Tulsa gets 4* QB Commit

[Jimmy Serrano]

I don't understand how people think stars don't matter. Of course they matter, as Dan pointed out, in terms of probability and projecting how good they'll be. Show me an annual and consistent Top 25 program that consistently recruits 2 and 3 stars.

Outside of the top 100 or 200 kids stars don't matter. We're not getting in on any of those kids. We're getting 2 and 3 star kids, whatever that means. And it's laughable to think that these analysts, who are way more concerned with offer lists and subscriptions, can accurately rank these kids is beyond dumb. Why anyone would pay for these sites is beyond me.

 

[Kgun7]

At the risk of repeating myself, the vast majority of 4 and 5 star kids go to the top 15-20 programs. I would argue that those programs drive the ratings of those kids and not the recruiting sites, but regardless, many of those kids are so talented it's a pretty easy call to make that they have a high probability of success in college.

After that, the rest of the programs in the country are trying to assess kids that can play at this level - the 2 and 3 stars if you will. The recruiting sites have neither the resources nor the expertise to assess those kids. Throw in the fact that many are still physically developing and you really have a crapshoot on your hands. Rating those kids and the classes for each program is pure folly. One program is ranked 40 and another 75, please.....

TOS had a writer named Dallas Jackson a few years back. In a true jackass move he publicly posted that he did not think Robbie Frey would be a very good college player. He spoke with much conviction and "expertise". In an exchange online I kindly told him he was full of and to lay off the kid in a public forum. One of his responses was to point out that they had called Vince Young correctly.....you know, 6'5", sub 4.40, rocket arm Vince Young. Tough call that one. Robbie Frey was a terrific college football player and his time from scrimmage was limited as he waited behind two NFL bound running backs. He was also one of the fastest players in college football.

UCONN in the AAC is only going to be successful recruiting much the way Edsall did. Kids largely off the radar of the major programs that are exceptional athletes and can be developed into great football players in a good scheme. There is plenty of talent out there to do this. It's hard work for sure, but it has been done and can be done again.

Probably the best description of how UCONN must recruit that I have ever read on this board. FHCRE didn't recruit that way because he wanted to ... it is because he had no other choice. HCBD looks like he may be heading down that same path.

 

[CTBasketball]

Outside of the top 100 or 200 kids stars don't matter. We're not getting in on any of those kids. We're getting 2 and 3 star kids, whatever that means. And it's laughable to think that these analysts, who are way more concerned with offer lists and subscriptions, can accurately rank these kids is beyond dumb. Why anyone would pay for these sites is beyond me.

Exactly. So we have to forge an identity for our team. And target recruits around that. That's what Oregon does, and pretty much every team in the country. And to be honest, I don't know what our identity is/will be.

 

[upstater]

That's what a 4-star QB looks like on ANY team that doesn't have any 4-star OL's. Tulsa may find that fact out very soon. So now you realize what position we should REALLY be recruiting extensively, right?

UConn's last 4 star JUCO was Lorenzen. He played behind a line that had excellent 2 star kids, some of whom ended up in the NFL.

Whitmer's problem was never the offensive line. They started protecting him well end of year, and he was still panicking back there.

 

[uconndogs]

Absolutely agree. Whitmer just never saw the field well and while he played behind some poor OL play, a lot of sacks were on him.

Unfortunately, I see much of the same in Boyle. I really believe (and hope) Diaco is going to move to mobile dual threat QBs and a good dose of read option. My hope is Sherriffs can play. He can't and I think we're in for another miserable season.

 

[BNich]

Exactly. So we have to forge an identity for our team. And target recruits around that. That's what Oregon does, and pretty much every team in the country. And to be honest, I don't know what our identity is/will be.

Diaco has made mention of this. He is looking for Big athletic kids with high character. There is your identity. Look at the size of this class compared to any year past.

 

[huskymedic]

UConn recruited Murphy as a DB and the kid was willing to go FCS to be a quarterback...
...As for Murphy, he wanted to play QB, and was willing to go FCS to do so, we wanted him as a DB. He was right he was a college QB.

Ya lost me w/ the FCS mention - He committed to Golden @ Temple, then Addazzio/Meyer swiped him to Florida?

 

[noeynox]

Ya lost me w/ the FCS mention - He committed to Golden @ Temple, then Addazzio/Meyer swiped him to Florida?

Until Addazio got involved, he was considering Fordham who had offered him as a QB. Addazio got involved due to his CT connection to Murphy's QB coach.

 

[sub legacy]

The star system to me is nothing more than an over-glorified superelative, not a gospel of a players quality or whether or not they'll pan out. There have been too many exceptions in either extreme for it to be looked at as anything more than that.

 

[huskymedic]

Until Addazio got involved, he was considering Fordham who had offered him as a QB. Addazio got involved due to his CT connection to Murphy's QB coach.

Okay got it... Forgot the Fordham piece. Knew he was recruited as QB @ Temple when he committed to Golden and then decommitted when the same Gator pipeline as Jordan Reed came into play.

