Recruiting articles pulled from the wire

[Seamus]

SABAN AND DAVIS SHOW THEY CAN STILL RECRUIT


By THAYER EVANS

New York Times News Service


¶

They have yet to coach in a game since returning to college football, but Alabama’s Nick Saban and North Carolina’s Butch Davis are well on their way toward transforming the programs they were hired to revive. ¶

Saban and Davis signed recruiting classes Wednesday that were ranked among the nation’s best, according to the Internet recruiting networks Rivals.com and Scout.com. ¶

Alabama’s haul on national signing day was rated No. 10 in the country by Rivals and No. 19 by Scout, while North Carolina’s class was ranked No. 16 by Rivals and No. 15 by Scout. ¶

Before Saban’s arrival last month from the Miami Dolphins, Alabama’s recruiting class was probably headed for a mid-20s finish, and North Carolina was simply looking at a top-50 class before the hiring of Davis in November, said Scott Kennedy, director of national combines for Scout.com. ¶

The Rivals national recruiting editor, Jeremy Crabtree, said in a telephone interview Wednesday, "If you look at what those two schools have done this year so quickly, it really kind of proved to everybody that they are going to be two elite recruiting programs." ¶

Florida, the defending national champion, signed the nation’s top-rated recruiting class, and Southern California, Tennessee, Louisiana State and Texas rounded out the consensus top five. ¶

Rutgers used this past season’s success to sign a class of 21 Wednesday that is rated No. 37 by Rivals and No. 28 by Scout. Last year’s class was ranked as high as No. 45 nationally. ¶

The Scarlet Knights’ top recruits are the Piscataway (N.J.) offensive tackle Anthony Davis and the Union (N.J.) linebacker Manny Abreu, both of whom are among the nation’s top 100 players, according to Scout. Davis is ranked second and Abreu is rated third by Scout at their respective positions nationally. ¶

Combined, the two had scholarship offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Southern California. ¶

"This is another big day for the upward movement of our program," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said Wednesday. ¶

The class that Rutgers signed might be the best in the program’s history, said Bob Lichtenfels, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com. Being able to keep Thomas and Abreu in state should help the Scarlet Knight with future recruiting, he said. ¶

"Next year’s class is going to look at that, and they’re going to say, ‘Well maybe it is cool to go to Rutgers,’" Lichtenfels said. ¶

The Don Bosco Prep School quarterback Matt Simms, the son of the former Giants quarterback Phil Simms, signed with Louisville. He had dropped his commitment to Louisville after coach Bobby Petrino left for the Atlanta Falcons, then recommitted last month. ¶

The nation’s top-rated running back, Joe McKnight of John Curtis Christian School outside New Orleans, signed with Southern California. ¶

"A lot of people are sleeping on USC," McKnight said. "We’re just going to have to come out and prove we’re the best recruiting class next year." ¶

North Carolina’s signings included defensive tackle Marvin Austin of Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., and wide receiver Greg Little of Durham (N.C.) Hillside High School. ¶

Austin, the nation’s top-rated defensive tackle, chose the Tar Heels over Florida State, while Little reneged on an oral commitment he made to Notre Dame. ¶

North Carolina finished 3-9 last season, which led to the firing of coach John Bunting after six seasons there. ¶

Little said: "It’s amazing what they’ve done in this little time. I can only imagine what they can put together in a whole year’s time with recruiting." ¶

Kennedy, of Scout. com, said, "North Carolina is going to be a national player over the next couple of years." ¶

Davis, a former Miami Hurricanes coach, who has not coached since resigning from the Cleveland Browns in 2004, said he had roughly 50 days to recruit at North Carolina, 30 to 35 of which he spent on the road. ¶

He credited his team’s fast recruiting success to its assistant coaches. One of those coaches, John Blake, a former Oklahoma coach, was instrumental in landing Austin. ¶

Sabansecured 14 of the 24 players who signed letters of intent with the Crimson Tide, including the highly touted defensive tackle Luther Davis of West Monroe (La.) High School. ¶

The others were recruited under the tenure of the former Alabama coach Mike Shula, who was dismissed after a 6-6 regular season. ¶

