I know we all like to see the 4 and 5 star recruits, but some 3 stars turn out pretty well. Even Alabama takes some 3's. I went back and looked at the Rivals rankings for our recruits since 2003 and came up with the following lineup of 3 star recruits. I did include two 2 stars since there was a lack of 3 stars in some areas. There were other 2 stars (or less) that turned out pretty well (e.g. Hunter Renfro, Tyler Grisham, Nolan Turner, etc.) that I did not include. I think we could win a lot of games with this lineup.
QB - Cullen Harper (or Cole Stoudt)
RB - Travis Etienne
OL - Jay Guillermo, Chris Hairston, Treymane Anchrum, Thomas Austin, Jordan McFadden
WR - Jaron Brown, Xavier Dye, Aaron Kelly (2*)
TE - Jordan Leggett
DE - Vic Beasley, Adrian Branch (2*)
DL - Grady Jarrett, DJ Reader
LB - BJ Goodsen, James Skalski, Isaiah Simmons
CB - Xavier Brewer, Bashaud Breeland
S - Michael Hamlin, Robert Smith
K - Bradley Pinion
Since 2003, we have signed 46 2*, 158 3*, 144 4*, and 33 5*. I did not include anyone that committed, but did not enter school. Obviously our recruiting has improved substantially since 2003, with average stars less than 3 in 2003 and 2004, and about 4.0 in 2018, 2020, and 2021. I believe the last non-legacy, non-kicker 2 star we signed was in 2013 (Ryan Carter).
Quarterback is the one position that it seems you must have a 4 or 5 star player to really succeed. Fortunately, that's mainly what we sign these days. At some positions, like WR and DE, we sign so many 4 and 5 stars, it is hard to find a 3 star that played enough to make a difference.
QB - Cullen Harper (or Cole Stoudt)
RB - Travis Etienne
OL - Jay Guillermo, Chris Hairston, Treymane Anchrum, Thomas Austin, Jordan McFadden
WR - Jaron Brown, Xavier Dye, Aaron Kelly (2*)
TE - Jordan Leggett
DE - Vic Beasley, Adrian Branch (2*)
DL - Grady Jarrett, DJ Reader
LB - BJ Goodsen, James Skalski, Isaiah Simmons
CB - Xavier Brewer, Bashaud Breeland
S - Michael Hamlin, Robert Smith
K - Bradley Pinion
Since 2003, we have signed 46 2*, 158 3*, 144 4*, and 33 5*. I did not include anyone that committed, but did not enter school. Obviously our recruiting has improved substantially since 2003, with average stars less than 3 in 2003 and 2004, and about 4.0 in 2018, 2020, and 2021. I believe the last non-legacy, non-kicker 2 star we signed was in 2013 (Ryan Carter).
Quarterback is the one position that it seems you must have a 4 or 5 star player to really succeed. Fortunately, that's mainly what we sign these days. At some positions, like WR and DE, we sign so many 4 and 5 stars, it is hard to find a 3 star that played enough to make a difference.
