Here's why I don't like using RANK instead of "Relative Rating" when calculating Recruit Class Value. These are from the latest Yost D1A recruiting class. The rating numbers are from my "beta" spreadsheet, so they are using the base position values in the GD 3.0 engine, not current GUESS ratings, but the principle is the same.
RATING RANK RRV "Rating" RRV "Rank"
Using Rank makes no differentiation between player scores, so in this case, a guy who is a full five points lower in rating is still pulling in a 95% Rank value.
One "problem" with Relative Ratings, of course, is that AC-signed players skew the bottom numbers, so the range between the top score and the bottom score is larger than it would be if no walk-ons were involved. The Median (middle value) is almost always higher than the Mean (average value) because the AC signings skew the average down. Here's the middle 10% of that same sample.
To answer jmcgarry's question : None of this REALLY matters at all, since it's all for fun anyway. No rating formula is "right", since the game doesn't work on 10% of ATH + 30% of STR + whatever when it comes to determining results anyway. Still, I want the ratings to be as good as they CAN be, and penalizing a recruiting class because they had to sign a QB or a K - or worse, two QB's and a K, as I had to do this season - just doesn't seem to make sense.