The Athletic went back to the class of 2017 and evaluated it on the basis of actual on field performance:
5 points: All-American, award winner, top-50 NFL Draft pick
4: Multiyear starter, all-conference honors
3: One-year starter or key reserve
2: Career backup
0: Minor or no contribution, left the program
No surprise, Bama ranked #1 and OSU #2. But just outside the Top 10? Yep. NU.
11. Northwestern
Adjusted average: 2.90
Hit rate: 87%
Class rank in 2017: 50th
Four-year record: 29-19
Top signees: OL Rashawn Slater, LB Blake Gallagher, DE Earnest Brown IV, DE Samdup Miller, S JR Pace
Northwestern classes tend to grade out well in these re-ranks because they don’t endure much attrition. From the 2017 class, three signees left the program due to injuries. Two are currently in the portal as grad transfers. And that’s it. Everyone else has stayed, and most have made an impact to help the Wildcats win two Big Ten West titles and achieve three top-25 finishes in four years.
This class offered a good mix of early contributors and multi-year starters, and Slater became one of the great steals of this recruiting cycle. Northwestern was the first to offer the under-the-radar three-star from Houston. His only other offers when he committed were Wyoming, Illinois, Kansas, Rice and SMU. After starting 37 games in three years, Slater is now the No. 6 overall player on Dane Brugler’s top 100 draft board.
Congrats to Coach Fitz for identifying diamonds hidden in the rough and developing them to their full potential.
5 points: All-American, award winner, top-50 NFL Draft pick
4: Multiyear starter, all-conference honors
3: One-year starter or key reserve
2: Career backup
0: Minor or no contribution, left the program
No surprise, Bama ranked #1 and OSU #2. But just outside the Top 10? Yep. NU.
11. Northwestern
Adjusted average: 2.90
Hit rate: 87%
Class rank in 2017: 50th
Four-year record: 29-19
Top signees: OL Rashawn Slater, LB Blake Gallagher, DE Earnest Brown IV, DE Samdup Miller, S JR Pace
Northwestern classes tend to grade out well in these re-ranks because they don’t endure much attrition. From the 2017 class, three signees left the program due to injuries. Two are currently in the portal as grad transfers. And that’s it. Everyone else has stayed, and most have made an impact to help the Wildcats win two Big Ten West titles and achieve three top-25 finishes in four years.
This class offered a good mix of early contributors and multi-year starters, and Slater became one of the great steals of this recruiting cycle. Northwestern was the first to offer the under-the-radar three-star from Houston. His only other offers when he committed were Wyoming, Illinois, Kansas, Rice and SMU. After starting 37 games in three years, Slater is now the No. 6 overall player on Dane Brugler’s top 100 draft board.
Congrats to Coach Fitz for identifying diamonds hidden in the rough and developing them to their full potential.
College football recruiting rankings: Grading the Class of 2017
Our annual regrading of the recruiting class rankings from four years ago has some familiar teams at the top, followed by several surprises.
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