Texas Recruiting Notes 2020

[Stampeder 92]

1 minute ago, Burt Macklin said:

Next year probably wont be a whole lot better than the previous two years. 2021 will be a different story, but there's a lot of recruiting that will happen between now and then. 

Collin Johnson, Brandon Jones, D. Duvernay and Shackleford all should go much earlier than anyone this past year.  Collin has an outside shot at day 1.  I think all the others are day 2 types.  Nowhere near where we need to be, but a definite improvement over the last several years.

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

1 minute ago, Stampeder said:

Not sure if this was meant to be an indictment of the current regime or the two previous.  In my view, we'll fare quite a bit better on draft day next year and definitely the ensuing years.  We're on the right track on that front.

It's an indictment on our last two staffs, the previous S&C, and SEC bias. Poona Food couldn't get drafted. I don't believe anyone here believes he just with to lightspeed on his development once he was on an NFL roster. The NFL looked at his measurables and dismissed his ass. How many NFL franchises would hop in a time machine and draft him in the first day now? I was hoping we'd see a carryover to Omenihu, but more of the same. 

Also, I believe there's a fallacy to your argument. Will we probably start putting more guys into the draft? Probably not this next draft. Maybe the one after that. But it will be at Safety, perhaps WR, and maybe of all things, the OL. But right now who is getting drafted on the D line? Ossai, maybe. Perhaps one of Coburn or Ojomo if they developed and stay injury free, but there isn't a slam dunk there. And that's because we've drafted poorly on the DL. So yeah, we may look better, but DL is not one of those spots. So here we are again bemoaning our fucking DL recruiting. This isn't how you build amazing depth that has Clemson sending 3-4 DL out on the first day or the draft. 

[Bodacious Bevo 3,576]

2 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Collin Johnson, Brandon Jones, D. Duvernay and Shackleford all should go much earlier than anyone this past year.  Collin has an outside shot at day 1.  I think all the others are day 2 types.  Nowhere near where we need to be, but a definite improvement over the last several years.

I'm not sure if you realize what you've done. 2 pages of draft talk incoming. 

I'll summarize my thoughts as shortly as possible: CJ 2-5, BJ 3-5, Duvernay 5-UFA, Shack 4-7

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

2 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Collin Johnson, Brandon Jones, D. Duvernay and Shackleford all should go much earlier than anyone this past year.  Collin has an outside shot at day 1.  I think all the others are day 2 types.  Nowhere near where we need to be, but a definite improvement over the last several years.

You proved my point before I could finish typing my post. Note that you don't have a D-lineman listed among these players. Why do you think that is? We're still 2-3 years away from being able to, MAYBE, just have a shot to point to a DL getting picked first day, much less first round. And we'll need some guys to really develop as well on the Jacoby Jones, Daniel Chisholm, Taquon Graham front. It's a big ole fat pile of unkown there now, and there isn't much help on the way. 

[Machinator 32,098]

Just now, SydneyCarton said:

You proved my point before I could finish typing my post. Note that you don't have a D-lineman listed among these players. Why do you think that is? We're still 2-3 years away from being able to, MAYBE, just have a shot to point to a DL getting picked first day, much less first round. And we'll need some guys to really develop as well on the Jacoby Jones, Daniel Chisholm, Taquon Graham front. It's a big ole fat pile of unkown there now, and there isn't much help on the way. 

Just FYI, the first round encompasses the first day. Second and third rounds are day 2, and the final four are day 3.

[Machinator 32,098]

Super K on Lathan Ransom. He's trotting out the old "there's still time" lifeline, but we can see where this is headed.

2020 DB Lathan Ransom took his final official visit this past weekend which was to Ohio State.

Going into the visit, my sense after speaking to him and his father was that Texas was the leader out of three schools that had emerged: Texas, Ohio State and Notre Dame.

It looks like, for the moment, that has changed.

I asked Ransom, yesterday, if Ohio State has overtaken Texas to which he replied, “yes sir”.

