[2024] Recruiting Class Grades Part 1

[tsweezy]

It's everyone's favorite time of year!! Recruiting class grades are BACK. Prepare for me to scrutinize your roster and recruiting class and tell you how good or bad it was. We're getting an early start this season because @Jieret included me in media and @Sarge called first dibs (and both finished their classes early). Let this be a lesson to include Tennessee in media and you get benefits.

Without further ado:

 

Western Michigan University

Mid American Conference

2024: 8-5 (6-2)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

WMU signed 1 5-star, 11 4-stars, and 5 3-stars. They signed 9 players with B or better potentials and 3 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 116th
Rivals: 36th
247: 24th

Composite: 34th

 

Signees below:

School	Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
WMU	Steven Tharp	3	C	B-	ATH	Strongside	Terre Haute	IN
WMU	Eugene Haywood	3	C	B	ATH	Slotback	Childress	TX
WMU	Joshua Bouchard	4	C	C	C	Balanced	Keyser	WV
WMU	Ed Agosta	4	B	B-	CB	Zone Coverage	Lansing	MI
WMU	Craig Wingate	3	C	A-	CB	Zone Coverage	Lebanon	OH
WMU	Tucker Adakwa	4	C	B	DE	Run Stopper	Battle Creek	MI
WMU	Kevin Perkins	4	C	C+	DE	Run Stopper	Laurel	MS
WMU	Mikel Smith	4	C	B	DT	Nose Tackle	Washington	DC
WMU	Warren Mohsin	4	C	B+	FS	Man Coverage	St. Leon	IN
WMU	Aldo Alvarado	4	C	B-	OG	Pass Blocking	Milledgeville	GA
WMU	Kevin Lowe	4	C	B-	OT	Pass Blocking	Opelousas	LA
WMU	Solomon Walker	4	B	B	QB	Balanced	St. Johns	FL
WMU	Thomas Giumarra	4	C	C+	RB	Balanced	Leavittsburg	OH
WMU	Steven Elder	3	C	B	TE	Vertical Threat	Independence	LA
WMU	Ismael Leon	5	B	C	WR	Red Zone Threat	Los Angeles	CA
WMU	William Macie	4	C	A-	WR	Possession	Lawrenceville	GA
WMU	Zion Dowden	3	C	B+	WR	Possession	Monroe	MI

