Recruiting Matchup: How OSU’s Starters Stack Up Against Boise

Recruiting rankings matter.

How much it matters can vary, but generally speaking, more talented teams win more games than lesser talented teams. I’m not breaking any news here. That’s a staple of why Bama > South Bama, even if South Bama had Nick Saban roaming the sidelines.

So to test this theory, I crunched the numbers for this weekend’s tilt against Boise State to see which team — OSU or Boise — has the more talented roster based solely off high school recruiting rankings. First up: a comparison of the Boise offense to the OSU offense based off the most up-to-date depth charts released by each team. (Note: OSU released its depth chart on Monday; Boise’s most recent depth chart is from last week).

POS	BOISE OFFENSE	RATING
WR	Octavius Evans	85.74
WR	CT Thomas	85.44
WR	Sean Modster	80.87
LT	Ezra Cleveland	81.13
LG	John Molchon	81.78
OC	Garrett Larson	80.80
RG	Eric Quevedo	82.65
RT	Andres Preciado	77.24
TE	Chase Blakley	87.11
QB	Brett Rypien	90.44
RB	Alexander Mattison	85.83
	AVERAGE	83.55

I was surprised to find here that, despite OSU being ranked higher on average, Boise had more consistently ranked players. All of Boise’s starters, in fact, had some sort of high school ranking. That’s not the case with OSU, which has two starters — QB Taylor Cornelius and Cowboy back Britton Abbott — who were not ranked by 247Sports coming out of high school. The one decided advantage in this game may be at QB, where the Broncos bring in a talented former four-star in Brett Rypien.

On average, though, OSU’s starting offensive lineup is far more highly-ranked than Boise State’s.

POS	OSU OFFENSE	RATING
WR	Tyron Johnson	98.79
WR	Jalen McCleskey	85.28
WR	Dillon Stoner	83.95
WR	Tylan Wallace	94.42
LT	Arlington Hambright	84.65
LG	Larry Williams	85.5
OC	Johnny Wilson	85.90
RG	Shane Richards	82.17
RT	Teven Jenkins	84.22
TE	Britton Abbott	—
QB	Taylor Cornelius	—
RB	Justice Hill	84.43
	AVERAGE	86.93

Now let’s move to the defense.

Unlike the Boise offense, where each starter had some sort of ranking in high school, the defensive unit has two formerly unranked prospects in Avery Williams and Sonatane Lui, a corner and a defensive tackle. Its unit ranked on average 82.90 — a low three-star ranking by 247Sports.

POS	BOISE DEFENSE	RATING
S	DeAndre Pierce	83.50
S	Kekoa Nawahine	80.49
CB	Avery Williams	—
CB	Tyler Horton	82.88
WLB	Riley Whimpey	80.32
MLB	Tyson Maeva	83.09
S	Kekaula Kaniho	83.88
DE	Jabril Frazier	86.36
DE	Durrant Miles	83.00
DT	David Moa	82.56
DT	Sonatane Lui	—
	AVERAGE	82.90

The Cowboy starting unit boasts ranked players at every position, the highest-rated of which is DT Darrion Daniels. Its overall ranking compared to the OSU offense ranks a tad lower, at 86.40, but it’s still a definitive upgrade from Boise on the defensive side of the ball.

POS	OSU DEFENSE	RATING
S	Malcolm Rodriguez	82.33
S	Thabo Mwaniki	83.87
S	Kenneth Edison-McGruder	87.41
CB	AJ Green	84.65
CB	Rodarius Williams	85.29
MLB	Justin Phillips	84.51
OLB	Calvin Bundage	87.70
DE	Jarrell Owens	87.34
DE	Jordan Brailford	88.94
DT	Darrion Daniels	90.32
DT	Trey Carter	88.07
	AVERAGE	86.40

Maybe star rankings mean nothing if you’ve got a great scheme or an elite quarterback or a decided advantage in the turnover game. We’ll know what the deal is on Saturday when Boise comes to Stillwater for a 2:30 kick, but for now, it’s safe to say OSU — which is a 3.5 point favorite in this matchup — has the undeniable edge when it comes to more touted high school prospects.