Pac-10 football recruiting wrap-up and ranking Part II

For numbers 10 through six be sure to check out Pac-10 football recruiting wrap-up and ranking Part I.

5) Stanford
Stanford certainly added another strong class and is one step closer to their quest for a Pac-10 championship. Listen, these next few years we will see Stanford at or near the top.

This team has added a couple of 4-star QB’s that will get in the mix and they’ve certainly bolstered their defense with the likes of defensive end Blake Lueders, safety Devon Carrington, and others.

4) Oregon
The Ducks did have a nice recruiting class and were looking to add more speed. Huh? Was that even possible? Of course it was.

The Ducks’ biggest recruits included 5-star running back Lache Seastrunk 5-star defensive end Curtis White, and 4-star defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli. Sure there were other 4-star studs signed, but there three are some of the bigger gets.

Seastrunk was the fourth highest rated running back in the nation, and he can get up and move. He will certainly fit in nicely with the speed at which the Oregon offense is run.

White should be able to bulk up (and hopefully not lose much quickness) and be at beast on the defensive side of the ball.

Heimuli really shocked most everyone by choosing Oregon over UCLA Washington and Utah (his home state team), but it’s a good thing he did. Earlier, defensive studs Gabe King, Chris McCain and Bjoern Werner, three Oregon hopefuls, selected other schools.

3) UCLA
The Bruins sure added a good class. They’re another team that I expect to see at or near the top of the Pac-10 in the next couple of years.

UCLA grabbed a couple of good USC recruits in linebacker Josh Shirley and safety Dietrich Riley — just what the doctor ordered for a crosstown rivalry.

They also managed to lure 5-star defensive stud Owamagbe Odighizuwa away from Oregon State and Nebraska. Honestly, I thought the kid might be headed to Nebraska.

2) Cal
Cal did a great job of recruiting. The only real question is, “will they convert to wins.”

Seems that Cal gets themselves touted as being one of the top Pac-10 teams before the season, but then they fade off in to the sunset before doing much damage in the conference.

Defensive guys like Gabe King, Chris McCain, Cecil Whiteside, Dave Wilkerson and the number five overall prospect Keenan Allen are one of the reasons I ranked Cal is high as I did. I think these guys are going to get Cal to turn the corner and actually be a top-ranked Pac-10 team at season’s end — not just pre-season.

1) USC
That’s right, Pete Carroll left and USC still pulls in the top recruiting class. Seems that only some of the Carroll recruits actually decided to bolt to another school.

First-year Trojans coach Lane Kiffin reeled in the number one or two (depends on who is doing the rating) overall recruit Seantrel Henderson. Henderson did commit, but has not signed. He has said he’d like to wait to see what, if anything, the NCAA will do with their ongoing investigation of the football team.

The Trojans hauled in mostly 4 and 5-star recruits as usual, many of whom are on the offensive side of the ball. But they also managed the big studs on the much in need of help defense.

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