Do our 247 composite scores appear to be down in this class? Seems lower than past years at first glance
So this is absolutely the case, but it may not be because we are getting comparatively lower quality recruits. This might be either a fluke in the total talent pool available this year (seems unlikely to me) or (much more likely) 247 made some changes to their composite ratings. Let me explain.
I did a quick year by year comparison of recruit rankings and ratings on 247 for 2020 and 2021. Here's what we've got:
Class of 2020
Player Rank - Composite Rating
200 - .9210
400 - .8871
600 - .8713
800 - .8618
1000 - .8538
1200 - .8473
Class of 2021
Player Rank - Composite Rating
200 - .9229
400 - .8789
600 - .8627
800 - .8477
1000 - .8416
1200 - .8215
So what we're seeing is that thought the player ranked at #200 in the nation in 2021 has a slightly higher composite rating in 2021, all other player ranks reviewed have lower composite ratings as compared to the same player rank of the prior year.
Difference between 2020 and 2021
200: .0019
400: -.0082
600: -.0086
800 : -.0141
1000: -.0122
1200: -.0258
Not only are the player composite ratings getting lower year over year, it is an accelerating trend as you move down the charts. This would impact Iowa State substantially more then, say, Alabama, as the average ISU recruit is probably ranked somewhere in the 800-1000 range.
2020 ISU composite rating was .8525
2021 ISU composite rating is .8376
Difference is -.0149
That difference is about the same as the difference in composite ratings for players in the 800-1000 range.
So, in summary, I don't think we are necessarily seeing a weaker class this year by just looking at the composite ratings. I think our overall player rankings are likely averaging close to the same as the last couple years, but we just have something really funky going on with the 247 composite rankings this year.