Rob's Rankings: Recruiting success with 2019 class by new coaches

This year’s new coaching hires are off and running on the recruiting trail, as their transitional classes are in the books and work on 2019 crop of talent has already begun. No coaching staff will be defined by his work on the recruiting trail thus far, but it’s certainly not too early to check in on how each new regime has started with the 2019 class.

Below, we’ve ranked every new Power Five conference head coach by the early work they’ve done on the recruiting trail.

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CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

Florida State 2018 recruiting finish: 10th

Number of 2019 commits: 5

Taggart’s work to close out the 2018 recruiting cycle was awe inspiring. He revived a class that looked dead under the previous regime and stole a few major prospects from other top-flight programs. Taggart is doing particularly well in the Tampa area, but will need to make more of a mark in South Florida as the year progresses. He’s off to a good start on that front, though, as he carries a commitment from defensive back Akeem Dent, one of the region’s top prospects.

Texas A&M 2018 recruiting finish: 16th

Number of 2019 commits: 7

Fisher finished with the No. 16 class in his transition year, which isn’t half bad when you consider the big picture. Going head-to-head with Texas on short notice isn’t easy, after all. More important, however, is the furious start to which Fisher and company are off to this cycle. The Aggies currently have seven prospects in the fold, including three Rivals 250 members. Brian Williams is the No. 1 safety prospect in the country and carries offers from Texas, Alabama, Georgia and others.

Nebraska 2018 recruiting finish: 21st

Number of 2019 commits: 3

Frost stole a few four-stars out of Florida late in the 2018 cycle, including Miles Jones, whom he swiped from Vanderbilt. The former UCF head coach willed Nebraska to No. 21 in the final recruiting rankings and landed four-star prospects from seven different states. The Huskers have three prospects in the fold for 2019 but are still looking for their first four-star of the class. That said, UNL sits in a nice spot with a number of touted prospects in different regions. Frost’s national appeal seems to be paying off in Lincoln.

Oregon 2018 recruiting finish: 15th

Number of 2019 commits: 1

Cristobal has an impeccable recruiting reputation and he’s certainly earned it. He lost a few high-profile recruits during the coaching change, most notably from prospects that live on the other side of the country. That said, the fact that he landed a number of highly regarded West Coast players with options was impressive. And while Cristobal only has one 2019 commit as the class stands now, things are setting up nicely for him to win a few more battles in California this cycle.

Ole Miss 2018 recruiting finish: 27th

Number of 2019 commits: 9

Luke’s ranking here is a consider-the-circumstances situation. The new Ole Miss coach managed to finish just outside the top 25 in the 2018 recruiting rankings despite a host of chaos brought on by the Hugh Freeze scandal and an NCAA investigation. Still, Luke hauled in a higher-ranked class than schools such as Louisville, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Ole Miss already has nine 2019 commits, including four-star athlete Jerrion Ealy, who chose the program over offers from Auburn, Michigan, Texas and others.

Tennessee 2018 recruiting finish: 20th

Number of 2019 commits: 2

Pruitt started out in the hole because of the long and disastrous coaching search that resulted in his hire. Because of that, he has to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Vols’ 2018 class. Even still, finishing No. 20 isn’t exactly a calamity. Pruitt has a pair of four-stars in the fold for 2018 and seems to want to further expand the program’s recruiting footprint. So far so good on that front, but the question will become how the new staff does with in-state talent. There’s plenty of reason for optimism in Knoxville.

Florida 2018 recruiting finish: 18th

Number of 2019 commits: 5

Mullen didn’t post the furious close to 2018 that in-state rival Willie Taggart pulled off, but finishing with the country’s No. 18 class in a transitional year isn’t a failure by any stretch. Mullen’s first class included 14 four-star prospects, and while his 2019 group lacks star power thus far, three of the five prospects in the fold sit on the verge of four-star status. It doesn’t seem like Mullen and company are doing the same level of work in South Florida as previous UF staffs, so they may have to make up for that elsewhere.

UCLA 2018 recruiting finish: 17th

Number of 2019 commits: 0

Kelly’s slow start to 2019 could be by design. He’s met with few prospects and tossed out fewer offers. It’s a strategy he used at Oregon to make scholarship offers and interactions seem more meaningful. It may well work, but we aren’t ranking strategies here. UCLA’s 2018 class finished No. 4 in the Pac-12 and No. 17 overall, so it’s not as though Kelly landed a shabby transitional class. That group helps Kelly’s ranking in this space. The Bruins’ new head coach is as unpredictable a recruiter as there is in the country, so there’s no telling what the months ahead may hold.

