Do 5-stars win championships? Let's break down the 4 Playoff teams
Recruiting has grown so enormous college football officials added extra signing days to accommodate it.
But do the recruiting titles in February (and now December) translate into national titles in January?
They certainly help, but last year, a former walk-on scored the championship-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the 2016 season.
This year, a former walk-on walked away with the Heisman Trophy and now has his sights on the College Football Playoff.
Keep that in mind as we break down the recruiting backgrounds of the starters on the four Playoff teams.
No. 1 Clemson
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No. 2 Oklahoma
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No. 3 Georgia
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No. 4 Alabama
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A closer look at the QBs
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Takeaway
If you believe national titles are won on signing days, you’re probably wondering how Oklahoma got here.
Mayfield and his center, Erick Wren, were both walk-ons. Six defensive starters were 3-star prospects. Last year was the first time since 2010 that the Sooners signed a top-10 recruiting class. Even that class, ranked No. 8, trailed Alabama and Georgia.
Heck, Lincoln Riley, their first-year, first-time head coach, was East Carolina’s offensive coordinator just four seasons ago.
Overachievers, all of them. Clearly, they aren’t the most decorated team in the Playoff, but they might be the most dangerous.
So, it works about 75% of the time.
No offense but so far this is useless.
OU hasn’t won a title in over a decade.
So do 5* win them?
How many did Clemson & Bama have the last 2 years?
Ohsu?
FSU
Bama
Bama
Auburn
Bama
UF
Etc…
Those are the teams that won Titles
I can say we had a lot of 3 and 4 stars step up when we won the Natty. Riley cooper, pouncy twins, joe Haden, major wright, Brandon spikes, Aaron Hernandez were all 4 or less stars. Ahmad black didn’t even have a star. But Tebow and Harvin were 5 stars and obviously were really really good
Welcome to the Chris Wright clown hour. UGA has an epic signing day and suddenly this hater produces a smoking hot take about how irrelevant recruiting is. Apparently Alabama won all those national championships with walk-ons…or something. It doesn’t make any sense…but hey, look who we’re dealing with.
So.you took offense since the article didn’t pat UGA on the back?
You seriously took this as a slight against UGA? Wow. Take it at face value for what it is, an article simply showing the number of 4 and 5 star talent on current playoff teams to further enhance the recruiting conversation we are having right now. Seesh, some people.
And he found a nice photo of Oklahoma players to post rather than any of the Southern teams.
No, he found a picture of one of quite possibly the greatest walk on College Football Player of all time, which supports the basis of his article. You UGA guys are sensitive and blind, I don’t get it.
Didn’t he receive a scholarship to Texas Tech out of high school? If so he is not a walk on just because he transferred.
Nope Mayfeild was a walk on at TT.
We weren’t sensitive and blind when your hounds came to Athens this season. I recall a TD on our first play from scrimmage and it was all downhill from there for the wannabee DAWGS.
^^^this comment alone proves how sensitive you are. Got offended by nothing, so you took it upon yourself to took a cheap shot.
*take
16Tide: I believe the conversation was between him and me. I will have plenty to say to you should Bama be able to beat Clemson this time around.
I don’t expect to see you around if UGA gets beat by OU.
Rose…if the conversation was between only 2 people, 16tide and others wouldn’t have know it ever existed.
I waited to Bama won a championship before I got excited. I didn’t get arrogant until after the third. Don’t let the wagon get ahead of the horse. I know it’s hard, believe I went through years of crap Bama teams, but I suggest you see how the game on 1/8 turns out before you get so excited.
Lighten up Francis.
This isn’t a ‘rain on UGA’s parade’ article. It’s a ‘there’s hope for every other SEC team’ that didn’t have a blow out recruiting cycle article. Now, that said, his implication is wrong. Recruiting top shelf talent is a prerequisite for consistent NC contention.
Loaded recruiting classes will get you to 10 wins and in the discussion of championships (if your HC is halfway decent). Bama, Clemson and UGA didn’t have to out-coach 10 of the teams on their schedules. They just out-manned them. Oklahoma is either really good at development or evaluation (or both). They have consistently been in the title conversation with far less talent. This also probably explains why they keep coming up a little short too.
Helps that they’re in the middle of nowhere wth only a garbage NBA team nearby. Allows them to focus
Yeah, I agree this wasn’t a slight against UGA. The answer is simple, “yes” and Bama is the only team you need to look at to know that’s truth.
I also agree that adding Oklahoma (and Georgia) to this article should only be a tie-in at the end. Should’ve looked at teams that ACTUALLY won championships to answer the principle question, then show how OK and UGA stack up as candidates to fit into the mold of a potential future champion.
5 stars help because they are already more complete players but I think the ability to coach up the 3 and 4 stars to 5 star caliber players makes the difference in the end
The general rule is a 3 star can be as good as a 5 star but just needs time to develop. So if you’re populating your depth with those guys and getting them reps, you’re really just using the attrition to turn over the soil.