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

Position	Current position grade	Current status	Number signed	Recruiting status	Croot Grade
C	C+	This is currently a really weak spot and while it gets better next year, not by much. I assume they're planning on playing a guard here instead. Tsuyoshi Jackson is they're best option here as a rising (Sr) but he's still only a C+ this season. A couple other Cs dot the room. The good news is their signee last year, Powley is a blue chip with A potential so he should take off pretty soon and eventually be a plus starter	1	They signed Powley last cycle so this wasn't a truly pressing need. Still, you always are happy to pick up another blue chip at a tough position like C to recruit at. Not sure the path to the field for bouchard, but he's at minimum a great 2-deep option	B
CB	B	You love to see a consistent room, very zone scheme-pilled here. Also nice is only 1 CB is graduating and he wasn't a starter. Omari Stanley is going to be the headliner and draft pick after next year. Gonzalez is a nice 2 and they've got some solid depth. Last year they got Topping and he's still the only young blue chip on the roster so there's room to elevate here for sure	2	I said they didn't have many high-end young players, but this is a good class. Ed Agosta is an elite pickup who should play pretty soon. Wingate is also a high potenial option and considering he's going to need to wait a bit, that isn't a bad strategy	B+
DE	B-/B	Next year they get Gosselin back (good) and have a fun rotation decision between their 4-star Sophomore run stoppers for the other spot. Minor ding here for having to mix a pass rusher and run stopper and eating that archetype penalty on somebody. They probably do need another blue chip this class though	2	Ok well it looks like they're firmly committed to moving to the run stopper archetypes. A pair of run stoppers makes this a pretty deep room actually, and if Tharp winds up being a DE, even better. Not many notes here, nice work	B
DT	B-/B	3 B overalls coming back next season with blue chip true soph Wesley Reed at the top of the pile. Again, he's a speed rusher and the other 2 are nose tackles so not an ideal combination unfortunately. I think they're locked into a 4-3 as well with how their ILB room stacks up	1	I think they're going to need to be a 4-3 based team for quite a while, so the nose tackle acquisitions seem slightly odd. Are they doing a 3-3-5 base instead? I'm not going to look it up, but if so Mikel is a good fit. Again, another blue chip with solid potential I like the signing. Probably wanted 2 if they had enough scholarships available, but maybe Tharp turns into a DT in the end	B-
FB	D	D for "don't care" and it looks like WMU doesn't either. A single rostered guy, a 2-star from last cycle	0	Didn't sign any	-
FS	B	They lose a pair of B+ seniors which is ordinarily a bummer but they have a blue chip (FR) in Eckermann who should step in and maintain the same level of play. They also have a solid backup option for him, so nice room overall	1	Mohsin would be a great signing if Eckermann wasn't here. Unfortunately he is so Mohsin will wait quite a while for playing time. Still, good backup option and down the line will be a nice plug-and-play starter. No problems with that	B
ILB	C+/B-	Moore was amazing, but he's gone. Ingram is their only viable starter next year as a current B (Jr). They are also pinning the future hopes on Ronald Fennell-seeds, last years blue chip pickup with good potential. Nobody else really moves the needle for me	0	Didn't sign any	-
K	B+	Duke Lotuleilei is going to be a great option and they got his future replacement last year with blue chip Rivera (he's no Bruce Knight though, :dab:). Good kicker room	0	Didn't sign any	-
OG	B+	Well they have hardly any players left, it's a youth movement… but the youth is damn good. Steven's is a solid B soph 4-star and the big jewel is 5-star Radosta from last cycle. These guys will get a couple years of starting experience and should be monsters as seniors	1	I like Alvarado, he's probably OG #3 in this room which is a necessary signing. I still think this room is a little sparse, unfortunate to clearly see the limits in play so I guess this is fine. Probably want 2-3 next cycle here	B-/B
OLB	B/B+	Garate is the OG on this team, a 5-star from that very first class and he's a monster. They just don't have much help around him. Chatwood is fine I guess. Hartshorn and Reevey are young blue chips who can't contribute yet, but should be a seamless handoff	0	Didn't sign any	-
OT	B+	OL kinda popping actually. Davis is another 5-star freshman phenom for the future. Pour one out for Alex Sweezy graduating, and the rest of the room is pretty meh except for Rodger's who will start on the other side	1	Getting a good guy here would replace Demotte in the future, and Kevin Lowe might just do that. Not an immediatelly ready guy, he has good potential and probably most fun for Jieret is getting payback for losing Knight by snagging him from Tennessee. Anyway, fine job here, doesn't particularly move my needle as it is a bit expected	B-
P	C+	Punters are whatever, Golson is fine and Phan is the future	0	Didn't sign any	-
QB	B+	Ponce de Leon is a RB and OG is graduating (and disappointed his named). That makes Willie Robinson the official new, long-term Bronco ball thrower. Willie is a *very* good prospect and I think he's going to tear it up. This year might have a little bit of growing pains, but I foresee this kid being almost Theo Scribner-esque in the future. The backups are all mediocre.	1	We all know Willie is the guy, so it's surprising they got Solomon to sign on anyways considering how good he is. To be seen how they juggle the two, but at worst he's a great backup for a couple years before transferring	B+
RB	B+	Like I said, Ponce is the starting RB and he's going to have some monster attributes. I'm not entirely sure if he'll get the RB designation by next season but if so he's likely going to get drafted after the season ends. High on him. Behind is probably Wrobel, or their only blue chip Liu, a RS FR. These guys should be good in the future but they won't be ready to do anything much beyond blowout duty this upcoming season	1	Liu into Giumarra is a good future pairing and I think they've established a nice cascade of future starters. I think without touches he might not become a star, but they don't need him to, so good pickup	B-/B
SS	A	Timothy Khan is amazing. Does anything more need to be said? 2-3 more years of him, this position is about as good as it can be. Backups are mid I guess	0	Didn't sign any	-
TE	B-/B	Jackson is ok, about what you'd expect them to have as a rising (SR). For the future, Whitcomb is the blue chip and should develop into a nice piece. Overall a good-ish room	1	Elder has pretty good potential, and archetype synergy so I'll give them a plus for the signing but he's not a program elevating player.	C+
WR	B-	Considering their legacy, a bit thinner here than I expected. Portis and Madison will be the starters and are both good, not excellent kind of players. Morris is the other blue chip as a RZT from last cycle, but I think this room does not have the horses to run effective 5-wide sets. Luckily with Ponce they probably won't be looking to do that anyways, but this room could use some focus	3	Dang. I said they might need to pick it up and they sure did. Leon deserves a ton of hype as their 5-star of this cycle (I don't think they've had a 5-star WR before?). Big frame and jump ball target, he comes in with a pair of possession receivers which seem to be WMUs favorite archetype. Macie is the blue chipper with A- potential so I'm quite high on his ability to be an early contributor. Zion is a good player too, but he is just overshadowed in this group	A

