National Signing Day Thread

[SouthSideRyan]

 

How's your school doing?

 

A mediocre recruiting class= third in the big ten for years to come.

 

Not so fast my friend

[stuy119]

Auburn's recruiting class is ranked #16 at rivals, but they were ranked #7 in 2007 and #10 in 2006, so this has been characterized as a largely mediocre class. Welcome to the Nick Saban era in the state of Alabama.

 

One of the top RB recruits in the nation, Enrique Davis (212lb 4.39 forty), decomitted after Auburn made the shift to the spread offense in December. Our new offensive coordinator, Tony Franklin, has since visited Davis and tried to convince him that he'll still get a lot of carries with the new offense. If I had to guess, he'll end up signing elsewhere..Tennessee perhaps? Auburn is already very deep at RB, so this wouldn't be a huge loss.

 

Auburn does have 2 five star recruits (1 DE and 1 OL), 5 four star recruits (3 ATH, 1 RB, 1 DE) and 17 three star recruits. Tuberville has been fairly good at picking sleepers over the years, so I can only hope that some of the three star recruits overachieve.

 

AU just lost Jarmon Fortson, however.

 

FSU is having a big year. Great class, and several big fish still out there that we have a chance at, including Julio Jones (and possibly Robert Lester), Josh Jenkins, TJ Bryant, and Corey Liuget.

 

This could be a class that FINALLY gets us back to the upper echelon of college football.

[imb]

People get too caught up in class rankings. Aside from the fact that these type of things are hugely subjective anyway, the key is to recruit at positions to keep yourself from ending up in a future hole. You could recruit 3 5 star QBs and 3 5 star RBs and end up with a highly ranked class, but in the end there's only so much PT to go around.

[Butterscup1679666578]

People get too caught up in class rankings. Aside from the fact that these type of things are hugely subjective anyway, the key is to recruit at positions to keep yourself from ending up in a future hole. You could recruit 3 5 star QBs and 3 5 star RBs and end up with a highly ranked class, but in the end there's only so much PT to go around.

 

True, but for some people (like myself) who has limited knowledge on prep football players, it's nice to have a general measure of how a team is doing recruiting-wise.

[Andy]

Just found out that ND replaced Omar Hunter (stolen from us by Urban Scum, and actually the event that pushed Florida past ND on Rivals's recruiting rankings) with a top 200 defensive end by the name of Kapron Lewis-Moore. Excellent.

[cbbryan]

Illinois is ranked 18 by Scout.com:

 

Headliners: A.J. Jenkins (WR), Reggie Ellis (DT)

 

Ron Zook is at it again and you can bet that as long as he’s in charge of this program that they will be a fixture in the top 20 recruiting rankings. The Illini grabbed a solid signal caller from the south in Jacob Charest (QB) and some quality backs in Mikel Leshoure, Jason Ford and Deries Hodge. They also landed some top flight players on the edge in A.J. Jenkins (WR) and Cordale Scott (WR). They should compliment Arrelious Benn very nicely in Champaign. Hubie Graham should develop into a quality tight end. Across the offensive front, Illinois is bringing in four OLs, including one of the better tackle prospects from the Midwest in Graham Pocic. Reggie Ellis (DT), Corey Liuget (DE) and Glenn Foster (DE) lead this defensive class. Donsay Hardemann (S) is one of the top JuCo defensive backs in the nation. Illinois would love to close with Jamie Harper (RB) away from the Sunshine State.

 

If Zook manages to pull Harper to Illinois I'd be blown away. He visited Illinois early before any other school, but he's also visited Miami and Florida State.

 

His scouting report:

 

Jamie Harper has good size and if he doesn’t blow by you he can run through you or make you miss. He runs with power, finishes runs and has a good stiff arm. He shows excellent quickness, hips, feet and the ability to make a defender look silly in the open field. Harper has good vision, balance and instincts and can stop on a dime and show extraordinary change of direction and athleticism. Harper has blazing speed and is so explosive.

 

He runs a 4.35 40! I'd call that blazing speed.

 

I can't wait until Wednesday to see what he decides. He'd get every opportunity to play right away at Illinois. That's got to be a big plus to Zook's pitch.

[dew1679666265]

People get too caught up in class rankings. Aside from the fact that these type of things are hugely subjective anyway, the key is to recruit at positions to keep yourself from ending up in a future hole. You could recruit 3 5 star QBs and 3 5 star RBs and end up with a highly ranked class, but in the end there's only so much PT to go around.

