Now that signing day is inching closer, the folks at Football Outsiders took a look at the top five overachieving teams in college football, based on their recruiting classes. These are the teams that do the most with less talent, based on how they are ranked on signing day.
One current Big East team, and one future Big East team made the list.
Cincinnati: Since 2007, the Bearcats have 26 victories as the "less talented team." That is despite having classes continually ranked lower than West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Rutgers. Credit goes to former coach Brian Kelly and current coach Butch Jones for maximizing the potential of their players.
Boise State: Since 2007, the Broncos have nine victories as the "less talented team." Brian Fremeau writes, "The Broncos have played only 11 games in the last five seasons against teams with a top-60 weighted recruiting profile, and they came away with a win in all but two of those games."
I found this post to be interesting, but not too surprising. To me, recruiting rankings are fun on signing day but do not really mean much come August. I have always felt it is not about the number of four- and five-star athletes in a class, but what coaches do with the talent once they arrive on campus. Too many can't-miss prospects have missed; too many unheralded prospects have soared.