Without Further Ado, I give you: Your first Recruiting Report!
by LilBroey700 on Dec 8, 2011 10:48 AM EST
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PrintHopefully you read GTNate's fine, Pulitzer-winning work of literature a couple of days ago introducing us as the official FTRS directors for recruiting content. If not, well, you're missing out. Long story short, we've been tasked with researching and keeping up with Georgia Tech's recruiting efforts, likely surrounding football mostly or entirely. The first act of business I'd like to work on here is a report on a QB we've recruited out of Godby High School in Tallahassee, FL named Dennis Andrews.
To begin with, Andrews has a 3.5 GPA in high school and picked us over Vanderbilt, among others. He's listed as an athlete (for those not familiar with recruiting terms, that means he's got skills for more than just one specific position), though we were one of very few schools to recruit him as a QB. A number of other schools recruited him to play wide receiver or defensive back, but according to Andrews, quarterback is "my natural position, I've been playing it since 6th grade." He's listed on Rivals as being 5'11", 190lbs, and in my opinion this guy is going to be a great fit in our system. (more on that after the jump)
I watched a couple YouTube videos of his Sophomore and Junior year highlights (posted below), and a few things became very apparent:
1) He ran a spread, read option-based offense in high school. For the non-football nerds out there, the offense he ran looked exactly like Auburn's and Florida's. Across those 2 videos I saw him take maybe 5-6 snaps from under center, with the rest being from the shotgun. How comfortable will he feel under center on the Flats? That's yet to be seen. But the good news is that he's clearly had experience learning to read defenses in run-based offenses.
2) This kid is more elusive than the Sasquatch. Good grief, I feel like I watched him break triple-digits worth of tackles in 10 minutes of film. I didn't see him truck anyone at all, but it was truly unnecessary with him juking everybody out of their shoes and turning 5-yard losses into 15-yard TD runs. I can't tell you whether he's facing SEC-caliber talent or second-string-in-mom's-backyard-caliber talent, but he was still very impressive to watch. Kid has a lot going for him on the ground.
3) He didn't get a whole lot of protection from his offensive line, so a lot of times he had to improvise and scramble on passing plays. It's very good seeing him able to use his feet to extend plays, and after doing so I saw him make some really good throws (look at the second half of the junior year highlights for those). We'll see if that translates to the Flats, but I definitely think he has the capability of being an impressive passer. He really reminded me of Synjyn Days, who is a very gifted runner that could use a little more poise in the pocket.
OVERALL: It'll be interesting seeing how he pans out here. I think he has a TON of potential, after seeing some really good stuff from him in the videos, but at the same time, how many recruits have we seen that were highly, highly touted, only to crumble in the spotlights, getting arrested for drugs and being hurt and generally getting the fanbase to despise you? I think he brings a lot to our program, and I look forward to having him wearing the White and Gold.
Godby High School Dennis Andrews Junior Highlight (via thed0rk09)
Dennis Andrews Sophomore Highlights (via EliteScouting)
EDIT: Title fixed.
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Please continue the smack talk between Nate and yourself
I don’t particularly love the topic of recruiting, but this element of rivalry between you two is hilarious and had me reading the article and comments anyway.
We're not rivals, really.
Fraternity big brother-little brother (hence: LilBroey) actually. But we do enjoy giving each other crap, so it will certainly continue.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
Tech seems a Non-Factor in Ga HS recruiting
Look at the article “Five players to watch at the Georgia Dome” on pg. C6 Wed Dec 7 AJC. Of the five high school players who are featured plus five other kids who are mentioned, not ONE was committed to Georgia Tech or even considering it as a finalist. And these guys were going to Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. I’m happy to see Jackets are the front runner for DE Dalvin Tomlinson of Henry County in today’s AJC. People, you can’t go to the races unless you have the hosses. CPJ has got to step up his game.
by BayouPhilosopher on Dec 8, 2011 11:48 AM EST reply actions
Most of us will agree with that.