 

True, but for some people (like myself) who has limited knowledge on prep football players, it's nice to have a general measure of how a team is doing recruiting-wise.

 

I like looking at the rankings too, but have to keep in mind that they change some guys' ranking depending on who's recruiting him.

 

If a two star is being recruited by FAU, FIU and Central Florida and then UF jumps in on him, his ranking likely goes up to three or four star. Then, if UF loses interest somehow, if no other major team gets involved, the kid could fall back to a two star.

 

Rankings are definitely cool to keep track of and an easy way to have an idea of the talent of a kid, but they're not the be all end all many fans think they are.

 

Keep in mind, Ed Orgeron always had highly ranked recruiting classes...

[snoodmonger]

Use the Rivals rankings, not the Scout. Scout is garbage a football. (And Rivals is terrible at Hoops).

 

KU has done very well by KU standards.

 

Got the #1 Juco RB and another 4* Juco OL.

 

Our HS lineman are all huge and look to have potential.

 

Got a big decommit from Neb's DL (Darius Parrish) and a high-rated spread QB who decommitted from Ark (with the unfortunate last name of "Pick.")

 

Some other good talent there too. Everyone is 3* and up.

 

Also, here's an interesting article that re-ranks the 2004 recruiting class based on how they've performed on the field. Pretty interesting, even if it is scout.

 

http://cfn.scout.com/2/726003.html

[rawaction]

For the record, I've seen Gabbard play, and I have not been the least bit impressed by him. He has a great arm and good mobility, but I haven't seen him throw an accurate pass yet.

[CuseCubFan69]

I'm pretty happy with our recruiting class as long as they all do officially sign and it will be the best since Robinson has been here.

[TruffleShuffle]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

[Derwood]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

yes, but Penn State is notorious at not coaching QB's well. they've sent, what, two starting QB's to the NFL in the last 20+ years? (Collins/Blackledge)

[CuseCubFan69]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

With all the great teams Joe has had, he's never developed a really good QB.

[Derwood]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

With all the great teams Joe has had, he's never developed a really good QB.

 

it's because to him, the function of a QB is to hand the ball off, manage the clock, etc. the cliche is that the game has passed him by, but when you watch him every game every year (and read the local papers), it's totally true. the only reason the 2005 team opened the offense up with Michael Robinson is because the playcalling was "taken away" from Paterno that year. I guarantee that the next head coach at PSU (assuming it isn't Jay) will make big changes to the offensive philosophy

[TruffleShuffle]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

With all the great teams Joe has had, he's never developed a really good QB.

 

kerry collins was a very good college and was okay in the nfl. but not a really good nfl quarterback, obviously.

[CuseCubFan69]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

With all the great teams Joe has had, he's never developed a really good QB.

 

kerry collins was a very good college and was okay in the nfl. but not a really good nfl quarterback, obviously.

 

With all the recruits he has had, he has had to have fallen into the blind squirrel find nut theory. He's probably one of the best recruiters in college football history for a LB though.

[TruffleShuffle]

it's because to him, the function of a QB is to hand the ball off, manage the clock, etc. the cliche is that the game has passed him by, but when you watch him every game every year (and read the local papers), it's totally true. the only reason the 2005 team opened the offense up with Michael Robinson is because the playcalling was "taken away" from Paterno that year. I guarantee that the next head coach at PSU (assuming it isn't Jay) will make big changes to the offensive philosophy

 

someone at work who knows a lot about psu football that i don't has said that there's no way that jay will be the psu head coach. he's too unpopular and isn't regarded as hc material, at least for a prominent d-i program. he also said that this isn't really talked about, but people close to the program think that a non-insignificant part of joe's decision to stay or retire has to do with his son. he and his wife believe that if he retires and a new coach comes in, that they'll bring in their own staff, and that staff will not retain his son. so his son will move to another job in another town, so joe won't be living near his closest son and grandkids any more.

 

i'm sure a lot of people don't like that as a reason to stay around too long, but it is what it is.

