David Sisk
Special to TigerSportsReport.com
College football recruiting is currently at a fevered pitch across the country, and it is no different inside the American Athletic Conference. While some schools are trying to gain traction among Class of 2016 recruits, others have already received ten or more commitments. The conference is also not without some heavily recruited players and even some 4-star athletes. Tiger Sports Report has put together a summary of all of Memphis' rival schools recruiting thus far inside the league. All of the numbers are based on Rivals recruit grades from their Team Rankings Page. We will list the number of recruits, and the total of points Rivals gave each school for their 2016 recruiting class.
1. Houston - (12 Commits, 805 points) When Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman was hired last winter by the Cougars, he immediately emphasized locking down the fertile hometown recruiting area with an H-Town Takeover. The dividends have been impressive. Houston has signed the two highest ranked players in the conference thus far, four-star defensive tackle out of Houston Ed Oliver, and four-star defensive back Collin Wilder of Katy, Texas. Herman has also added two three-star defensive linemen, and eight two-star players. With a 5 star rating being the highest a player could receive, Houston's recruits average 2.58 points per player. The Cougars 2016 recruiting class is currently ranked 39th by Rivals. Combined with the current roster, don't expect the boys from South Texas to fall off anytime soon.
2. SMU -(17 Commits, 765 points) Chad Morris brought a reputation as an offensive guru from Clemson. The interest generated by the former Texas high school coach has been noticeable. He has netted more commitments than any coach inside the AAC. The Mustangs have landed three 3-star recruits so far, the most heralded being Quarterback David Moore out of Alpharetta, Georgia who was a Clemson recruit when Morris was there. SMU beat out the likes of Oregon St, Utah, Illinois, and Wake Forest to sign him. They also overcame offers from ACC and Pac-12 schools to get linemen Michael Badejo and Braxton Webb. SMU has also signed 14 two-star recruits. The current star average for each player was 2.18, and the Mustangs '16 class is currently ranked 42. The obvious trend is that the first-year coaches Herman and Morris, have been highly acclaimed assistants at blue-blood programs. This has generated interest and success into each coach's initial recruiting class.
3. South Florida - (9 Commits, 540 points) Although Head Coach Willie Taggart's head seems to be on the chopping block, one wouldn't know it based on his current recruiting class. Out of the nine commitments, the Bulls have landed six three star recruits. They have the second highest player ranking average, with a possible 2.67 points out of five. Taggart kept his momentum going last week with a big commitment from Defensive Tackle Christion Gainer of Panama City. Florida was the predicted frontrunner for Gainer, but the lineman pulled the surprise by picking South Florida over the likes of the Gators, Miami, Louisville, and North Carolina State.
4. Cincinnati - (10 Commits, 465 points) Tommy Tubberville has always had the reputation as an ace recruiter, but he has been aided by running back coach Eddie Gran who has locked down two highly sought after Midwest backs, Gerrid Doaks and Jeremy Larkin. Expect these two individuals to be forces inside the conference for the forseeable future. The Bearcats have landed four-three star players and have a star average of 2.5 per player.
5. Tulane - (12 Commits, 405 points) The Green Wave's recruiting strategy seems to be there is strength in numbers, landing the second highest amount of commitments in the league so far. Tulane has verbals from two 3-star players and nine two-star players. Head Coach Curtis Johnson is following an intelligent blue-print of keeping Louisana players home, as nine out of his twelve commits are from the Pelican State.
6. UCONN - (5 Commits, 270 points) Connecticut's quantity of commitments is not overpowering, but the quality has been impressive with four of the five future Huskies being three-star recruits. They have the highest potential five-star player average with a 2.8.
7. Central Florida - (5 Commits, 255 points) UCF has picked up three 3-star and two 2-star players in their early recruitment. Key future signees include Quarterback Sawyer Smith who chose the Black Knights over Mississippi State, and Miami's Dontay Mayfield who stayed in the Sunshine State despite offers from Kentucky, Duke, and Virginia.
8. Navy - (6 Commits, 210 points) The new addition to the American Athletic Conference could probably be compared to Justin Fuente's teams as much as anyone in the league. They don't nail down top-ranked recruiting classes, but their player development is as solid as anyone's, thus they churn out good football teams. The Midshipmen have managed to gain commits from four players who are at least two-stars including Nashville's DeVarius Cortner. Navy has made Tennessee a huge recruiting priority as it signed six players from the Volunteer State in last year's class.
9. East Carolina - (6 Commits, 195 points) The Pirates have a commitment from one player who is at least a 3-star, but he is a good one. Quarterback Reid Herring chose East Carolina over Miami and Boston College.
10. Temple - (6 Commits, 165 points) Temple's recruiting class is very similar to East Carolina's, netting several two star recruits and one 3-star. Both teams had a 5-star average of 2.2 per player.
11. Tulsa - (2 Commits, 90 points) Tulsa and Memphis are tied for 11th place, each gaining the services of two 2-star recruits.
Memphis - (2 Commits, 90 points) The Tigers have gained the services of Caleb Grant, a 6-foot-3, 280 pound Defensive End from East Mississippi Community College and Thomas Pickens a 6-foot-1, 180 pound athlete from Memphis University School. Both players received several offers and were seen at very good gets by the Tigers' staff.
In fairness, Memphis backers should not hit the panic button when looking at Rivals' recruiting rankings. At the beginning of the 2014 football season, Coach Fuente and staff only had 5 commitments, but ended up with 29 players. Secondly, several recruits attended The University of Memphis Football Camps in June, and more commitments are expected during July and August. Combine that with an as expected successful 2015 season, and the Tigers should quickly climb up the recruiting rankings.
