It ain’t rocket science, peeps.

There’s a reason elite recruiters make the big bucks, and it’s not because they’ve developed mad Twitter skillz.

Each of the last 10 national champions have signed a top-5 class (per Rivals) within two years of their NC. Recruiting wins titles.

— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) February 1, 2016

It is what it is.

The good news, if you’re a Georgia fan, isn’t that you now have an explanation for Georgia’s absence from the national title stage.  It’s that Kirby Smart may be closer to opening that door than you think.

The 2015 national champion is very likely to come from these 12 schools.

	Blue chip %	Odds to make Playoff
Alabama	77	+190
USC	70	+340
Ohio State	68	-350
Notre Dame	67	+600
LSU	61	+550
Florida State	60	+260
Michigan	59	NL
Auburn	56	+350
Texas	55	NL
Texas A&M	54	NL
UCLA	53	+600
Georgia	51	+450

 

In other words, there is some quality depth there to build on, even if it isn’t allocated efficiently.  But it seems pretty clear that Georgia has to chase more top level talent down to catch up with the unreal depth at the top of that chart.

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Congratulations on a job well done.

Rejoice, America.

The NCAA Board of Governors has unanimously voted to extend NCAA President Mark Emmert’s contract for an additional three years. The action extends Emmert’s employment as the NCAA’s chief executive until October 2020, with an option to extend an additional year to 2021.

“Mark has done an incredible job leading the Association through an unprecedented period of change and transformation,” said Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz, chair of the Board of Governors. “I and the board feel strongly that Mark is integral in leading the Association forward as we navigate the complex and challenging way ahead, while better supporting student-athletes.”

From a blogger’s perspective, that’s awesome news.  If only Stacey Osburn would weigh in…

Nick Saban was “not the reason for this happening.”

Well, now, this is an interesting development.

One day after Oneonta linebacker Riley Cole decommitted from Alabama, his father David called into JOX FM’s Opening Drive to clear the air.

The main points: the Cole family was most disappointed in the timing of the decision, said communication was the major issue…

“The respect I have for Coach Saban and his family, I can’t describe enough about it,” David Cole said on JOX. “I really don’t think he knew about what was trying to be presented to us.”

But after Kirby Smart and Mel Tucker – Cole’s primary recruiters – left for Georgia, communication started to drop. Last Friday – just five days before National Signing Day – the grayshirt talk came up with Cole.

“Communication was the biggest problem and when Riley asked them to give an answer, they wouldn’t give him a straight answer,” David Cole said. “We got the impression they were wanting to wait until after National Signing Day, see who they got, and then let Riley know if they wanted to grayshirt him.”

So Cole claims a miscommunication problem, one that Saban didn’t know about?  Well, now, indeed.

Who’s the supposed guilty party?  Hey, looky here!

Alabama discussed with the Coles that Riley might redshirt his freshman season, but the idea of grayshirting – pushing his enrollment back from this summer until next January – was never discussed.

Until Friday, when David Cole said Pruitt, Alabama’s new defensive coordinator, mentioned grayshirting as a possibility in a conversation with Riley. David Cole said it appeared Alabama wanted to wait until after Signing Day – until other linebacker prospects announced their school choices – to decide whether Riley should grayshirt.

Okay, to be fair, we only have one side of the story, as coaches can’t comment on recruits until they sign with the school, but if Pruitt’s going off half-cocked without supervision, well, I can’t say that comes as much of a surprise.  And so much for those of you who suggested that Saban would have Pruitt flying right, because he’s Nick Saban.

IPF: a work in progress

If you want to see a panoramic view of an open dirt field, I’ve got just the thing for you.

IAF update. #CommitToTheG
View 1 >> https://t.co/jIaEonbg6Z
View 2 >> https://t.co/9i7OlFwZql pic.twitter.com/VObLa7fZ1G

— Georgia Football (@FootballUGA) February 1, 2016

Seriously, if you click on the two links there, the views are pretty cool.