[stuy119]

Illinois is ranked 18 by Scout.com:

 

Headliners: A.J. Jenkins (WR), Reggie Ellis (DT)

 

Ron Zook is at it again and you can bet that as long as he’s in charge of this program that they will be a fixture in the top 20 recruiting rankings. The Illini grabbed a solid signal caller from the south in Jacob Charest (QB) and some quality backs in Mikel Leshoure, Jason Ford and Deries Hodge. They also landed some top flight players on the edge in A.J. Jenkins (WR) and Cordale Scott (WR). They should compliment Arrelious Benn very nicely in Champaign. Hubie Graham should develop into a quality tight end. Across the offensive front, Illinois is bringing in four OLs, including one of the better tackle prospects from the Midwest in Graham Pocic. Reggie Ellis (DT), Corey Liuget (DE) and Glenn Foster (DE) lead this defensive class. Donsay Hardemann (S) is one of the top JuCo defensive backs in the nation. Illinois would love to close with Jamie Harper (RB) away from the Sunshine State.

 

If Zook manages to pull Harper to Illinois I'd be blown away. He visited Illinois early before any other school, but he's also visited Miami and Florida State.

 

His scouting report:

 

Jamie Harper has good size and if he doesn’t blow by you he can run through you or make you miss. He runs with power, finishes runs and has a good stiff arm. He shows excellent quickness, hips, feet and the ability to make a defender look silly in the open field. Harper has good vision, balance and instincts and can stop on a dime and show extraordinary change of direction and athleticism. Harper has blazing speed and is so explosive.

 

He runs a 4.35 40! I'd call that blazing speed.

 

I can't wait until Wednesday to see what he decides. He'd get every opportunity to play right away at Illinois. That's got to be a big plus to Zook's pitch.

 

While I would love to see Harper at FSU, IMO he's headed to Clemson. Or at least that's what I've heard from my sources at FSU.

[hawkeyecub]

People get too caught up in class rankings. Aside from the fact that these type of things are hugely subjective anyway, the key is to recruit at positions to keep yourself from ending up in a future hole. You could recruit 3 5 star QBs and 3 5 star RBs and end up with a highly ranked class, but in the end there's only so much PT to go around.

 

True, but for some people (like myself) who has limited knowledge on prep football players, it's nice to have a general measure of how a team is doing recruiting-wise.

 

I like looking at the rankings too, but have to keep in mind that they change some guys' ranking depending on who's recruiting him.

 

If a two star is being recruited by FAU, FIU and Central Florida and then UF jumps in on him, his ranking likely goes up to three or four star. Then, if UF loses interest somehow, if no other major team gets involved, the kid could fall back to a two star.

 

Rankings are definitely cool to keep track of and an easy way to have an idea of the talent of a kid, but they're not the be all end all many fans think they are.

 

Keep in mind, Ed Orgeron always had highly ranked recruiting classes...

 

Exactly. Plus in football there is so much more that goes into development that just can't be predicted. At least in basketball you're talking about only something like 40-50 players coming into a conference like the Big Ten each year. Half of them will probably play right away. Most of the evaluators and coaches have seen every one of those guys play live.

 

In football you're talking about over 200 more players coming into a conference each year. Outside of the top 100 guys nationally that everyone can come to some agreement on, it's mostly a crapshoot. How do you really tell between the 24th best guard and the 39th best guard? From the 62nd inside linebacker to 104th. It's so incredibly subjective and most of it is just piggy-backing on each other.

 

Beyond that, they're skewed so that the power schools will always have the top classes. Last year LB Brian Smith was committed to Iowa and was ranked a 3-star all the way through the process and their updated rankings. In January when Notre Dame offered and he decided to go there, he became a 4-star.

This year Jermil Martin picked Iowa over offers from West Virginia and Wisconsin but was ranked a 2-star. Those are some big-time programs. Then in the middle of January Ohio State offers, he commits there and overnight he becomes a 3-star.

 

I understand part of that rationale, but it's just so blatant that it's impossible for me to take the rankings seriously.

[Derwood]

not sure that we will be able to match ohio state's offer to pryor.

 

i don't think jay paterno ruined morrelli, i don't think morrelli was ever that good to begin with. i'd heard long before last year that he was stupid. his problems weren't in arm strength and his accuracy was adequate, but he was terrible at making decisions. there's only so much that a coaching staff can do in that respect.

 

With all the great teams Joe has had, he's never developed a really good QB.

 

kerry collins was a very good college and was okay in the nfl. but not a really good nfl quarterback, obviously.

 

he was a good college QB his senior year (not so much his junior) and was a solid but not spectacular QB in the pros. He helped Carolina get a decent record early in their existence and went to the SB with the Giants

[hawkeyecub]

By the way I'm not just ranting because Iowa's class is ranked 51st in the nation by Rivals and 38th by Scout.

