The Early Offer is RecruitingNation's regular feature, giving you a daily dose of recruiting in the mornings. Monday’s offerings: After a few weeks to recover from the holiday that was signing day, it’s always interesting to analyze the data to get a better understanding of what really happened. This past Friday, I took a look at the teams that saw the biggest gains from 2013 to 2014. But what were some of the teams that were on the other end of the spectrum?
Dropping out
Connecticut, Fresno State and Hawaii were ranked in top 75 in 2013 but fell out in the 2014 rankings. It makes sense that UConn would drop out after coach Paul Pasqualoni was fired in late September and Bob Diaco was hired in mid-December. That’s a long time to go without leadership while other schools recruited against the Huskies. I’m quite surprised Fresno State’s class didn’t make the top 75 after the Bulldogs were coming off an 11-2 regular season. But with the success of Pac- 12 teams with California talent, Fresno State just wasn’t able to break through with elite prospects in 2014. Hawaii’s lack of success does make sense as the Warriors finished 1-11, had one of the worst defenses in college football and have only won four games in the last two seasons.
Sliders
1. Washington: The Huskies slid 27 spots from 2013 to 2014, but it’s no surprise when you consider UDub went through a coaching change. Chris Petersen did show some signs of success late down the stretch, and it will be interesting to see how he does with a full recruiting calendar. There are some lofty expectations in Seattle.
2. Vanderbilt: Much like Washington, Vanderbilt went through a coaching change too. The Commodores were in line for a top 30 class under James Franklin, but his departure to Penn State caused Vandy to fall 26 spots from 2013 to 2014. I have big expectations of Derek Mason, the new coach at Vandy. Coming from Stanford, he’s used to recruiting players of high-quality talent and high-quality academic standing.
3. Oregon State: The Beavers have never burned up the recruiting rankings, focusing on developing talent and recruiting their type of players over chasing stars. But a slide of 21 spots in 2014 was a little tough to understand. Mike Riley is the Pac -12’s longest-tenured coach, and his assistants are respected with high school coaches in California. Things just didn’t go as expected for Oregon State, but I do think this is more a blip on the radar than it is the start of a trend. I have a ton of respect for the job Riley’s staff does.
4. Boise State: This is another situation where a coaching change distorted the Broncos’ slide. Boise State slipped 19 spots in 2014, and you can’t truly judge Bryan Harsin’s recruiting ability for the Broncos with the quick turnaround he faced. He did hire a talented staff of recruiters, so it will be interesting to see what happens with in 2015.
4. Purdue: Winning only one game and finishing 0-8 in the Big Ten won’t help you on the recruiting trail, which helps explains why the Boilers slipped 19 spots. There are many who believe Darrell Hazell is on one of the hottest seats in all of college football.
4. Illinois: The Illini have a good staff of recruiters, but the lack of success in 2013 (4-8) caught up to them. Illinois also fell 19 spots in the 2014 class, and despite a handful of quality prospects, it wasn’t enough to back up a top-50 effort in 2013.
4. Rutgers: The class of 2014 was tough on Rutgers coach Kyle Flood. Twelve players ended up decommitting from the Knights for one reason or another. The bad news also caused Rutgers to slide 19 spots compared to 2013.