He is coming off the emotional high of the trip. I think there is still time for the family to sit down and discuss things like weather, distance, etc.

We will see how this one plays out. Again, there is still time.

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

2 minutes ago, Machinator said:

Just FYI, the first round encompasses the first day. Second and third rounds are day 2, and the final four are day 3.

Whatever, I still live in a world of NFL draft Utopia where it all started on Saturday and was a glorious saturday at that. 

[closetojumping 62,290]

11 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Not sure if this was meant to be an indictment of the current regime or the two previous.  In my view, we'll fare quite a bit better on draft day next year and definitely the ensuing years.  We're on the right track on that front.

 

6 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Collin Johnson, Brandon Jones, D. Duvernay and Shackleford all should go much earlier than anyone this past year.  Collin has an outside shot at day 1.  I think all the others are day 2 types.  Nowhere near where we need to be, but a definite improvement over the last several years.

Johnson will go late in the draft after running a 4.66 at the combine. I'd love for him to prove me wrong, but he's not Roy Williams and the NFL is going away from his measurables, for whatever reason. Duvernay will go late, if at all. 

5 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

It's an indictment on our last two staffs, the previous S&C, and SEC bias. Poona Food couldn't get drafted. I don't believe anyone here believes he just with to lightspeed on his development once he was on an NFL roster. The NFL looked at his measurables and dismissed his ass. How many NFL franchises would hop in a time machine and draft him in the first day now? I was hoping we'd see a carryover to Omenihu, but more of the same. 

Also, I believe there's a fallacy to your argument. Will we probably start putting more guys into the draft? Probably not this next draft. Maybe the one after that. But it will be at Safety, perhaps WR, and maybe of all things, the OL. But right now who is getting drafted on the D line? Ossai, maybe. Perhaps one of Coburn or Ojomo if they developed and stay injury free, but there isn't a slam dunk there. And that's because we've drafted poorly on the DL. So yeah, we may look better, but DL is not one of those spots. So here we are again bemoaning our fucking DL recruiting. This isn't how you build amazing depth that has Clemson sending 3-4 DL out on the first day or the draft. 

It's pretty hard to see any DL leaving early after 2020, but it's early, I guess. Beyond that, the Nigerians aren't going anywhere until they have a degree, unless they're true stereotype-breakers. My hope is that they're not on 3 year tracks, academically. 

The 2021 draft is a really interesting premise to keep tabs on for Texas and recruiting. If we play for hardware over the next two years and then have 8-9 guys go out, it could throw legitimate gates up around our territory again.

[BabaYaga 15,238]

This appears to be the case that the vaunted "SEC" moniker is paying dividends.  See SEC DL draft status relative to the other conferences.  

[T&T’s Dad 32]

13 hours ago, gmr548 said:

Sam Ehlinger just committed to aggy.

I legit spit coffee on my laptop...😂😂

[Thiefery 4,974]

It was mentioned previously, now is the time the staff has to nail evaluations on who they do bring along the DL if they miss on VB.  Was Clemson recruiting high 4 star DL for the past 8 years? Or did they nail the evaluations and some of those kids turned into high draft picks?

[Machinator 32,098]

5 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

It was mentioned previously, now is the time the staff has to nail evaluations on who they do bring along the DL if they miss on VB.  Was Clemson recruiting high 4 star DL for the past 8 years? Or did they nail the evaluations and some of those kids turned into high draft picks?

The first Clemson team that lost to Bama in the title game had five four-stars on their defensive line two-deep, including one top-100 player.

Sidenote, the Houston Texans really like drafting Clemson players.

[texifornia 56,596]

26 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

And we'll need some guys to really develop as well on the Jacoby Jones, Daniel Chisholm, Taquon Graham front.

He must be Jamari Carson's evil twin.

[Stampeder 92]

8 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

It was mentioned previously, now is the time the staff has to nail evaluations on who they do bring along the DL if they miss on VB.  Was Clemson recruiting high 4 star DL for the past 8 years? Or did they nail the evaluations and some of those kids turned into high draft picks?

