I've shared this story a few times but it's worth bringing up again.
Several years ago when Shannon Terry started the 247 sports network he plucked some of the better evaluators from the Rivals network to start his new network. If you don't recall, it was Terry who started the Rivals network. Among those left behind was one Mike Farrell.
To put it mildly, Farrell was ticked off he was left behind. He made it a point, and stated so, that he'd rank Bama players differently than he had in the past (undoubtedly because Terry has UA tiesānamely BOL as his 'bell cow.")
The anger and resentment continues to this day. It's to the point now he's literally gone overboard. The latest is found here in his ranking of recruiters during the Rivals era.
Here's an except from that article:
Urban Meyer is stepping down, again. So where does the three-time national champion coach stand when it comes to the best recruiters of the Rivals.com era?
1. URBAN MEYER
Meyer gets the nod over Nick Saban and all his national recruiting titles? Yes he does, because heās done a better job recruiting nationally than Saban has and was better in living rooms. He only finished first once in his career and that was in 2007, but heās finished twice numerous times and has pulled some of the most amazing recruiting upsets Iāve seen over the years. The job he did in 2010 was simply amazing when he retired and changed his mind and still reeled in a slew of five-stars down the stretch. However, the job he did at Ohio State is what makes him No. 1 here.
2. NICK SABAN
How many recruiting titles do you need to win to be No. 1? Saban has won nine of them in the Rivals era, and is clearly an elite recruiter. So how does he finish No. 2? Meyer is just the more dynamic personality in living rooms and has recruited better nationally, especially at Ohio State. However, Saban is essentially 1B here instead of No. 2, and he does an amazing job. Had Meyer stayed in the SEC this would be an even more interesting discussion.
I'm going to set aside the hanging curve ball that's "how many times Bama has been ranked #1 by his own service." Let's simply look at the numbers.
The following represents how many states players hailed from in each recruiting class since Meyer took over at OSU.
2019:
Bama - 10
OSU - 9
2018:
Bama-14
OSU-13
2017:
Bama-8
OSU- 8
2016:
Bama-12
OSU-11
2015:
Bama- 12
OSU- 11
2014:
Bama-14
OSU-12
2013:
Bama- 13
OSU- 11
2012:
Bama- 8
OSU- 9
I'm a fan of the phrase "intellectually dishonest." But, I'm setting that aside for this post and going with this:
Several years ago when Shannon Terry started the 247 sports network he plucked some of the better evaluators from the Rivals network to start his new network. If you don't recall, it was Terry who started the Rivals network. Among those left behind was one Mike Farrell.
To put it mildly, Farrell was ticked off he was left behind. He made it a point, and stated so, that he'd rank Bama players differently than he had in the past (undoubtedly because Terry has UA tiesānamely BOL as his 'bell cow.")
The anger and resentment continues to this day. It's to the point now he's literally gone overboard. The latest is found here in his ranking of recruiters during the Rivals era.
Here's an except from that article:
Urban Meyer is stepping down, again. So where does the three-time national champion coach stand when it comes to the best recruiters of the Rivals.com era?
1. URBAN MEYER
Meyer gets the nod over Nick Saban and all his national recruiting titles? Yes he does, because heās done a better job recruiting nationally than Saban has and was better in living rooms. He only finished first once in his career and that was in 2007, but heās finished twice numerous times and has pulled some of the most amazing recruiting upsets Iāve seen over the years. The job he did in 2010 was simply amazing when he retired and changed his mind and still reeled in a slew of five-stars down the stretch. However, the job he did at Ohio State is what makes him No. 1 here.
2. NICK SABAN
How many recruiting titles do you need to win to be No. 1? Saban has won nine of them in the Rivals era, and is clearly an elite recruiter. So how does he finish No. 2? Meyer is just the more dynamic personality in living rooms and has recruited better nationally, especially at Ohio State. However, Saban is essentially 1B here instead of No. 2, and he does an amazing job. Had Meyer stayed in the SEC this would be an even more interesting discussion.
I'm going to set aside the hanging curve ball that's "how many times Bama has been ranked #1 by his own service." Let's simply look at the numbers.
The following represents how many states players hailed from in each recruiting class since Meyer took over at OSU.
2019:
Bama - 10
OSU - 9
2018:
Bama-14
OSU-13
2017:
Bama-8
OSU- 8
2016:
Bama-12
OSU-11
2015:
Bama- 12
OSU- 11
2014:
Bama-14
OSU-12
2013:
Bama- 13
OSU- 11
2012:
Bama- 8
OSU- 9
I'm a fan of the phrase "intellectually dishonest." But, I'm setting that aside for this post and going with this:
