Alabama head coach Nick Saban tracks his defensive backs as they work through drills during practice on Dec. 2, 2014, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.If the Southeastern Conference decided its football champion based on recruiting rankings, the Missouri Tigers wouldn't stand a chance this weekend.
Saturday's showdown in the Georgia Dome between No. 16 Missouri and No. 1 Alabama will provide the sharpest of contrasts in analyzed talent. Alabama coach Nick Saban has landed Rivals.com's No. 1 signing class each of the past four winters and has the top projected crop for 2015, while Gary Pinkel's Tigers have resided near or at the bottom of the SEC recruiting landscape since joining the league.
"I've never, ever looked at a recruiting ranking since I've been coaching," Pinkel said. "We have an evaluation system that we use, and we've never talked about stars on any player ever. We have a thing called 'Mizzou Made' here, and we think we've developed players as good or better than anyone in the country. We have an infrastructure set to do that -- athletically, personally, academically, player development -- and it's a system I learned from Don James when I was with him at the University of Washington.
"We've tweaked it a little bit, because you always try to make it better, but we just do what we do, and I think it would be hard to say that we haven't had a little bit of success doing it our way."
The Tigers are 14-2 in SEC games the past two seasons, a record matched only by Alabama. Yet Missouri's past four recruiting classes have been ranked 48th, 31st, 41st and 34th nationally by Rivals.com.
In their three years as an SEC member, Missouri's signing hauls have been ranked 11th, 14th and 12th within the league.
"I don't know how much validity recruiting rankings actually have," Saban said. "Sometimes I don't know what comes first in recruiting rankings, the cart or the horse. When a guy gets recruited by a lot of high-profile programs, he gets ranked higher, and that's where I question the validity of how accurate some of those things may be.
"It does speak to the job that Gary and his staff have done in building their team and building their program and the very good job they've done in recruiting players as well as developing those players."
While Alabama has racked up 54 four-star prospects and 16 five-star prospects in its last four classes, Missouri has compiled just five four-star prospects and one five-star recruit. Quarterback Maty Mauk, tailback Russell Hansbrough, receiver Bud Sasser, offensive lineman Mitch Morse, and defensive ends Markus Golden and Shane Ray each signed with the Tigers as three-star prospects.
"It speaks volumes about the player development program we have here," Morse said. "Coach Pinkel recruits the kind of guy who is going to be dedicated to the team. There are really no bad apples on the team, and when you're able to compete at a high level in practice and push each other, the possibilities are endless."
Said Sasser: "It's more of a family atmosphere here, so no one is worried about your rankings or what star-level you were when you came in from high school."
Missouri's lone five-star signee since joining the SEC was receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, who was Rivals.com's top overall prospect in 2012. Green-Beckham flourished in last season's SEC championship game, amassing six catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-42 loss to Auburn, but he had two marijuana-related arrests during his time in Columbia before being dismissed in May following a domestic incident.
Saban had to part with two five-star prospects in the last two years -- tailback Dee Hart and defensive back Eddie Williams -- but has watched many more develop into outstanding players. In fact, the talent overflow in Tuscaloosa has resulted in Alabama being expected to win each and every week.
The Crimson Tide are 14.5-point favorites Saturday, and the last time they weren't favored was the 2009 SEC title game against Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators.
"When you come here, it is for a reason, because Alabama isn't for everybody," Tide junior center Ryan Kelly said. "There is a way Coach Saban does things and a way we do things at Alabama that make us a little bit different from everyone else.
"We bring in the best recruits and some of the greatest athletes that I've ever been around -- we've just got to continue doing what we're doing."
As does Missouri, which tends to make the most out of unheralded recruits.
"I was able to become a way better player compared to when I walked in," Golden said. "I have to give it to our coaches, because they push us to be great."
Tide tidbits
Alabama worked indoors Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's game. ... Left tackle Cam Robinson (shoulder), tight end Brin Vogler (knee) and receiver ArDarius Stewart (knee) each practiced, with Saban saying that linebacker Denzel Devall (ankle) was the "most questionable" player. ... Saban said Adam Griffith resumed kicking off in practice but that Griffith or JK Scott could kick off Saturday.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.