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Evaluations - The Name of the Game
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:40 pm
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:40 pm
It could be said at this point that evaluations are king.
Cignetti won because he was able to evaluate a bunch of amazing older 3-stars that nobody else wanted, and built a championship team.
It's all about roster building and roster management now.
Most top programs have around the same money to spend. Alabama is in the top 10.
It's about spending the money wisely and finding great players for cheap.
I believe in this staff. I think they can get it done. The only weakness I've seen so far (If you can call it that) is that KDB cared about the players that were already here, so he didn't wanna replace the roster through the portal like Cig did.
He's loyal to the guys already here, and maybe that's a weakness, but we're gonna soon find out how well this staff can evaluate with these new portal additions.
Cignetti won because he was able to evaluate a bunch of amazing older 3-stars that nobody else wanted, and built a championship team.
It's all about roster building and roster management now.
Most top programs have around the same money to spend. Alabama is in the top 10.
It's about spending the money wisely and finding great players for cheap.
I believe in this staff. I think they can get it done. The only weakness I've seen so far (If you can call it that) is that KDB cared about the players that were already here, so he didn't wanna replace the roster through the portal like Cig did.
He's loyal to the guys already here, and maybe that's a weakness, but we're gonna soon find out how well this staff can evaluate with these new portal additions.
6
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:50 pm to UAClassOf22
Posted on 1/20/26 at 8:24 pm to UAClassOf22
quote:
Cignetti won because he was able to evaluate a bunch of amazing older 3-stars that nobody else wanted, and built a championship team.
Yea it’s much easier to evaluate when you have 14 years of tape on 32 year old players.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 8:32 pm to UASports23
It's not just the evals and old players. Cignetti demonstrated a model of essentially combining two programs. Penn State and Oklahoma State are about try the same thing.
He raided the entire roster of JMU when he left. He took guys he knew were good. It wasn't about an eval of tape. It was about having guys that he's already coached and watched on the field, in practice, for months or years, and knowing with certainty who's got it and who doesn't. Plus they already know your system, your playbook, your coaches, etc.
He essentially took the best halves of a top tier G5 program and a bottom tier P5 program and combined the two to make a title contender.
Although the one constant of the last forty years still remains true. Not much matters if you don't have the QB, and they certainly had that.
He raided the entire roster of JMU when he left. He took guys he knew were good. It wasn't about an eval of tape. It was about having guys that he's already coached and watched on the field, in practice, for months or years, and knowing with certainty who's got it and who doesn't. Plus they already know your system, your playbook, your coaches, etc.
He essentially took the best halves of a top tier G5 program and a bottom tier P5 program and combined the two to make a title contender.
Although the one constant of the last forty years still remains true. Not much matters if you don't have the QB, and they certainly had that.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 9:00 pm to Crimson77
Helps having mark cuban bankrolling your roster.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 7:31 am to Crimson77
Sounds like Bama should get local high schools on same page.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 7:31 am to bamabonners
Starting this year
Posted on 1/21/26 at 8:35 am to UAClassOf22
Good evaluations are important, but there is a limit. Other teams with a bigger pocketbook (or greater need at that position) can just watch who you offer, and swoop in to snap them up. They use your evaluator as theirs, essentially. It's already happening this portal cycle.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 9:29 am to UAClassOf22
Cignetti had inside track on a lot evaluations of kids from lower level schools because he coached on that level before taking the job at Indiana. The longer he coaches at Indiana the less he's going to know about the hidden gems in the lower level schools. If he's smart, which he is, he'll have an analyst staff dedicated to scouting the talent at the lower levels of college football.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 9:31 am to Tupelo
quote:
Good evaluations are important, but there is a limit. Other teams with a bigger pocketbook (or greater need at that position) can just watch who you offer, and swoop in to snap them up. They use your evaluator as theirs, essentially. It's already happening this portal cycle.
That sounds good as an idea but doing that without doing your own evaluations isn't sustainable and it always keeps your recruiting dependent on another program.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 11:46 am to NWLA_Bama
Possibly, but in the short run, teams will use it as a tool. Especially if they're in your own conference. It's a win win for them, they get a good prospect, and deny their rival a prospect they need.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 11:56 am to UAClassOf22
quote:
Cignetti won because he was able to evaluate a bunch of amazing older 3-stars that nobody else wanted, and built a championship team.
I dont understand how this is the narrative.
Indiana's average age was 23. The Packers' was 25. Cig didnt find a bunch of gems. Mark Cuban bought a team of grown arse men well past college age and beat up on a bunch of kids.
That age difference is fricking massive. I dunno about you guys, but 23 year old me is beating the shite out of 19-20 year old me 100/100 times. Its not a surprise that a bunch of 3 star players who have been in college for 5-7 years beat a bunch of teams with 5 star 19-21 year olds.
This post was edited on 1/21/26 at 11:56 am
Posted on 1/21/26 at 2:47 pm to Tupelo
quote:
Other teams with a bigger pocketbook (or greater need at that position) can just watch who you offer, and swoop in to snap them up. They use your evaluator as theirs, essentially.
Good point
Posted on 1/21/26 at 5:23 pm to Tupelo
quote:
They use your evaluator as theirs, essentially. It's already happening this portal cycle.
In the case of Smothers he wasn’t an unknown. He led the ACC in rushing YPG
Posted on 1/21/26 at 7:32 pm to 1BamaRTR
quote:
quote:
They use your evaluator as theirs, essentially. It's already happening this portal cycle.
In the case of Smothers he wasn’t an unknown. He led the ACC in rushing YPG
I was thinking more about Ian Duarte. But would Texas have offered Smothers if we hadn't? I think it confirmed what they thought about him when he committed to us.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 9:37 pm to UAClassOf22
quote:
Cignetti won because he was able to evaluate a bunch of amazing older 3-stars that nobody else wanted, and built a championship team.
No he won because Mark Cuban helped him buy experienced players in the portal.
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