Luke Fickell arrived @ Cincinnati in 2017
Cincy class rank avg, 2002-2016 - 76
Cincy class rank avg, 2010-2016 - 60
Cincy class rank avg under Fickell, 2017-2021 - 53
Best class ranking pre-Fickell - 47
Fickell's best class - 41
Fickell's Bump class rank in school's class history - 2nd all-time (since 2002)
Notes: Fickell signed Cincy's 2 highest rated classes ever in 2020 (41st) and 2021 (45th), while the incomplete 2022 group is currently ranked even higher at 32. Together with the 49th ranked bump class, he owns 3 of Cincy's 4 highest-ranked classes all-time.
Lane Kiffin arrived @ Ole Miss in 2020
Ole Miss class rank avg, 2002-2019 - 24
Ole Miss class rank avg, 2010-2019 - 22
Ole Miss class rank avg under Kiffin, 2020-2021 - 26
Best class ranking pre-Kiffin - 5
Kiffin's best class - 17
Kiffin's Bump class rank in school's class history - 17, which falls to a 4-way tie for 4th best in program history.
Notes: Historically, Ole Miss recruits much better than I would've anticipated. They have 9 top-20 finishes since 2002, plus 1 top-10, and 1 top-5. If we discount Hugh Freeze's success there (I don't think we should), it places Kiffin's recruiting fairly close to the top, but not program-historic.
Mario Cristobal arrived @ Oregon in 2018
Oregon class rank avg, 2002-2017 - 24
Oregon class rank avg, 2010-2017 - 18
Oregon class rank avg under Cristobal, 2018-2021 - 9
Best class ranking pre-Cristobal - 12
Cristobal's best class - 6
Cristobal's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1 (At that time. It now stands as Oregon's 2nd highest-ranked class)
Notes: His 3 classes from 2019 to 2021 are the 3 highest-ranked in program history.... and even his transition class was 1 spot lower than the program's best. The fact is, managing a 15-spot improvement avg over the program's previous 16 years is a big deal. Doing so by knocking on the door of the top-5 is much, much bigger. While many will point to the luxury of Oregon's facilities, not many will point to the difficulty of amassing such classes in a state that produced only 13 blue-chip players (and no 5-stars) during Cristobal's 5 completed recruiting cycles.
Billy Napier arrived @ Louisiana in 2018
Louisiana class rank avg, 2002-2017 - 99
Louisiana class rank avg, 2010-2017 - 100
Louisiana class rank avg under Napier, 2018-2021 - 83
Best class ranking pre-Napier - 78
Napier's best class - 69
Napier's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1
Notes: Napier's 2019 bump class was the highest-ranked in program history. 2 years later, his 2021 class again became Louisiana's highest-ranked ever. So far, the coach has amassed 3 of the program's 4 highest class rankings on record.
Hugh Freeze arrived @ Liberty in 2019
Liberty class rank avg, 2002-2018 - 159
Liberty class rank avg, 2010-2018 - 159
Liberty class rank avg under Freeze, 2019-2021 - 113
Best class ranking pre-Freeze - 125
Freeze's best class - 89
Freeze's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1
Notes: Say what you want, but this guy brings HUGE impact to the recruiting numbers. His best class improvement of 36 spots (over Liberty's prior best) is better than any of the others listed above. It must be acknowledged that Cristobal's elevation of Oregon to near-top-5 status is a bigger feat, but Freeze breached that wall with a top-5 class at Ole Miss.
Thoughts:
* This is obviously just a partial view of these candidates as recruiters and I may have more to come.
* Dave Aranda and Mel Tucker were omitted because they only have 1 completed class each. At the time of writing however, Tucker was on track to achieve near program-historic success with his current bump class, as it was ranked 18th. Michigan State's 2 best previous classes finished 15th (2004) and 17th (2016). Aranda's current 34th ranking is above the all-time Baylor avg of 46th, but right in line with their 2010-2020 avg of 36. It's hard to say how much funk remains on the recruiting of that program though. For now, I'm wary of the results though.
* I suspect each of the guys listed above are capable of elevating UF's recruiting, but I want somebody who will become a transformative presence in this regard. UF needs someone to lift them into the new, hyper-competitive era of SEC recruiting with creativity and relentless pursuit of recruiting excellence. That's obviously not easy to find. But, if I had to guess, Cristobal, Napier, and Fickell are probably the most-likely guys to get that done in that process/culture way.