Recruiting does win championships. This also shows how good of a job they do at Oklahoma. If defenses do actually win championships, There’s 3 good ones in the CFP. On paper, Bama is the best team. Attrition to their LBs may nullify that this year. Should be a great CFP. The committee got it right. OSU would have been blanked again this year.
I am SO happy OSU wasnt’ in, they were in no way deserving of it and that would have been shameful if they got in.
Recruiting begins the chance at a NC. The talent has to be molded, devolved, and implemented. People get hung up on rivals rankings, look at MSU for example. Did they have top ranked classes? No, but the had a coach that could turn that coal in to a diamond, everyone is hung up on UGA right now, but Florida with Mullen is a little more frightening, kind of seems like a spurrier 2.0. Now we will wait to see the UGA fans to reply and tell me how Kirby is the second coming of Saban.
Don’t worry Kirby will have to win at least 3 National Championships before i call him Saban 2.o. But looking at what Smart has done with the talent he inherited I feel good that he can coach up all the talent he is bringing in.
The one thing people aren’t talking about is how Kirby is building a wall around the state of Georgia! even if UGA doesn’t make it pass this next game the future looks bright!
I’m not arguing, I’ll be the first to say Kirby is a force, the east is about to reclaim its place at the top among the sec. I hope UT finds their place but right now Im happy the dawgs are being territorial!
It’s so odd. I’m a Gators fan but I’m actually pulling for UGA. I also want Tennessee to be good again.
There’s so much talent in Georgia too, Athens is a prime location to recruit from and you’re right, Kirby is locking the state up. The Dawgs and Gators will be forces to be reckoned with in the East for a while. Florida is arguably the most talent rich state too, he’ll recruit well, no doubt.
Probably more often than not, it seems like special players surrounded by good players wins championships. Watson at Clemson and Cam at Auburn immediately come to mind. Tebow and Henry probably fit that mold also.
Yeah it’s a lot to do with team chemistry too. Have to agree you need top talent to get to a NC but you also need really good coaching and really good team chemistry. All the 5 stars in the country won’t do you much good if they only play for themselves.
Well, Tebow was surrounded by special players. No matter what he turned out to be, Hernandez was special. And, from a purely ability standpoint, there’s never been a more physically talented player than Percy Harvin. Yes he was a dummy and a head case, but his talent was off the charts
Harvin missed several games due to migraines and Hernandez was good, but not special to a degree where he could carry a team. Not even close.
1. Missed games do not preclude one from being special.
2. “Migraines” lol. He was the giver of migraines and those were suspensions.
3. Hernandez was special, special being a relative term for a TE. You’re talking about a guy who could catch downfield, and line up in the backfield for hands offs and shovel passes. The guy caught like a receiver and ran like a giant RB. He was one half of the game changing philosophy employed by Belichick. The guy was special
The Aaron Hernandez that scored all of 12 TD’s in three seasons. Sure.
Yeah, cuz it’s all about touchdowns. Certainly presence played no part with regards to coverage and spacing. He certainly wasn’t good with New England. They just signed him to a 5 year extension worth $40 million after his second year, and the largest bonus ever for a tight end, just for amusement, Belichick being so care free with his roster management and all
He is a dead murderer. Worship away.
Yes, by all means, let’s discount his talent because he was a POS.
By that reasoning, OJ wasn’t one of the best RB in history because his off field deeds render his on field accomplishments null and void. For real ?
You do realize I’m a Gators fan saying Tebow was good but was juat as much a product of elite talent as he was great, right ?
Football players win football games. You have to have a good coaching staff, but it’s the talent on the field that wins. Some 5-star players wash out, and some 3-star players overachieve. But the odds are clearly better when you sign a few 5-star players every year. That’s why they are in such demand. Coaches ain’t stupid. They’re going after those highly ranked recruits.
I thought the guys that squirted Gatorade in facemasks won football games, must have been watching my tv all wrong.
You need both and one can’t happen without the other. Scrub coaches winning titles with elite players is extremely rare; pretty much every title winner has a legendary coach (Bowden, Spurrier, Holtz, Osborne, Jimmy Johnson, Saban, Meyer, Brown, Stoops, Tressel, holtz) or a coach on the way (Swinney) or elite coaches who may not be considered legends but were top tier for their eras (Carr, Carroll, McCartney, Ross). Then you have a scrub who rode talent in Gene Chizik.
Then there’s a guy like Jimbo Fisher and Les Miles, good but not great coaches who rode a wave.
Then there’s loads of coaches who just didn’t work out using major talent like Rich Rodriguez, Luke fickell, Ron Zook, Will Muschamp etc.
The bottom line is you can have all the elite talent you want but if you don’t have an elite coach it isn’t gonna matter