[Seamus]

Texas is a recruiting hotbed ¶

By ALAN TRUBOW ¶

Cox News Service ¶

AUSTIN, Texas — They come from everywhere. From Nebraska. From Michigan. From Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. ¶

They all come here, to pillage. ¶

They pluck athletes and linebackers. They snag linemen and running backs, and they grab cornerbacks and safeties. ¶

Look at most of the schools that signed top recruiting classes on national signing day and they’ll have something in common: a kid from Texas. ¶

Or two. Or three. ¶

National signing day proved very fruitful for LSU and Tennessee, each landing top-five classes in the country according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com. One of the big reasons was Texas kids. ¶

The Volunteers grabbed four-star running back Lennon Creer from Tatum, four-star defensive back Nevin McKenzie from Athens and three-star athlete Darnius Moore from Tatum. The Tigers landed Hempstead receiver Terrence Toliver - the No. 1 recruit in the Austin American-statesman’s Fabulous 55 - along with Round Rock tight end Alex Russian, and four-star recruits Jarrett Lee (Brenham), Jarvis Jones (Rosenberg Lamar) and Ron Brooks (Irving MacArthur). ¶

"You look at most of the schools who recruit well, and if they’re landing in the top five, they’re going to have kids from either Texas, California or Florida," Rivals.com editor-in-chief Bobby Burton said. "That’s just the way it works. Those are the recruiting hotbeds in this country." ¶

That’s why 149 players from Texas signed with out-of-state schools Wednesday. ¶

While Florida, whose 27 recruits added up to the top recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals.com and Scout.com, and USC, the No. 2-ranked class in the nation according to both websites, didn’t sign anybody from Texas, many of the other top schools did. ¶

"A lot of schools come in and pluck Texas," Rivals.com’s Texas recruiting analyst John Talman said. "Michigan got one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Ryan Mallett, LSU got a bunch of guys, Oklahoma State did a really good job, as did Tennessee, Arkansas and Nebraska." ¶

The question is why they have to raid Texas. ¶

The reason is there aren’t enough in-state recruits most places. It’s the same reason Texas coach Mack Brown, who inked the No. 5 class in the country according to Rivals.com, rarely leaves the state to recruit. ¶

Of the Longhorns’ 25 recruits, 24 are from Texas. ¶

"We’ve proven that we can win with Texas kids," Brown said. "We don’t recruit heavily out of state because we don’t need to. We can get linemen, running backs and cornerbacks within the borders. If we can’t find somebody in state, we look out of state." ¶

For that same reason, out-of-state schools turn to Texas. ¶

Nebraska grabbed seven prospects from the Lone Star State. Oklahoma State signed 15. Arkansas (eight), Kansas (7) and Tulsa (11) also prospered from Texas talent. ¶

"Texas tends to put more of an emphasis on sports, plus there are more kids to choose from," Talman said. "Add that, along with the fact that Texas kids tend to be well-coached, and you see why every coach around the country is looking at Texas kids." ¶

Every coach except Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll. ¶

The Gators and Trojans did it without Texans, and they did it well. ¶

"Florida’s class, it’s a class that comes along once or twice a decade," Scout.com’s Allen Wallace said. "They’ve got everything you’d want in a recruiting class. They have star quarterbacks, star running backs, five-star athletes, the top kicker in the country, speed everywhere. Of their 27 recruits, 24 have four or five stars. That’s an amazing amount of depth. ¶

"And USC, well, they’ve signed six of our top 18 recruits in the country. That’s all you need to know about their class. I’ve never seen anything like that." ¶

Actually, we have seen something like that. ¶

Last year, USC was the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Florida was No. 2. ¶

Things didn’t change much in the recruiting world this year. And when it comes to recruiting Texas, next year will be the same. ¶

"Texas is going to have a lot of great athletes next year," Talman said. "It’s going to be one of the deeper classes the state has seen in a while." ¶

And all the schools will be back to pillage. ¶


Alan Trubow writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: atrubow AT statesman.com ¶

[Seamus]

