Final Player Rating System

Final Player Rating System


May 30, 2011
Charles Woodson would have been approximately a 1,000

Last week I proposed a player rating system that received some positive and some negative comments.  Sifting through the comments and using my own preferences/judgment, I liked the idea of adding a letter grade to the numeric rating, but it seemed too complicated for people to easily understand.  I reserve the right to tweak the system at some point, but this is the jumping-off point:

100 = Best prospect in the country at his position; high likelihood of 1st round NFL potential
90-99 = Outstanding starter in Big Ten; likely All-Big Ten and All-American; high likelihood of NFL draft potential
80-89 = Very good starter in Big Ten; good chance of All-Big Ten; some NFL draft potential
70-79 = Solid starter in Big Ten;  some NFL draft potential
60-69 = Average starter in Big Ten; little NFL draft potential
50-59 = Below average starter or good backup
40-49 = Average backup or solid special teams contributor
1-39 = Below average backup or special teams contributor

I realize that the scale probably won’t rate many players in, say, the 1-20 range, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.  No scale is perfect, everybody has good reasons for an argument, etc.  This gives me eight different categories in which to place players, so that already makes it somewhat more refined than the 5-star rating systems used by recruiting sites.  And in the meantime, it prevents me from having to say some poor high school kid is a 10 out of 100.  I’m cold-hearted, but not heartless.

Also, some people were against using a scale of 1-100, but this system allows me to place two players in one category (for example, the 80-89 range) while also highlighting which player I might prefer by a slim margin.

This rating system will be permanently placed on a page at the top of the screen, allowing for easy access whenever someone needs a reference point.

Some initial ratings will be out later this week.

Happy criticizing!

8 comments

  1. Comments: 21397
    Anonymous
    May 30, 2011 at 3:46 PM

    I'll be interested to see your unbiased opinions with this new system. I always enjoy your critiques because you refuse to be blined by blue-lensed homerism about UM recruits. Looking forward to it.

    NOTE: Kind of surprised that you would post something today and NOT make mention of St. Tressel's resignation.

  2. Comments: 21397
    May 30, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    @ Anonymous 11:46 a.m.

    Thanks.

    As for Tressel, I like to let big things like this simmer for a day or two before I weigh in. I don't typically write a whole lot about what goes on at other school, so I want to make sure that anything I have to say exactly how I want to say it. That way I won't have to waste time talking about Ohio State later.

    However, f*** Jim Tressel.

  3. Comments: 21397
    KB
    May 30, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    I personally just can't wait for all the creative tee shirts I'm going to have to buy now about Tressel. Michigan fans + free time + OSU scandal = tons of money wasted on more Michigan shirts.

    Love the rating system. It's going to be interesting to see how you rate some lower tier guys like Brown and Ojemudia because everybody is HIGH on their upside but it seems like a bit of a reach to me (not Godin because everybody seems to agree he has a blue collar/trenches tough guy upside but not All-American levels).

    This is random but do you have any idea why some fans want A.J. Williams to move to T so we can add another TE? Wouldn't we rather just get a 4*/5* tackle? Makes more sense to actually recruit a higher recruit who plays the position that shift a lower ranked player into a new spot? Plus, can you imagine a safety trying not to lose containment against Williams or all the unbalanced line stuff we can do with him? Williams reminds me of one of those TEs who has like 4 career catches and all of them are TDs.

  4. Comments: 21397
    Anonymous
    May 30, 2011 at 8:17 PM

    Will you be going back over the 2011 class and guys that have committed already for 2012 with these new ratings or just starting fresh with this week's commits?

  5. Comments: 21397
    May 30, 2011 at 9:11 PM

    Look forward to seeing your evaluations.

  6. Comments: 21397
    May 31, 2011 at 12:16 AM

    @ KB 2:27 p.m.

    I'm not entirely sure why so many people want Williams to become a tackle. From the few clips I've seen, his high school team uses him as a tight end and an H-back, so he's not even a full-time in-line blocker. He could grow into a tackle a la Jason Peters, but like you, I would just hope that Michigan recruits tackles for the tackle position. I think there's room on this team for a jumbo blocking TE.

    I'm looking forward to rubbing this OSU stuff in the faces of some very vocal OSU fans who always remind me about the Buckeyes' superiority over Michigan in recent years. The t-shirts should be interesting, too.

    I'm glad you like the rating system – hopefully you like the ratings, too.

  7. Comments: 21397
    May 31, 2011 at 12:20 AM

    @ Anonymous 4:17 p.m.

    I will be rating all 2012 commits, current and future. I will probably be rating 2011 guys as well, since they haven't set foot on the field yet. I have been asked to go back earlier, and while I'm not opposed to the work of "re-evaluating" those players from 2010 and 2009, I'm afraid their college performances to date might influence how I rank them. I would, of course, try to remain unbiased but that might be difficult due to my sneaky subconscious.

  8. Comments: 21397
    KB
    May 31, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Waiting for a shirt that has Tressel as Oprah with "and you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car".

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