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Texas recruiting notes 2019

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closetojumping
closetojumping

There's more than just 2019 stuff in this update, but I'm not being paid to post, so I'm dumping it all here and you guys can do with it/disseminate it/ignore it as you like. Regarding the UA guy

Carl Winslow
Carl Winslow

word 😂 brooks not being a take clemson starting rb pistol whipped & robbed his own teammate he lead clemson to a national championship & 3 playoff appearances recruit to wi

RadiologyHorn
RadiologyHorn

Now Mpagi is better than Leal???!???    Guys tell me you’re trolling. Please tell me this isn’t real. I feel like I’m in a Seinfeld bizarro world episode. I can’t take this shit anymore. Whe

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Hank_Hill

Hank_Hill 18807

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10 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

Our best offesnive tackles in the last 10 or 15 years have generally been (check all that apply)

[   ] few and far between

[  ] guys who looked like TE's in high school

[  ] guys who were really guards but our coaches were unable to project their frame and skills to the next level when they were scouted

 [  ] Definitely NOT black  /RockyMountainHigh

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lemonandaturd

lemonandaturd 4285

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54 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

Our best offesnive tackles in the last 10 or 15 years have generally been (check all that apply)

[   ] few and far between

[  ] guys who looked like TE's in high school

[  ] guys who were really guards but our coaches were unable to project their frame and skills to the next level when they were scouted

[ ]  Desmond Harrison

[ ] Sam Cosmi

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TheFlyingBoat

TheFlyingBoat 906

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4 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Helton won the Pac-12 title and the Rose Bowl in his first two years at USC. That's more than Strong and Dooley achieved at Texas and Tennessee combined.

Darnold won those awards. Helton didn't have the courtesy of getting out of the way and letting Darnold win him something more.

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Machinator

Machinator 32099

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Speaking of USC, here's the lowdown from their 247 mods (courtesy of LonghornFrenzy):

The elephant in the room

It may be USC vs. Notre Dame week but Trojan fans are not focused on this rivalry game. All anyone can talk about is will this be Clay Helton’s last game coaching the USC Trojans?

We have talked to countless sources over the past two weeks and the answers we are getting couldn’t be any more diametrically opposed.

"He’s gone... it's a foregone conclusion."

"He’s coming back, it has already been decided."

So which side do you believe?

We feel a lot of this comes down to the lack of leadership at USC, with no permanent president, an inexperienced, if not aloof athletic director and a Board of Trustees dealing with several other more pressing issues. The message coming out from donors, administrators and team sources conflicts at various junctions.

Depending on who you talk to, you are going to get a different story. And sometimes you are getting a story shaped to fit the agenda of the source you are talking to. So we have to sort of break things down and look at who is saying what and why.

Most of the sources we talk to inside the program or working very closely with the program feel that Clay Helton is coming back. Folks that are on the USC payroll are obviously interested (and some are concerned) about what Helton’s future will be, and most of that group have told us that in their mind Helton is coming back.

The Swann song

We have talked to numerous sources who have interacted with Lynn Swann and come away dissatisfied with encounters. A Hall of Famer, four-time Super Bowl winner, Swann knows who he is. He carries his Super Bowl rings in his pocket ready for any impromptu show-and-tell opportunities.

Similar to USC’s previous athletic director Pat Haden, Swann feels like he knows what’s best for the program and he isn’t very receptive to any feedback, suggestions or advice from those around him. Whether that be former players, USC fans or even some big-time boosters.

His radio address a couple of weeks ago spoke volumes if you listened to it. Not even the words, but how they were delivered. He went on a USC-run radio show talking with USC employees and left many fans feeling patronized. The intent was to inform USC fans that they shouldn’t be overly critical. Clay Helton has done good things, so just keep buying tickets and merchandise and let USC handle the complicated business of running the football team.

What Swann has not done is talk to the media, despite numerous requests from us and we are sure other media outlets. We were informed on Monday that there were no plans for Swann to address the media this week and they referred us to his radio show where he addressed the coaching situation.

So why does Swann want Helton back when everyone he talks to says he should make a change? Part of it is he doesn’t like or want to be told what to do. He knows best and if he makes a decision, that’s basically it. He also granted Helton a contract extension back in February, so firing him nine months later would essentially be admitting that he was wrong.

Why was Helton extended? You have to look to the agents side for that and Helton has a great one in Jimmy Sexton. Super agents can eat experienced athletic directors for lunch, so you could imagine what may have gone on behind closed doors for this negotiation.

We don’t feel that the $15 million buyout number is legit, however. Keep in mind when those numbers leak it typically comes from agents. So it could be Sexton’s people providing an exaggerated number to reporters to help and protect their client in the public eye. If Swann did give Helton a buyout that big when there were no other programs interested in poaching their head coach, that would be a fireable offense in our opinion.

Who has the power?

The other side of the coin is some of our sources that feel very strongly that Helton will not return, especially if the Trojans lose badly to Notre Dame on Saturday.

That is mostly coming from the boosters, which could be, at least in some cases, wishful thinking after a disappointing season. But there are also sources close to Board of Trustee members who feel strongly that a change is needed. From the sources we talked to the BoT was mostly split at one point, but after losing to Cal and then UCLA, there is even less support there for Helton.

The board is dealing with several non-football issues like lawsuits against the university and finding and vetting a new president. If the USC football team could have beat UCLA and made a crappy bowl game then it would have been easier to delay dealing with this Clay Helton problem until next year.

But as you know, USC lost to the 2-8 UCLA squad that hired Chip Kelly and that was NOT a good look. If Clay Helton is let go, losing to a bad Bruins team will be the catalyst that made it happen.

So that leads us to the power struggle within the board and with the athletic department. There are a lot of people who are afraid of losing their jobs and would rather not make some of these big decisions, especially before the new president is in place. We heard some mixed messages when it comes to who has what power, but we believe the BoT charter does include football in its oversight as it is a university operation that reports directly to the President.

Some sources we talked to feel that Swann is the ultimate decision maker and could make the move with approval from Dr. Austin. But others disagree feeling Swann is more of a figurehead for the BoT, which has a more expansive agenda. That agenda has been almost solely focused on fundraising the past few years, but with so many non-football issues undermining the university's mission, the BoT has received criticism for being too consumed by enriching the endowment and ignoring how the present day institution was being run.

Granted, a losing season would be extremely costly for the university. Back in 2000 when USC went 5-7 under Paul Hackett donations plunged and that would likely happen again, especially if Helton is retained.

Also having a half-full newly renovated Coliseum is a nightmare that the powers that be would very much like to avoid. Keeping Helton could cost them, but so would buying him out. Perhaps this is just a matter of crunching the numbers for a financially myopic university.

The final answer is we simply do not know what is going to happen and who will eventually win out. The only thing we know for sure is the poor hiring practices and actions of those in power in the past have put the USC football team and the university into another absolutely perplexing situation.

Just 'blow it up' and start over

From an expert who would know and does know what's going on at USC, here's where USC has to start in fixing the football program: "In my opinion the first thing that needs to be done is blow up the nutrition and strength and conditioning program, (emphasis on nutrition). It doesn’t matter what coach comes in. If that’s not fixed, you’re running this race with a high ankle sprain."

Sears shutting down?

So what is to make of USC backup QB Jack Sears, who has become more and more of a fan favorite with every failed USC drive since the Arizona State loss. As we reported on Saturday night there was a moment where Bryan Ellis called over Sears to chat, who began to warm up after the talk. But obviously nothing ever came of it.

One popular theory is that Sears will eventually be on his way out in search of greener football pastures (cue up the Herm Edwards GIFs). But in the aftermath of USC’s loss to Cal a source we spoke with – one with a pulse on the locker room – believes Sears actually intends to stay at USC and focus more on wrapping up his degree. It was hinted that football would take a back seat of sorts. Now of course nothing is certain, as a player of Sears’ talent would certainly be a welcomed addition on rosters across the country. But there's nothing like a coaching change to open up competition at every position. 


Pola-Moa still in play

USC made Chandler (Ariz.) four-star defensive tackle Matthew Pola-Mao’s top six this week. Pola-Mao is the brother of Trojans redshirt freshman safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Matthew was ready to commit to USC after his brother made the decision to be a Trojan, but held off. Since then, Pola-Moa had shoulder surgery which has kept him sidelined at various points throughout the year.

Salt Lake City (Utah) four-star defensive tackle Siaki Ika remains the Trojans No. 1 priority at the one-shade spot, but Pola-Moa will stay in play until that option is exhausted. USC is also still in contact with Honolulu (Hawaii) five-star defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele, although he is still not expected to officially visit USC this season. Corona (Calif.) Centennial four-star defensive end Drake Jackson is the other big time interior defense linemen USC is hot after.

