Explanation of Rivals Rating System

[RE Tycoon]

I found this on the Rivals site. Everytime Stallion posted "Rivals points" I had know idea what they meant, so here is a great chart. If the guys who run this site think it's helpful, maybe they could keep it at the top for quick references for the rest of us that aren't in the recruiting know.


The new ranking system that is being introduced ranks prospects on a numerical scale from 6.1-4.9.

6.1 Franchise Player; considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 25 players overall; deemed to have excellent pro potential; high-major prospect

6.0-5.8 All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation's top 200 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team

5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection; considered among the region's top prospects and among the top 500 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team

5.4-5.0 Division I prospect; considered a mid-major prospect; deemed to have limited pro potential but definite Division I prospect; may be more of a role player

4.9 Sleeper; no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything, about this player; a prospect that only a college coach really knew about

[Higher Authority]

Thanks, C-STUD .... that's quite helpful. I also didn't know what they meant with their "ratings" system.

.... no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything .... [/i]

I don't know what's funnier -- the admission that the rivals folks don't have all the answers, or the notion that the computer wonks at rivals are somehow "experts."

[Stallion]

what's funnier is that people still doubt the significance of recruiting while eagerly anticipating the National Championship between the two kings of recruiting UT v USC.

[Higher Authority]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've never belittled the importance of recruiting. Put together a team full of Reggie Bushes and Adrian Petersons and anyone becomes a better coach overnight. What I was mocking was the admission that they didn't know the answer, and the idea that the rivals guys know more than coaches -- and I'm not saying that's your claim, Stallion. But there are those who will get on here and say we shouldn't recruit so-and-so because rivals or scout.com doesn't seem to like him -- even though that player has multiple offers from coaches who have actually seen him play. You said you saw someone (or highlights of someone) recently, and that you were impressed. Without having ever met you and with now real knowledge of how much you do or don't know about football, that holds a lot more water for me than somebody sitting behind a desk in Nashville collecting stats about a player without knowing if (A) his numbers are down because he has no talent around him, (B) rushing numbers are way up because he runs behind an offensive line that averages 700 pounds per man in 2A ball, (C) he had a nagging injury that's bugged him all year, .... etc., etc.

[HFvictory]

what's funnier is that people still doubt the significance of recruiting while eagerly anticipating the National Championship between the two kings of recruiting UT v USC.

Recruiting is always important, what people knock is Rivals, et al trying to predict basically how a Soph or Jr in HS will do in college. There are lots of stories of Rivals 5 & 6 stars going bust, however if you fill your class with a bunch of 5s & 6s and only half turn out, that is still a great class.

However, it is the middle of the pack guys that are a joke for Rivals. What is the difference between a 3 star and a 2 star? How many stars did guys like LaDanian Thomlinson get or Shaun Alexander or Ben Rothlisburger (sp-I am not looking it up), etc. You can't predict how most of these kids will do in college using their stats from their Soph & JR years and that is 99% of what Rivals tries to do.

[Stallion]

the difference between an average 2 star and an average 3 star is generally about at least 6 Division 1A scholarship offers. The coaches offering the scholarships are the experts and so Rivals correctly takes that into account. That's why they rate the players higher. Rivals doesn't assign ratings until after the offers start coming in after summer drills-starting with the 5 stars and moving down to 2 stars -NEVER as Sophmores or even as JUNIORS-so you are factually incorrect in that assertion. I've never suggested SMU sign a single player-only posted as much information as I could find on players considering SMU. With regard to the James Jordan I suggested that those with Rivals subscriptions go look at his extremely impressive highlite real which shows about 10 home runs because the DMN said last week that he had heard from both SMU and TCU. Can't remember ANY SMU football recruit I bashed who had "multiple" quality Division 1A offers-SMU at least in 2005 and 2006 recruiting seasons hasn't signed or committed many players meeting that description-have we? If the recruit had "multiple" quality Division 1A offers I'm sure I was tickled to sign him and posted more info on him than anyone on this board.

[Stallion]

oh and another thing there are more like 16-18 "home run" plays by Jordan coming out of a tough 5A district. Surely someone else has noticed his big play potential.

[RE Tycoon]

Didn't mean to start a [deleted] contest...I just came across this chart/guide and thought it would help those of us that don't suscribe to Rivals figure out what the point system means. Like I said before, when someone posted a recruit was a 2 star 5.3 or whatever, I had no idea what that projected as. Regardless if Rival's knows what they are talking about or not, it's nice to have that info. I would also like to thank Stallion, me@smu and the dozen or so other people who post recruiting info on this site. I have neither the time, resources nor knowledge to comb these sites for myself, so it is really appreciated when others do it...keep it up.