I said the same things in '05 when we had a top 10 class. 11 of those 23 are no longer in the program either for injury or disciplinary problems. About half of the class has contributed on offense/defense but there's been no stars at all.

On the flip side our '06 class was ranked 40th. 19 of those 21 are still on the roster. Almost all of the 19 have contributed and despite being a year younger they've performed better as a whole.

Of course there's always the debate that's been on our board 100,000 times about Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders and the vast majority of our stars from our '02-'05 run being 2, 3 or no star guys.

 

Iowa has 25 committments already and Mark Ingram a 4-star RB will decide between us and Alabama this afternoon. It will be the worst ranked class in years for Ferentz, but it's also the biggest and gives us depth at needed spots.

We signed 2 true QB's, 4 RB's, 4 DE's, 5 DB's. Jeff Brinson (RB from FL who turned down FSU), John Wienke (Elite 11 QB who was a Michigan commit), and a JUCO RB who was going to K-State.

[Keener98]

Illinois is ranked 18 by Scout.com:

 

Headliners: A.J. Jenkins (WR), Reggie Ellis (DT)

 

Ron Zook is at it again and you can bet that as long as he’s in charge of this program that they will be a fixture in the top 20 recruiting rankings. The Illini grabbed a solid signal caller from the south in Jacob Charest (QB) and some quality backs in Mikel Leshoure, Jason Ford and Deries Hodge. They also landed some top flight players on the edge in A.J. Jenkins (WR) and Cordale Scott (WR). They should compliment Arrelious Benn very nicely in Champaign. Hubie Graham should develop into a quality tight end. Across the offensive front, Illinois is bringing in four OLs, including one of the better tackle prospects from the Midwest in Graham Pocic. Reggie Ellis (DT), Corey Liuget (DE) and Glenn Foster (DE) lead this defensive class. Donsay Hardemann (S) is one of the top JuCo defensive backs in the nation. Illinois would love to close with Jamie Harper (RB) away from the Sunshine State.

 

If Zook manages to pull Harper to Illinois I'd be blown away. He visited Illinois early before any other school, but he's also visited Miami and Florida State.

 

His scouting report:

 

Jamie Harper has good size and if he doesn’t blow by you he can run through you or make you miss. He runs with power, finishes runs and has a good stiff arm. He shows excellent quickness, hips, feet and the ability to make a defender look silly in the open field. Harper has good vision, balance and instincts and can stop on a dime and show extraordinary change of direction and athleticism. Harper has blazing speed and is so explosive.

 

He runs a 4.35 40! I'd call that blazing speed.

 

I can't wait until Wednesday to see what he decides. He'd get every opportunity to play right away at Illinois. That's got to be a big plus to Zook's pitch.

 

While I would love to see Harper at FSU, IMO he's headed to Clemson. Or at least that's what I've heard from my sources at FSU.

 

If he goes to Clemson he will be waiting to see alot of playing time with their top running back coming back for his senior season. I wouldnt be surprised at all to see him at U of I, as Im sure Zook is pushing playing time hard with him. As it stands U of I's class looks damn good, but if we could land Harper, our class is tremendous. The speed being brought in by Zook is crazy. I cant wait to see Jarrod Fayson line up opposite Benn, and possibly Jenkins.

[Keener98]

By the way I'm not just ranting because Iowa's class is ranked 51st in the nation by Rivals and 38th by Scout.

I said the same things in '05 when we had a top 10 class. 11 of those 23 are no longer in the program either for injury or disciplinary problems. About half of the class has contributed on offense/defense but there's been no stars at all.

On the flip side our '06 class was ranked 40th. 19 of those 21 are still on the roster. Almost all of the 19 have contributed and despite being a year younger they've performed better as a whole.

Of course there's always the debate that's been on our board 100,000 times about Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders and the vast majority of our stars from our '02-'05 run being 2, 3 or no star guys.

 

Iowa has 25 committments already and Mark Ingram a 4-star RB will decide between us and Alabama this afternoon. It will be the worst ranked class in years for Ferentz, but it's also the biggest and gives us depth at needed spots.

We signed 2 true QB's, 4 RB's, 4 DE's, 5 DB's. Jeff Brinson (RB from FL who turned down FSU), John Wienke (Elite 11 QB who was a Michigan commit), and a JUCO RB who was going to K-State.