 

Honestly the roster isn't quite ready for primetime next season. However they have a LOT of 5-stars and a really, really bright future down the line. In terms of this class, it's a bit hard to judge the grades with a dramatically smaller class. I like the approach, they had a ton of high impact 5-stars last cycle so they didn't need instant starters, instead they needed (and got) a bunch of 4-stars everywhere that make the future look very bright if they have the luxury of waiting a year or two before starting. The limits hurt the position spread I'd be looking for, but I think this was a very good class for those conditions and did what it was supposed to.

 

Class Grade: B/B+

 

 

 

University of Georgia

SEC Conference

2024: 8-4 (6-2)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

UGA signed 2 5-stars, 10 4-stars, and 7 3-stars. They signed 4 players with B or better potentials and 4 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 44th
Rivals: 11th
247: 16th

Composite: 15th

 

Signees below:

School	Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
UGA	Russell Halstead	4	C	D+	ATH	Field General	Jackson Township	NJ
UGA	Keith Behnke	3	C	C+	C	Balanced	Wayzata	MN
UGA	Michael Richardson	3	C	C	C	Pass Blocking	Forsyth	GA
UGA	Patrick Barry	4	B	C-	CB	Man Coverage	Redlands	CA
UGA	Federico Downing	4	B	B	CB	Man Coverage	Thomasville	GA
UGA	David Mchenry	4	C	D-	DE	Balanced	Jackson Township	NJ
UGA	James Mccaulla	4	C	C	DE	Speed Rusher	Columbia	SC
UGA	Kevin Krezel	4	C	C	FS	Man Coverage	Hogansville	GA
UGA	Dennis Oconnell	3	C	B-	ILB	Speed	Nokesville	VA
UGA	Victor Reddick	3	C	C	OG	Balanced	Moraga	CA
UGA	John Groh	4	C	A-	OLB	Pass Rush	Cordele	GA
UGA	John Bucher	3	C	B-	OLB	Pass Rush	Montgomery	AL
UGA	John Edington	4	C	B-	OT	Pass Blocking	Sunrise	FL
UGA	Loyd Barbier	4	C	C	QB	Pocket	Columbus	GA
UGA	Scott Koch	5	B	C+	RB	Speed	Lawrenceville	GA
UGA	Lawrence Mcguire	5	B	A	SS	Man Coverage	Brooklet	GA
UGA	Gary Olson	3	C	B	TE	Receiving	Macon	GA
UGA	Larry Logan	4	C	C+	WR	Speed	West Palm Beach	FL
UGA	Rafael Miranda	3	C	B-	WR	Speed	Lufkin	TX