Dabo took over in 2008.  It was 2015 before they started really nailing the DL/DE position in recruiting with Christian Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell.  They had the occasional highly rated DL before that, but they've only started taking off on their recruiting in the last 4 years or so.

[Stampeder 92]

5 minutes ago, Machinator said:

The first Clemson team that lost to Bama in the title game had five four-stars on their defensive line two-deep, including one top-100 player.

Sidenote, the Houston Texans really like drafting Clemson players.

Roughly what we have right now as well, believe it or not.  T. Graham, Coburn, Ossai, M. Warren and J. Jones all composite 4-stars.

[Thiefery 4,974]

6 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Roughly what we have right now as well, believe it or not.  T. Graham, Coburn, Ossai, M. Warren and J. Jones all composite 4-stars.

So now that we have good players, it's time for Giles to earn his bank by developing them.  If your not gonna be a closer for the elite recruits, you better be nails as a coach. And as much as I gripe for missing out on Chaisson and Leal...Giles has done really well with the line during the season.

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

5 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Roughly what we have right now as well, believe it or not.  T. Graham, Coburn, Ossai, M. Warren and J. Jones all composite 4-stars.

Not all 4 stars are created equal. The level of cream versus the chaff between high and mid 4 stars to the guys who are eking into 4 star status with an .89 composite is pretty stark. Here's a fun illustration of this aspect: Kyle Porter and Keontay Ingram were both 4 stars. They're basically the same talent level. See how that's utter bullshit? Guess which kind of 4 star Myron Warren and Jacoby Jones are? Taquon Graham might end up being a great player, and Coburn looks outstanding. It's possible to thread the needle like Clemson has done, but their accomplishments are the exception and not the rule in the current college football world, so sitting around and saying "well clemson did it" and dismissing their achievements as no big deal is nuts, IMO. They also selectively pay kids. 

For that model to work for us, we need to nail every single fucking evaluation like Fat Patterson in his prime, and hold onto those kids. It doesn't hep that Myron Warren might be a monster, but the last evaluation stud we had on the Dline in Mike Williams LSU straight up just BOUGHT off of our team when they realized he was a stud. After he enrolled. That isn't helping your hit rate or depth, either. 

 

[Thiefery 4,974]

4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

For that model to work for us, we need to nail every single fucking evaluation like Fat Patterson in his prime, and hold onto those kids. It doesn't hep that Myron Warren might be a monster, but the last evaluation stud we had on the Dline in Mike Williams LSU straight up just BOUGHT off of our team when they realized he was a stud. After he enrolled. That isn't helping your hit rate or depth, either. 

 

That still hurts.. 

[SWC 136]

Everything is going to go through the secondary in our defense.   Single coverage lock down corners = an extra man in the box and in our case with extreme speed.  Everything gets better with lock down corners.  We are close.  Keeping working.

[Machinator 32,098]

30 minutes ago, Machinator said:

The first Clemson team that lost to Bama in the title game had five four-stars on their defensive line two-deep, including one top-100 player.

Sidenote, the Houston Texans really like drafting Clemson players.

 

23 minutes ago, Stampeder said:

Roughly what we have right now as well, believe it or not.  T. Graham, Coburn, Ossai, M. Warren and J. Jones all composite 4-stars.

 

14 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

So now that we have good players, it's time for Giles to earn his bank by developing them.  If your not gonna be a closer for the elite recruits, you better be nails as a coach. And as much as I gripe for missing out on Chaisson and Leal...Giles has done really well with the line during the season.

 

9 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Not all 4 stars are created equal. The level of cream versus the chaff between high and mid 4 stars to the guys who are eking into 4 star status with an .89 composite is pretty stark. Here's a fun illustration of this aspect: Kyle Porter and Keontay Ingram were both 4 stars. They're basically the same talent level. See how that's utter bullshit? Guess which kind of 4 star Myron Warren and Jacoby Jones are? Taquon Graham might end up being a great player, and Coburn looks outstanding. It's possible to thread the needle like Clemson has done, but their accomplishments are the exception and not the rule in the current college football world, so sitting around and saying "well clemson did it" and dismissing their achievements as no big deal is nuts, IMO. They also selectively pay kids. 

