Palmetto Proving Grounds

Seriously, who the heck are you? What kind of job do you have or have you done? Anything that is remotely close to ranking, evaluating, or even covering recruiting or football in general? I LOVE seeing people on message boards (guys who don't have any idea what this business is like or have any clue what goes on), get their panties in a wad because someone liked another QB better than the one their favorite team is about to get. A lot of people will say "I trust our staff's evaluations so yours must be completely wrong". You do realize that many college coaching staffs search countless rankings and lists on the internet, subscribe and pay multiple recruiting services that evaluate prospects for them, and ask for input on prospects from "writers" in this space, don't you?

Ramsey was the best QB yesterday at NFTC, Ferguson was second, and Grier and Mitch were vying for third. This wasn't just Paul saying this, many other guys that work in this space that were in attendance said the same thing. Mitch definitely some better tools/attributes that would suggest his upside his better but Ferguson made some throws that were pretty eye opening. In my opinion, Ferguson is a kid you either love or hate. He's a guy like Rex Grossman was in college and can go off for 400 yards and multiple TD's and fit passes in traffic that make you cringe when they are thrown but go nuts when they are completed. He's also a kid that has a gun slinger mentality and you live by it and sometimes die by it. The sad thing is with other QB's possibly being higher on the board at places like LSU, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina...a talent like Ferguson might end up at a school like Wake when he is an SEC caliber QB. I also have said many times to Josh, JC, and Paul that I think Mitch would be the best QB out of high school that Spurrier has signed at South Carolina (assuming they sign Mitch).

Anyway, that's my opinion and before you want to say how you probably couldn't care less about my evals, I can tell you that my job 80 hours a week is providing video/content and evals to close to 50 D-1 colleges ranging from SEC/ACC/Big 10, and many lower division schools as well. I also know that many BCS coaches reach out to guys like JC, Paul, Josh, Ryan Bartow, Chad Simmons, and many others in this business to ask for their opinions on kids. While you might think many are "writers" or have rinky dink websites, you'd probably be surprised at how many college coaches reach out for and value their opinions. Paul's a good dude and while I might not always agree with his evaluations, I respect the heck out of what he does and really anyone who can work in this business. It's hard to get into and to even support a family in this business, it says something if you are able to be successful and "last" in it and make good money because every Tom, Dick, and Harry is trying to get into it.

Saban spends almost 200k a year in recruiting services! They double the spending on their recruiting services compared to mostly everyone in the SEC. Obviously those guys can evaluate talent but they also use all the tools that they can to get an edge. Also, I take offer lists prior to the spring of the prospect's senior year with a grain of salt, most of those others are not commitable and can't be and won't be sent on August 1st when they can actually receive a written offer. One prospect (whom will remain nameless) claims he has around 20 BCS offers, and probably has two that are commitable and one is a BCS offer.