Mom’s the word for recruits ¶

By MICHELLE HISKEY ¶

Cox News Service ¶

ATLANTA — As the best young football players chose their college teams Wednesday, their moms celebrated, too. ¶

Because when it comes to recruiting, everyone knows if mama ain’t happy, her kid won’t play for your team. ¶

Persuading a mother can outweigh charming the son, according to some recruiting experts. ¶

"I’ve found over the years that mothers make more decisions than fathers or the kids," said Camden County (Ga.) High coach Jeff Herron. ¶

Coaches agree: Those who woo moms tend to get the best players. Herron said legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is a master. ¶

"Last year, a kid was being recruited by ‘several schools~; his mother met Bobby Bowden and that was it, that’s where her baby’s going," Herron said. "Bobby is as good as there’s ever been because he directed the whole spiel to the mom and what he was going to do to watch over her son." ¶

Moms like Regina Haynes of Buford, Ga., plan to hold those coaches to their promises. ¶

Her son Sidney, a wide receiver for Peachtree Ridge, signed with the University of Central Florida. "The coach assured me he will graduate with a degree," said Haynes, a payroll manager used to keeping tabs, "and I will hold him accountable." ¶

These moms, especially those who are single, make a defensive line for their sons in a media-intensive process akin to getting engaged on a reality show. Cable TV and Web sites begin tracking their college leanings early in high school. The best players are hounded until they decide. ¶

Decision day was Wednesday, when thousands of high school seniors across the country signed national letters of intent with the college of their choice. The letters are contracts, legally binding a student to that school in exchange for a scholarship. Until then, the top players are inundated with letters, calls and text messages from coaches trying to convince them to pick their school. ¶

To protect their sons, mothers employ the literal meaning of football terms such as safety, guard and scouting. They also rely on their workplace skills. ¶

Among the women collectively exhaling after Wednesday’s big day: Charlotte Heyward-Blackwell, who at 7:08 a.m. Wednesday helped her son Cameron fax his letter of intent to Ohio State. ¶

Heyward-Blackwell, 39, was the point person after Cameron’s father, former NFL star Craig Heyward, died of cancer last spring. ¶

She approached helping Cameron pick a school just as she does previewing homes for her real estate clients. ¶

"You never let your client show how excited they are about a house," said Heyward, who is remarried. "You ask the dirty questions and get the inspection." ¶

She knew that official campus visits, like open houses, hide flaws. She became a mystery shopper, visiting schools unannounced. ¶

What sold her and her son on Ohio State was the couple who gladly guided them to the stadium, even though it was out of their way. Another plus were the fans who, without recognizing Cameron, raved about Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and his personal Web site. ¶

Heyward-Blackwell also watched for clues to her son’s heart. "Ohio State was the only place he wanted to buy memorabilia," she recalled. ¶

"I think of her as a truthful sports agent," said Cameron, 17. "She helped me with things I’m not able to look at and she understands what’s out there, the games coaches try to play." ¶

Sometimes, Mom can hold too much sway, said Jamie Newberg of the Web site Scout.com, which tracks top recruits. ¶

In 2003, California high schooler Whitney Lewis was more highly regarded than future Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. ¶

"He wanted to sign with Florida State but signed with USC ‘Southern California~ because of his mom," Newberg said. "And now he’s at Northern Iowa." ¶

Love, for a football mom, can mean a reality check. ¶

Lisa Claytor of Gainesville, Ga., who is single, recalled spelling it out for her son Nick, an offensive lineman. ¶

"I love you Nicholas and you have to make up your own mind, but I’ve got to be real realistic. It’s going to be real difficult for me and your brother to travel 12 hours to Ohio State with snow and weather conditions." ¶

Nick signed with Georgia Tech. ¶

Love for a football mom can mean reinforcing family values. ¶

Maggie Douglas of Augusta, Ga., helped son John, one of her nine kids, decide on Auburn University by pointing out the warm family feel there. Loyalty is important to the Douglases, so after he verbally announced he would sign with Auburn last summer, he refused to consider other schools. ¶

"I pray for him a lot," she said Tuesday as she planned a cake with the colors of his past and future teams. ¶