But, like clockwork, you’re about to get comments mentioning academics (calculus, etc.) and possibly the offensive scheme’s “unique needs.” I’ve never been convinced either of those is a real concern. The bottom line for me? Better athletes always help, so always try to get them.
Do you feel like maybe we don't sell the opportunity right?
Because it seems to me that telling a guy, “You could come here and play for a high-caliber football program while getting a world-class education, and by the time you graduate you’ll have opened up more doors to success than you can imagine,” would be a little too sweet of a deal to turn down.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
That might be part of it.
But don’t forget the ability other coaches have to “un-recruit” kids to us. There are so many angles to play for them. They can call us a tiny engineering school. They can say we’re in a sucky conference. They can say we don’t pass the ball. They can say our offense doesn’t get kids ready for the NFL. They can say the campus is dangerous, ugly and full of nerdy guys. They can call our fans fair-weather or just few and far between. They can knock our small, old stadium. They can say we’re on NCAA probation for a long time to come. They can say we’ll never win a national title here. They can say the city life is dirty, loud, too busy, uptight, etc.
We can try to debunk all of it with a kid, but it comes down to showing them on visits that we’re a great place to live, work, and play football for five years. I personally would show them the campus and facilities but then take them to Spelman, State and Kennesaw to let them meet the girls who’ll be around and then tell them all about the high starting salaries for almost every major and then point to all the buildings overlooking the campus and say “Somewhere in the top of that building is a Tech grad helping to run that company and in his parking spot there is a luxury car that will soon take him to the airport where he will be taking his private jet to NYC tonight to have drinks with the men who run other large companies and then stay at a five star hotel. He lives the NFL life and he didn’t even play football at Tech. You can achieve it here either way, son. Make your momma proud and put on the White and Gold.”
See, I disagree with this...
I would rather we use the Gary Guytons and George Godseys (star Tech athletes who were Engineers) to recruit as well as the Calvin Johnsons, Joe Hamiltons, Jon Dwyers and Bebe Thomas’s (especially the guys drafted under CPJ’s watch). Let use former athletes who have done something significant outside of football…or hype up the internships and job opportunities available with athletics contacts. But at the same time, we need I prove that it’s just as possible to make the NFL from GT as it is from any other school.
However, it’s pretty damn difficult to sell an 18 year old kid and a 4-star or 5-star athlete on the benefits of Tech “if you don’t make the NFL”…unless they were looking at Tech from the beginning.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 8, 2011 2:09 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
To me, it's a "both/and" not an "either/or"
We have to do what you say and then get dramatic with the “safety net” idea, too. It makes it appear that there can be no downside (which, honestly, there is very little downside to coming to GT and working your face off no matter who you are and what you’re doing.) But, yes, we have put guys in the NFL at a great pace. We should sell that, too.
There's also that other thing...
To consistently get 4- and 5-star athletes we would have to resort to desperate tactics like singing to a kid on his birthday, or expecting our coach to personally chauffer a kid around ON GAMEDAY (like Vandy’s coach did with Shadrach Thornton)…because in the end a lot of it how who can stroke ego’s the best.
Or you could just win a NC…
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
Let's go with that last option
Seriously though to me this is a no-brainer.
Let me stir up some serious dander. Most high school kids don’t know their -—- from a hole in the ground. Seriously.
I am not saying they are not adorable in their own ways. I am not saying that they won’t one day grow up to be fine people. I am just saying when they think about where to play football their choices are probably on about the same level as why they go to McDonald’s instead of Burger King. It rarely has to do with “taste.” It usually has to do with a conditioned response. They grew up going there with the family. They saw it on TV at an impressionable age. Their friends all say they prefer it. It seems like in their mind it is the only place to go. The adults around them all sing McDonald’s jingles.