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

Position	Current position grade	Current status	Number signed	Recruiting status
C	C-	Man this is rough to see. I don't even know if they have enough good OGs to kick one over. Two 3-star freshman, both C overalls. It's going to be a couple years before the middle of the line isn't soft based on this	2	Well they got two more of those 3-star guys, so at least they finally addressed the position with plenty of bodies in the room. One of them will certainly pop off down the line	C
CB	B	Well, this is better. 9 CBs rostered with a great spread of years. Definitely a zone coverage team, Houser is the top dog and will likely be an A overall next season at CB1. They've got a trio of B overall 3/4 stars as well, and I think one of them should make it to A-. So they should have a solid top-4 and the secondary will be much better than it was this season. Hansford is a true sophomore and the only blue chip in the room, so they are relying on development a fair bit	2	Just what they needed, a pair of blue chips here, both B overalls! That's a huge influx of talent, but we should mention the downside... they're both man coverage guys. Hansford is a ball hawk so at least he can play with them, but hopefully this doesn't bifurcate the position group possibilities too badly	B/B+
DE	B+	Dante Riley is gone and he was a stud. Cam Atchison comes back though and will almost assuredly be All-SEC if not an all-american. They've got a B+/B/B- to try and fill in the gaps, and I'd wager Becton wins it due to his speed rushing designation. Having TWELVE DEs on the roster next season feels like overkill, but they've got plenty of blue chips here. Great talent and a coach who knows how to use them	2	They already had 10 guys rostered and picked up another pair of blue chips. My nitpick here is that these scholarships could maybe have gone to players at positions of weakness instead of strength, but this is Sarge's baby. Mchenry and Mccaulla don't have great potential which might hurt since they'll be waiting years to even be backups, but can't knock a pair of blue chips	B
DT	B	With Mayfield and Green leaving they'll see more of a dropoff than at DE. Green and Mack are 4 star B overall freshman who could be ready to pop off and Andrews is a B junior for the experience if they go that way. Solid 3-way at the top, and the other guys in the room are just guys.	0	Didn't sign any	-
FB	C	Whatever, they've got a pair of random C overalls	0	Didn't sign any	-
FS	B/B+	2 B overalls and 3 B- guys damn. They are freaking loaded here. Unfortunately only one plays and that guy is Dennis Germany, a coup for the team and I hear the coaches love him. I think he'll have a big progression and lead a much improved secondary this year. Darin haney from last year is probably the future star here as well	1	Doesn't hurt to get more talent. Krezel is a normal in-state blue chip, a guy most schools would be happy to sign but he's not going to unseat Haney so we likely won't see him for a while. Good depth and pipeline addition though	B-
ILB	C+/B-	Very thin here, but they really only need 1, and that guy is blue chip field general Derek Bradley. A B overall, this progression is going to be one of the most important for the defenses success. Taylor Allen is a C+ blue chip from last year so he should become a capable backup and then a solid starter down the line.	1	Oconnel is fine. Not much to say, he's probably my minimum expected signing for a program like UGA. Ok potential, ride the bench and see if he turns into a good senior	C
K	C-	Josh Howard is the only option. A C+ rising (Sr), he's fine I guess. Not special not a disaster. Definitely want to sign another guy this year or 2026 will be starting a true freshman at K	0	Needed one, lots of pressure to get a good pickup next cycle	D
OG	C+/B-	In conjunction with the C room, the interior OL is not fantastic. The best player is McGrath, a B overall 4-star from last cycle who should become quite good and will start this year. Minaya is another B overall rising senior who should be a fine starter. They really don't have a notable third good player, and after Minaya leaves I'm not sure who the second starter will be. Hopefully they get him here	1	Reddick isn't horrible. That's about all the praise I can give him. A 3CC he keeps the room treading water but you'd have liked to see a swing here since the OG2 spot is going to be open soon	C
OLB	C+/B-	Another position with one good player and meh everywhere else. Morrison is a great blue chip sophomore and has one side locked down. Not sure who gets the other start. Betancourt is fine I guess, and then after he leaves next year I don't see the next starter on the roster	2	Two high potential pickups, including a blue chip with A- potential! I think this is the answer and keeps OLB from turning into a question mark and has bright prospects to continue improving	B/B+
OT	B	Great junior class, 3 B+ and a B-. One of them probably gets to start at OG as well this season. This is a rock solid exterior this year followed by a big drop off once they graduate. Pete Pool is a C overall 4-star from last cycle who I guess is their future and nobody else really impresses	1	Edington is a solid snag. B- potential, C overall, blue chip pedigree. I don't think he'll be a great starter by 2026 when they need him, but after that he'll turn into a good one	B-
P	B	Craig Hunter is a sophomore B overall, looks really good and they've got 2 other guys. Fine for now	0	Didn't sign any	-
QB	A-	Outman leaves after being one of the most underrated SEC players. He was a monster and wants to make NFL noise. We already know the next 4 years are going to Sargeant Slaughter and he looks GOOD. Hopefully he's ready for day 1, but his trajectory only goes up. The backups are phenomenal as well between Gilleslee, Gardner, and Patmon.	1	Loyd Barbier better like watching film cause that's all he's doing for the next few years. A normal blue chip pickup from in-state he's fine enough but they're already set at QB	C+/B-
RB	B+/A-	On paper they're loaded. Roy Mejia is going to be great, as is Corey Brown. Both are going to be seniors and either could start. Bellamy is a B- freshman blue chip as well who looks good to take over from them afterwards. Even Stallman hit B- as a true soph 3-star. Love to see it, only thing that could derail is the rumors that Roy might hit the portal. Keep tabs on that and see if UGA lets him leave	1	BOOM. Scott Koch is a massive get. This guy is an absolute stud at RB and while he was always staying in his home state, GT really made the Dawgs sweat in this one. Pairing him with Slaughter is going to be a terrifying combination in the future as he has game breaking speed. With Roy and Corey maybe they have the luxury of a redshirt or just toss him out now to get experience since he's not going to stay 5 years	A
SS	C+	Carpenter was good, but he's gone. Sicilian is their only real option. He was a blue chip last cycle but is only a C overall and makes you nervous to start. They probably roll over a FS here for now	1	There's only really one way to get an A+ from me. Sign the arguable best recruit in the class at a position that only starts one. UGA did that. Mcguire is a STUD. 5 star, A potential? Wow that's going to be a monster. It's timely too as he will be the day 1 starter at SS and I am very confident will be an eventual first round draft pick. Perfect get in ever yway	A+
TE	B-/B	There are some solid pieces at TE, and Jankowski could be better than people expect. I like em, and it's a good complement to a relatively sparse WR room. Not much young talent though	1	Olson is the same sort of player. Pretty good 3 star with B potential, likely underrated, but definitely a development prospect	C
WR	C+	Garcia and Smith were absolute burners and made hay with Outman. They both graduate though and I don't see that kind of talent in their replacements. Jackson and Phoung Ham are the next men up, B overall 3-stars. I think they're fine, Ham has a great name, but they aren't guys you have to gameplan for. Everyone else is just pretty average	2	UGA wanted to replace the burners I guess. Larry Logan is a blue chip from West Palm Beach and he's fast (albeit wit sus hands). Miranda could be ok, we'll see. Still, WR is a relatively weak room for the offense	C+

