2018 Recruiting Thread

[huskymedic]

TJ Bradley is a 6-9 290lb OT from Lackawanna College in Scranton PA (same school as 2017 QB Commit David Pindell). December Grad with 3 to play 3. Attended Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, VA. Late Bloomer. Other offers from Cincinnati, Maryland, Minnesota, Syracuse and WVA.

Highlights

TJ had blown up since OP in April. Picked up additional offer from Pitt, PSU, TCU, VaTech,

Rising JUCO OT T.J. Bradley discusses visit plans

 

[huskymedic]

Travian Blaylock from Humble, Texas

 

[huskymedic]

>>“I don’t have a definite list but among my top schools are Iowa, Syracuse and Florida State,” he said.<<

 

[huskymedic]

K . S M O K E‏ @BabyFournette7
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Connecticut

Kavosiey Smoke is a 6-0 210lb RB/LB from Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Alabama. Other offers from Alabama State, Cincinnati, FAU, Florida, GaState, GaTech, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Morgan State, Purdue, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, UAB, UCF, UNC, USCe and VaTech

 

[Exit 4]

My dream reload for the UConn defensive line this recruiting cycle - #1 Travis Jones (I like him for DT), #2 Rondell Bothroyd, #3 Parker Devine and #4 Damion Daley. Need to bring in four this year.

But I admit, I haven't watched the tape on all the DL/DE offers.

 

[huskymedic]

WR Sam James from Georgia.

James to WVA

 

[Exit 4]

And can someone like Drew who is handy with twitter spoon feed 247sports to get all our FB commits acknowledged. Banks, Jones, Robinson, Morrison and Gilepsie should be posted by now.

Maybe the door to open is to spoon feed alex gleitman who seems to cover the east for 247.
Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) | Twitter

 

[ZOOCONN]

>>“I don’t have a definite list but among my top schools are Iowa, Syracuse and Florida State,” he said.<<

this shouldnt be a surprise, we were so late to the party on this one

 

[huskymedic]

this shouldnt be a surprise, we were so late to the party on this one

Along w/ a bunch of schools... he blew up late in the process. There is a summary of the offer chronology on here somewhere. Nobody predicated his P5 offer list early on.

 

[ZOOCONN]

Along w/ a bunch of schools... he blew up late in the process. There is a summary of the offer chronology on here somewhere. Nobody predicated his P5 offer list early on.

I happened to be following him pretty closely because last season the team I coached on scrimmaged him preseason. Big athletic kid that threw a really nice ball, I was always surprised his recruitment was as light as it was. still though it would have been nice to at least get in on him early

 

[huskymedic]

Along w/ a bunch of schools... he blew up late in the process. There is a summary of the offer chronology on here somewhere. Nobody predicated his P5 offer list early on.

I happened to be following him pretty closely because last season the team I coached on scrimmaged him preseason. Big athletic kid that threw a really nice ball, I was always surprised his recruitment was as light as it was. still though it would have been nice to at least get in on him early

Found it... he came out of nowhere after his performance at the camp.

Yeah... kinda my point. Here is his offer history from a variety of sources (might have missed a date). He blew up in under 45 days - good for him, he's doing something right.

July 13,2016: Yale offers (his first)
July 23, 2016: Princeton offers
October 15, 2016: Unofficial visit to Wisconsin
October 07, 2016: Unofficial visit to UConn
November 05, 2016: Unofficial visit to Penn State

January 21, 2017: Columbia offers
February 04, 2017: Unofficial visit to Duke
February 11, 2017: Unofficial visit to Rutgers
March 05, 2017: Unofficial visit to Syracuse
March 06, 2017: Dartmouth offers
March 08, 2017: Albany offers
March 24, 2017: Harvard offers
April 7, 2017: Holy Cross offers
April 17, 2017: Fordham offers
May 05, 2017:Toledo offers
May 13, 2017: Southern Miss offers
May 16, 2017:Rhode Island offers
May 17, 2017: Ball State offers
May 18, 2017: WMU offers
May 21, 2017: Ohio offers
May 22, 2017: UMass offers
June 01, 2017:Cincinnati offers
June 03, 2017: Attends Iowa camp
June 04, 2017: CMU offers
June 06, 2017:Iowa offers
June 09, 2017: Attends North Carolina camp - North Carolina offers
June 14, 2017: Attends Florida State camp
June 15, 2017: Ole Miss offers
June 15, 2017: Florida State offers
June 16, 2017: Attends UConn camp - UConn offers
June 18, 2017: Unofficial visit to Syracuse

 

[ZOOCONN]

Found it... he came out of nowhere after his performance at the camp.

yea like i said i was always really surprised his recruitment went so slowly, still we offered him well after he garnered interest from P5 programs.

also he didnt come out of no where, he was in state. we had him camp with us and was a 20 min drive away, most of the prolific offers came as soon as they saw him or very soon after that. its just tough to have such a big recruit that most of us that follow recruiting closely knew was going to get big offers fall by the wayside.

