Well, as you've guessed, it's Auburn... And Florida State and Tennessee
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Most of the article... Long, but scathing... And also premium content, so I posted the whole thing for people who don't have access to ESPN+
ESPN+ lank
Which college football teams do the least with the most in recruiting?
8:40 AM CT
Which teams did less with more, meaning which programs signed the most ESPN 300 prospects but did not get the full potential out of those recruits. For this exercise, we looked at 14 teams that signed the most ESPN 300 recruits from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 classes. We did not include players who are still on the roster, players who opted out of this season or players who medically retired when analyzing what has happened in the top-300 recruits' careers. We looked at the number of players selected in the draft, first-team all-conference and consensus All-American selections, as well as the number of recruits who transferred or left the program for whatever reason. It's one thing to land a ton of ESPN 300 recruits on signing day, but it's another to bring out the most out of those prospects.
Here's a look at which teams did the least with the most.
NFL draft selections
The ESPN 300 commitments from the 2015 to 2017 classes who were selected in the NFL draft. Any players who are currently enrolled on the team were not counted in the total number of ESPN 300 commitments for that team. Some of the prospects from the 2016 and 2017 classes are in their fifth and fourth years, respectively, so not all of them have finished their college careers.
% of eligible ESPN 300 commitments to get drafted for each team:
Auburn 8.6% (2)
Tennessee 11.1% (2)
Florida State 14.8% (4)
Oklahoma 22.2% (4)
Texas 23% (6)
USC 30% (9)
Michigan 33.3% (9)
Georgia 33.3% (11)
LSU 37.1% (13)
Alabama 37.8% (14)
Auburn had a total of 23 ESPN 300 signees that were eligible to be counted in these statistics and had only two players drafted from these three classes. There are still quite a few players on the roster from the 2017 class, so this number could go up, but as it stands, Auburn has the lowest percentage of ESPN 300 players drafted.
First-team all-conference selections
This category was a little bit harder to compare because it's not technically based on the same criteria. There are different talent levels in different conferences, so this category is looking only at first-team all-conference players to try to make it more meaningful.
First-team all-conference selections from the 2015 to 2017 classes:
Tennessee 0% (0)
Oklahoma 5.5% (1)
Florida State 7.4% (2)
Miami 10.5% (2)
Texas 11.5% (3)
Georgia 15.15% (5)
Auburn 17.3% (4)
LSU 20% (7)
USC 23.3% (7)
Alabama 24.3% (9)
All-America selections
Similar to the all-conference selections, we limited this to just consensus All-America players. This is about who did the least with most and a consensus All-American is a clear-cut look at a player and his accomplishments.
All-American selections for each team:
Miami 0% (0)
Tennessee 0% (0)
Florida State 0% (0)
USC 0% (0)
Michigan 3.7% (1)
Texas 3.8% (1)
Auburn 4.3% (1)
Oklahoma 5.5% (1)
Georgia 6% (2)
Ohio State 6.8% (2)
Five-star recruits
Auburn signed three prospects ranked as five stars from 2015 to 2017 and had two NFL draft picks out of it (running back Kerryon Johnson and defensive tackle Derrick Brown). The other, Byron Cowart, ended up transferring.
Transfers
% of ESPN 300 recruits from 2015 to 2017 who didn't finish their career with the teams they signed with:
Oklahoma 72.2% (13)
Michigan 62.9% (17)
Texas 61.5% (16)
Florida State 59.2% (16)
USC 53.3% (16)
Auburn 52.1% (12)
Alabama 51.3% (19)
Ohio State 44.8% (13)
LSU 40% (14)
Georgia 39.3% (13)
These numbers are pretty staggering to look at. All of these numbers are pretty shocking, considering the best percentage is 26.3%. There's more to recruiting than just landing ESPN 300 prospects, getting them to campus and unleashing them on the field. The chances that those recruits will finish their career at the school they signed with aren't very high outside of a few schools. It should be noted that these are the schools that signed the most ESPN 300 recruits in these three classes, and they're also schools that consistently sign a lot of talent. That means new prospects are coming in each class and the competition level is high.
Who did the least with the most?
These numbers don't tell the whole story, but they do help show which schools are landing ESPN 300 recruits but not capitalizing on the potential from those prospects, and just how hard it really is to build a team. Stars matter and rankings matter when it comes to predicting talent on teams, but evaluations need to be right with how players fit in the locker room, how they can be developed and ultimately what they can do for that team. Coaches can't just go out and land every top-ranked prospect in the class and expect that to be enough. Building a team and managing a roster requires a lot more than just signing star players, and that shows with these numbers.
- Over half of our Top 300 kids transfer (52.1 %)
- "Of the 23 ESPN 300 prospects Gus Malzahn signed from 2015 to 2017, only two of them were drafted to the NFL."
