2010 Non-BCS Football Recruiting Roundup

I felt that it would be interesting to put together a solid rundown of some of the top non-BCS conference teams to see how they stack up to the BCS leagues. Thus, I decided to put together a list of ten of the most highly touted and best known teams outside of the BCS conferences. All of the usual suspects dot this list, along with a few surprises along the way. One caveat: There are a few other teams that could easily have shown up here (Fresno State and East Carolina come to mind) so if your favorite non-BCS team doesn’t show up here it isn’t an intentional slight.

• BYU Cougars,26 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.891

The Cougars have put together a very strong class that is the best of the non-BCS schools. BYU has the only players chosen among the Top 150 by one of the three major services that will be attending a non-BCS school: Quarterback Jake Heaps, WR Ross Apo and DE Bronson Kafusi. BYU’s class would fit in well in any BCS league.

• TCU Horned Frogs, 18 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.861

TCU had a hugely successful season, earning their first BCS bid. They’ve followed that up by garnering a BCS conference caliber recruiting class. While none of these players are Top 150 selections, there is certainly a ton of talent on hand and TCU’s class would rank in the middle of the Big XII pack, their closest geographic rival.

• Utah Utes, 21 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.817

Utah finishes out an elite trifecta in the Mountain West with a strong 21 man effort. Much like their top tier brethren in the league, this class would not be out of place as a middle of the pack effort in a top BCS league. The Utes certainly are bringing in a lot of talent.

• Central Florida Knights, 23 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.586

Central Florida has aspirations of one day becoming a BCS conference team and they showed their talents by stealing two highly recruited offensive linemen from BCS conference teams on Signing Day. This 23 man class would compare well to the classes that BCS conference members Purdue, Rutgers and Colorado managed to garner this season and that’s a victory for George O’Leary.

• Houston Cougars, 26 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.570

The Cougars are right on the tails of UCF with a large and respectable class. Quarterback Terrence Broadway is perhaps the most highly touted recruit and could replace superstar Case Keenum in a few years while JUCO DT Matangi Tonga is a major catch as well. In short, Houston appears to have a lot of talent coming in this year and this class is a virtual mirror image of the Pac Ten’s Washington State.

• Boise State Broncos, 10 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.566

Boise State’s ASR is barely behind Houston and UCF but their class is significantly different in one major respect: They only have TEN signees! While some of these players are well thought of, especially JUCO DE Tyrone Crawford, this class is the smallest in the entire country! You need to sign at least in the mid-teens because only half of almost every class turns into success stories. This class is just way too small, especially coming off of a BCS Bowl berth.

• SMU Mustangs, 26 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.448

SMU was a powerhouse in the 1980s thanks to their ability to bring in top players from around the state of Texas. While this class isn’t as impressive as the top three Mountain West teams, the Mustangs under new coach June Jones have put together a strong class that should vault them towards the top of Conference USA.

• San Diego State Aztecs, 27 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.401

Brady Hoke came to SDSU with the expressed intention of keeping some of Southern California’s best prospects at home and this class is a strong step in that direction. DE Perry Jackson is the most highly touted prospect but there are a lot of very good players here. Could this class help move SDSU towards competitiveness in the Mountain West?

• Marshall Thundering Herd, 25 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.180

Marshall is on this list because this class vaulted from anonymity to prominence with the hiring of former West Virginia assistant Doc Holiday. In fact, this class had some late defections that dropped their ASR precipitously but there is no doubt that this class ended up being far better than expected with Holiday’s arrival.

• Hawai’i Warriors, 26 commitments, Average Star Rating: 2.160

The Warriors have an underrated home talent base as the Islands never seem to get a lot of credit for their high school football. With that in mind, it isn’t a surprise that the Warriors have a fairly strong class. However, the Warriors can do better as LB Dustin Ellisara is the only player who received a composite 3 star rating. Still, this large class should do well in Honolulu.

SUPERLATIVES

Most Surprising (Best): Central Florida Knights

Central Florida’ Signing Day coup pushed this class way up the ASR rankings. How good was the UCF class? Well, the BCS league that they’re most associated with (the Big East) had three teams finish with a lower ASR! Honestly, their location should give them the chance to be a consistent recruiting force and this class is a nice surprise.

Most Surprising (Worst): Boise State Broncos

Their ASR isn’t poor but when you only bring in ten recruits coming off of a BCS Bowl berth, that’s a big disappointment. Also, the three schools that they get compared to most often (BYU, Utah, TCU) all had significantly higher ASR with classes that were double in size, so the Broncos fell behind this February.

Worst Class Overall: Boise State Broncos

If it looks like I’m piling on Boise here, it is because I AM piling on the Broncos. Ten recruits is simply unacceptable for any school to bring in and it is especially ridiculous for a school that has put together as much success as the Broncos. What happens if a few of these recruits have academic issues? Then this class might as well have never even signed and that’s about as bad as it gets.

Best Class Overall: BYU Cougars

The Cougars were the only non-BCS school to bring in a single Top 150 prospect and they brought in three of them! Quarterback Jake Heaps is the top prospect in the country according to Scout and this class would fit easily in any BCS conference. There is no doubt that BYU leads the way among the non-BCS schools in 2010.