happening with Georgia).

People need to look no further than our baseball team to understand why acquiring elite top level talent is mission critical. What does LSU football want to be? Georgia and Alabama are where they are because they married structure with elite recruiting, it isn't rocket science.

They both have 2 current 5* commits based on the 20 in the ON3 industry thing. Guarantee both would land at least 1 a piece of the remaining 16. We haven't gotten to 32(the end number) yet. They recruit and evaluate better than everyone else and it's clear. And have trophies to back that up. There may be some bias involved as the year goes but results say both are pretty damn good at evaluating and getting those at the tops of their respective boards. Nationwide with no limits to where they go and who they have to beat to land those kids. We yearn to be there but don't have to.