Check-in On Recruiting Class of 2017: The Hermansition Class

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

One thing about this class that gets lost is that Strong avoided early recruiting like the plague so he didn't do Herman any favors. The new staff had a bit of an advantage recruiting out of Houston so they were familiar with the local landscape, but outside of Ehlinger, Graham, Estell and Boyce.... those guys were all Herman's IIRC. In hindsight, this group even in its early stages has way outperformed their ranking.

On signing day that year, Herman made a big deal about how much research they had done on transition classes and how chasing stars late in the cycle seemed to come back and bite programs in the ass via attrition and disciplinary problems. He seems to be correct. Really, the only star fucking they did that year was Carter, who fell into their laps after Georgia filled up and damn if he didn't end up crapping out.

[Atticus 3973]

8 hours ago, closetojumping said:

One other thing I was discussing with someone this morning regarding the 2017 class. Both Cosmi and Cummins would probably be recruited as PWO in the newer cycles. Cosmi could well turn out to be a legendary score if he continues to develop physically.

Cummins yes, Cosmi no

People in UH recruiting circles were thrilled about this guy and extremely pissed when "Lyin Tom" took him to Texas.

Those same people are shocked that he's developed so quickly though.

[Ben Ficus 148]

On 2/6/2019 at 5:12 PM, ClubWhatever said:

My hope for a guy like Cummins is that he turns out to be valuable as a guy like Luke Poehlman was his Sr year.  He kind of hung around the roster eating a scholarship as an underweight OT for three years until Harsin ( I believe) found a way to maximize his value by making him a third OT in short yardage situations.  He was a devastating blocker for half the season until he fucking got hurt and his absence cost us.  

Absent in body, but present in spirit.  Animal spirit.  Crazy ass towel waving, mullet shaving animal spirit.

[Bruh Man 3160]

Cummins and Pouncey look like BFFs on social media. Lot's of pics of them enjoying the Austin lifestyle. If they don't start contributing I could see them as attrition candidates. 

[closetojumping 62510]

37 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Cummins yes, Cosmi no

People in UH recruiting circles were thrilled about this guy and extremely pissed when "Lyin Tom" took him to Texas.

Those same people are shocked that he's developed so quickly though.

Nothing in this post contradicts my prior statement. 

[SA-KC_Horn 1295]

1 hour ago, Bruh Man said:

Cummins and Pouncey look like BFFs on social media. Lot's of pics of them enjoying the Austin lifestyle. If they don't start contributing I could see them as attrition candidates. 

Seems like you need some attrition from social media.

 

[Hagbard Celine 10848]

On 2/6/2019 at 5:05 PM, closetojumping said:

 asking for a second unranked guy to come out of nowhere and be anything more than practice fodder seems futile. 

the purple wizard did it a half dozen times a year.  don't be hard on yourself.

good luck, we're counting on you.

[sushihorn 3233]

7 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

the purple wizard did it a half dozen times a year.  don't be hard on yourself.

good luck, we're counting on you.

Really illustrates how far off the ratings can be.  Kerstetter wasn't a can't miss prospect but he and Cosmi have both been quality linemen.  Shack was the lowest rated OL from his class and the biggest contributor.  #1050 player nationally, #131 in Texas and #52 OG.

https://247sports.com/player/zach-shackelford-35184/

[Slacks 6819]

 

On 2/6/2019 at 4:02 PM, closetojumping said:

Ehlinger (I’ve been touting this young man as a genius for years, personally),

Thoughts?

Well played

[closetojumping 62510]

On 2/6/2019 at 4:02 PM, closetojumping said:

The purpose of this thread is to occasionally take a look at Herman's 2017 class in a lite manner as time passes. Full post mortems on each class after the 5th year from their signing would be worthy of its own thread for each year, in my mind, but we're years away from that. 

So how are things progressing with Herman's recruiting and depth chart stacking (or lack thereof, if applicable)?

Taking a look at 2017:

Texas signed 17 guys that actually showed up to participate as part of the team. It's been two years since that day, as I type this. 

Starters (Obvious forward projections included, past starters who have left early due to bad attrition or benched and beaten on the depth chart are not included)

Ehlinger, T Graham, Gary Johnson, Kerstetter, Cosmi, Thompson, Bimage, Brewer

Contributors (productive guys yet to consistently start who don't project to start yet going forward)

Thompson, Bimage, Boyce, D Young, Brewer, Chisholm, Estell, Leitao

Depth (guys on the roster who haven't seen much or any time on the field yet)

Estell, Leitao, Pouncey, Cummins

Attrition

T Carter, Josh Rowland, Pouncey

Summary:

Of the 17 enrollees in Herman’s transition class, 5 8 guys have either started many games or project comfortably to do so. Thompson could be argued as a guy that should be added to this list and the count should be 6, but I think Overshown will push him off the field, even if they’re not going to play the same role.- Turns out that Thompson and Overshown both played plenty and contributed well when healthy.

