Rivals, Scout Or ESPN: Who Do U Believe?

There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding the popular high school scouting services and their associated recruiting ranking systems that are published each year.

For some fans it is all about "the stars", as in how many stars does Johnny Rockets have attached to his name. These faithful fans follow the star system ratings like a religion.

However, for others, they simply do not by into the hype and dismiss the star rankings as utter nonsense that sells subscriptions to the schools with the largest fan bases.

Either way, their is no disputing the fact that college sports fans pay big money and an incredible amount of time and attention reading and comparing these three sites rankings of players their school is potentially recruiting.

Each year three of the most well known sites - Rivals, Scout and ESPN - release what they refer top as their top 300, 250 or 150 players lists. We thought we would take a look at some of the players that are allegedly being recruited by and have scholarship offers from Miami.

The listings below are: Player, Rivals, Scout and ESPN rankings (in that order):

Sony Michel: #6, #10, #16.

Dalvin Cook: #24, #71, #20

Joseph Yearby: #42, #25, #18

Ermon Lane: #32, #53, #25

KC McDermott: #40, #16, #52

Keyon Brown: #79, #164, UR

Artavis Scott: #81, #122, #85

Thomas Holley: #84, #70, #93

Isaiah Wynn: #89, #196, #113

Treon Harris: #130, #87, UR

Johnnie Dixon: #135, UR, #43

Elisha Shaw: #137, #72, #60

Khairi Clark: #139, #18, #146

Travis Rudolph: #153, #79, #79

Trevor Darling: #178, #108, #130

Brad Kaaya: #200, #297, UR

Now in case you haven't noticed, the rankings are generally all over the place and the variances  between the sites can be as many as 100 spots on the charts from site to site.

Furthermore, there seems to be no logical rhyme or reason as to which players get a top 25 ranking versus a top 125 ranking much less a top 225 ranking as each site has their highs and lows.

So what do you think about these stats and the Top 150, 250 and 300 players from the various sites? Are they accurate and on target or is their method and system antiquated and inaccurate?

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Comments

[Hassan]

1st

[Hassan]

If you ain't 1st your last.

[NativeCane]

DANG HASSAN, if not for U I coulda been somebody! Lol

Go Canes!!!

[Hassan]

About the article, good stuff. Here are a few things to consider. These sites have a limited amount of people that evaluate the players, not all the evaluations are done at the same time. A 15-17 year old kid can grow 2-3 inches and put on weight and get a lot better in just 1 summer, hence why measurements etc are often all over the place. So if Rivals eval on Brad Kaaya is updated right after the spring session but Scout has not seen him since last fall then of course there will be a big difference in their evals. This happens often and when you see updated evals you see the recruiting services start to narrow the gap in the differences in their evaluation, not to mention the fact they read the other services eval's and get to scout for those things.

There are many logical reasons why eval's very, you have some kids who are "practice players" and some who are "gamers" some are consistant. If anyone went out to Greentree and watched Kendall Thompkins one would think he was a 5 star kid, but come watch a game and you might leave with a different impression. So yesterday Kaaya takes a burner in the shoulder, today Rivals comes out to scout him and his arm strength is not there, they do not know about yesterdays injury as Kaaya shows leadership and toughness and does not complain. He throws but he is not able to get much on it, Rivals does a write up and says he is a good qb but he lacks arm strength. Two weeks later 247sports shows up and Kaaya is healed up and is throwing Darts all the way to the opposite hash mark, the ball is leaving his hands like a rocket on a rope. 247sports writes up that he has elite arm strength. These things happen, and some kids have big names they get evaled a lot go to multiple camps and play in big markets where they are seen a lot, this helps to get a better picture of his talents, but some kids play in small towns maybe are checked out a couple of times only or maybe only their highlight tape is looked at and none of their weaknesses are exposed. The whole eval system is flawed but when you understand how it is done then you can see how the differences arise. The same thing happens at the pro level and year after year the teams who do thier homework the best find gems in the draft.

[nemo2002]

I could have been a contender.

[Sinistercane]

4th

[Hassan]

I broke down an analysis on this, Ohio check the spam folder please. I do not feel like re writing it.

[SOUP]

Hassy...I found it trapped in the spam bank and freed it. It is posted above.

[SOUP]

Hassy...I agree the system is flawed beyond fixing. U know our mutual "friend" always argues that half of these players are evaluated by film highlight tapes ONLY and some are almost never seen in person or watched for an entire game to determine their overall game and strengths and weaknesses.

