The poor get richer

Sporting News, The, Feb 13, 1995 by Michael Bradley

Back in the 1970s, when there was no limiit on the number of prospects a college football program could sign each season, coaches such as Pittsburgh's Johnny Majors and Southern California's John McKay used to add upwards of 100 high school graduates to their traditionally strong programs every year. Some were signed to help their teams win. Others were signed to prevent someone else from winning. And more still were offered scholarships just in case they blossomed into stars. It was an inexact science, but it sure served the established programs well.

In some ways, nothing has changed. The rankings of the top 10 recruiting classes accompanying this story is filled with many of the names that have occupied the upper reaches of the wire-service polls for decades. The big guys still get their fill.

But they can't get everybody. NCAA rules allow teams to sign only 25 players a year to scholarships and have no more than 85 on scholarship at one time. A 1994 rule limiting to 55 the number of players allowed to make paid campus visits further restricts teams. Recruiting, once a haphazard process that favored the rich, has become a disciplined operation that facilitates parity among Division I-A programs. Bluechip Illustrated Publisher Jeff Duva says that the rest of the top 10 after Notre Dame was extremely hard to pick and that filling out the next best 10 was like "picking names out of a hat." The big names may not be happy with the new restrictions, but the rest of the college football world is.

"You have to have a strategy if you want to succeed," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden says. "We used to go out and sign the best players we could and just keep on signing 'em. Now, you have to have more structure."

The fertile Florida recruiting fields reinforce Bowden's point. Even if his Seminoles and in-state rivals Florida and Miami spend all 75 of their available scholarships on homegrown talent, there could be the same number of strong I-A candidates available for the rest of the country. And because teams have to recruit for need, not just the "best available athlete," or risk a roster heavy in one position and too thin in another, many future stars will be left over.

Although Bowden grabbed 17 Florida players this season, he couldn't get everybody. Neither could Florida Coach Steve Spurrier or new Miami Coach Butch Davis. That allowed outsiders such as second-year South Carolina Coach Brad Scott -- Bowden's former offensive coordinator -- to get some Sunshine State standouts.

South Carolina (ranked No. 19 by Bluechip overall) wasn't the only school to benefit from the increased parity. Bluechip ranks the recruiting classes of Georgia, Louisiana State and Illinois in the top 20, and Duva reports that teams rated as far down as 35th still had highly productive years.

A byproduct of the restrictions is added pressure on the recruits themselves. Because schools can't sign five running backs to get one star, they need early answers from the top prospects on their list to know whether they have to move on. Bowden says he and his staff have offered a player a scholarship one week and rescinded the invitation the next because he didn't commit quickly enough.

There's always somewhere else to go.

Parity isn't the only important topic of this recruiting season. Here are answers to five other pertinent questions.

What About Those Gamecocks?

South Carolina, which last season won a postseason game for the first time in school history, is a long way from a No. 1 ranking or even the Southeastern Conference title game. But under Scott the Gamecocks appear to be on the road to rapid improvement and future contention. His recruiting recipe called for signing junior-college players to fortify the offensive and defensive lines, with defensive tackle Michael Maddox of Holmes (Miss.) JC leading the way, and the accumulation of speedy skill players to fuel his shotgun, no-huddle offense. Running back Corey Atkins of Greenville, S.C., and quarterback Chad Barnhardt of Lake Wales, Fla., head that contingent.

Perhaps the biggest recruit Scott landed was assistant coach John Reaves, who was imported from Florida to run the passing attack and team with John Eason in a two-headed offensive coordinator configuration. They'll work with senior quarterback Steve Taneyhill and several other returning starters in what should be a potent attack.

How did Notre Dame recruit after a disappointing season?

Although Lou Holtz haters had a great time watching the Fighting Irish fall to 6-5.1 last season, they won't be too happy to learn about Notre Dame's recruiting class, which is the most talented in five years. Holtz and his staff filled every major need, from kicking to team speed to offensive line to defense, with a class so strong many of its members will see playing time this season. Even the normally reticent Holtz is impressed.

"I don't think I've had a more impressive list of people coming in," Holtz says. "The last couple of years have not been as impressive as we would have liked. You're lucky if you bat 50 percent (with your top prospects), but we never had to go to our secondary list. We got a much higher percentage of our top guys this year than in the past."