Gaoteote Gone?

Rumors recently surfaced that former five-star linebacker Palaie Gaoteote is unhappy at USC and is considering leaving the program. Those rumors also suggested that Palaie's brother, 2021 linebacker commit Ma'a Gaoteote, would follow his lead and de-commit from the university.

While there is some frustration on Palaie's part due to a flux in playing time, a source close to the Gaoteote family rejected the notion that both brothers would leave USC. The source also added that the Gaoteotes are "all in" for USC and "bleed cardinal and gold."

Team sources also reiterated that rumors of Gaoteote transferring or looking to transfer are plainly false.

In N’ Out

Sources say that Honolulu (Hawaii) Punahou three-star linebacker Maninoa Tufono is expected to de-committ from USC. Tufono has yet to announce his commitment status publicly and did not reply to inquiries about his recruitment Monday night. However, this news doesn’t/wouldn't come as a complete surprise.

Tufono originally planned to commit to Washington, but the Huskies pulled his scholarship offer as his announcement drew closer. His next choice was USC, and the Trojans took his commitment despite rumblings that there were reservations about his ability to play linebacker in college. Tufono actually projected more as a five-technique for USC, but sources we spoke to admitted that may have been a reach. On the other hand, Tufono wants to play MIKE linebacker, and USC has better prospects at that position.

In fact, just as news started to surface that Tufono was de-committing, a source confirmed that Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco three-star linebacker Ralen Goforth is still the Trojans’ to lose. Goforth has set an official visit to USC for Dec. 15 and just came back from an official visit to UCLA. Such confidence that he will end up a Trojan immediately after his trip to Westwood is a bit surprising, but Goforth has become very close with his position coach and USC recruiting coordinator Johnny Nansen.

“He’s almost like an uncle to me and will check in all the time just to see how I’m doing and making sure I’m okay,” Goforth said. “He’s an amazing guy and a great coach and I have a great comfort level whenever I visit there.”

Nansen certainly turned up the heat on Goforth’s recruitment since the beginning of the season, so this has been a move in the works for quite some time. Goforth is rated as the nation’s No. 23 outside linebacker, but at 6-foot-2, 230-pounds, USC has talked to him about playing inside and outside. A Tufono loss for the addition of Goforth would definitely favor USC.

Maybe wait until next week

Hearing from a source close to the team that Clay Helton was so impressed with the battle his guys put up in that physical game against UCLA, he offered them some time off this Thanksgiving/Notre Dame week but to their credit, the USC players turned it down. Most coaches in this situation with unbeaten Notre Dame coming to town would wish they could have an extra day or two to prepare. Oh well.

In need of support

When it comes to recruiting, we have mentioned numerous times that there are members of the USC coaching staff who are part-time recruiters. To pick up the slack, the coaching staff relies heavily upon their recruiting support staff.

The problem is, the support staff is bare bones at the moment, with three members plus one graphics designer. Other programs have much larger recruiting support staffs, with numbers well into double-digits, while at USC they are asked to do more with less.

One name you may have heard before is Alex Rios. He was profiled by 247 last year along with fellow recruiting support staff member Eric Ziskin. Well it turns out Rios is no longer on the support staff, which is why they have three bodies and not four. He left after the UNLV game and so far no one has been hired to take over his position.

From what we are told his departure was more for personal reasons and he was looking to do something else after working in that profession for several years. The more pressing concern is why he wasn’t replaced right away and why there aren’t more members of the support team to help this staff with their recruiting duties.

We told this story to one source close to the situation and he thought the parallels were uncanny. Back in the mid-2000’s we interviewed then USC strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle. This was in the gym below Heritage Hall in his office that literally looked like a converted broom closet. We were a few feet away from Reggie Bush bench pressing and Carlisle was very candid when he talked about the resources he had at his disposal.

He had requested upgraded equipment for the team and he said he was told that they would accommodate him after the team won a conference championship. Well, USC did that and then he was told they would after the team won a national championship. Well, USC did that and then he was told that he obviously didn’t need better equipment because they won a national championship with what they already had.

Our source told us the reason USC hasn’t expanded the recruiting support staff is because they were already bringing in top-5 recruiting classes so why would you need more resources?