 

[UConnDan97]

UConn's last 4 star JUCO was Lorenzen. He played behind a line that had excellent 2 star kids, some of whom ended up in the NFL.

Whitmer's problem was never the offensive line. They started protecting him well end of year, and he was still panicking back there.

Go back through this entire thread and read what I have been saying. I've already said that your 2-star guys can be impact guys, but most often require redshirting and maturing into the system prior to being an impact player on the field. The OL that you're referring to did not start anyone younger than a redshirt sophomore (Hicks, Ryan, Green), meaning that those guys had been part of the team for 3 years. The rest of the OL was even older (Thomas, etc.).

Now, contrast that to this year, where we have guys like Knappe and Crozier getting their first burn as a college lineman...ever! With the exception of Mateas, and maybe Samra, the entire line was very green. You don't need to look at Whitmer; just look at our lack of running game production for further proof of that.

So if you wish to compare those two lines and tell me that they were equivalent, be my guest. If you want to talk about the 2007 OLine as proof that 2-stars are equivalent to 4-stars, be my guest. But neither stance is valid...

 

[BNich]

Go back through this entire thread and read what I have been saying. I've already said that your 2-star guys can be impact guys, but most often require redshirting and maturing into the system prior to being an impact player on the field. The OL that you're referring to did not start anyone younger than a redshirt sophomore (Hicks, Ryan, Green), meaning that those guys had been part of the team for 3 years. The rest of the OL was even older (Thomas, etc.).

Now, contrast that to this year, where we have guys like Knappe and Crozier getting their first burn as a college lineman...ever! With the exception of Mateas, and maybe Samra, the entire line was very green. You don't need to look at Whitmer; just look at our lack of running game production for further proof of that.

So if you wish to compare those two lines and tell me that they were equivalent, be my guest. If you want to talk about the 2007 OLine as proof that 2-stars are equivalent to 4-stars, be my guest. But neither stance is valid...

Don't forget Gus Cruz as well. Lost his spot late in the season, but a seasoned vet.

 

[UconnFamily]

Go back through this entire thread and read what I have been saying. I've already said that your 2-star guys can be impact guys, but most often require redshirting and maturing into the system prior to being an impact player on the field. The OL that you're referring to did not start anyone younger than a redshirt sophomore (Hicks, Ryan, Green), meaning that those guys had been part of the team for 3 years. The rest of the OL was even older (Thomas, etc.).

Now, contrast that to this year, where we have guys like Knappe and Crozier getting their first burn as a college lineman...ever! With the exception of Mateas, and maybe Samra, the entire line was very green. You don't need to look at Whitmer; just look at our lack of running game production for further proof of that.

So if you wish to compare those two lines and tell me that they were equivalent, be my guest. If you want to talk about the 2007 OLine as proof that 2-stars are equivalent to 4-stars, be my guest. But neither stance is valid...

It's crazy how some don't understand this great point.... Another point is taking a look at the NFL draft rounds 1-5 most drafted in those rounds were 3, 4, and 5 star athletes. The 2 star athletes drafted in those rounds, which are very few come from football states, such as Texas, Florida, and California. It's a must to recruit 3 and 4 star athletes if we want to compete in a consistent basis with the big boys, not Stony Brook.

 

[UConnDan97]

It's crazy how some don't understand this great point.... Another point is taking a look at the NFL draft rounds 1-5 most drafted in those rounds were 3, 4, and 5 star athletes. The 2 star athletes drafted in those rounds, which are very few come from football states, such as Texas, Florida, and California. It's a must to recruit 3 and 4 star athletes if we want to compete in a consistent basis with the big boys, not Stony Brook.

Don't get me wrong; we are going to have to get a fair share of 2-star prospects that we believe we can mold into impact players. That's just a reality. But we are going to also have to get ourselves in the mix for some of the 3-star and 4-star athletes too (not 5-star, since that would be a waste of time until we sustain multiple quality seasons in a row or unless the kid is in our back yard). We are going to have to win some recruiting battles against the other regional football schools.

The good thing is that we have shown over the years that we can win some of those battles, especially if we get ourselves back on the winning track...

 

[huskymedic]

It's a must to recruit 3 and 4 star athletes if we want to compete in a consistent basis...

I don't think many people are argueing that point... But it's not like you just walk into the local Piggly Wiggly/Wawa and pluck them off the shelf. You can recruit till the cows come home but if a kid doesn't want to come to Storrs to play in the AAC, he's not coming to Storrs. Until it becomes a desirable location again, you build future pipeline relationships and take kids who have promise and desire.

A lot of it is being in the right place @ the right time. OP is prime example - President gets recruited over @ Baylor, doesn't want to get buried on the depth chart and reaches out to the former OC where he committed who is now head coach @ new school and flips. We need some luck like that...

