One of the biggest keys to success for the top programs in the country is their ability to consistently reload with young talent on both sides of the football. There has been a lot of talk about the tremendous job done by Nick Saban at Alabama, Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and even Les Miles at LSU. On the flip side, there are a number of schools that have received a lot of criticism for failing to deliver this offseason. Here is a look at the four most disappointing recruiting classes for 2016.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon entered the 2016 offseason with quarterback the priority once again and while they landed three quality prospects at the position, not one of them was ranked in the top-eight in the country. Terry Wilson, Tristen Wallace and Justin Herbert all bring different elements to the table and the expectation is that competitions will bring out the best in them. However, the fact that the Ducks couldn’t land a top-five prospect had to be a disappointment. They run one of the most prolific offenses in the country and just produced a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in 2014 with Marcus Mariota. Even still, the top quarterbacks decided to go elsewhere.
Oregon did land a pair of four-star defenders in Darrian Franklin and Bryson Young as well as three-star linebacker LaMar Winston, but the lack of five-star recruits stands out. USC, Stanford, UCLA, Arizona State and Washington all ranked ahead of the Ducks in terms of their overall recruiting class grades and that had to be a disappointment for Mark Helfrich and his staff. It could be a sign that Oregon is in decline.
Maryland Terrapins
D.J. Durkin managed to land some considerable talent among his first class of recruits at Maryland, but the majority of talk will be about the two major defections that opted to commit to the Ohio State Buckeyes instead. Dwayne Haskins is the No. 7-rated quarterback on the board and a four-star recruit that has the potential to become an absolute stud at his position. Meanwhile, Keandre Jones is another four-star recruit and the No. 8-rated outside linebacker in the country, and he ended up at Ohio State along with Haskins. Durkin landed some impressive talent including a couple of players that should play from the outset in guard Terrance Davis and wide receiver Tino Ellis, but losing both Haskins and Jones to a Big Ten rival was a major disappointment.
Boston College Eagles
Three-star quarterback Anthony Brown will provide some competition at the position and the Eagles added a trio of three-star interior line prospects, but they had to be disappointed with their overall haul. Boston College failed to add any truly elite prospects and they took a big hit on the defensive side of the football both in terms of talent and in terms of coaching personnel. Remember that coordinator Don Brown left to take the same job at Michigan and that likely impacted the team’s ability to recruit on that side of the ball. Three-star defensive end Bryce Morais could very well step in and play this season, but he is the only real standout addition on that side of the football. This looks like a team that will continue to be a doormat in the ACC and they’ve have to be disappointed with this year’s class overall.
Missouri Tigers
Alabama and LSU each landed top-five classes in the entire nation while Ole Miss, Georgia and Auburn each brought in some impressive classes, but the recruiting trail remained a tough one again this season for Missouri. New head coach Barry Odom deserves credit for his ability to evaluate defensive prospects and edge-rusher Tre Williams can certainly get after the quarterback, but overall the Tigers didn’t land a very strong class. Playing in the absolutely loaded SEC only magnified Missouri’s recruiting struggles that much more and it’s clear Odom has his work cut out for him. The loss of Gary Pinkel likely hampered Missouri’s ability to recruit as the players aren’t sure what the new Tigers are going to look like.
