I promised you one last Henry post about recruiting after signing day, and it’s time I delivered.
This one is a direct comparison of Richt’s recruiting rankings and Smart’s, both based on Scout’s numbers.
Here’s how they look:
Mark Richt Recruiting Classes
Year |
National
Rank |
SEC
Rank |
SEC East
Rank |
Total
Signed |
Top
100 |
Avg.
Stars |
2002 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
29 |
4 |
3.24 |
2003 |
11 |
4 |
3 |
24 |
4 |
3.08 |
2004 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
19 |
5 |
3.32 |
2005 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
5 |
3.84 |
2006 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
27 |
7 |
3.63 |
2007 |
17 |
6 |
4 |
23 |
1 |
3.39 |
2008 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
23 |
4 |
3.70 |
2009 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
20 |
7 |
3.85 |
2010 |
21 |
7 |
3 |
19 |
4 |
3.47 |
2011 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
26 |
5 |
3.54 |
2012 |
14 |
6 |
3 |
19 |
5 |
3.68 |
2013 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
33 |
3 |
3.42 |
2014 |
12 |
7 |
3 |
20 |
3 |
3.70 |
2015 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
29 |
5 |
3.59 |
And…
Kirby Smart Recruiting Classes
Year |
National
Rank |
SEC
Rank |
SEC East
Rank |
Total
Signed |
Top
100 |
Avg.
Stars |
2016 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
20 |
5 |
3.90 |
2017 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
26 |
7 |
3.96 |
There are a lot of interesting contrasts and comparisons to be made there, but the general impression is that, in his first two tries, Smart has indeed upped the ante on the quality of Georgia’s recruiting classes. Smart’s gone back to back with the best classes in the division; Richt, to his credit, did that several times, but didn’t first pull that off until after his third season in Athens.
As far as star rankings go, Richt never achieved a class that averaged 3.9 or better. His fourteen years listed there averaged 3.53 stars, which is certainly commendable, but a far cry from Smart’s 3.93.
Richt’s best class came in 2009. It’s fair to argue it was better than Smart’s 2016 class. The five stars from that season included Aaron Murray, Orson Charles, Marlon Brown and Branden Smith. That class was the backbone of the team that brought the program back from the poor 2009 and 2010 seasons and came close to delivering an SEC title in 2012.
As the 2013 class reminds us constantly, it’s still a matter of keeping them enrolled and coaching them up along the way, but in terms of raw material, the numbers speak for themselves.