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Three-point stance: Pac-12 QBs, Big 12, Bama
The defense in the Big 12 is a joke; that has become clear. Aside from West Virginia, which leads the nation in defensive scoring albeit against three awful teams, the rest of the conference is really bad. TCU and Baylor are top-five teams and give up 28.3 and 23 points per game against very average opponents. Oklahoma, ranked No. 15, gives up 21.7 points per game. The 55-52 win by TCU over Texas Tech was tough to watch if you like defense at all and watching Texas, historically a very solid defensive program, give up 28 points to Rice, 45 to Cal and 30 to Oklahoma State, while giving up nearly 500 yards per game and more than 35 points a contest.
In the current Rivals100, only two players are currently committed to a Big 12 school and both are offensive guys (OL Patrick Hudson to Baylor and QB Shane Buechele to Texas). In 2015, three defensive players in the Rivals100 committed to Big 12 schools and in 2014, there were only two. In fact you have to go back to 2011 to find five or more Rivals100 defenders picking the Big 12 and that's simply awful. But why would a star defender want to play for a Big 12 program? The focus from the media, coaching, scheme and the rest is clearly on the offensive side of the ball so even the great defenders in the conference become part of a group that can't stop anyone.
Of course there are players not ranked in the Rivals100 that excel on defense in the Big 12 like Oklahoma State defensive back Justin Gilbert, a four-star in 2010 who ended up as a first rounder in 2014, and Texas defensive back Kenny Vaccaro, a four-star in 2009 who ended up as a first rounder in 2013, but it's few and far between. In fact, looking at each Big 12 team since 2012 when Missouri and Texas A&M joined the SEC and were replaced by West Virginia and TCU, only Gilbert, Vaccarro, TCU's Jason Verrett (a three-star JUCO), Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown (Rivals100 and a five star in 2012) and West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin (another JUCO) have been first-round defensive picks from the conference. Not so hot.
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Is Alabama recruiting in jeopardy of taking a step back? Is it actually possible? This is the team, under Nick Saban, that finished first in the Rivals.com team rankings in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and finished fifth in 2010 and second in 2015, the only years they didn't win the title. For 2016, Alabama is currently No. 9 in the country and fourth in average star ranking with plenty of five and four-stars leaning their way. So how can there be any concern? The only reason is that the bar has been set so high by Saban and Co. Since 2009, Alabama has won the national title three times under Saban, but the last time was in 2012. The Crimson Tide won the SEC three times during that time as well, including last season and have won their division four times. But with a loss already in the books, at home of all places, to Ole Miss and being a current underdog for the first time in 72 games -- let that sink in -- 72 games as they head to Georgia this weekend, a second loss would pretty much assure they won't be in the playoffs. When was the last time Alabama was eliminated from title consideration in early October? I'm just saying, things are starting to feel a little bit different when it comes to the Bama program, but it's nothing a big win this weekend wouldn't cure. There will be a ton of recruits on hand for the game and watching on television. I think it's very important, especially against a UGA team Bama recruits head-to-head against every year, to make a statement here or lose some of its recruiting luster. | ||
| Mike Farrell National Recruiting Director |
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