The CheckerBoard

1. I don't know for sure if there's a specific number grade that corresponds with a certain star rating, but I'll check on that. Generally, anything around a 90 is at least a four-star, and then five-stars often start around 98, I think. Three-stars appear to be somewhere around 80-89. But those numbers may not be tied directly to those star ratings. I'll let you know for sure as soon as I get an answer.

2. A prospect's 247Sports rating is the rating he has received from 247Sports' analysts. The 247Composite is an industry-generated rating that's comprised of multiple sites' prospect rankings. It's not an average of those rankings, but it's the result of some sort of complicated formula that gives us an across-the-board look at how a prospect is rated by various sites and services.

3. A Top247 prospect is simply someone who's in our Top247 — literally, the top 247 prospects in the country. Some people recognize the top 250 or top 300 in their rankings, but for ours — because we're named 247Sports — we chose to identify the top 247 in a special category.

I believe the stars are tied to the numeric ranking.

I like that aspect of this site, because it places more emphasis on the actual number. It makes people differentiate between a 91-4* and a 97-4*. This system helps removes people from the oversimplified way of thinking that comes with the start system on other sites. Here the stars aren't subjective, the number grade (1-100) is subjective and the stars are just what fall out of that number grade.

Much better way of doing things, imo.