For that model to work for us, we need to nail every single fucking evaluation like Fat Patterson in his prime, and hold onto those kids. It doesn't hep that Myron Warren might be a monster, but the last evaluation stud we had on the Dline in Mike Williams LSU straight up just BOUGHT off of our team when they realized he was a stud. After he enrolled. That isn't helping your hit rate or depth, either. 

 

I actually missed one very important player: Christian Wilkins was a true freshman 5-star. There's our Leal.

Otherwise, the profile is similar. One top-100 guy (we technically don't have one, but Coburn was in the 120s), one top-200 guy (Ossai, arguably underrated), and then a few guys in the 200s and 300s (Graham, Warren, Jones).

We need a Broughton.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Machinator

[Thiefery 4,974]

2 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

 

 

I actually missed one very important player: Christian Wilkins was a true freshman 5-star. There's our Leal.

Otherwise, the profile is similar. One top-100 guy (we technically don't have one, but Coburn was in the 120s), one top-200 guy (Ossai, arguably underrated), and then a few guys in the 200s and 300s (Graham, Warren, Jones).

We need a Broughton.

But we should have a Collins

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

 

3 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

But we should have a Collins

Has this weekend, nay, this entire cycle. Nay the entire last several cycles, taught you NOTHING?

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by SydneyCarton

[Machinator 32,098]

3 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

But we should have a Collins

Not taking anything for granted on DL, not even a legacy recruit who lives in our backyard.

[Elmer_Fudd 22,148]

6 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

 

 

I actually missed one very important player: Christian Wilkins was a true freshman 5-star. There's our Leal.

Otherwise, the profile is similar. One top-100 guy (we technically don't have one, but Coburn was in the 120s), one top-200 guy (Ossai, arguably underrated), and then a few guys in the 200s and 300s (Graham, Warren, Jones).

We need a Broughton.

Would you put Dorbah in this group?  

[SWC 136]

1 minute ago, Machinator said:

 

 

 

I actually missed one very important player: Christian Wilkins was a true freshman 5-star. There's our Leal.

Otherwise, the profile is similar. One top-100 guy (we technically don't have one, but Coburn was in the 120s), one top-200 guy (Ossai, arguably underrated), and then a few guys in the 200s and 300s (Graham, Warren, Jones).

We need a Broughton.

Sure but our D is a flanking maneuver set up for air raid defense.  We don't play against 2 yard and "a cloud of dust" teams.  We match up well against the plodding $ec teams as long as their qb's can't get the ball to the flats.  From was a key example of this.  Go re-watch the sugar bowl.  We killed jawja 27-7 with 6 mins left in the game.  We matched up man on the outside and used speed to control the LOS.  Large heavy defenses are going to be phasing out.  Large agile d-lineman are in.  Smaller hybrid lb's with larger hybrid db's.  We are fine.  Stop trying to fit into the $ec mold.  It's outdated. 

[Thiefery 4,974]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

Has this weekend, nay, this entire cycle. Nay the entire last several cycles, taught you NOTHING?

 

He's warming up... He, Captain Card and Broughton will sail along in the USS CARD and catch the biggest fish you've ever seen (with Hudon's hands of course)

[texifornia 56,596]

1 minute ago, SWC said:

Sure but our D is a flanking maneuver set up for air raid defense.  We don't play against 2 yard and "a cloud of dust" teams.  We match up well against the plodding $ec teams as long as their qb's can't get the ball to the flats.  From was a key example of this.  Go re-watch the sugar bowl.  We killed jawja 27-7 with 6 mins left in the game.  We matched up man on the outside and used speed to control the LOS.  Large heavy defenses are going to be phasing out.  Large agile d-lineman are in.  Smaller hybrid lb's with larger hybrid db's.  We are fine.  Stop trying to fit into the $ec mold.  It's outdated.  