* All numbers based on composite class rankings
Cincy class rank avg, 2002-2016 - 76
Cincy class rank avg, 2010-2016 - 60
Cincy class rank avg under Fickell, 2017-2021 - 53
Best class ranking pre-Fickell - 47
Fickell's best class - 41
Fickell's Bump class rank in school's class history - 2nd all-time (since 2002)
Notes: Fickell signed Cincy's 2 highest rated classes ever in 2020 (41st) and 2021 (45th), while the incomplete 2022 group is currently ranked even higher at 32. Together with the 49th ranked bump class, he owns 3 of Cincy's 4 highest-ranked classes all-time.
Lane Kiffin arrived @ Ole Miss in 2020
Ole Miss class rank avg, 2002-2019 - 24
Ole Miss class rank avg, 2010-2019 - 22
Ole Miss class rank avg under Kiffin, 2020-2021 - 26
Best class ranking pre-Kiffin - 5
Kiffin's best class - 17
Kiffin's Bump class rank in school's class history - 17, which falls to a 4-way tie for 4th best in program history.
Notes: Historically, Ole Miss recruits much better than I would've anticipated. They have 9 top-20 finishes since 2002, plus 1 top-10, and 1 top-5. If we discount Hugh Freeze's success there (I don't think we should), it places Kiffin's recruiting fairly close to the top, but not program-historic.
Mario Cristobal arrived @ Oregon in 2018
Oregon class rank avg, 2002-2017 - 24
Oregon class rank avg, 2010-2017 - 18
Oregon class rank avg under Cristobal, 2018-2021 - 9
Best class ranking pre-Cristobal - 12
Cristobal's best class - 6
Cristobal's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1 (At that time. It now stands as Oregon's 2nd highest-ranked class)
Notes: His 3 classes from 2019 to 2021 are the 3 highest-ranked in program history.... and even his transition class was 1 spot lower than the program's best. The fact is, managing a 15-spot improvement avg over the program's previous 16 years is a big deal. Doing so by knocking on the door of the top-5 is much, much bigger. While many will point to the luxury of Oregon's facilities, not many will point to the difficulty of amassing such classes in a state that produced only 13 blue-chip players (and no 5-stars) during Cristobal's 5 completed recruiting cycles.
Billy Napier arrived @ Louisiana in 2018
Louisiana class rank avg, 2002-2017 - 99
Louisiana class rank avg, 2010-2017 - 100
Louisiana class rank avg under Napier, 2018-2021 - 83
Best class ranking pre-Napier - 78
Napier's best class - 69
Napier's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1
Notes: Napier's 2019 bump class was the highest-ranked in program history. 2 years later, his 2021 class again became Louisiana's highest-ranked ever. So far, the coach has amassed 3 of the program's 4 highest class rankings on record.
Hugh Freeze arrived @ Liberty in 2019
Liberty class rank avg, 2002-2018 - 159
Liberty class rank avg, 2010-2018 - 159
Liberty class rank avg under Freeze, 2019-2021 - 113
Best class ranking pre-Freeze - 125
Freeze's best class - 89
Freeze's Bump class rank in school's class history - 1
Notes: Say what you want, but this guy brings HUGE impact to the recruiting numbers. His best class improvement of 36 spots (over Liberty's prior best) is better than any of the others listed above. It must be acknowledged that Cristobal's elevation of Oregon to near-top-5 status is a bigger feat, but Freeze breached that wall with a top-5 class at Ole Miss.
Thoughts:
* This is obviously just a partial view of these candidates as recruiters and I may have more to come.
* Dave Aranda and Mel Tucker were omitted because they only have 1 completed class each. At the time of writing however, Tucker was on track to achieve near program-historic success with his current bump class, as it was ranked 18th. Michigan State's 2 best previous classes finished 15th (2004) and 17th (2016). Aranda's current 34th ranking is above the all-time Baylor avg of 46th, but right in line with their 2010-2020 avg of 36. It's hard to say how much funk remains on the recruiting of that program though. For now, I'm wary of the results though.
* I suspect each of the guys listed above are capable of elevating UF's recruiting, but I want somebody who will become a transformative presence in this regard. UF needs someone to lift them into the new, hyper-competitive era of SEC recruiting with creativity and relentless pursuit of recruiting excellence. That's obviously not easy to find. But, if I had to guess, Cristobal, Napier, and Fickell are probably the most-likely guys to get that done in that process/culture way.
* All numbers based on composite class rankings
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