- "Auburn signed three prospects ranked as five stars from 2015 to 2017 and had two NFL draft picks out of it (running back Kerryon Johnson and defensive tackle Derrick Brown). The other, Byron Cowart, ended up transferring."
- "Coaches can't just go out and land every top-ranked prospect in the class and expect that to be enough. Building a team and managing a roster requires a lot more than just signing star players, and that shows with these numbers."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Most of the article... Long, but scathing... And also premium content, so I posted the whole thing for people who don't have access to ESPN+
ESPN+ lank
Which college football teams do the least with the most in recruiting?
8:40 AM CT
Which teams did less with more, meaning which programs signed the most ESPN 300 prospects but did not get the full potential out of those recruits. For this exercise, we looked at 14 teams that signed the most ESPN 300 recruits from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 classes. We did not include players who are still on the roster, players who opted out of this season or players who medically retired when analyzing what has happened in the top-300 recruits' careers. We looked at the number of players selected in the draft, first-team all-conference and consensus All-American selections, as well as the number of recruits who transferred or left the program for whatever reason. It's one thing to land a ton of ESPN 300 recruits on signing day, but it's another to bring out the most out of those prospects.
Here's a look at which teams did the least with the most.
NFL draft selections
The ESPN 300 commitments from the 2015 to 2017 classes who were selected in the NFL draft. Any players who are currently enrolled on the team were not counted in the total number of ESPN 300 commitments for that team. Some of the prospects from the 2016 and 2017 classes are in their fifth and fourth years, respectively, so not all of them have finished their college careers.
% of eligible ESPN 300 commitments to get drafted for each team:
Auburn 8.6% (2)
Tennessee 11.1% (2)
Florida State 14.8% (4)
Oklahoma 22.2% (4)
Texas 23% (6)
USC 30% (9)
Michigan 33.3% (9)
Georgia 33.3% (11)
LSU 37.1% (13)
Alabama 37.8% (14)
Auburn had a total of 23 ESPN 300 signees that were eligible to be counted in these statistics and had only two players drafted from these three classes. There are still quite a few players on the roster from the 2017 class, so this number could go up, but as it stands, Auburn has the lowest percentage of ESPN 300 players drafted.
First-team all-conference selections
This category was a little bit harder to compare because it's not technically based on the same criteria. There are different talent levels in different conferences, so this category is looking only at first-team all-conference players to try to make it more meaningful.
First-team all-conference selections from the 2015 to 2017 classes:
Tennessee 0% (0)
Oklahoma 5.5% (1)
Florida State 7.4% (2)
Miami 10.5% (2)
Texas 11.5% (3)
Georgia 15.15% (5)
Auburn 17.3% (4)
LSU 20% (7)
USC 23.3% (7)
Alabama 24.3% (9)
All-America selections
Similar to the all-conference selections, we limited this to just consensus All-America players. This is about who did the least with most and a consensus All-American is a clear-cut look at a player and his accomplishments.
All-American selections for each team:
Miami 0% (0)
Tennessee 0% (0)
Florida State 0% (0)
USC 0% (0)
Michigan 3.7% (1)
Texas 3.8% (1)
Auburn 4.3% (1)
Oklahoma 5.5% (1)
Georgia 6% (2)
Ohio State 6.8% (2)
Five-star recruits
Auburn signed three prospects ranked as five stars from 2015 to 2017 and had two NFL draft picks out of it (running back Kerryon Johnson and defensive tackle Derrick Brown). The other, Byron Cowart, ended up transferring.
Transfers
% of ESPN 300 recruits from 2015 to 2017 who didn't finish their career with the teams they signed with:
Oklahoma 72.2% (13)
Michigan 62.9% (17)
Texas 61.5% (16)
Florida State 59.2% (16)
USC 53.3% (16)
Auburn 52.1% (12)
Alabama 51.3% (19)
Ohio State 44.8% (13)
LSU 40% (14)
Georgia 39.3% (13)
These numbers are pretty staggering to look at. All of these numbers are pretty shocking, considering the best percentage is 26.3%. There's more to recruiting than just landing ESPN 300 prospects, getting them to campus and unleashing them on the field. The chances that those recruits will finish their career at the school they signed with aren't very high outside of a few schools. It should be noted that these are the schools that signed the most ESPN 300 recruits in these three classes, and they're also schools that consistently sign a lot of talent. That means new prospects are coming in each class and the competition level is high.
Who did the least with the most?
These numbers don't tell the whole story, but they do help show which schools are landing ESPN 300 recruits but not capitalizing on the potential from those prospects, and just how hard it really is to build a team. Stars matter and rankings matter when it comes to predicting talent on teams, but evaluations need to be right with how players fit in the locker room, how they can be developed and ultimately what they can do for that team. Coaches can't just go out and land every top-ranked prospect in the class and expect that to be enough. Building a team and managing a roster requires a lot more than just signing star players, and that shows with these numbers.