 

 

Ive seen Wienke play, and I really wasnt that impressed. He comes from a very good program, but its also very very QB friendly. There is a big time difference in playing 1A-2A in Illinois, and playing in the Big Ten.

[hawkeyecub]

By the way I'm not just ranting because Iowa's class is ranked 51st in the nation by Rivals and 38th by Scout.

I said the same things in '05 when we had a top 10 class. 11 of those 23 are no longer in the program either for injury or disciplinary problems. About half of the class has contributed on offense/defense but there's been no stars at all.

On the flip side our '06 class was ranked 40th. 19 of those 21 are still on the roster. Almost all of the 19 have contributed and despite being a year younger they've performed better as a whole.

Of course there's always the debate that's been on our board 100,000 times about Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders and the vast majority of our stars from our '02-'05 run being 2, 3 or no star guys.

 

Iowa has 25 committments already and Mark Ingram a 4-star RB will decide between us and Alabama this afternoon. It will be the worst ranked class in years for Ferentz, but it's also the biggest and gives us depthhttp://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/posting.php?mode=quote&f=4&p=1659422

http://www.northsidebaseball.com • Post a reply at needed spots.

We signed 2 true QB's, 4 RB's, 4 DE's, 5 DB's. Jeff Brinson (RB from FL who turned down FSU), John Wienke (Elite 11 QB who was a Michigan commit), and a JUCO RB who was going to K-State.

 

 

Ive seen Wienke play, and I really wasnt that impressed. He comes from a very good program, but its also very very QB friendly. There is a big time difference in playing 1A-2A in Illinois, and playing in the Big Ten.

 

Yeah it seems pretty mixed on him. I know a couple of guys who saw him in the playoffs and didn't think he was worthy of a Michigan offer. But he's a 6'4 200lb. QB with a big arm and some guys apparently thought he was good enough to go to the Elite 11 camp and get some nice offers. I've heard one of his biggest weaknesses is that he can have clumsy footwork. I think he'll definitely have a couple of years to develop.

 

Absolutely everyone I know in Illinois and the evaluators raved about Jake Christensen coming out of high school. It wasn't all his fault last year, but he hasn't shown what everyone was expecting.

[Keener98]

By the way I'm not just ranting because Iowa's class is ranked 51st in the nation by Rivals and 38th by Scout.

I said the same things in '05 when we had a top 10 class. 11 of those 23 are no longer in the program either for injury or disciplinary problems. About half of the class has contributed on offense/defense but there's been no stars at all.

On the flip side our '06 class was ranked 40th. 19 of those 21 are still on the roster. Almost all of the 19 have contributed and despite being a year younger they've performed better as a whole.

Of course there's always the debate that's been on our board 100,000 times about Dallas Clark, Bob Sanders and the vast majority of our stars from our '02-'05 run being 2, 3 or no star guys.

 

Iowa has 25 committments already and Mark Ingram a 4-star RB will decide between us and Alabama this afternoon. It will be the worst ranked class in years for Ferentz, but it's also the biggest and gives us depthhttp://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/posting.php?mode=quote&f=4&p=1659422

http://www.northsidebaseball.com • Post a reply at needed spots.

We signed 2 true QB's, 4 RB's, 4 DE's, 5 DB's. Jeff Brinson (RB from FL who turned down FSU), John Wienke (Elite 11 QB who was a Michigan commit), and a JUCO RB who was going to K-State.

 

 

Ive seen Wienke play, and I really wasnt that impressed. He comes from a very good program, but its also very very QB friendly. There is a big time difference in playing 1A-2A in Illinois, and playing in the Big Ten.

 

Yeah it seems pretty mixed on him. I know a couple of guys who saw him in the playoffs and didn't think he was worthy of a Michigan offer. But he's a 6'4 200lb. QB with a big arm and some guys apparently thought he was good enough to go to the Elite 11 camp and get some nice offers. I've heard one of his biggest weaknesses is that he can have clumsy footwork. I think he'll definitely have a couple of years to develop.

 

Absolutely everyone I know in Illinois and the evaluators raved about Jake Christensen coming out of high school. It wasn't all his fault last year, but he hasn't shown what everyone was expecting.

 

My biggest concern with him would be his ability to read a D, and make throws against D1 level corners. 1A-2A in Illinois the kids dont know how to play CB, and basically any team with a QB who can throw decent can be good. Its just a huge step up from 1A-2A in Illinois to Big Ten football.