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Message: [QUOTE="Whitey23, post: 2463562, member: 216"] [URL="https://theathletic.com/217999/2018/01/22/luginbill-best-available-becoming-a-luxury-in-college-football-recruiting-but-only-for-some/"]Luginbill: ‘Best available’ becoming a luxury in college...[/URL] However, from this point forward, given that the player pool has shrunk from a lake to a puddle, the few teams that may only need a few prospects and feel good about the prospects they have already signed are focusing their efforts on landing the best available players on the board. ---- Syracuse signed 17 prospects but expects to sign a full complement, so its player pool is larger with more focus, time and manpower dedicated to filling needs in the current class. The Orange are in competition with more programs for the remaining players on their board and likely will go down to the last day before they know exactly who they are getting in the 2018 class. Another challenge facing Power 5 teams in Syracuse’s peer group is that the “poachable” player who was high on the boards of Group of Five teams is likely no longer available. Unlike years past, that “tweener” prospect whom a Power 5 team might choose to go after if it lost out of a certain player in late January is gone. Teams like Appalachian State, Florida International, Boise State, South Florida and Houston to name a few all signed 20 or more players, and good players at that. In fact, the “best available” luxury may make an even bigger impact on top-level Group of 5 programs and their ability to separate themselves from the pack. The point is that there are a very select few that are able to use their January recruiting time to and target a player they may not necessarily need to fill a specific position need, but who happens to be the best player available. And the fact that player may serve a significant need for a competitor on the recruiting landscape only makes that player more valuable. Having the luxury of signing the best player on your board and stealing him from someone else is an advantage. Having your workload diminished with the current class, manpower devoted the next class and mapping out your calendar for the spring gives you a leg up. We may not know the effects of the advent of the early signing period until after two or three recruiting cycles, but to be able to say on Feb. 7 that you just signed the best player on your board regardless of position sure would sound good to me. [/QUOTE]

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