Those guys work extremely hard and don’t collect huge paychecks. If this recruiting class suffers because of the poor record and coaching uncertainty, maybe they finally make the investment needed to help that department. Or of course if a new staff comes in, maybe they would demand an expansion of the support staff. We shall see.

When you’re not one of 78

Here’s the deal about time off for the Trojans. There will be 78 college football teams going bowling in December and January. And unless USC pulls off the upset of the year, not one of those 78 will be named USC – at least not one named the University of Southern California. Not with a 5-7 record even though in past seasons, you could get an exemption without a winning record but not this year. Not in the Pac-12 where that was voted down. Go 6-6 or you stay home. Lose three straight in LA to Pac-12 underdogs and you get to stay home and get plenty of rest. Not that USC would have used all their bowl practices even if they were in one.

To name a few of the 78 who will be bowling, they are: Nevada and Southern Miss: Louisiana (Lafayette) and SMU; Arizona State, Louisiana Monroe, Ohio U., Appalachian State and UAB (no, really, they dropped their program a couple of years back after a guy named Neil Callaway was the head coach there but here they are back); Memphis, Middle Tennessee and Tulane; Florida Atlantic and Eastern Michigan (yep, Eastern Michigan); Cincinnati, Buffalo and Florida International (yep, FIU and FAU); Toledo, South Florida and Troy; Houston, Army, Georgia Southern and Northern Illinois; Marshall, Hawai’i, North Texas and San Diego State; Texas Tech, Duke and Stanford; Iowa State, Wyoming, Arkansas State and Virginia; Cal, Fresno State and Temple; Tennessee (yep, Tennessee!), South Carolina (the faux-USC from the SEC) and Oregon. But not the real USC.

Here’s what will be so hard to take. While USC could be staying home, bowl projections have all the folks above extending their seasons, getting all that extra practice not to mention another game on national TV – and not a late night game. And getting as much as $500 in bowl swag for each of their players plus a trip to a place maybe they haven’t been for a game against a team maybe they’ve never played from somewhere else in the country.

And who knows, with all that extra practice, USC might have been able to figure out how to get enough reps at the other inside linebacker spot for freshman Palaie Gaoteote, no worse than the second- or third-best tackler on the team (with Cam Smith and the injured Talanoa Hufanga). And then USC could have gotten him into a game like Saturday’s against UCLA when having another big, strong, fast and physical tackler might have just been what a D-coordinator needed against record-breaking Joshua Kelly and his 289 yards on the ground. Only no way to get a “one-position” guy like “IE” on the field, we were told. Maybe next year.

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Newy25

Newy25 7668

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1 minute ago, victory88 said:

9.95ers have alluded that he will go to USC if Helton is coaching.  He likes him apparently. 

I think we can convince him that even if Helton is retained, he is a dead man walking while they work on his buyout and coaching search. That won’t be hard to do because it is the truth and it is self evident to anyone with two brain cells. 

If he goes to USC even under these circumstances, he was never coming here. 

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Wishbone

Wishbone 4760

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16 minutes ago, Newy25 said:

I think we can convince him that even if Helton is retained, he is a dead man walking while they work on his buyout and coaching search. That won’t be hard to do because it is the truth and it is self evident to anyone with two brain cells. 

If he goes to USC even under these circumstances, he was never coming here. 

I tend to see this in a similar light. If they fire Helton now and name a new coach then he’ll know who his coach is probably going to be throughout his tenure there. If he likes, or is willing to give said new coach the benefit of any doubt, he is likely to hang in. Otherwise, with Helton being retained on a tenuous thread and the possibility of being in a new rebuild with a new coach after year one could be less than appealing. 

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Thetexashammer

Thetexashammer 1062

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So, with the caveat that nothing is obviously in the bag yet, I am slightly disappointed in what we are bringing in.

Team rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/

Texas rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeRecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=Highschool&State=TX

Team rankings show Aggy at #2 and Oklahoma (they were above us) ~ equal to us with 3 fewer players.

Texas rankings don't show the whole picture, we have important players from out of state. However, the concern about our lines is warranted. Of the top 40 players in Texas, 12 are linemen. Of those, we have two, and one of the two is Javonne Shepherd. We should have half of them.

Shit I don't even mind Georgia and Stanford and Ohio State grabbing a player or two, it happens. But fucking A&M and Oklahoma both having (most likely) better classes than us, even if our class is good, even if our class fills a huge number of holes, even if our guys are "high upside" it fucking chaps my hide that A&M and OU seem to have better classes.   