Leal is large and agile. So are Broughton and Collins. That's why they're highly rated.

[Hank_Hill 18,625]

1 minute ago, SWC said:

Sure but our D is a flanking maneuver set up for air raid defense.  We don't play against 2 yard and "a cloud of dust" teams.  We match up well against the plodding $ec teams as long as their qb's can't get the ball to the flats.  From was a key example of this.  Go re-watch the sugar bowl.  We killed jawja 27-7 with 6 mins left in the game.  We matched up man on the outside and used speed to control the LOS.  Large heavy defenses are going to be phasing out.  Large agile d-lineman are in.  Smaller hybrid lb's with larger hybrid db's.  We are fine.  Stop trying to fit into the $ec mold.  It's outdated. 

A 285lb DL that moves the way Broughton does is "in" no matter what defense you're running. 

[SWC 136]

1 minute ago, texifornia said:

Leal is large and agile. So are Broughton and Collins. That's why they're highly rated.

Ya, for sure we need them.  Still, we beat the pups with a WWE wrestler at DE because the plodders have no answer to our elite DB's.

Edited June 25, 2019 by SWC

[BigVegasHorn26 630]

1 minute ago, texifornia said:

Leal is large and agile. So are Broughton and Collins. That's why they're highly rated.

Leal is large and agile until he gets on the Bobby Brown diet.  Then he’ll just be fat and slow. 

[Machinator 32,098]

4 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Would you put Dorbah in this group?  

In reality, Dorbah is a b-backer, and neither he nor Ossai should be included in my comparison. I included Ossai in an attempt to be fair, because as far as I know, we recruited him like a defensive lineman.

It's also a bit apples-to-oranges comparing to Texas to Clemson because they use a 4-man front, whereas we use a 3-man front, though you could argue that Ossai or whoever's at B-backer is essentially a stand-up WDE in some looks.

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

4 minutes ago, SWC said:

Sure but our D is a flanking maneuver set up for air raid defense.  We don't play against 2 yard and "a cloud of dust" teams.  We match up well against the plodding $ec teams as long as their qb's can't get the ball to the flats.  From was a key example of this.  Go re-watch the sugar bowl.  We killed jawja 27-7 with 6 mins left in the game.  We matched up man on the outside and used speed to control the LOS.  Large heavy defenses are going to be phasing out.  Large agile d-lineman are in.  Smaller hybrid lb's with larger hybrid db's.  We are fine.  Stop trying to fit into the $ec mold.  It's outdated. 

It's funny you mention that as the Big 12 is having a renaissance away from the Air Raid offenses, at least on paper. Tech, nope. West Virginia, nope. Kansas, nope. Iowa State, never was one. Kansas State, never was one. So you're down to TCU, the two Oklahoma Schools, and who else? Baylor? Fuck them. So this conference is actually getting less Air Raid as opposed to more, at least in the short term. 

[Thiefery 4,974]

I always thought of the B-Backer as a rush end/OLB

[6th Street 6,357]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

This is such a load of bullshit. Other big time programs do it fine, and additionally, the NFL is shifting in this direction with linemen with diversity to play all over the line. The fact of the matter is this scheme is more than capable of punching out DL that play in the same college system as many NFL teams would place them. We can't seem to fix the fact that the NFL ignores our players on draft day, but don't blame the fucking scheme fit for these players, unless you want to rationalize how other programs manage to do this just fine.  

Those other big programs can overcome the scheme by a combination of 1) winning regularly, 2) good DL position coaches/recruiters, and 3) large cash payments in some cases. We offer none of the above, exacerbating the Giles and scheme 1-2 punch. 

[Machinator 32,098]

1 minute ago, 6th Street said:

Those other big programs can overcome the scheme by a combination of 1) winning regularly, 2) good DL position coaches/recruiters, and 3) large cash payments in some cases. We offer none of the above, exacerbating the Giles and scheme 1-2 punch. 

