I mentioned in the story that ran in today's paper that IU football recruiting is taken in perspective by the coaching staff.
Despite having one of the lowest-ranked classes in the Big Ten for 2010, IU coach Bill Lynch was pleased with the 25-person class and thought his staff "did the best in the Big Ten" because it got the players the team needed.
Another element of perspective to look at includes comparing this year's class with previous IU classes. Lynch emphasized several times (at the afternoon press conference and again at the evening reception) that this class was established early in the recruiting process (most players committed in the summer), and he was able to relax Tuesday evening - a contrast to previous years when he recruited heavily up to signing day.
Here's the breakdown of IU recruits since 2002, according to Rivals.com. Just follow the jump.
2010:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 11 3-star recruits
- 14 2-star recruits
- Avg rating: 2.44
- Top-rated recruits: Andre Kates, Matt Perez, Jeff Thomas
2009:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 13 3-star recruits
- 6 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.68
- Top-rated recruits: Duwyce Wilson, Ed Wright-Baker, Nick Zachery
2008:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 5 3-star recruits
- 15 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.25
- Top-rated recruits: Tyler Adentona, Shane Covington, Darius Willis
2007:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 5 3-star recruits
- 14 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.26
- Top-rated recruits: Jeff Boyd, Max Dedmond, Fred Jones
2006:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 5 3-star recruits
- 16 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.21
- Top-rated recruits: Cody Faulkner, Matt Mayberry, Alex Perry
2005:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 3 3-star recruits
- 21 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.13
- Top-rated recruits: Matt Lewis, Demetrius McCray, Bryan Payton
2004:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 5 3-star recruits
- 21 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.19
- Top-rated recruits: James Bailey, Jim Jadron, Isaac Price
2003:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 7 3-star recruits
- 16 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.31
- Top-rated recruits: Blake Powers, Nick Sexton, Joel Stubblefield
2002:
- zero 5-star and zero 4-star recruits
- 3 3-star recruits
- 18 2-star recruits
- Avg. rating: 2.14
- Top-rated recruits: Graeme McFarland, Sean Miller, Allen Webb
Notes
- Avg. rating of recruits in 2009 and 2010 are the highest in the past nine years.
- Prior to 2009, IU had not signed more than 7 3-star recruits in the past nine years.
- IU has not landed a 5-star or 4-star recruit in the years available on Rivals (back to '02).
- Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton were both 2-star recruits.
So compared to previous years, is Lynch's excitement about the 2010 class justified?