[Hassan]

Thanks for fixing my comment. Our Friend is right, he knows the game. Matter of fact he is DIRECTLY involved in it now. But the good programs do their diligence, Miami does not have the private jets of a Bama buyt they also do not have to drive more then 45 minutes to find the best talent in america. Even Kehoe driving to Tampa/Orlando can visit 3-4 HS's and be back for dinner.

[Hassan]

Soup reach out to the Source and get a Camp update. today's camp should be a good one.

[Hassan]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/miami-hurricanes-blog/sfl-no-miami-players-taken-in-first-10-rounds-of-mlb-draft-20130607,0,3536569.story

[Hassan]

http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2013/JUN13/DBJune08.html

[Hassan]

Alin is at the camp today

[TonyCane]

Alabama only has private jets? I thought that they also employed teleportation technology for recruiting visits.

[TJL]

Hows the weather for camp? it won't stop raining in Palm beach county-had to drain the pool twice this week

[SOUP]

Soup reach out to the Source and get a Camp update. today's camp should be a good one.

Posted by: Hassan | June 08, 2013 at 10:58 AM

Will do this PM.

CGNC and OGV have had him talking about hockey lately. CGNC tried to convert him to be a Pens fan. U see how that went! LOL

[SOUP]

TJL...they said the weather was fine this AM in Coral Gables.

[SOUP]

TJL...click here, only in the 561:

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/weather/klystron-9-radar.map.html/SouthFlorida.html

[TJL]

damn cursed up here!

[SOUP]

On June 11, 1985, Ron Fraser's Hurricanes captured their second national championship in three seasons by knocking off the favored Texas Longhorns (and some chap named Greg Swindell) at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.

The Hurricanes didn't have a single player from that team to make it to the Major Leagues -- unless you count mascot John Routh and announcer Jay Rokeach. They both made it to the show with the Marlins in 1993.

Greg Ellena was the MVP of that tournament, a fitting choice for the team he represented. Fraser dubbed those Canes 'The Happiest Team in America.''

"They were an unselfish team,'' said WQAM's Joe Zagacki on Friday. "You talk about chemistry and they had it. They believed in each other and were inseparable. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Right in this ballpark (Gainesville) on a Friday; they got a little rambunctious and coach Fraser brought them out here early Saturday morning and ran them all morning.

They were all puking. They went to get on the bus and were told they were walking back. Fraser said he didn't care if they won or lost that night. It was a lesson learned. And they won that night.''

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/2010/06/happy-25th-anniversary-1985-miami-hurricanes.html#storylink=cpy

[Hassan]

ALin won the QB MVP and Brewton won the DB MVP. Valentine dominated from DT position

[Terrance Sullivan]

Our Canes were robbed in 1988 also. That BS fumble the refs called against Cleveland Gary when we played Notre Lame in South Bend still pisses me off. 83 days till Gameday. Let's Go Canes.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Hassan brings up very good points with the evaluation failures inherent in the ranking systems. Phil Steele gets it right in my mind on this, to begin with, he's too busy trying to make money gambling on football games to be bothered with sniffing some high school'ers jock or even a JC players for that matter. So what's he do? He takes all three of these services, combines them with a few other sources, Superprep, Tom Lemming (total ND homer), G&W Recruiting Report (never heard of the them), Parade, JC Football (Junior College, not Teblow's theory of the history of the earth on the football field), Prepstar and Ridley Scouting, then aggregates each prospects ranking and bases his rankings on that. If one service has a wildly different opinion either way than all the others, the aggregation of their ranking helps smooth out that giant difference amongst them. Even then, that is only useful in helping predict how likely a player is able to step in and contribute at a high level of play on the field as an underclassmen to a certain extent and ultimately, it's what a guy does on the field, not in high school that anybody cares about.

[Canester-Nip]

Itu blog sayin Georgia lb Juwan Young committed to Miami 2day? If so that is 1 helluva pick up!

[Hassan]

Young is built like a brick shit house and can get after the QB

[Hassan]

The Bat Signal went up twice then one was deleted.

Young dominated camp today

[Canesteeler]

This ass clown Shapiro just keeps going on and on and on and on! SI has a story coming out on the NCAA investigation. The U just received a commitment from a 4 star LB out of GA.

[Canesteeler]

Hassan very good article.

[Hassan]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2013/06/sports-illustrated-preparing-umncaa-expose-shapiro-makes-another-allegation.html#

[SOUP]

Darrin Smith was 2 years old and sick at home that April day of 1972 when his father, Rudolph, a mechanic, was murdered while volunteering at a Liberty City community festival — a fundraiser, ironically, to help police fight street crime.