A blind squirrel finds a nut every so often. This pretty much encapsulates all of our defensive line recruiting issues, though I might add that SEC vs. Big 12 is hurting us to some degree.

[Thiefery 4,974]

1 minute ago, Machinator said:

A blind squirrel finds a nut every so often. This pretty much encapsulates all of our defensive line recruiting issues, though I might add that SEC vs. Big 12 is hurting us to some degree.

Just WIN

[SydneyCarton 47,936]

5 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Those other big programs can overcome the scheme by a combination of 1) winning regularly, 2) good DL position coaches/recruiters, and 3) large cash payments in some cases. We offer none of the above, exacerbating the Giles and scheme 1-2 punch. 

So you've just admitted that scheme fit doesn't actually have a single thing to do with it? Thanks for confirming that it's winning, recruiters and *allegedly* money, to which I'm not nearly the acolyte of Pay Players as you and Michael Knight's ceaseless and baseless insistence. We didn't lose Leal due to money, and we won't lose Broughton to it either. It's flat out incompetence and being outworked and having a fucking potato slug as our primary position recruiter, and Herman's lack of willingness to do anything about it. If we didn't have Captain Chicken Wang on the case, then he would successfully account for the whole scheme issue without breaking a sweat. And at this point, fuck Orlando too. 

Edited June 25, 2019 by SydneyCarton

[SWC 136]

3 minutes ago, Machinator said:

A blind squirrel finds a nut every so often. This pretty much encapsulates all of our defensive line recruiting issues, though I might add that SEC vs. Big 12 is hurting us to some degree.

On D-line yes, QB no.....  Fromm (whatever his name is) is a piece of crap qb.  He would be bottom 4 in B12.  By the time JQJ is starting for us, we will be in the top 3 AP again.

 

Texas is like a black hole.  Once the winning starts, 95% of the blue chips from Texas want in.  We are well on the way.  Aggy is going to be irrelevent.  Enjoy the wholesale meltdown that will be the 2019 aggy season.

Edited June 25, 2019 by SWC

[Katfid54 8,594]

7 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

It's funny you mention that as the Big 12 is having a renaissance away from the Air Raid offenses, at least on paper. Tech, nope. West Virginia, nope. Kansas, nope. Iowa State, never was one. Kansas State, never was one. So you're down to TCU, the two Oklahoma Schools, and who else? Baylor? Fuck them. So this conference is actually getting less Air Raid as opposed to more, at least in the short term. 

Baylor is not air raid anymore.  They run a very similar offense to Texas and Iowa State.

Oklahoma State is also not air raid (and hasn't been for several years).  They're a very specific Gundy offense that is way more balanced and interested in forcing defenses to try so hard to stop the run that they give up long bombs.  They just hired a power-spread coordinator from Princeton, too.  So they'll likely get more traditional instead of less traditional.

So the only teams running true air raid now are ou and TCU, although Yost at Tech has some sprinkling of air raid from his couple of years with Leach.

[SWC 136]

3 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Baylor is not air raid anymore.  They run a very similar offense to Texas and Iowa State.

Oklahoma State is also not air raid (and hasn't been for several years).  They're a very specific Gundy offense that is way more balanced and interested in forcing defenses to try so hard to stop the run that they give up long bombs.  They just hired a power-spread coordinator from Princeton, too.  So they'll likely get more traditional instead of less traditional.

So the only teams running true air raid now are ou and TCU, although Yost at Tech has some sprinkling of air raid from his couple of years with Leach.

You're talking to the drug addicted.  The B12 is not going back to the FB dive.  The new coaches coming in here are going to have to learn on the curve.  Blowout alert's are on the horizon.  They don't have the personnel to run that plodding crap against Tx, osu, & blou.

Edited June 25, 2019 by SWC

[Katfid54 8,594]

1 minute ago, SWC said:

You're talking to the drug addicted.  The B12 is not going back to the FB dive.

Just because I disagreed with him doesn't mean I agree with you.

