So a couple of weeks ago, for a reason that might still be a mystery, former Florida State players from the 1995 and 2000 recruiting classes started playfully arguing with each other on Twitter.
It involved all-time Seminole greats like Travis Johnson, Corey Simon, Greg Jones, Bryant McFadden and Peter Warrick. Even Randy Moss got involved at one point. It was an entertaining thread for sure, with replies like this one from Johnson to Simon:
It's always been pretty cool, in my opinion, how proud players are about their own recruiting classes. Even decades later. And make no mistake: Both the 1995 and 2000 classes were stacked with big-time talent.
But were they really the two best ever in FSU history? Were they even two of the top five?
Well, that's debatable.
Which is why we thought it would be a fun idea to figure out -- with actual numbers and data and not just subjective opinions -- who represented the best recruiting classes in Florida State history. And then try to rank the Top 5 of all time.
These rankings aren't official by any means. It's just a fun way to reflect on how many insanely good football players have worn the garnet and gold over the years.
At any rate, here are the criteria we decided to use:
We looked at each individual member of the recruiting class and then awarded them points based on a variety of factors:
* A player who started for a season or multiple seasons or was a big-time contributor as a backup: Two points.
* A player who was drafted: Three points.
* A player who made the first or second team of a reputable All-American team: Four points.
* A player who was a first-round draft pick: Five points.
* A player who was a consensus or unanimous All-American: Six points.
* A player who was a national award winner (Groza, Butkus, Lombardi, etc.): Seven points.
* A player who won the Heisman (you probably remember those three dudes): Eight points.
* A player who has had -- or will definitely have -- his jersey retired: 10 points.
So for a quick example, let's go with Deion Sanders out of the famed 1985 class. Deion won the Thorpe Award (7 points), was a consensus All-American (6 points), was a first-round draft pick (5 points) and was a starter (2 points). Some quick Warchant.com math will tell you Deion finished with 20 points. Throw in another 10 for having his jersey retired and his final total is whopping 30. That's a lot. The FSU coaches were smart to recruit that young man. It panned out. Well done.
** More comments from Gene Williams on the 77, 85 and 2010 classes **
While we're on the subject of that 1985 class, we should go ahead and get this out of the way: It did not make it as one of the five best in FSU history -- because we're focusing solely on the word "best." If this was a list of the most important recruiting classes of all time, 1985 might very well be No. 1. In fact, it almost certainly would be, because it was the catalyst for the dynasty run.
It included two eventual starting quarterbacks in Chip Ferguson and Peter Tom Willis, both of whom led the Seminoles to Top 5 finishes. It also featured Sammie Smith, Dedrick Dodge, Eric Hayes and All-Americans like Pat Tomberlin, Michael Tanks and the man, the myth, the legend - Odell Haggins.
The 1985 class, with our scoring system, finished with 89 points. For comparison's sake, the No. 5 all-time class (to be unveiled tomorrow) finished with 97.
And while there were some big names in that class and some key contributors, it didn't have nearly the NFL talent of later classes that followed. Of course, it could be argued that those later classes might not have ever materialized without that '85 class leading the way and charting the course. That's a fair point. But there's no way to really quantify something like that, so we just stuck with the numbers.
Along those same lines, Jimbo Fisher's important first class won't be in the Top 5 either.
We remember fondly the group that he hauled in back in 2010, and with good reason. Guys like Lamarcus Joyner, Telvin Smith, Bjoern Werner, Terrence Brooks and even Jeff Luc, who never made an impact at FSU but was a huge signee for that class at the time, helped make Florida State a destination again for top-flight talent.
Like the '85 class, they paved the way for those future great players to come to Tallahassee. Without 2010, maybe guys like Rashad Greene, Kelvin Benjamin, Devonta Freeman Jameis Winston, Eddie Goldman and Mario Edwards don't show up in the next two years.
But "impact" and "value" are words for different lists.
