Roman Clay

[pj]

Roman Clay says if UConn misses on its current running back candidates, he'll be the next RB to receive an offer: http://connecticut.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1386149

He's a 2* on Rivals (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Roman-Clay-132423), 3* at 247sports (http://247sports.com/Player/Roman-Clay-16063), 2* on Scout. Has 6 non-BCS offers.

 

[Dann]

well we got like 6 kids to miss on before him. kid looks like a tank tho.

 

[rich1122]

Interesting that they are only taking one. They must be comfortable with Joe Smith. I say that it will be Dez Wortham.

 

[Dann]

Interesting that they are only taking one. They must be comfortable with Joe Smith. I say that it will be Dez Wortham.

joe williams?

and i like dez alot but to be honest i would really like to land laray. were def in it with him but its hard to tell how good of a shot we have. if both asked to commit i would be surprised if the staff didn't take both as they have made it clear they will take any player they feel is worthy for added depth to this roster.

edit- i have now seen we are out of it for laray. ok then dez is #1 on my list. marcellus should also be high on our chart. he was a wvu lean but they filled up at rb quick it looks like. mizzell, turman and d. williams it seems were out of it with. can't factor out smallwood yet either. we have one of his teammates already here but he does have some other nice offers to compete with us. i don't know much about hoover but it seems from sites hat he values staying out west but again its hard to tell anything with him. marriner could be a wilcard.

 

[THC]

Everyone's sleeping on DeLorenzo IMO.

 

[pj]

Yes, I'm sure they'd love to have both, and would get both of them on the field.

Laray just has a level of speed that can be devastating on a football field. I think he can catch well enough to be an all-purpose weapon, maybe even lineup at multiple positions. He'd be a star for us.

Dez Wortham looks like he'll be very good. Would be very happy to get him.

It does seem like the spring made them more comfortable with the running back situation. McCombs has probably bulked up some, and Joe Williams and DeLorenzo both got good press during spring practice (see eg here for DeLorenzo: http://nhregister.com/articles/2012/04/14/sports/doc4f89d7f7e518f536076108.txt). In retrospect, with Shoemate and Hyppolite injured last year, Robbie Frey gone, McCombs a frosh, DeLorenzo redshirting, Deshon Foxx better suited for WR, Williams not yet here, and Jonathan Jean-Louis not performing, it was a really thin group. This year we have quality depth.

Along with Laray and Dez, other possibilities at RB include Shahid Hoover, Jacky Marcellus, Wendell Smallwood, and Josh Marriner.

 

[rich1122]

Yes sorry Joe Williams not Smith.

Probably the pipeline is filled. McCombs looks very good and they seem to have had confidence in Williams and DeLorenzeo, enough to move Foxx.

Hypolite is a wildcard and looked very good in the spring game. More pop in his step than I had ever seen.

We need Jimmy Bennettt perform at a high level for an entire year and man it looks pretty good!!!!

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

joe williams?

and i like dez alot but to be honest i would really like to land laray. were def in it with him but its hard to tell how good of a shot we have. if both asked to commit i would be surprised if the staff didn't take both as they have made it clear they will take any player they feel is worthy for added depth to this roster.

edit- i have now seen we are out of it for laray. ok then dez is #1 on my list. marcellus should also be high on our chart. he was a wvu lean but they filled up at rb quick it looks like. mizzell, turman and d. williams it seems were out of it with. can't factor out smallwood yet either. we have one of his teammates already here but he does have some other nice offers to compete with us. i don't know much about hoover but it seems from sites hat he values staying out west but again its hard to tell anything with him. marriner could be a wilcard.

Where did you see that we were out of it for Laray Smith?

 

[pj]

Apparently the Syracuse Rivals site says he has a top 3 of Syracuse, Tennessee, and Oregon: http://syracuse.rivals.com/barrier_...t=content.asp&cid=1385795&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=

Disappointing.

 

[ktuck911]

Apparently the Syracuse Rivals site says he has a top 3 of Syracuse, Tennessee, and Oregon: http://syracuse.rivals.com/barrier_...t=content.asp&cid=1385795&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=

Disappointing.