Love for a football mom can mean playing devil’s advocate. ¶

Cathy Butler reminded her son Drew, a placekicker, how much he liked visiting Duke. His other choice was the University of Georgia. She tried not to talk about her experience as a cheerleader there, when she met his father Kevin when he kicked for the Bulldogs. ¶

"We’ve already lived our lives. This is his life that’s just beginning and we wanted him to keep an open mind," she said. A generation before, the elder Butler also had been recruited by Auburn and Duke. ¶

Before text messages and cellphones, a mom "didn’t say anything about a school that I didn’t want him to go to," said Sharon Butler, Drew’s grandmother and Kevin’s mother. "I liked the fact that Georgia was so close." ¶

Drew signed with Georgia. He’ll be the fourth generation of his family to go there. ¶

The importance of the mother-son bond recycles each football season. ¶

This weekend, Rivals.com will host the first of several college football information fairs for top high school juniors. Each player can bring an adult they trust. ¶

According to national recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree, three of every four athletes bring their mom. ¶

¶

Michelle Hiskey writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: mhiskey AT ajc.com. ¶

[Seamus]

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: What we learned ¶

Cox News Service ¶

ATLANTA — Guard your cellphone number like a left tackle does his star quarterback. ¶

Don’t believe any coach who tells you you’ll start as a freshman. ¶

And try to judge a college by more than just how pretty the co-eds are. ¶

These are just a few of the tips the signing day class of 2007 has for future recruits. ¶

Having completed the pressure-packed process Wednesday, here’s their entire how-to guide. ¶

¶

Prepare your rejection speech in advance. ¶

"It is hard to tell a coach from a university, ÃI don’t want to take your scholarship,’" said Georgia signee Vince Vance, who had to say as much to none other than Steve Spurrier. "It is kind of awkward to say that." ¶

Ask for help if you must. Twiggs County All-American Chris Little suggests consulting your high school coach for assistance with the wording. ¶

Little’s simple, to-the-point message: "Thanks, but no thanks. It’s not the place for me." ¶

"It’s better to tell them so you’re not wasting their time and they can move on," Little said. ¶

More times than not, recruits found, the losing coaches will take the bad news better than you might think. ¶

"I called and told them I wasn’t coming so they wouldn’t read about it in the paper," Tennessee recruit Eric Berry of Creekside said. "Everybody was respectful." ¶

"Go wherever your heart is," most coaches told Addison Williams, Westlake’s South Carolina signee. ¶

¶

Remember: No means no. ¶

If they want you badly enough, some coaches won’t take "no" for an answer. ¶

That’s what the top-rated prospect in Pennsylvania discovered. ¶

"They’re still going to hound you," said Coatesville’s Derrick Morgan, a Georgia Tech signee. "Penn State was calling like a week before I came ‘to enroll at Tech~, saying there’s still time." ¶

I’m sorry, did you not hear what I said last week? Did we have a bad connection? ¶

"There’s coaches, you tell them no, and they’ll think about it and call you back in a week," said Gainesville’s Nick Claytor, who decided to join Morgan at Tech. "You can’t just not return the calls. Don’t fuel the fire because they’re going to call you back. Tell them. And if you’re going to commit, stay true to your word." ¶

¶

Stay true to your word. Yeah, that’s a big one. ¶

This was the year of the flip-flop, with star prospects saying they’re headed to one school, then pulling the switch the next week. ¶

Luther Davis, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super Southern 100 defensive lineman from West Monroe, La., announced on national TV he was headed to LSU. Then Nick Saban called, and suddenly, Davis was headed to Alabama. ¶

Little did it, too, flipping from Florida State to Notre Dame, then switching again Wednesday by signing with Georgia. ¶

"Definitely take your visits and take your time," advised Tech recruit Clyde Yandell of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "So many kids commit early and de-commit. That not only screws up the schools, but you don’t need to rush your decision. I don’t think that’s a good thing." ¶

¶

That said, if you’re 100 percent sure of where you want to go, go ahead and get it out of the way early. ¶