Special to TigerSportsReport.com
College football recruiting is currently at a fevered pitch across the country, and it is no different inside the American Athletic Conference. While some schools are trying to gain traction among Class of 2016 recruits, others have already received ten or more commitments. The conference is also not without some heavily recruited players and even some 4-star athletes. Tiger Sports Report has put together a summary of all of Memphis' rival schools recruiting thus far inside the league. All of the numbers are based on Rivals recruit grades from their Team Rankings Page. We will list the number of recruits, and the total of points Rivals gave each school for their 2016 recruiting class.
1. Houston - (12 Commits, 805 points) When Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman was hired last winter by the Cougars, he immediately emphasized locking down the fertile hometown recruiting area with an H-Town Takeover. The dividends have been impressive. Houston has signed the two highest ranked players in the conference thus far, four-star defensive tackle out of Houston Ed Oliver, and four-star defensive back Collin Wilder of Katy, Texas. Herman has also added two three-star defensive linemen, and eight two-star players. With a 5 star rating being the highest a player could receive, Houston's recruits average 2.58 points per player. The Cougars 2016 recruiting class is currently ranked 39th by Rivals. Combined with the current roster, don't expect the boys from South Texas to fall off anytime soon.
2. SMU -(17 Commits, 765 points) Chad Morris brought a reputation as an offensive guru from Clemson. The interest generated by the former Texas high school coach has been noticeable. He has netted more commitments than any coach inside the AAC. The Mustangs have landed three 3-star recruits so far, the most heralded being Quarterback David Moore out of Alpharetta, Georgia who was a Clemson recruit when Morris was there. SMU beat out the likes of Oregon St, Utah, Illinois, and Wake Forest to sign him. They also overcame offers from ACC and Pac-12 schools to get linemen Michael Badejo and Braxton Webb. SMU has also signed 14 two-star recruits. The current star average for each player was 2.18, and the Mustangs '16 class is currently ranked 42. The obvious trend is that the first-year coaches Herman and Morris, have been highly acclaimed assistants at blue-blood programs. This has generated interest and success into each coach's initial recruiting class.
3. South Florida - (9 Commits, 540 points) Although Head Coach Willie Taggart's head seems to be on the chopping block, one wouldn't know it based on his current recruiting class. Out of the nine commitments, the Bulls have landed six three star recruits. They have the second highest player ranking average, with a possible 2.67 points out of five. Taggart kept his momentum going last week with a big commitment from Defensive Tackle Christion Gainer of Panama City. Florida was the predicted frontrunner for Gainer, but the lineman pulled the surprise by picking South Florida over the likes of the Gators, Miami, Louisville, and North Carolina State.
4. Cincinnati - (10 Commits, 465 points) Tommy Tubberville has always had the reputation as an ace recruiter, but he has been aided by running back coach Eddie Gran who has locked down two highly sought after Midwest backs, Gerrid Doaks and Jeremy Larkin. Expect these two individuals to be forces inside the conference for the forseeable future. The Bearcats have landed four-three star players and have a star average of 2.5 per player.
5. Tulane - (12 Commits, 405 points) The Green Wave's recruiting strategy seems to be there is strength in numbers, landing the second highest amount of commitments in the league so far. Tulane has verbals from two 3-star players and nine two-star players. Head Coach Curtis Johnson is following an intelligent blue-print of keeping Louisana players home, as nine out of his twelve commits are from the Pelican State.
6. UCONN - (5 Commits, 270 points) Connecticut's quantity of commitments is not overpowering, but the quality has been impressive with four of the five future Huskies being three-star recruits. They have the highest potential five-star player average with a 2.8.
7. Central Florida - (5 Commits, 255 points) UCF has picked up three 3-star and two 2-star players in their early recruitment. Key future signees include Quarterback Sawyer Smith who chose the Black Knights over Mississippi State, and Miami's Dontay Mayfield who stayed in the Sunshine State despite offers from Kentucky, Duke, and Virginia.
8. Navy - (6 Commits, 210 points) The new addition to the American Athletic Conference could probably be compared to Justin Fuente's teams as much as anyone in the league. They don't nail down top-ranked recruiting classes, but their player development is as solid as anyone's, thus they churn out good football teams. The Midshipmen have managed to gain commits from four players who are at least two-stars including Nashville's DeVarius Cortner. Navy has made Tennessee a huge recruiting priority as it signed six players from the Volunteer State in last year's class.
9. East Carolina - (6 Commits, 195 points) The Pirates have a commitment from one player who is at least a 3-star, but he is a good one. Quarterback Reid Herring chose East Carolina over Miami and Boston College.
10. Temple - (6 Commits, 165 points) Temple's recruiting class is very similar to East Carolina's, netting several two star recruits and one 3-star. Both teams had a 5-star average of 2.2 per player.
11. Tulsa - (2 Commits, 90 points) Tulsa and Memphis are tied for 11th place, each gaining the services of two 2-star recruits.
Memphis - (2 Commits, 90 points) The Tigers have gained the services of Caleb Grant, a 6-foot-3, 280 pound Defensive End from East Mississippi Community College and Thomas Pickens a 6-foot-1, 180 pound athlete from Memphis University School. Both players received several offers and were seen at very good gets by the Tigers' staff.
In fairness, Memphis backers should not hit the panic button when looking at Rivals' recruiting rankings. At the beginning of the 2014 football season, Coach Fuente and staff only had 5 commitments, but ended up with 29 players. Secondly, several recruits attended The University of Memphis Football Camps in June, and more commitments are expected during July and August. Combine that with an as expected successful 2015 season, and the Tigers should quickly climb up the recruiting rankings.
