With the 2008 season in the rearview mirror, we are knee deep in our recruiting evaluations. National signing day (Feb. 4th) is quickly approaching and soon enough we’ll be welcoming in a whole new class of players.
It is an exciting time for virtually every college football fan. It’s the draft day of college football. New recruits lead to a heightened level of optimism from fan bases across the country. And college fantasy football fans are not immune to this, as we also get excited taking the first look atthe fresh faces that could round out our rosters. And let’s be honest, there aren't too many bigger moments of gratification than when a true freshman draftee (that no one but you knew about on draft day) pans out.
As a longtime recruitnik, I usually lead the charge on the CFFinsider staff regarding freshman evaluations. It is a dirty job that often draws odd looks from my wife wondering why I’m spending so much time analyzing guys who haven't even been to their senior prom.
Of course since we are a fantasy site, we take a different perspective on new recruits than the recruiting websites. Sites like Rivals.com, ESPN.com and Scout.com provide a solid foundation on which to start. We use them to weed through the thousands of recruits, because we simply can’t evaluate them all. But it doesn’t end there; there are many (too many) man hours watching recruiting video or game film to help formulate our own opinions. Finally we need to look at current rosters to pinpoint where players may have the most immediate impact or be good keeper league investments. Because of these factors our rankings will always differ from the typical recruiting sites.
As a quick refresher, unless you are in a keeper league you really shouldn’t be looking at freshman quarterbacks. Last year was a bumper crop for wide receivers and good pickings on draft day, but most freshman wide receivers should be avoided in non-keeper leagues. And while more freshman running backs will see early playing time than any other position, investing high draft picks on 18-year-olds is always a risky proposition as the bust rate is high. Try to look for value in the later rounds.
If you are in deep keeper leagues, it is a whole different ballgame. Drafting and stashing true freshmen will help win championships down the road, making this a very important time of the year.
Below is a sneak peak of our 2009 incoming freshman rankings. We’ll have more detailed breakdowns on numerous freshmen after signing day. We’ll also be filling in the blanks during spring and fall practice.
Quarterbacks Sneak Peak (updated 2/4/09)
1. Tate Forcier, UofM
2. Matt Barkley, USC
3. Russell Shepard, LSU
4. Aaron Murray, Georgia
5. Richard Brehaut, UCLA
Running Backs Sneak Peak (updated 2/8/09)
1. Jarvis Giles, South Carolina
2. Edwin Baker / Larry Caper, Michigan State
3. Cierre Wood, Notre Dame
4. Chris Whaley, Texas
5. Christine Michael, Texas A&M
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends Sneak Peak (updated 2/6/09)
1. Andre Debose, Florida
2. Rueben Randle, LSU
3. Dion Sims (TE), Michigan State
4. Marlon Brown, Georgia
5. Morrell Presley (TE), UCLA
Top 5 Undediced Players
1. Marlon Brown (WR)
2. Rueben Randle (WR)
3. Rolando Jefferson (WR)
4. Tajh Boyd (QB) update: committed to Clemson
5. Patrick Patterson (WR)
Already Enrolled and Available for Spring Practice source: Rivals.com
QB Brock Osweiler, Arizona State
QB Jon Eastman, Colorado State
QB Zach Mettenberger, Georgia
QB Aaron Murray, Georgia
QB Jordan Webb, Kansas
QB Adam Froman, Louisville
QB Chris Garrett, LSU
QB Russell Shepard, LSU
QB Jake Laudenslayer, Marshall
QB Press Taylor, Marshall
QB Tate Forcier, Michigan
QB Blaine Dalton, Missouri
QB Ashton Glaser, Missouri
QB Cody Green, Nebraska
QB Drew Allen, Oklahoma
QB Kevin Newsome, Penn State
QB Corey Robinson, Troy
QB Joei Fiegler, UAB
QB Richard Brehaut, UCLA
QB Matt Barkley, USC
QB Terrance Cain, Utah
QB Jon Budmayr, Wisconsin
QB Robert Benjamin, Wyoming
RB Jermaine Preyear, Alabama
RB Knile Davis, Arkansas
RB Onterio McCalebb, Auburn
RB Leonard Mason, Colorado State
RB Deshaun Sands, Kansas
RB Troy Evans, Marshall
RB Mike James, Miami
RB Vincent Smith, Michigan
RB James Washington, North Carolina State
RB Jovan Stevenson, Oregon State
RB Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh
RB Al-Terek McBurse, Purdue
RB Jarvis Giles, South Carolina
RB Daniel Borne, UAB
RB Michael Smith, Utah State
RB Tony Gregory, Virginia Tech
WR Rodney Bradley, Hawaii
WR Cordario Calvin, Louisiana-Monroe
WR Wayne Bonner, Marshall
WR Donald Spencer, Michigan State
WR Patrick White, Michigan State
WR Leon Berry, Mississippi State
WR Joshua Adams, North Carolina
WR Jamaal Jackson, North Texas
WR Mike Outlaw, North Texas
WR Eric Ward, Texas Tech
WR Jason Bruce, Troy
WR Felton Payton, Troy
WR Nick Adams, UAB
WR Antoine Smithson, Utah
WR John Hendershott, Utah State
WR Ben Barber, Virginia Tech
WR Logan Heastie, West Virginia
WR/TE Morrell Presley, UCLA
WR/TE Gavin Ellis, Troy
TE Ryan Hall, Duke
TE Desmond Parks, Florida
TE Anthony Schiavone, Iowa
TE Stephen Plein, Miami
TE Alex Sanders, Missouri
TE David Rue, Southern Miss
TE Eric Martin, Virginia Tech
TE Peter Tuitupou, Washington State