 

[UconnFamily]

I don't think many people are argueing that point... But it's not like you just walk into the local Piggly Wiggly/Wawa and pluck them off the shelf. You can recruit till the cows come home but if a kid doesn't want to come to Storrs to play in the AAC, he's not coming to Storrs. Until it becomes a desirable location again, you build future pipeline relationships and take kids who have promise and desire.

A lot of it is being in the right place @ the right time. OP is prime example - President gets recruited over @ Baylor, doesn't want to get buried on the depth chart and reaches out to the former OC where he committed who is now head coach @ new school and flips. We need some luck like that...

The kid is a 4 star athlete out of Texas I doubt he was concerned about getting buried on the depth chart. For all we know Montgomery could have reached out to him to switch his commitment. Although I agree, we do need more luck with recruiting.

 

[UConnDan97]

I don't think many people are argueing that point... But it's not like you just walk into the local Piggly Wiggly/Wawa and pluck them off the shelf. You can recruit till the cows come home but if a kid doesn't want to come to Storrs to play in the AAC, he's not coming to Storrs. Until it becomes a desirable location again, you build future pipeline relationships and take kids who have promise and desire.

A lot of it is being in the right place @ the right time. OP is prime example - President gets recruited over @ Baylor, doesn't want to get buried on the depth chart and reaches out to the former OC where he committed who is now head coach @ new school and flips. We need some luck like that...

Piggly Wiggly...classic!

Also, we've had some luck like that already. And I'm not just talking about the Jordan Todmans of the world. I'm talking about the current squad:

Arkeel Newsome - awesome athlete and running back, who just happened to be born in CT and grew to love the state U.
Ron Johnson - ditto as a RB, except he was headed to Louisville, until the coaching situation changed there. Boom! Welcome to UConn, son.
Vontae Diggs - headed to Ball State? How would you like to be a Husky, my friend? He's already seen some of the field and made some nice plays, but get used to hearing this kid's name!
Kirk Livingstone - offers from a hundred D-1 programs. UAB closes down its football program. Welcome to the University of Connecticut!
Brian Lemelle - all-American honors, and the Pennsylvania state record holder for receptions. A hundred D-1 program offers, including Penn State and Pitt from his home state. Welcome to UConn, son.

Granted, none of these guys are "4-star" guys, technically. But they are all 3-star guys with accolades (i.e., being ranked in their state's top# recruits) and / or were coveted by many football programs. I could go on, including a couple of bigger in-state names and transfers, but I'll stop there. We're getting some luck, and I'm optimistic that the future is bright...

 

[huskymedic]

The kid is a 4 star athlete out of Texas I doubt he was concerned about getting buried on the depth chart. For all we know Montgomery could have reached out to him to switch his commitment.

Montgomery did... But it was after Stidham committed and rumors started about President being moved to WR. Texas QBs can be touchy about sudden competition (I kid).

http://m.lubbockonline.com/sports-r...-23/chad-president-decommits-baylor#gsc.tab=0

>>After Stidham changed his commitment to Baylor, many speculated that President’s future for the Bears would be at wide receiver, which played a role in his decision. President played wide receiver at Temple as a sophomore. “Once I found out the Stidham kid committed to Baylor and how it all went down, that was a slap in the face,” President told the Temple Daily Telegram on Tuesday. “This kid picked Texas Tech but then he visited Baylor twice (in December). That just kind of happened. Baylor always told me I was their guy. (After Stidham committed) they didn’t reach out to me or anything. I thought that was sideways.<<

>>Multiple reports have said President could committ to Tulsa, where former Baylor offensive coordinator, Philip Montgomery, recently became the coach.“Right now I’d call them the favorite,” President told the Telegram. “Tulsa’s close enough (to home). Coach Montgomery called me a couple days ago and said, ‘If you come to Tulsa, you’ll be ahead of everyone else because you already know the offense.’ That’s an advantage. The only disadvantage would be (adjusting as a freshman to) the speed of the college game.”<<

Guess we'll see soon enough what position he plays and how well.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I guess we can throw that ol' "run up the middle 3 times, punt, and hope to miraculously win 17-14" playbook out of the Burton Complex window.

Great post. Been saying this for years.

 

[Confident Carl]

Let me know next time we haul in a 4-star QB. I'll be very happy if I'm proven wrong.

Give Diaco some time. Also, by your logic. Penn State should probably throw in the towel!

 

[Stainmaster]

Give Diaco some time. Also, by your logic. Penn State should probably throw in the towel!

I really appreciate the optimism (it's too scarce around here), but the only way I can see Diaco realistically recruiting a 4-star QB is if he miraculously turns our program around and jumps for a P5 school in the 2017/18 neighborhood. Which, depending on who you ask, may or may not be as likely as a flying pig being our next successful HC.

As for Penn State? I'm pretty sure Hackenberg (a consensus 4-star) has worked out pretty well for them. Wimbush flipping to ND hurt them but they have 2 4-star RBs (Barkley and Robinson) and 1 WR (Johnson) in their 2015 class so far. That's a good amount of talent to bring in skill position-wise. We're not bringing in those kinds of prospects, and I don't know if we ever will as a program.