 

[formerlurker]

yea like i said i was always really surprised his recruitment went so slowly, still we offered him well after he garnered interest from P5 programs.

also he didnt come out of no where, he was in state. we had him camp with us and was a 20 min drive away, most of the prolific offers came as soon as they saw him or very soon after that. its just tough to have such a big recruit that most of us that follow recruiting closely knew was going to get big offers fall by the wayside.

First "official" P5 interest was the Iowa camp on June 3rd. They offered on June 6th. UCONN offered ten days later, the same day he attended our camp. Being an in state kid we probably should have been on him much sooner but I blame table leg for that.

 

[gioff23]

Maybe we are looking for a different style at QB?

 

[TheDrifter75]

And can someone like Drew who is handy with twitter spoon feed 247sports to get all our FB commits acknowledged. Banks, Jones, Robinson, Morrison and Gilepsie should be posted by now.

Maybe the door to open is to spoon feed alex gleitman who seems to cover the east for 247.
Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) | Twitter

I feel your where you're going but I'm not sure I want them noticed.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Zavier Scott is making an official visit. 6 ft 2 200 lb WR/DB who was clocked running a 4.37 40

 

[huskymedic]

Zavier Scott is a 6-2 195lb Class of 2018 WR from Vilseck High School, Vilseck Germany. Has offers from CMU, EMU, Howard, Ohio, Syracuse and UMass
Highlights

Burner:
Sam Webb‏ @SamWebb77 Jun 17
2018 WR named Xavier Scott won the smokehouse (i.e. fastest man) at #Michigan's camp. Kid is from Germany

Somebody get Niels G on the phone!

Storrs Central‏ @StorrsCentral 30m 30 minutes ago
Storrs Central Retweeted MathiasTorpPPI
ATH from Germany who received an offer on June 23 will be making an official visit to #UConn

MathiasTorpPPI‏ @MathiasHT
yall are hosting someone very special tomorrow! @StorrsCentral
PPI | Premier Players International

 

[huskymedic]

DE/DT Damion Daley from South Carolina:

StorrsCentral: 3-star DL prospect Damion Daley discussed his rising interest in #UConn

>>He first came into contact with a few months ago UConn when running backs coach Terry Richardson visited his team.
“We have a lot of things in common,” Daley said about Richardson. “We’re both from the same spot in Florida and we both approach life with the same attitude.”

Before the meeting, Daley admitted he didn’t know much about UConn. However, that’s changed in recent weeks. “I learned that under this coaching staff a couple years ago they were real successful,” said Daley. “They went to a couple of bowl games and won some against teams like South Carolina.”>>

 

[Exit 4]

I feel your where you're going but I'm not sure I want them noticed.

Yeah, but I dont like being ranked #115. You can talk all you want about it not mattering, but for so many of these impressionable 17,18 and 19 year olds its not helpful.

Moreover, I think we are all crazy to think there are any hidden kids out there. These coaches and their staffs make far too much money and have easy access to everything to let much slip by. The only type of player that I think can truly hid are the kids from Canada and overseas where footage, interviews, etc are still rather limited. Plus, with any kids like that you want to meet them for sure before making an offer.

 

[Pudge]

Yeah, but I dont like being ranked #115. You can talk all you want about it not mattering, but for so many of these impressionable 17,18 and 19 year olds its not helpful.

Moreover, I think we are all crazy to think there are any hidden kids out there. These coaches and their staffs make far too much money and have easy access to everything to let much slip by. The only type of player that I think can truly hid are the kids from Canada and overseas where footage, interviews, etc are still rather limited. Plus, with any kids like that you want to meet them for sure before making an offer.

I don't want to be dismissive ... but I will be:

WE regularly - under Edsall - got ranked 90-105 in some odd recruiting rankings. There are more services than 2003-2009. I don't think you should be all that worried. WE need to be top 40-50 Program to bring back the Fanbase and win enough to be in bowls. No "Hidden" kids? We thrive on that one. In fact, the real best stories in UConn in the FBS era are the "Hidden" stories. The Lutrus ... the Byron Jones ... the Marcus Easley ... the Terry Caulley. Canada? Sure. We have done really well in QC and ON ... and I hope Edsall re-invigorates that effort. The PREP schools in New England are far more of a factor than 10 years ago: that is a Bonus for UConn. This is simple to grasp: 39m people in NE and NY and NONE of the recruiting services cover those states - for Football - well. And, that doesn't change. Why? Their monetary model demands subscriptions and the schools fans in our regions never pay them much. My observations (beyond the Prep school note): More kids are arriving from Urban Philadelphia and Urban Bronx, Brooklyn, near LI ... than in the past. Good trend. Mostly that is immigrant kids or kids directed to robust good football programs near to the population center.

 

[huskymedic]

... The PREP schools in New England are far more of a factor than 10 years ago: that is a Bonus for UConn. This is simple to grasp: 39m people in NE and NY and NONE of the recruiting services cover those states - for Football - well. And, that doesn't change. Why? Their monetary model demands subscriptions and the schools fans in our regions never pay them much. My observations (beyond the Prep school note): More kids are arriving from Urban Philadelphia and Urban Bronx, Brooklyn, near LI ... than in the past. Good trend. Mostly that is immigrant kids or kids directed to robust good football programs near to the population center.