Berrien offensive lineman Tanner Strickland has known for most of his life he wanted to play college football for the home-state Bulldogs. So when they offered, he jumped at it. Six members of the Class of 2008 have already done likewise, pledging their early allegiance to Mark Richt’s program. ¶

"It really clears your mind," said Strickland, who could just concentrate on getting better his junior and senior seasons. "I had two full seasons of not worrying about where I was going to go." ¶

¶

Make some unpaid trips to be better able to compare schools. ¶

If you’re not like Strickland and don’t have a college you’ve wanted to play for since birth, it helps to check out all your options. ¶

The NCAA allows recruits to take five all-expense paid - or "official" - visits. But that doesn’t mean you can’t hop in the car and make a few other trips on the cheap. ¶

Missouri quarterback Logan Gray checked out 12 colleges, many of them on a Big 12 summer tour his folks funded. He let Georgia pick up the tab on his official visit to Athens, where he plans to spend the next four or five years. ¶

Michigan quarterback Steven Threet did likewise, taking in several one-day camps at various colleges and getting a feel for the position coaches he would work with if he went there. ¶

"You get to talk to coaches on the phone, but you don’t really get a chance to see how they coach," said Threet, who signed with Tech. "That was the thing I liked best about one-day camps. I was actually out there throwing routes, and they were coaching me so I could see what it would be like for four years." ¶

Another bit of advice, care of Georgia signee Clint Boling: Plan your campus visits around big games, so you get a feel for the atmosphere during a rivalry weekend. ¶

¶

If a coach promises playing time, don’t believe anything else that comes out of their mouth. ¶

"I could smell it out when coaches told me what they wanted me to hear," said Brookwood linebacker Rennie Curran, who signed with Georgia. "The one thing I didn’t want to hear was, ÃOh, we are going to give you all the playing time.’ ¶

"The coaches who said you had to earn the playing time, those are the ones you believe." ¶

¶

Remember: Most of these fellas were used car salesmen in another life. ¶

"A lot of them will lie," Little said. ¶

Their job, after all, is to sell their programs - and they’re all pros at it. ¶

"‘Steve Spurrier~ was talking about how they had never won an SEC championship and, ÃYou can be a part of one of the first classes to ever win an SEC championship here,’" Chattahoochee’s Boling said. "That was pretty intriguing." ¶

But isn’t it more attractive to go to a place with a winning tradition than one trying to get there? ¶

"That didn’t occur to me at the time. But yeah," said Boling, who signed with Georgia. ¶

¶

Be prepared. ¶

Before making a campus visit, it helps to know exactly what you’re looking for - from the academic program you want to study to the ... uh ... co-eds. ¶

"Notre Dame didn’t exactly have the best-looking chicks," said Georgia Tech recruit Kyle Jackson of Union Grove. "Not that they were ugly, but they were not what I was looking for. There’s a big difference between Southern girls and all the others." ¶

Tech’s Morgan wanted to see people who looked like him. At Boston College, he didn’t. ¶

Check mark against the Eagles. ¶

"At BC, I didn’t think there was a lot of diversity," Morgan said. ¶

¶

Consult current players. ¶

If you’re looking for honest answers about what goes on, your most trusted source is your future teammates. ¶

"The first thing I did when I got to campus is talk to the offensive linemen - not the coach, the guys who are playing that position," Vance said. "They are going to be the ones who tell how the coaches really are. They are not going to bull jive you." ¶

¶

Think beyond football. ¶

Twenty hours of your week will be spent practicing. Your fall Saturdays are accounted for, too. ¶

But there’s plenty of other time to study and socialize. So it’s wise to look at more than schemes and NFL draft history when choosing a college. ¶

Advises Aquinas fullback John Douglas, an Auburn recruit: "Make sure that if you aren’t playing football there, you’d still want to go to that school." ¶

¶

Do what’s right for YOU. ¶

Not for Mom. Not for Dad. And certainly not for cousin Benny. ¶

They’re not the ones who’ll be spending the next four or five years of their lives on campus. ¶

"The best advice is go wherever makes you happy," said Tift County receiver Israel Troupe, who signed Wednesday with Georgia. "Don’t let people influence you. Go where you want to go. My uncle is a big Florida fan, and he wanted me to go there. And some people wanted me to go to Ohio State.bm But Troupe wanted to go to Georgia, so that’s where he signed Wednesday. ¶