I'm really hoping for some kind of miracle where we flip one or two guys from A&M or OU. Not so much because we need it, I just don't want A&M, in particular, to start stockpiling talent. If they do, they'll start winning. And I really don't like that. Playing against Theo Wease isn't gonna be fun. We ought to be keeping more of these players home. We had like 9 of the best 11 in Texas last year, now it's only like two.

Rankings aren't everything, but stars matter, that's been proven. We didn't dominate the rankings this year, or even Texas. Not disappointed, but I feel we should do better, and the concern is the lines. It's really the only specific area, but it's also the most important.

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Texas Wahoo

Texas Wahoo 3395

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2 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said:

So, with the caveat that nothing is obviously in the bag yet, I am slightly disappointed in what we are bringing in.

. . .

Rankings aren't everything, but stars matter, that's been proven. We didn't dominate the rankings this year, or even Texas. Not disappointed, but I feel we should do better, and the concern is the lines. It's really the only specific area, but it's also the most important.

Well - I'm glad you worked through your initial disappointment in the course of writing that long post.

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SydneyCarton

SydneyCarton 48106

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said:

So, with the caveat that nothing is obviously in the bag yet, I am slightly disappointed in what we are bringing in.

Team rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/

Texas rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeRecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=Highschool&State=TX

Team rankings show Aggy at #2 and Oklahoma (they were above us) ~ equal to us with 3 fewer players.

Texas rankings don't show the whole picture, we have important players from out of state. However, the concern about our lines is warranted. Of the top 40 players in Texas, 12 are linemen. Of those, we have two, and one of the two is Javonne Shepherd. We should have half of them.

Shit I don't even mind Georgia and Stanford and Ohio State grabbing a player or two, it happens. But fucking A&M and Oklahoma both having (most likely) better classes than us, even if our class is good, even if our class fills a huge number of holes, even if our guys are "high upside" it fucking chaps my hide that A&M and OU seem to have better classes.   

I'm really hoping for some kind of miracle where we flip one or two guys from A&M or OU. Not so much because we need it, I just don't want A&M, in particular, to start stockpiling talent. If they do, they'll start winning. And I really don't like that. Playing against Theo Wease isn't gonna be fun. We ought to be keeping more of these players home. We had like 9 of the best 11 in Texas last year, now it's only like two.

Rankings aren't everything, but stars matter, that's been proven. We didn't dominate the rankings this year, or even Texas. Not disappointed, but I feel we should do better, and the concern is the lines. It's really the only specific area, but it's also the most important.

Bet you loved those Mack Brown classes from 2007-2013, didnt you? Fucking stupid. “I dont care if our class is talented and fills every hole if aTms just looks better on paper.” Thats the most fucking aggy mentality there is, right there. We need to build our new stadium expansion so we have 100 more srats than then too? 

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utfan87

utfan87 408

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Thetexashammer said:

So, with the caveat that nothing is obviously in the bag yet, I am slightly disappointed in what we are bringing in.

Team rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/

Texas rankings: https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Football/CompositeRecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=Highschool&State=TX

Team rankings show Aggy at #2 and Oklahoma (they were above us) ~ equal to us with 3 fewer players.

Texas rankings don't show the whole picture, we have important players from out of state. However, the concern about our lines is warranted. Of the top 40 players in Texas, 12 are linemen. Of those, we have two, and one of the two is Javonne Shepherd. We should have half of them.

Shit I don't even mind Georgia and Stanford and Ohio State grabbing a player or two, it happens. But fucking A&M and Oklahoma both having (most likely) better classes than us, even if our class is good, even if our class fills a huge number of holes, even if our guys are "high upside" it fucking chaps my hide that A&M and OU seem to have better classes.   

I'm really hoping for some kind of miracle where we flip one or two guys from A&M or OU. Not so much because we need it, I just don't want A&M, in particular, to start stockpiling talent. If they do, they'll start winning. And I really don't like that. Playing against Theo Wease isn't gonna be fun. We ought to be keeping more of these players home. We had like 9 of the best 11 in Texas last year, now it's only like two.

Rankings aren't everything, but stars matter, that's been proven. We didn't dominate the rankings this year, or even Texas. Not disappointed, but I feel we should do better, and the concern is the lines. It's really the only specific area, but it's also the most important.

Gtfo 

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