Richt vs Kirby after 3 years

quote:

---

What did the SECE look like Richt's first three seasons ?

---

2001 : #3 Florida, #4 Tennessee, #13 USC
2002 : 8-5 Florida, 8-5 Tennessee, 7-5 Kentucky
2003 : #15 Tennessee, #24 Florida

2001 was loaded, but 2002 and 2003 were pretty bleh (Zook era at Florida, end of Fulmer era).

Those early Richt teams were intimidating, well coached teams. Kirby doesn't seem to have that same swag, IMO.

quote:

---

There was Nick Saban LSU.

---

That wasn't really the same. Alabama is on arguably the best run in college football history and had signed about 7 straight #1 recruiting classes when Smart first faced them. Saban LSU was never that built up.

Honestly I don’t see much difference in being 3rd and 5th in the recruiting ratings. What, that means a one or two of your players had one more star?

If you went back after 5 years and ranked them, it would draw a much clearer picture.

How many of those players get injured, transfer, flunk out of school, don’t make it because they were overrated or get just get beat out by another player on the roster?

That is why recruiting ratings are basically a joke. Understanding that they make for great conversation and each program needs to sign quality players but you don’t really know about a class until after they have exhausted their eligibility.

quote:

---

Honestly I don’t see much difference in being 3rd and 5th in the recruiting ratings. What, that means a one or two of your players had one more star?

---

I think the difference is in elite, instant impact type players (generally 5-stars).

Kirby is about to have 13 or 14 of them on campus. That doesn't guarantee success, but the odds of those guys being somewhere between solid starter and elite player are very, very high compared to 3/4 star guys. The statistics are very clear there.

Rivals love to bring this up as if it's some sort of dig on kirby, while forgetting that early era richt was maybe the hottest up and coming coach in america at the time. Some rambling thoughts:

-I think overall we are set up to be better now and going foward than we were at the same stage of richt's tenure, but our competition is much more difficult
-You mentioned it but it bares repeating, if the playoff existed then I put it at 50/50 odds we are national champs in 02. OSU was garbage that year and I'd put us up against anyone the way we played from mid-November on.
-The recruiting can't be understated. We have never recruited this well in our history, and one of the biggest components of that is along the LOS especially OL. Richt never had an OL in his history that was half as deep as this year's.
-Those first 3 years of richt, he played a nationally elite UF/UT in 01, nobody really that great in 02 (bama and AU were very good but not nationally great), and the national champs in LSU in 03. Kirby didn't really play anyone nationally good in 16 (AU was very good but not great), played 3 nationally elite teams in 17, and more great teams last year. His overall quality of competition is much harder IMO and will always be as long as saban is still in the way.

Richt's first giant mistake was replacing van gorder with martinez in 05. Richt played the mellow leader while Van gorder and jon fabris were the fire and brimstone guys, it was a good balacne. When we lost VG and replaced him with willie who was not the hardass VG was, the discipline started to erode. Regardless of future staff changes I don't see that same thign playing out wiht a kirby-led team.


I also think with the way we're recruiting we're bound to win one at some point. You don't recruit as well as we have and not get one at some point. Texas, USC, bama, UF, etc going back the last few decades...all of them had good to great teams that fell short but just kept stockpiling elite 5* talent until that one year that it eventually all came together. I don't see why that won't be us soon.

quote:

---

WG_Dawg

---

Good stuff as usual WG

quote:

---

They were working in that direction

---

Sure, but they weren't there yet.