Hits & Misses
Hit: Juan Nunez (WR) — Originally unranked. Outcome: All Conference. Nunez achieved a high outcome label as an All Conference player, showing significant contributions to the team despite being unranked.
Hit: Phil Swanson (IOL) — Originally unranked. Outcome: All Conference. Swanson also excelled to become an All Conference player, demonstrating that unranked recruits can make substantial impacts.
Miss: Glenis Thompson (RB) — Originally ranked 826. Outcome: College Starter. Thompson did not reach expectations set by his ranking, finishing as a college starter rather than a higher accolade.
Miss: Mark Berghuis (LB) — Originally ranked 984. Outcome: Bust. Berghuis failed to make a positive impact on the team, falling short of expectations and being labeled a Bust.
Development Story
The 2006 recruiting class for Western Michigan showcases a mix of outcomes, particularly highlighting the success of unranked recruits who exceeded expectations. Both Juan Nunez and Phil Swanson rose to the level of All Conference players, indicating that the program effectively developed talent that was overlooked by traditional recruiting metrics. This demonstrates a potential trend within Western Michigan’s recruiting philosophy, favoring the development of lesser-known players into standout performers.
On the other hand, the class also included a couple of notable misses. Glenis Thompson and Mark Berghuis, both ranked recruits, did not achieve outcomes that aligned with their early expectations. Thompson finished as a College Starter, which, while respectable, did not reflect the higher aspirations typically associated with a recruit of his ranking. Berghuis, on the other hand, was labeled a Bust, indicating a complete failure to meet any expectations set during the recruiting process.
Overall, this class illustrates the variability in recruiting outcomes, where unranked players can outperform expectations while some higher-ranked prospects may not fulfill their potential.
Outcome Summary
The 2006 recruiting class for Western Michigan generally met expectations, with significant contributions from unranked recruits. The S2S rerank improved from 112 to 100, suggesting a positive assessment of the talent that emerged from the class, particularly with the standout performances of Nunez and Swanson. However, the presence of misses among ranked recruits, such as Thompson and Berghuis, indicates that while the class had its successes, there were also notable disappointments. The takeaway from this class is the importance of player development and the potential for unranked recruits to make significant impacts.