¶

Keep your cell number to yourself. ¶

Or else, warn star recruits, who field dozens of calls a week from coaches and Web site reporters. ¶

"If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like to talk on the phone, tell coaches not to give away your phone number," Claytor said. "Give out your parents’ cellphone number or your home phone. That way, interviews will go through your parents. ¶

"I get calls from crazy area codes, and if you don’t recognize it, let the message hit. If you feel like talking, call back. If you don’t, let it go. They’ll probably call back and you can decide again." ¶

¶

Save souvenirs to share with the grandkids. ¶

After the first 100 or so letters, it can get a little mundane. But keep those hand-written notes from Bobby Bowden for the scrapbook. They may be worth something someday. ¶

"You get to the point where you check the mailbox and half the mail is for T-Bob," said former NFL quarterback Bobby Hebert, whose son T-Bob signed with LSU. "I was more excited to read those things than he was." ¶

Riverwood’s Javarus Blue, a Memphis signee, stores his recruiting letters in a shoebox. Berry ran out of shoeboxes; he dumped the rest in a trash bag he plans to hang on to. ¶

"I treasure a lot of the ones that were hand-written because it was always kind of a dream to get attention from the coaches," said Walton’s Bailey Woods, an Auburn signee. "My mom will make a scrapbook out of that." ¶

¶

- Matt Winkeljohn, Carter Strickland, Jeff Hood and Carroll Rogers write for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: mwinkeljohn AT ajc.com, cstrickland AT ajc.com, jhood AT ajc.com, crogers AT ajc.com. ¶

[LoyalFan]

Mom’s the word for recruits ¶

By MICHELLE HISKEY ¶

Cox News Service ¶

ATLANTA

Moms like Regina Haynes of Buford, Ga., plan to hold those coaches to their promises. ¶

Her son Sidney, a wide receiver for Peachtree Ridge, signed with the University of Central Florida. "The coach assured me he will graduate with a degree," said Haynes, a payroll manager used to keeping tabs, "and I will hold him accountable." ¶

¶

Michelle Hiskey writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: mhiskey AT ajc.com. ¶

Seems to me she needs to hold her spawn accountable. After all, is the coach expected to bribe a department chair to award a degree jus' cause Momma sez so?

LF

[sooner518]

¶

[PLaw]

Any way you slice or dice it, this is arguably the weakest recruiting class of the Stoops' era. Lowest average of Rivals or Scout stars. Hopefully, the staff has found some diamonds in the rough that will develop into contributors. If they can all stay around and tough it out, then they will be better than the 2003 group. That said, one bad year of recruiting will definitetly impact the W's two to three years down range look no further back than 2003 and the 2005 records. Meanwhile, USC and Texass just keep stroking along - we're falling behind.

GO SOONERS
PLAw

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Any way you slice or dice it, this is arguably the weakest recruiting class of the Stoops' era. Lowest average of Rivals or Scout stars. Hopefully, the staff has found some diamonds in the rough that will develop into contributors. If they can all stay around and tough it out, then they will be better than the 2003 group. That said, one bad year of recruiting will definitetly impact the W's two to three years down range look no further back than 2003 and the 2005 records. Meanwhile, USC and Texass just keep stroking along - we're falling behind.

GO SOONERS
PLAw

That's fine, we won a mnc with lesser "stars" and lower rivals/scout rankings.

[KingDavid]

Any way you slice or dice it, this is arguably the weakest recruiting class of the Stoops' era. Lowest average of Rivals or Scout stars. Hopefully, the staff has found some diamonds in the rough that will develop into contributors. If they can all stay around and tough it out, then they will be better than the 2003 group. That said, one bad year of recruiting will definitetly impact the W's two to three years down range look no further back than 2003 and the 2005 records. Meanwhile, USC and Texass just keep stroking along - we're falling behind.

GO SOONERS
PLAw

Rivals had us in the top 10 for average stars. That's plenty enough clay for the potters wheel.