Can there be an argument that since we do NOT have a RB coach that actually played the position it creates an obstacle for us to grab a "top flight" back? Honestly, I don't see anybody on our current list of RB offers committing... I'd be shocked at this point if one did...

 

[pj]

Can there be an argument that since we do NOT have a RB coach that actually played the position it creates an obstacle for us to grab a "top flight" back? Honestly, I don't see anybody on our current list of RB offers committing... I'd be shocked at this point if one did...

I've been wondering that too. Tyrone Wheatley has really helped Syracuse's running back recruitment.

 

[Dann]

Can there be an argument that since we do NOT have a RB coach that actually played the position it creates an obstacle for us to grab a "top flight" back? Honestly, I don't see anybody on our current list of RB offers committing... I'd be shocked at this point if one did...

so how do we solve this issue if it is in fact one? we got joe williams last year. every rb we offered this year has multiple great offers. seems like we aimed real high at this position compared to others this year. we know the staff only wants one rb. all three in the rotation this year will be back next year so depth shouldn't be a issue. i wonder if we have a group of 10-15 that we like. we offered 10 lets say and we will take a 10-15 chart ranked kid(clay) later on after missing on the first group. if we don't land a 10-15 then we go a class without a rb considering the rotation and we go red carpet for newsome and cooper next year.

i think we still have a shot with a couple rbs. before we get to clay.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Can there be an argument that since we do NOT have a RB coach that actually played the position it creates an obstacle for us to grab a "top flight" back? Honestly, I don't see anybody on our current list of RB offers committing... I'd be shocked at this point if one did...

We really miss Coach Richardson.

 

[Dann]

i mean look at marcellus:
-wvu was the favorite, they now have 2 rb and if they want a 3rd then there are higher ones on the radar than marcellus for wvu
-rutgers has 3 rbs already
-uconn needs a rb
-minn needs anything
-cincy needs a rb
-vandy has 1 rb but a almost full class at 15. they still need to land a 2nd lb and s most likely.
-fsu has a stud rb, almost full class and hasn't offered and won't
-usf has a rb in its class already with a ath that could be #2, they havn't offered.

i could see it coming down to cincy vs uconn. couldn't you?

 

[Dann]

dez wortham:
-wake has no rb
-uconn has no rb
-uh has 1 rb
-uk has 1 rb

we should be in that for sure...

 

[NutmegState]

We really miss Coach Richardson.

We weren't getting our top RB choices when Terry was here either...

 

[ktuck911]

so how do we solve this issue if it is in fact one? we got joe williams last year. every rb we offered this year has multiple great offers. seems like we aimed real high at this position compared to others this year. we know the staff only wants one rb. all three in the rotation this year will be back next year so depth shouldn't be a issue. i wonder if we have a group of 10-15 that we like. we offered 10 lets say and we will take a 10-15 chart ranked kid(clay) later on after missing on the first group. if we don't land a 10-15 then we go a class without a rb considering the rotation and we go red carpet for newsome and cooper next year.

i think we still have a shot with a couple rbs. before we get to clay.

Don't get me wrong bro, I like the fact we "lucked out" and got Joe Williams ( whether you wanna admit it or not we did )... Kid fell under the radar probably because he had to prep a year... But the fact is we pick from the bottom of our RB pool of offers all the time... or we miss out and end as bottom feeders... Hopefully things change next year when we keep Newsome home... At the same time don't be surprised if we finally bring in a RB coach and move White to D ( LB ) where he belongs ( along with his special teams gig )....

 

[ktuck911]

I've been wondering that too. Tyrone Wheatley has really helped Syracuse's running back recruitment.

SU always had a RB coach that actually played the position in college if I recall... if they didn't, that position was eventually filled by a coach who played RB.

 

[Dann]

Don't get me wrong bro, I like the fact we "lucked out" and got Joe Williams ( whether you wanna admit it or not we did )... Kid fell under the radar probably because he had to prep a year... But the fact is we pick from the bottom of our RB pool of offers all the time... or we miss out and end as bottom feeders... Hopefully things change next year when we keep Newsome home... At the same time don't be surprised if we finally bring in a RB coach and move White to D ( LB ) where he belongs ( along with his special teams gig )....

thats what i was wondering, who gets moved around and who do we get or go after. how many ast coaches can we have? can we just Amari DeBerry or do we need to subtract from our current corp. etc.. good stuff.