 

This year was probably UGA's high point for a year or two. They lose a lot of talent, and the replacement guys are not quite ready yet. Still, Slaughter plus Koch is going to be an amazing offense in the future, and the defense keeps improving. I think OL and WR are a little weak to be title contenders yet, but they've built a sustainable roster with a peak coming up in the future.

 

Class Grade: B/B+

 

[Vivid]

Always love these! Great work man!!

[nemolee.exe]

Nice work! Always a pleasure looking at these.

 

(do me next)

[Dr_Novella]

Great write up. If we forming a line, I just switched teams of course but I'd love to see a recap for San Jose to see how the class compares to last years.

[thatfunk]

University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa please and thank you 

[Piercewise1]

Oooh ooh, me too! I love this series!

[Sarge]

Thanks as always for doing this. There will definitely be some DEs moving to DT to shore up talent gaps which is why I didn't go too hard at the position. These are always great for a second lense on my roster.

[kwheele]

Love this series, but you can skip me this season due to changing schools

 

[Jieret]

(Weird that I didn't get the notification)

Good write-up!  Our 2024 defense was odd and makes use of 34 and 43 groupings.  Depending on progressions we might switch to a more traditional 4-3 next season, but a 3-4 base is the long term plan.

Bouchard was kind of a need not because I expect him to start any time soon, but because everyone else besides Powley at center is either graduating in 2025 or a likely transfer option.

Thought the time was right to get a likely QBOTF.  There will be two years of separation between WillieRob and Solomon after Walker redshirts, which feels right. 

Quote

I like the approach, they had a ton of high impact 5-stars last cycle so they didn't need instant starters, instead they needed (and got) a bunch of 4-stars everywhere that make the future look very bright if they have the luxury of waiting a year or two before starting. The limits hurt the position spread I'd be looking for, but I think this was a very good class for those conditions and did what it was supposed to.

This is pretty much what I wanted to do, with extra emphasis on WR and DE.  Unless the Duck Commander shows out immediately 2025 will be a middling year, but I'm excited for after that.  And for recruiting (nearly) full classes.  That'll be fun too.

[npklemm]

Would love a review of Ball State's class