[Ban One Sooner]

Any way you slice or dice it, this is arguably the weakest recruiting class of the Stoops' era. Lowest average of Rivals or Scout stars. Hopefully, the staff has found some diamonds in the rough that will develop into contributors. If they can all stay around and tough it out, then they will be better than the 2003 group. That said, one bad year of recruiting will definitetly impact the W's two to three years down range look no further back than 2003 and the 2005 records. Meanwhile, USC and Texass just keep stroking along - we're falling behind.

GO SOONERS
PLAw

I disagree 100%. It all comes down to O-line and then D-line (tackles first then ends) and corners. In a 4-3 a lot of kids can be effective at LB and safety, either Switzer or Johnson (when with the Cowboys) used to refer to picking up 4-3 LB's as signing a 0.230 hitter in the major leagues (there are a lot around that can do the job). Great linebacker play is always a function of the guys in front of them (see Ray Lewis comments on Kelly Gregg).

You don't have to sign bad *** RB's and QB's every year, that only means that many leave and don't play.

Stoops struggled in his first few seasons to pick up #'s on the O-line, when he did pick up some quality they invariably left the program for various reasons. He has done a heck of a job the last two or three both recruiting for #'s and talent on the O-line. Our O-line this year made Allen Patrick and Chris Brown as or more effective than Adrian Peterson as they gelled down the stretch. That was no fluke. This could be one heck of a class with the O-line and DB's he recruited (I believe Rivals has us top 10 in O-line). The only glaring hole maybe the lack of big, quality DT's. He did pick up a couple of DE's that may grow into good pressure players.

With the balance of talent in college football today, there is a much bigger emphasis on coaching (see Boise State and their one and two star guys). Recruiting stars are a sham. It's just a way to get people to pay money in the spring for all of the "insider analysis".

[fwsooner22]

Any way you slice or dice it, this is arguably the weakest recruiting class of the Stoops' era. Lowest average of Rivals or Scout stars. Hopefully, the staff has found some diamonds in the rough that will develop into contributors. If they can all stay around and tough it out, then they will be better than the 2003 group. That said, one bad year of recruiting will definitetly impact the W's two to three years down range look no further back than 2003 and the 2005 records. Meanwhile, USC and Texass just keep stroking along - we're falling behind.

GO SOONERS
PLAw


We were ranked in the top 15 (even though those rankings are BS). We had limited scholarships and some bad headlines during the year. I choose to think it was a heckuva haul under the circumstances.

Nobody knows how this is going to turn out. Especially not the supposed recruiting experts. Go back and look at the 2004 classes at the big schools. They are wrong as often as they are right.

Coach was glowing when he was asked about these kids. I am going to trust him and stay on the bandwagon a bit longer. Those of you who are jumping off please consider staying off.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Gawdammit...Chrissy Simms has a little brother at Louisville.

Now I have to hate them.

[PLaw]

That's fine, we won a mnc with lesser "stars" and lower rivals/scout rankings.


That's exactly my point - I would much rather have a bunch of kids that will work and stick around than run when the coaches' push them to realize their potential or the competition on the team is too great.

It's sort of like Kelly Gregg or Mo Dampeer, Jason White or Tommy Grady, Chris Messner or Akim Millington?

All of that said, you still need the talent.

GO SOONERS
PLaw

[PLaw]

Rivals had us in the top 10 for average stars. That's plenty enough clay for the potters wheel.

Scout had us No. 23 for avg stars.

At the end of the day, the won-loss record is all that matters. We've got a lot to work with and next years class is shaping up to be something very special.

BOOMER SOONER

[goingoneight]

¶

Oh, I know man... totally. :D

[snp]

Might as well pose this question here:

Who has premium for Hales board? I have my dad's ND scout info so I can get all the stories that are on the network but I can't access his weekend recruiting wrap-up. I have Rivals and would gladly swap articles with someone every week.

or if anyone else needs an article, just send me a PM.

[Seamus]

Oh, I know man... totally. :D


Aye, tis true that Seamus is ¶ much of the time.




But he's also quite capable of the http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w48/seamusnalaoch/paragraph2.jpg

:D