It takes a lot of work over time, and several success stories to slowly change historical impressions to keep some kids from just automatically thinking they are only going to go to certain schools.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 4:36 PM EST up reply actions
I totally agree...
Prime example is Robert Nkemdiche, the nation’s #1 2013 recruit from Grayson HS. All this hype as a HS Junior, then when asked about his “favorites” the standard answers come out…
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Clemson, South Carolina, etc…as if it would be unacceptable for him to say anything else.
Poor Francis Kallon, I seriously wonder what kind of crap is being shoveled in his direction to get him to decommit from Tech. I wonder if his not growing up here is helping to shield him from it…
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
Yes, exactly
Anyone who has enough individual integrity to not go along with the heard instinct is automatically going to get resistance. Natural leaders are always the first ones the group mentality tries to shoot down. That is why I think by and large the good athletes who choose Tech are an exceptional breed. They can not only think for themselves they have the intestinal fortitude to be able to hold firm when so many voices around them are nay saying.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 9:56 PM EST up reply actions
On a somewhat related note . . .
I had an undergraduate history professor who used to use historical examples to prove that “the masses are by and large asses.” He was trying to shake us up and get us to go against standard convention. I have never forgotten the lesson.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 9:58 PM EST up reply actions
Where is it said that Guyton was an Engineering major?
is player bio at Tech says management…..
This is my Family Tradition
by The_GT_LineageX11 on Dec 9, 2011 10:29 AM EST up reply actions
Could've swore he was an ME...
When I looked it up…ok my bad.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 9, 2011 10:47 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Faith Ekakite said his Atlanta trip was his favorite of all the official visits he took
He loved the coaching staff, felt at home at Tech, was thrilled about Atlanta and gave a shout out on his blog to Courtney. In the end it was his parents who talked him out of going to Tech because they feared that there were too many distractions in a big city. So, out of the dozens of colleges that offered to him, including Oregon and Stanford, he ended up at Iowa.
Sometimes we make too much out of what we think Tech is doing or not doing to get top recruits. There are so many factors in why a good kid might end up at one school over another.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
Or maybe we should be humbled by the fact...
that our Institute, while competitive in many things, is not the best for every kid.
In fact, the are better options than our school for pretty much anything that might be important to you.
I came out of state from Florida, and I turned down Florida’s equivalent of the Hope scholarship for UF…all because the campus visit to Tech blew me away. It wasn’t the measurables that clinched it for me…it was the feeling I got from my surroundings.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 8, 2011 10:36 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
the only "unique needs"
for GT is a mobile quarterback. Nothing else should really be all that unique for us
Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John Heisman FromTheRumbleSeat
by Winfield Featherston on Dec 8, 2011 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
I've heard it about our O-line quite a bit...
The debate goes something like:
Homes: “Hey, bro, how come we can’t get heavier linemen?”
Bro: “Nah, Homes, see it’s a CPJ O-line…they gotta be agile and short to get leverage and lateral quickness.”
Homes: “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, my bromosapien?! There are big guys with quickness!”
Bro: “Sure there are…in the SEC.”
Homes: “Fine. I’ma need a lot more beer then….”
Two smart guys there
Seriously bro, there are only so many big guys that can move. There are a lot of big guys, and a lot of guys that can move, but it’s rare to find a guy who can do both. When you do, he’ll be a sure-fire NFL guy with 100 offers. Georgia Tech can only do so much in terms of recruiting, so you have to try to target guys that will be the most effective in the system because you won’t get big, quick guys very often.
See?
I don’t have anything to refute that with, but I kinda feel like GT still needs to get those guys regardless if we want to win on more than tight execution of a good scheme. it can be tight execution of a good scheme by dominant players. And that combo wins a lot.
CPJ seems to like HS wrestlers...
Trey Braun was an all-state wrestler in FL, and he’s likely going to step in a play next year and eventually be our starting Center.
Dalvin Tomlinson is also an all-state champion wrestler in GA…and I think it’s VITAL that we sign him.