I got ‘yer recruiting open thread right here.

What the hey, let’s try something different.

I have no idea what’s coming Wednesday.  My knowledge of the process has been limited to what I can glean from stuff posted for free, minus what recruits tweet.  (Gawd help me if I ever go there.)  Given that the bulk of that is glorified click bait, that’s means I likely know jack.

But those of you who spend your hard earned bucks on every recruiting site known to man or live next door to someone whose nephew goes to school with Derrick Brown, you’ve got insights to share with the class here at GTP, right?  So give in the comments.

For what it’s worth, there was one bit of free news from the weekend that I do find significant:  Alabama asked a longstanding recruit to grayshirt and he de-committed in response.  I have a hard time believing Nick Saban does that unless he feels awfully secure about how his recruiting class is shaping up.  And that in turn probably isn’t the greatest news for those following Auburn or Georgia recruiting.

The only other thing I can share here is I can see why Kirby Smart does well on the recruiting trail.  He knows it’s vital to win there, but he’s got a sense of humor as he goes about his business that no doubt serves him well.

Kirby Smart was the first Alabama coach to make contact with Tyler Simmons, playing a role in the Tide getting a commitment from the three-star wide receiver from Georgia.

That was before Smart took over as Georgia’s head coach.

During an in-home visit with Simmons Thursday, Smart, likely in a playful manner, told Simmons that he “needs to undo what he did” at Alabama.

Simmons probably isn’t the only kid who’s heard that in the past few weeks.

If you want my uninformed best guess, it’s that Smart’s gonna leave a few slots on the table.  I don’t think he gets every kid he wants in 2016 and I don’t think he’s going to take kids merely for the sake of filling out the class.  Your mileage may vary, of course.

Anyway, enough from me.  Use the comments to share, vent, brag, fret or whatever.  If you need a jumping off point for reference, this pre-signing day assessment is as good a place to start as any.

“Football is at a crossroads.”

Regardless of where your sentiments fall in the debate about head injury protocol, I highly recommend this Jon Wilner piece, which is noteworthy if for no other reason than trying to present a balanced approach to the issues.

In so doing, he raises an important question:  are we focusing on the wrong problem?

“It is established that a brain can take a concussion or two, but if you hit it in the head 1,000 times in three months, you are opening the door to hell,” said Chris Nowinski, author of “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis” and a doctoral candidate in behavioral neuroscience at Boston University School of Medicine.

The issue, according to Nowinski and others who have studied the evidence, is not a single concussion. Or even a few concussions. It’s what the scientific community refers to as sub-concussive collisions: the endless series of symptomless blows absorbed by the head during a football career.

There’s a lot there.  It’ll make you think.  Read it.

Monday morning buffet

For obvious reasons, today’s buffet is flavored with recruiting news.

• The Pope and “the ultimate sports marketing project”.
• Ian Boyd asks the musical question, “Do you need a blue-chip QB recruit to win?”
• Georgia’s recruiting dilemma, in one sentence:  “The comment he gave me was he’s got a good relationship with Kirby but he wants to win.”
• At this point, I think we can say this is an established narrative:  “By attempting to upgrade his class on the fly — exchanging earlier commitments for better-regarded, higher-ranked prospects — Harbaugh is following an Alabama-like blueprint, echoing a similar approach taken by his greatest rival, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.”  Love to hear Big Jim Delany’s take on the matter.
• Recruits who pledge to a coach and not the school stand a good chance of being disappointed.  Of the 650 head coaches and assistants who were coaching at current Power Five schools in 2011, 66 percent of them left the staff by 2015, according to a CBS Sports analysis of team rosters.
• The Big 12’s expansion opportunities look even more feeble than the Big Ten’s move with Maryland and Rutgers was.
• Not sure what all those different shirt colors mean?  Let Paul Myerberg explain.
• A theme in the 2015 recruiting class: Of the nation’s top 50 players, 42 took the field last fall.