Of those 5 8 starters, one looks like a star 2 are stars in Ehlinger (I’ve been touting this young man as a genius for years, personally) and Cosmi, one was a star in GaJo, and Kerstetter and Cosmi could project as early draft picks if they develop strength and continue to progress. Graham looks like a prohibitive favorite to start in 2019 and he’s looked good when healthy and in the DL rotation. - it was a mixed season for Graham but he showed enough flashes that I see no reason to not feel like he'll be able to contribute to a competent defensive scheme as an upperclassman starter.

The contributors group isn’t particularly strong, but they’re somewhat productive and promising. They’re fine as competent support being developed within the program. - Estell and Boyce, shockingly, seem like they have a prayer of winding up decent players at Texas with competent defensive coaching. Boyce started off terribly but looked better later, and Estell was up and down with boneheaded plays mixed in with some decent work at times.Young is a depth guy. I begrudgingly moved Leitao into this group because he played a lot, but he's a terrible warm body on the field. This thread is littered with Leitao hope and it will go unrequited. Brewer comes back and Wiley looks really good early.

The depth guys might as well all be labeled “Future Attrition” for the 2017 class, but they haven’t left yet. Maybe Estell gets healthy enough to take a stab at living up to his recruiting ranking and billing. -Estell developed while healthy. Pouncey was run off by a terrible piece of shit of a WR coach in fuckhead Mehringer and took his little brother with him to Florida, or vice versa. I'll be honest, I have no idea whether Cummins is on the team still or not. He's been a worthless element to the class either way.

As far as attrition goes, fuck Toneil Carter for being a whiny bitch and not taking advantage of the opportunities in front of him. Rowland started as a stop gap but was terrible and has justifiably left for other opportunities after doing nothing in 2018.

The 2017 class has performed better than most expected as the 25^th ranked class nationally. The starters look great and the supporting guys have been critical to building the program back up. Attrition hasn’t been as gruesome as is often feared with these kinds of classes and there’s reason to be optimistic that almost half of these guys could wind up as starters during their time on campus.

Thoughts?

So, now that the regular season is over, I've been looking at different class performances and went back through this one. I've updated the original post with adds/changes in italics to account for another season for this group.

All in all, the class remains an outperformer to ranking, but overall middling in talent compared to what was needed for leadership on the field in 2019 and 2020.

Thoughts are welcome. Beyond that, I'll check back in this time next year if I remember to do so.

Edited December 3, 2019 by closetojumping

[Thiefery 4995]

Well it's time for both Bimage and TQ to shit or get off the pot. 

[Chuckie Finster 22692]

7 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

Well it's time for both Bimage and TQ to shit or get off the pot. 

Level of opponent noted, but Bimage seemed to have a great game vs. Tech.

[Thiefery 4995]

Just now, Chuckie Finster said:

Level of opponent noted, but Bimage seemed to have a great game vs. Tech.

Yes he did and so did TQ, but man TQ frustrated me soo much this season..playing patty cake with an OT from LaTech or ou.. Jag like performances

 

[Schulz2.0 28951]

13 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

Level of opponent noted, but Bimage seemed to have a great game vs. Tech.

Bimage looked good because they had him playing DE in a 4 man front.

[Burt Macklin 19019]

20 minutes ago, Thiefery said:

Yes he did and so did TQ, but man TQ frustrated me soo much this season..playing patty cake with an OT from LaTech or ou.. Jag like performances

 

TQ didn’t have a good game against Tech. He got a sack when he wasn’t blocked and had one other tackle.
 

He’s just a JAG. Idk why people have high expectations for him. He gets talked up every offseason and every season he sucks. 

[Thiefery 4995]

1 minute ago, Burt Macklin said:

TQ didn’t have a good game against Tech. He got a sack when he wasn’t blocked and had one other tackle.
 

He’s just a JAG. Idk why people have high expectations for him. He gets talked up every offseason and every season he sucks. 

Podcast shows seem to always give him a pass while Roach got a shining light placed on him.  Same way on twitter

 

[Machinator 32099]

Circling back, using CTJ's classifications.

Starters

Ehlinger, Graham, Gary Johnson, Kerstetter, Cosmi, Josh Thompson, Bimage, Brewer

Contributors

Boyce, Young, Estell, Leitao, Bimage

Depth

Cummins, Chisholm, Young, Estell

Attrition

Carter, Rowland, Pouncey, Boyce, Cummins

 

Summary

Herman's transition class gave us an All-American tackle and a multi-year starting QB who gave us above-average play after his freshman campaign (yes, there were some bumps in the road, but given the eight years that preceded him it was a breath of fresh air). That alone is pretty good for a transition class. Six out of the seventeen who showed up on campus gave us solid starter or better contributions for at least one year on campus.

Leitao wasn't spectacular, but held his own as a backup JACK/SDE, which is much more than I could say about his TE days. Bimage could be found money if he returns to the team ready to play. I think PK could find a way to weaponize and feature him on next year's defense, but I have no idea what he will look like after his opt-out year.

If Danny Young comes back, we could do (and have done) worse at RB3/4. Estell reportedly switched to WR at the end of the season. I could see any outcome ranging from decent depth at WR to transferring out of the program. Boyce and Cummins medically retired.

This class could have been even more productive if Herman and his initial staff weren't idiots and played the best players in their best positions.

[immamac 42832]

excellent bump