... and 247 doesn't give a flying hoot about keeping UConn info up-to-date (one component of site has UConn w/ only 2 commits YTD and UConn 2018 page has Ryan Van Demark who is already on campus as a commit). They don't have a person assigned to cover UConn. The more CT gets get noticed by P5 schools and have offers along w/ UConn's, it may move the 247 needle a bit but in the mean time - I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Exit 4]

I don't want to be dismissive ... but I will be:

WE regularly - under Edsall - got ranked 90-105 in some odd recruiting rankings. There are more services than 2003-2009. I don't think you should be all that worried. WE need to be top 40-50 Program to bring back the Fanbase and win enough to be in bowls. No "Hidden" kids? We thrive on that one. In fact, the real best stories in UConn in the FBS era are the "Hidden" stories. The Lutrus ... the Byron Jones ... the Marcus Easley ... the Terry Caulley. Canada? Sure. We have done really well in QC and ON ... and I hope Edsall re-invigorates that effort. The PREP schools in New England are far more of a factor than 10 years ago: that is a Bonus for UConn. This is simple to grasp: 39m people in NE and NY and NONE of the recruiting services cover those states - for Football - well. And, that doesn't change. Why? Their monetary model demands subscriptions and the schools fans in our regions never pay them much. My observations (beyond the Prep school note): More kids are arriving from Urban Philadelphia and Urban Bronx, Brooklyn, near LI ... than in the past. Good trend. Mostly that is immigrant kids or kids directed to robust good football programs near to the population center.

OMG Really this post again UConn's recruiting history? Just copy and save so you are ready to post it three more times this fall.

As for hidden kids, it will take 5 to 10 years to prove out, but I think the idea of hidden kids will be less likely going forward. The secret sauce of hidden kids in the 2000s was the lack of video and that has melted away. Tons of video now on all the kids. Instead it will be more about late bloomers. Kids that frankly were not special in high school who continue to grow in college to a much higher ceiling than any person could have reasonably predicted (and that is a calculated crap shoot). Conversely, you have kids that mature early, dominate as Juniors in HS, but failed to develop much further and so by the time they are 21 they aren't as special. The big programs have this problem, picking too many kids that peak early.

 

[Exit 4]

... and 247 doesn't give a flying hoot about keeping UConn info up-to-date (one component of site has UConn w/ only 2 commits YTD and UConn 2018 page has Ryan Van Demark who is already on campus as a commit). They don't have a person assigned to cover UConn. The more CT gets get noticed by P5 schools and have offers along w/ UConn's, it may move the 247 needle a bit but in the mean time - I wouldn't hold my breath.

Yes, but Gleitman moved Heron ONeil to committed when he was tweeted at to do so. And yes, 247 doesn't like us - same with all the services....but it doesn't change the fact that the services are used and therefore, our school should make some effort to play the game. No reason we should drop out of the top 100 on 247.

 

[huskymedic]

Yes, but Gleitman moved Heron ONeil to committed when he was tweeted at to do so. And yes, 247 doesn't like us - same with all the services....but it doesn't change the fact that the services are used and therefore, our school should make some effort to play the game. No reason we should drop out of the top 100 on 247.

He can move them to committed but it often doesn't update the overall site... (and its Heron Maurisseau - not ONeil). The 2018 commits under UConn are Harris, Webb, Van Demark and Maurisseau, but the Team Rankings show us having 2 commits. They are okay keeping up w/ offers but they make minimal effort otherwise (trust me, I've tried w/o success).

 

[UConnRock]

OMG Really this post again UConn's recruiting history? Just copy and save so you are ready to post it three more times this fall.

As for hidden kids, it will take 5 to 10 years to prove out, but I think the idea of hidden kids will be less likely going forward. The secret sauce of hidden kids in the 2000s was the lack of video and that has melted away. Tons of video now on all the kids. Instead it will be more about late bloomers. Kids that frankly were not special in high school who continue to grow in college to a much higher ceiling than any person could have reasonably predicted (and that is a calculated crap shoot). Conversely, you have kids that mature early, dominate as Juniors in HS, but failed to develop much further and so by the time they are 21 they aren't as special. The big programs have this problem, picking too many kids that peak early.

You are correct that one of the biggest challenges for the big-time schools, especially in the south, is trying to predict physical maturity levels and continued potential for development of prospects that in some cases are already pushing 19 years old and have been hitting the weight room and playing football since they were young kids. Reaching full potential early is the reason for many 4 and 5 star flops.

Conversely, when recruiting in the northeast there are fewer kids that have been held back a year so they are truly 17 year old players with a decent amount of growth potential. This is especially true for OLs where young kids are growing into their 6'5"+ frame. In the NE some of the better OL prospects played hoops for years and are late bloomers on the football field. Edsall understands this and it is why his goal is to red-shirt as many kids as possible. Bringing in the JUCO guy(s) is huge in allowing players time to physically develop. I don't think Diaco ever understood this aspect of recruiting at UConn.