[Machinator 32,098]

5 minutes ago, Katfid54 said:

Baylor is not air raid anymore.  They run a very similar offense to Texas and Iowa State.

Oklahoma State is also not air raid (and hasn't been for several years).  They're a very specific Gundy offense that is way more balanced and interested in forcing defenses to try so hard to stop the run that they give up long bombs.  They just hired a power-spread coordinator from Princeton, too.  So they'll likely get more traditional instead of less traditional.

So the only teams running true air raid now are ou and TCU, although Yost at Tech has some sprinkling of air raid from his couple of years with Leach.

Tell me about West Virginia. I'm not at all familiar about Neal Brown and his style.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Machinator

[utfan87 406]

14 hours ago, KYHorn said:

I found Giles putting in work at the pool party so all of you haters can STFU.

(no Katfid)

This is complete bs

[Beau Vine 54,056]

41 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Not all 4 stars are created equal. The level of cream versus the chaff between high and mid 4 stars to the guys who are eking into 4 star status with an .89 composite is pretty stark. Here's a fun illustration of this aspect: Kyle Porter and Keontay Ingram were both 4 stars. They're basically the same talent level. See how that's utter bullshit? Guess which kind of 4 star Myron Warren and Jacoby Jones are? Taquon Graham might end up being a great player, and Coburn looks outstanding. It's possible to thread the needle like Clemson has done, but their accomplishments are the exception and not the rule in the current college football world, so sitting around and saying "well clemson did it" and dismissing their achievements as no big deal is nuts, IMO. They also selectively pay kids. 

 

They also evidently juice them up with 'roids.

[UncleBuck 6,448]

23 minutes ago, SWC said:

Large heavy defenses are going to be phasing out.  Large agile d-lineman are in.  Smaller hybrid lb's with larger hybrid db's.  We are fine.  Stop trying to fit into the $ec mold.  It's outdated. 

These large, agile d-linemen are exactly what we've been bitching about missing out on. We'd prefer the best of the best of them. 

 

 

 

[texifornia 56,596]

Just now, utfan87 said:

This is complete bs

[SWC 136]

2 minutes ago, utfan87 said:

This is complete bs

Come on, we roll out the best of the best for these guys.  Patience, it's coming.  

[SWC 136]

2 minutes ago, UncleBuck said:

These large, agile d-linemen are exactly what we've been bitching about missing out on. We'd prefer the best of the best of them. 

 

 

 

I agree, keep trying.  It will come.

[Katfid54 8,594]

Just now, Machinator said:

Talk to me about West Virginia. I'm not at all familiar about Neal Brown and his style.

Traditionally, he runs a very, very fast version of a traditional spread offense.  Think something like those late 2000s-era Sam Bradford OU teams under Kevin Wilson, before they got back to running the air raid under Riley.

As far as spread concepts go, his attack is very vanilla, but it's super fast, and they obviously rep the hell out of it, so they execute the things they do at a very high level.  He's basically like if you took Northwestern and snapped the ball every 8 seconds.

With that said, given the loss of starters across the board and the huge amounts of defensive attrition his team has seen, I have some big time suspicions that he'll try to run that same style Year 1 at WVU.  I think he's way more likely to try to do something similar to the modern Northwestern model of slowing the game down to keep their defense fresh and win the game that way.  Frankly, it's similar to what we were forced to do in 2017 and at times last year.

I am not convinced Brown's scheme/style is a sufficient competitive advantage to make WVU fearsome.  While it may work at Troy against LSU, when you catch that team sleepwalking, it's just not particularly difficult for high level D1 teams to be prepared to play defense against a team that throws a lot of vanilla stuff at you really quickly.  And even if it is, I'm not convinced he'll be given the time while there to develop his team sufficiently to fully implement his scheme/style, and they'll do a full reset back to some kind of super innovative offense.

[Cairn Horn88 8,244]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

Letting Card hold the fish would also make it look much bigger than it really is.

If that’s the case, Jimbo holding the fish would really make it much larger.