Mississippi State 2018 recruiting finish 25th

Number of 2019 commits: 2

Moorehead’s transitional class finished in the bottom half of the SEC and No. 25 in the country. And while Mississippi State bested in-state rivals Ole Miss in the rankings, it did so by a hair despite not working against anywhere near the same adversity. Its start to 2019 is solid enough, as Rivals250 defensive end Charles Moore is one of two prospects currently committed to Moorehead and company. The crop of talent in Mississippi this season may be historically deep so that should help Moorehead down the road

Arizona State 2018 recruiting finish: 36th

No. of 2019 commits: 0

Edwards stole some nice pieces late in the day on National Singing Day and managed to sign the Pac-12’s No. 5 class. Edwards takes a lot of flak for his soundbites and his age, but the recruiting results have been fine thus far. He has some traction in the region. And while he may never sign a top-10 class, his regime hasn’t been the recruiting disaster many expected when the hire was announced. Edwards is still searching for his first 2019 commitment, so that’s less than ideal. Still, it’s early and recruiting seems to move more slowly in the Pac-12 than it does on the East Coast.

Arizona 2018 recruiting finish: 53rd

Number of 2019 commits: 0

Arizona didn’t hire Sumlin until Jan. 14, so most of its commits were signed before the coaching change took place. He’s had significantly less time to build relationships than anybody else on this list. Arizona’s 2018 class ranked 10th in the Pac-12, and Sumlin is yet to get a verbal pledge from a 2019 prospect. The former A&M coach is a proven recruiter, so it’s certainly no time to panic, but Sumlin can’t be given credit for work he’s yet to do. Even so, his late start is certainly worth an asterisk.

Arkansas 2018 recruiting finish: 60th

Number of 2019 commits: 3

Arkansas finished dead last in the SEC last cycle, which is not great when you consider five other SEC programs also went through coaching changes. Ole Miss, which also bested the Razorbacks in the recruiting rankings, was slapped with NCAA sanctions. Morris has three three-star commitments in the fold for 2019, but only defensive tackle Trevis Hopper has a long list of major options. It’s early, so Morris shouldn’t be condemned for a slow start just yet but things so far are less than ideal.

Oregon State 2018 recruiting finish: 72nd

No. of 2019 commits: 1

The Beavers finished dead last among Power Five programs during the 2018 cycle, which is well … not good. Smith’s first full recruiting cycle will tell more of a tale, though, and that isn’t off to a rousing start either. Oregon State has just one prospect in the fold for 2019, a two-star defensive lineman who chose the in-state Beavers over an offer from Cal. The first few months on the job will never define a coach, but this is a ranking of recruiting starts, and Smith’s has been, in a word, slow.

OVERTIME

The arrival of spring means the 2018 baseball season is within reach. While this may be a football column, this space loves and respects baseball.

And food.

That makes the upcoming MLB Food Fest particularly interesting. The April food-tasting event will feature one “signature dish” from every team’s home stadium, and some meals are better than others. The full menu can be found here:

So I’ve ranked the five worst offerings at the New York-based event.

1. Toasted Grasshoppers – Seattle Mariners: Ok, Seattle. It’s time we talked. Sometimes, it is ok to not be so … Seattle. We get it. You’re quirky and cool and don’t like the music they play on the radio, but you don’t have to serve grasshoppers to get the point across. Everyone loves you, but maybe we need to tell you more.

2. Chicago Dog – Chicago Cubs: I don’t care what city you put in front of it or what vegetable you top it with, this is still just a hot dog. The Cubs are sending a hot dog to a food fest. Then, this is to be expected when your city’s entire culinary culture is defined by a meal for toddlers.

3. Cheeto-Lote – Los Angeles Dodgers: Corn covered with chipotle mayo, parmesan cheese and flaming hot Cheetos? This was 100-percent thrown together by a stoned teen in his mom’s kitchen. This would be appealing if MLB Foodfest was preceded by MLB Smokefest. Otherwise, not so much.

4. Helton Burger and fresh cut fries – Colorado Rockies: The city of Denver is sending a cheeseburger … with pickles. Was this done on deadline?

5. Curd Maczuk – Minnesota Twins: The menu says the Curd Maczuk is “breaded cheese curds and bratwurst topped with brown gravy.” And while I can see how this might actually taste OK, it also sounds like it should be served in a trough. Also, is Minnesota allowed to appropriate Wisconsin’s cheese curd culture?