"It'll be easy to see through": CFB analyst Josh Pate demands evidence from CFB fans for dismissing recruitment rankings

Josh Pate tackled an allegation by a fan on social media claiming the high school star recruiting ranking is a hoax in a recent installment of the “Josh Pate College Football Show.” The fan believes the star ranking does not necessarily reflect the talent of a high school player.

Pate, who maintains a close relationship with those handling the recruiting ranking at 247Sports, argued otherwise. The analyst made it known on the show that the argument of the fan doesn't come up with enough to discredit the efforts put in place in the ranking.

“If you want to present evidence to the contrary, don't give anecdotal examples, bring me clusters, bring me huge batches of evidence” Pate said (Timestamp 2:53). Cause if what you're saying is true and the entire thing is a joke, It'll be pretty easy to see through. The evidence will be pretty easy to find.”

Josh Pate further argued that if the ranking were corrupt, it would be common knowledge, and there would be enough evidence for that. The star ranking, done by a host of outlets, including 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals, has been a hallmark of the recruiting landscape for a long time.

“If the recruiting star ranking process was really corrupted on the frontend, you would know it on the backend,” Pate said (Timestamp 4:00). “...if there's a lot of corruption on the frontend of the high school star rating system, it will be exposed eventually."

Josh Pate cites the NFL draft as evidence to ascertain the veracity of the star ranking

Speaking further on his podcast show, Josh Pate cited the success of former five-star and four-star players in the NFL draft as evidence to ascertain the accuracy of the star ranking. In the last three drafts, players with high star rankings have dominated the first round.

“In the last three NFL drafts, 65 of 96 first-round picks were former blue-chippers, former four and five-star players,” Pate said (Timestamp 5:20). “...So either the NFL is in on the grift too or it's not really a grift.”

“These guys may just halfway know what they're looking at, and they may just want to get it right. I know because I know who we are talking about. I have the unfair advantage of knowing these dudes personally. And trust me, it would bring me great joy to call them out on air if they were corrupted. But they're not.”

The accuracy of recruiting star ranking can be verified without bringing the NFL into the discussion. Recruiting, they say, is the lifeblood of college football. Teams that have consistently assembled top-ranked players have dominated the landscape over the years.