Smith’s four older siblings were there and ran from the gunman as their father was shot in the back of the head by a man who got angry that Rudolph Smith asked him to move his car from a no parking zone.

Although Smith didn’t witness the crime, and has no memory of his father, it had a profound effect on him. He became jealous of boys who had their fathers around, and by age 8, he was, in his words, “becoming a very angry little boy.’’

That angry boy — with the help of his mother and two special mentors — wound up winning two national football championships at the University of Miami (’89 and ’91) and two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys (’94 and ’96). But more important in his estimation, he is a philanthropist, a dedicated husband and father of twins. He leads a men’s ministry at his church. And, by the time he was drafted by the NFL, he had earned a master’s degree in business administration.

“Rings can be taken away, but nobody can take your education away,’’ said Smith, who lives in Pembroke Pines and runs a real estate investment company.

On Wednesday, Smith will be honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps Embracing the Legacy Award for his advocacy work on behalf of youth. The award ceremony is at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

[Hassan]

Joe Garcia ‏@JGJr9 7m Last 2 commits have people tweeting me about a move to the 3-4. Guess running it a ton in the 2nd half of last year wasn't a big enough hint

[CoCane]

I hope the Juwon commit is official. He's one of the out of state targets I really hoped we would get.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000117339359]

I said he would win....s/o to ME for being right Alin Eduard here we go...s/o to the doubters..

RCCF 12%.. thnx for the update and made my day

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000117339359]

I feel like I should win something....

RCCF..

[SOUP]

University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris has rejoined the team after battling a case of pneumonia onset during the team’s trip to Durham, N.C., for the 2013 ACC Championship.

[SOUP]

I said he would win....s/o to ME for being right Alin Eduard here we go...s/o to the doubters. RCCF 12%...thnx for the update and made my day

Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000117339359 | June 08, 2013 at 05:21 PM

Alin for Heisman!!! LOL

#TownCane

[SOUP]

RCCF...ALIN for Heisman!!! LOL

#TownCane

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000117339359]

and who are all these guys with Jamal Carter (future Canes???)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD_RXRdCp2g

RCCF 12%

[SOUP]

Dieter Kurtenbach ‏@dkurtenbach 1h

4-star http://youtu.be/2ONVe6E2MOs RT @SFHSSports: Al Golden Football Camp paying off. Canes secure commit from LB Juwon Young out of Albany, GA.

[SOUP]

Camp report from Aziz:

http://canesinsight.com/showthread.php?t=53314

[SOUP]

Miramar Sports ‏@MiramarSports 1h

How good is Juwan Young? Everybody said he was the best player at camp today, and that was WITH Travonte Valentine and others dominating.

[SOUP]

OGV and Zilla...received the checks for the USF (and FSU for OGV) tix. We are good to go!

[TJL]

Our Canes were robbed in 1988 also. That BS fumble the refs called against Cleveland Gary when we played Notre Lame in South Bend still pisses me off. 83 days till Gameday. Let's Go Canes.

Posted by: Terrance Sullivan | June 08, 2013 at 03:45 PM

Terrance-I was at that game-the people were so nasty the drunk irish security hassled us the frakkin concessions would not even serve us!

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Oh and by the way, while we're at it, a guy who's busy trying to make money gambling's pick to win the ACC coastal;

https://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2013Top40Countdown/12VirginiaTech.pdf

He isn't selling interests in non-existant grocery distribution businesses either.

[SOUP]

ORB

That is all.

[SOUP]

Orb finishes 3rd after Oxbow and PALICE MALICE the winner. Nice name!

[Ohio_Cane]

Juwon Young is a MONSTER. That is all.

Be VERY happy, Canes fans. Been on the water aday, but I'll have more to say soon.

[Sarasota 'cane]

So what team is your pick to win the Coastal OGV? It's funny to watch you latch onto any straw that would suggest the canes are going to suck or will underachieve. Without looking I bet I've read 5-10 major publications that are picking UM to win the Coastal.
The defense will likely struggle, yet the offense and special teams should excel. How many D1 teams would trade places with UM to have above average players and opportunities in 2 out of 3 phases of the game?
I just don't understand how you can call yourself a fan of UM football and yet go out of your way to uncover every negative rumor, opinion, and story about the team. It doesn't make sense.

[orange 'n green in the vein]

/\/\/\

Take three wild guesses, first two don't count. Other than that as far as blogging exchanges with you old good buddy . . .