Ron Zook = Top recruiter in College Football?

[Case Closed]

mt2r,

I don't get it. How does this guy show up at U of I and pull all these solid recruits? Is he really good at chit chatting with talented athletes? How was U of I's recruiting ranking prior to Zook coming?

[TruFloridaGator]

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Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss is a better recruiter than Ron Zook.

He was recruiting coordinator at USC for Carroll and largely reponsible forgetting Bush, Leinhart, Palmer, White, etc. His first year at Ole Miss comming off of being name national recruiter of the year in 2004, he signed the #30 class in the country according to rivals.com with one month to work because he was still working and helping USC sign the #1 class until after the national title game. Zook got a head start that year and signed the #51 class.

The next year, with a full year to work Ole Miss signed the #16 class despite winning only 3 games. Illinois signed the #31 class.

This year again despite only three wins Ole Miss has the #6 ranked class and Illinois has the #54 ranked class. It is obvious that despite similar success (or rather lack of it) on the field, Orgeron is by the experts opinion, clearly the better recruiter. Although, Zook has recruited well considering only winning four games so far.

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new rankings...who doesn't belong?

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FSU.

Please don't use these rankings ever. They're horrible. FSU, Miami ahead of Texas, LSU, UF is the biggest joke ever. Unfortunately scout's haven't come out yet.

Here's the next best but still fairly bad:
http://www.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?

[SharkTank43]

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mt2r,

How was U of I's recruiting ranking prior to Zook coming?

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Atrocious. I remmeber reading an article where Illinois was offering kids scholarships when MAC schools weren't even considering offering them, and an anonymous Big 10 recruiting coordinator was questioning what the hell Illinois was doing.

[TruFloridaGator]

I think we should get a recruiting thread going, maybe later in the year. Brantley may switch back to UF [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[MyTurn2Raise]

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mt2r,

I don't get it. How does this guy show up at U of I and pull all these solid recruits? Is he really good at chit chatting with talented athletes? How was U of I's recruiting ranking prior to Zook coming?

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Turner hated recruiting...hated it.

He was content to sign many 3 stars in the early period and did not like getting into big contests over coveted guys.

His classes were around top 35/top 40, but that was due to an exaggeration of players from the state of Illinois.



Zook puts more work into recruiting than anyone. He loves it. He loves meeting young men and competing with other schools to get the guy. He makes the guys feel wanted and develops great relationships. He promises them immediate playing time as an advantage compared to other big schools. It works, too, when a recruit sees 18 freshman getting significant playing time with the Illini this year.

It also works like a snowball. Getting Juice Williams was huge. People want to follow Juice, he has the personality and the talent.

I'm still very negative on Zook's ingame coaching decisions, but I have little doubt in his ability to recruit. He is making Illinois a recruiting machine while the state of Illinois lacks for HS talent.

[MyTurn2Raise]

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Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss is a better recruiter than Ron Zook.

He was recruiting coordinator at USC for Carroll and largely reponsible forgetting Bush, Leinhart, Palmer, White, etc. His first year at Ole Miss comming off of being name national recruiter of the year in 2004, he signed the #30 class in the country according to rivals.com with one month to work because he was still working and helping USC sign the #1 class until after the national title game. Zook got a head start that year and signed the #51 class.

The next year, with a full year to work Ole Miss signed the #16 class despite winning only 3 games. Illinois signed the #31 class.

This year again despite only three wins Ole Miss has the #6 ranked class and Illinois has the #54 ranked class. It is obvious that despite similar success (or rather lack of it) on the field, Orgeron is by the experts opinion, clearly the better recruiter. Although, Zook has recruited well considering only winning four games so far.

[/ QUOTE ]


new rankings...who doesn't belong?

[/ QUOTE ]

FSU.

Please don't use these rankings ever. They're horrible. FSU, Miami ahead of Texas, LSU, UF is the biggest joke ever. Unfortunately scout's haven't come out yet.

Here's the next best but still fairly bad:
http://www.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?

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the ESPN lists are off, because they can only use solid commitments. They don't include soft verbals and such. This is the main reason Ohio State is so low, etc. The ratings will adjust quite a bit. They are still an improvement over Notre Dame fan Tom Lemming.

[MyTurn2Raise]

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I think we should get a recruiting thread going, maybe later in the year. Brantley may switch back to UF [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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BTW....looks like McCray will choose Florida over Illinois...congrats.

The deciding factor is closeness to home.

[pirateboy]

Comparing the Drunk Cajun to Zook is a bit unfair.

Each year in the SEC, around 6 teams on average make the top 25 in recruiting. However, in the B10, around 4 teams on average make the top 25. It seems small, but it's easier to have a top 25 class in the SEC than it is in the B10.

[SharkTank43]

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I think we should get a recruiting thread going, maybe later in the year. Brantley may switch back to UF [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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The Gators could very well end up with the top class. Players such as Caleb King, Brantley, and Joe McKnight are strongly looking at FLA.

[Semtex]

Pete Carrol, and its not close. He is the teacher while Ed Orgeron was the student. Sure I guess Orgeron is the best recruiter in college football, but thats because Carrol can't be recruiting manager and head coach/defensive coordinator at the same time (though he isn't DC anymore).