 

[ktuck911]

thats what i was wondering, who gets moved around and who do we get or go after. how many ast coaches can we have? can we just Amari DeBerry or do we need to subtract from our current corp. etc.. good stuff.

Attrition has to occur in the coaching ranks for us to, whether we want it to or not. There are leftovers from the Edsall regime that eventually won't be here much longer... To me, that will open up the RB coaching gig in the not so distant future...

 

[pj]

It looks like a few schools do have more coaches than UConn.

UConn lists 10 coaches, plus a director of football administration, director of alumni community relations, recruiting assistant, and two graduate assistants:
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/conn-m-footbl-mtt.html#coaches

USC lists 12 coaches and a strength and conditioning coach: http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/usc-m-footbl-mtt.html#coaches.

Alabama lists 11 coaches and a director of football administration: http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/m-footbl-coaches.html

Michigan lists 10 coaches, 5 strength and conditioning staff, 2 graduate assistants, 4 equipment staff, and 11 administrative staff including director of football operations: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/coaches-m-footbl.html

You would think there would be a limit on coaches, I know basketball has one, presumably rich programs like Michigan invest in support staff. But then why does USC have more coaches than Alabama or Michigan? Do they get extra in exchange for having fewer scholarships?

 

[Dann]

It looks like a few schools do have more coaches than UConn.

UConn lists 10 coaches, plus a director of football administration, director of alumni community relations, recruiting assistant, and two graduate assistants:
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/conn-m-footbl-mtt.html#coaches

USC lists 12 coaches and a strength and conditioning coach: http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/usc-m-footbl-mtt.html#coaches.

Alabama lists 11 coaches and a director of football administration: http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/m-footbl-coaches.html

Michigan lists 10 coaches, 5 strength and conditioning staff, 2 graduate assistants, 4 equipment staff, and 11 administrative staff including director of football operations: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/coaches-m-footbl.html

You would think there would be a limit on coaches, I know basketball has one, presumably rich programs like Michigan invest in support staff. But then why does USC have more coaches than Alabama or Michigan? Do they get extra in exchange for having fewer scholarships?

all good questions that i don't know. my best guess is that the ncaa has a total number like 20 lets say and of that 20 at least 10 of those members must be coaches, 3 staff this or that. so the #'s probably are mixed between programs on how they want to do it.i just hope we are at full numbers and are competitive with other programs coach wise.

 

[sportsart]

USC has more coaches due to their "family housing" program.

 

[pj]

Here's a passage from the NCAA rulebook, via http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/how-many-college-football-coaches/:

The NCAA spells out how many coaches and what types of coaches a football team may employ in Article 11 of its rulebook. Following is the exact language from the NCAA manual.
NCAA Article 11: Conduct and Employment of Athletics Personnel:
11.7.2 Football Bowl Subdivision - There shall be a limit of one head coach, nine assistant coaches and two graduate assistant coaches who may be employed by an institution in bowl subdivision football.
11.7.2.1 Exceptions to Number Limits FBS - No individual other than coaches designated to fill the coaching categories set forth in Bylaw 11.7.2 may participate in any manner in the coaching of the intercollegiate team of a member institution during any football game, practice or other organized activity, with the following exceptions:
11.7.2.1.1 Weight or Strength Coach FBS - A weight (strength and conditioning) coach may conduct flexibility, warm-up and physical conditioning activities prior to any game and prior to or during any practice or other organized activities without being included in the limitations on number of coaches.
11.7.2.1.2 Undergraduate Coach FBS - The limits on the number of coaches in this section do not apply to undergraduate coaches.

So what is USC doing? Even if Monte Kiffin, the "assistant head coach" isn't actually a coach, they still have one too many.

By the way, I looked again at Alabama, they're OK, 10 coaches + strength and conditioning coach + director of football operations.

 

[Dann]

we should have 10 strength coaches