This one just focuses on "best." And again, even though we all understand how vital 2010 was to the resurgence of Florida State under Fisher, it didn't have the same talent as the two classes that followed. It finished with 60 total points. Still a fine group, but not all that close to being Top 5 in school history.
Beginning on Friday, we will unveil the five best recruiting class in Florida State history. But in the meantime, here's a brief look at some other all-time classes who just missed the cut.
2012: This one will always be a special class in Florida State history -- primarily because it's the class that featured a certain two-sport star from Hueytown, Ala. By himself, Jameis Winston (assuming he'll have his jersey retired) accounted for 31 points. The class finished with 88 combined. Just on the outside of the Top 5.
And while Winston is obviously the headliner of this group, there were several other big-time players on the list: Menelik Watson, Ronald Darby, Eddie Goldman, P.J. Williams and Mario Edwards, for instance. It also happened to feature arguably the best kicker in college football history in Roberto Aguayo. So even though it didn't quite make the Top 5, it had plenty of star power and a number of contributors on the 2013 national championship team.
1977: Looking back some 42 years later, it's impossible to overstate how important this recruiting class was to the history of Florida State Football. It was Bobby Bowden's first full haul as the FSU head coach, and boy did he make it count. He signed seven players who would go on to be elected to the Florida State Hall of Fame -- Monk Bonasorte, Bobby Butler, Bill Capece, Reggie Herring, Ken Lanier, Paul Piurowski and Ron Simmons.
Butler was Bowden's first first-round pick, and Simmons was his first superstar. The signing of Simmons, who was one of the top high school players in the country out of Warner Robins, Ga., was a sign that Bowden might do some pretty special things in Tallahassee.
That class, which scored an impressive 85 points in our scoring system, helped lead the Seminoles to an 11-0 regular season in 1979 and a 10-1 mark the following year. Both of those campaigns also ended with games against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, helping make Florida State a national brand under Bowden and setting the foundation for the dynasty run that was to follow.
1995: Like the '85 class, this group finished with exactly 85 points. It had a number of enormous names, most notably Peter Warrick and NFL Hall-of-Famer Walter Jones. Corey Simon was in that class, as was Ron Dugans, Jerry Johnson and a Super Bowl MVP in Dexter Jackson.
There was another name, too. It will go down as one of the great "what-ifs" in college football history, but Randy Moss was only at Florida State for a redshirt season in 1995 and was dismissed from the team before the '96 season. If Moss had been allowed to stay on Bobby Bowden's squad, that would have given the 1995 class two future NFL Hall-of-Famers and might have made it one of the top two classes in Florida State history.
As it is, it has to settle for being very, very, very good. But just on the outside of the Top 5.
2000: Ironically, the two classes that were the genesis of this idea in the first place didn't make the Top 5 when the points were tallied. But like the 1995 class, the 2000 one had some serious NFL talent as well.
It finished with 72 total points.
Johnson was one of the headliners, along with fellow first-round picks Javon Walker and Alex Barron. Kendyll Pope, Michael Boulware, Greg Jones and Bryant McFadden all had standout careers at Florida State before being drafted as well. The Seminoles also had two quarterbacks in this class -- Chris Rix and Fabian Walker. Rix started for most of his four years but had a checkered career in Tallahassee, and Walker finished his college days winning a national title at Valdosta State. If one of those two had become an All-American or a first-round draft pick or both, then this class might have had a real shot at cracking the Top 5.
1986: This class finished with 65 points, so it wasn't exactly close to being one of the Top 5 in Florida State history. But the names, especially for older fans, will always hold a special place in FSU lore.
The entire Fab Four -- receivers Lawrence Dawsey, Terry Anthony, Ronald Lewis and Bruce LaSane -- came from this class. As did Dexter Carter and LeRoy Butler. This class, like the 1985 one, played an enormous role in starting the dynasty. That shouldn't be overlooked, even if it didn't feature quite the NFL talent that later classes produced.
Stay tuned for the unveiling of the No. 5 class in Florida State history on Friday.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council
