With signing day fast approaching, there’s a lot of buzzing about which school is best for which kids. Utah fans are baffled when a skilled DT picks a school that isn’t Utah; with the staff’s recent track record of developing defensive linemen into contributing NFL players, it seems like a no brainer. No doubt other schools and their fans have similar perspectives on their targets.
Turning vague assertions of historical success into something quantifiable is challenging, but both the NFL and college have recently begun providing data that makes it possible. I’ve used this data to measure PAC 12 schools on a number of different developmental metrics that take into account the projected athletic ability of the prospect coming out of high school (using Rivals’ star ratings), the prospects’ eventual draft position or free agent signing, and the prospects’ ultimate performance in the NFL (using a metric called Weighted Career Average Value*).