Ball State 2004 — Recruiting Outcomes

Hits & Misses

Hit: Dan Gerberry (IOL) — Originally unranked. Outcome: Undrafted NFL Roster. Despite being unranked initially, Gerberry exceeded expectations by making it onto an NFL roster. Hit: Darius Hill (WR) — Originally unranked. Outcome: Undrafted NFL Roster. Hill, another unranked recruit, impressively made his way onto an NFL roster. Miss: Warren Suess (QB) — Originally unranked. Outcome: Bust. Suess, unfortunately, didn't live up to his potential and ended up as a bust. Miss: Jonathan Belcher (DL) — Originally unranked. Outcome: Bust. Belcher, like Suess, had high hopes but ultimately didn't make the mark as expected.

Development Story

Ball State's 2004 recruitment class was a mixed bag when it came to the development of the players. Despite the original ranking of 55, the class was reranked to 80, indicating that the original expectations may have been somewhat overestimated. With 0% blue chip recruits, the focus was on developing the raw talent that came through the doors. The success stories like Gerberry and Hill showed that potential could be unearthed and developed from unranked players. However, the class also had its fair share of misses. Despite the best efforts, players like Suess and Belcher didn't reach the heights that were hoped for them. These players serve as a reminder that not all unranked recruits can be turned into success stories.

Outcome Summary

Based on the outcomes, it's clear that the 2004 Ball State recruiting class underperformed expectations. The S2S rerank dropped from the original class rank, indicating that the overall performance of the class didn't live up to the original ranking. While there were some notable exceptions, the class as a whole did not meet the high hopes set for it. The key takeaway is that the Ball State 2004 class had potential, but didn't quite manage to realize it.