Wrestlers = leverage. Leverage = success in the tranches.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
I was unaware...
…of the wrestler thing. That’s an interesting way to do it. They probably do understand a low stance and generating power to flip somebody over. I guess cut blocking O-lines could benefit from that kind of experience.
There is another approach simultanoues to this
You can find big guys that don’t appear agile, and therefore aren’t getting hundred other offers, and then you coach them up. I am betting dollars to donuts CPJ is all over that.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 4:40 PM EST up reply actions
Once that happens . . .
More good linemen see the success previous players are having and they follow along.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
I hope Omoregie Uzzi...
can stick in the NFL and prove to future commits that…if you’re good, you’re good…the system doesn’t matter.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
I agree that we need to try to get those guys
but we won’t land those guys very often. When’s the last top tier lineman we actually landed? Before Uzzi, we had Nick Claytor, and those are the only two four star linemen we have successfully recruited in the past 10 years. Andrew Gardner was pretty talented, but I’d probably classify him as a mobile guy instead of a big guy.
My point is that, regardless of scheme, we will be hard pressed to get big guys that can move on a regular basis, so you have to recruit guys with lesser talent that can effectively operate within your system. Personally, I think that CPJ has done a hell of a job getting good linemen thus far.
Nat Dorsey and Mansfield Wrotto are a couple of CGO/CCG recruits who worked themselves into the NFL despite not being highly rated HS prospects.
(by the way, I remember that game where Nat Dorsey complete shut down Julius Peppers)
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
Good examples
Wrotto was recruited as a defensive tackle and Nat Dorsey was recruited more than 10 years ago, so I didn’t get to him in my “research.” Those guys weren’t the top offensive linemen in their classes, but they were good enough to get a shot in the NFL.
We can still recruit players of their caliber that have a shot at the NFL.
I really hope so.
I only know the arguments that fly around on message boards. I don’t have expert knowledge. And I’ve only been a Tech fan since I became a student in ‘05. I know it’s early history quite well, but discuss anything GT from about 1965-2005 and I’m lost.
Might want to wipe out 1967-1980, 1993-1994 out of your mind completely…
Seriously though, I was in the same boat. My first game ever at Tech was the 1995 “Seat Cushion” game on Thursday night against Maryland (and Scott Milanovich) that we won 17-0 behind Keith Brooking and CJ Williams. Actually the 3rd game of the season, but because of Quarters us out-of-staters missed them. I know very little about Tech before then, other than some coaches and players during that stretch.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
I can go way back...
…only because I have heavy experience studying GT’s early history. And I know a good bit about the days of Dodd. I see GT through a lens completely devoid of our darkest days. It’s nice not to know about those years, but it also means I see no reason why we’re not just one good team away from reestablishing a football factory. I’ll probably never understand how poorly managed our AA was during those years. It seems to me we went from celebrated Southern powerhouse to…an upper-tier ACC team who plays the villain to seemingly happier teams. I know something must’ve gone WAY wrong, though.
Back in the day Pepper Rodgers recruited big NFL type offensive linemen for his triple option.
It takes time. It took time to recruit the offensive linemen that produced our last National Championship too.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 8, 2011 4:44 PM EST up reply actions
We've done an awful lot of recruiting out of North Carolina and Florida since CPJ has been here
But agreed, I would like to see them take a little more advantage of the talent we have in-state. Georgia is easily in the top 20% in the country in producing football talent, and I feel like we don’t capitalize on that as much as we could.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
GT is gaining in Florida...
especially here in central Florida where I live. They’ve had a pipeline to Tampa Jesuit for years now (George Godsey, Anthony Allen, Phil Smith, Anthony Harrell, etc.), but have begun to recruit at some of the local area’s best programs…
Embry Peeples (Dr Philips, Orlando)
Quayshawn Nealy (Lakeland Senior, Lakeland)
Errin Joe (Lake Gibson, Lakeland)
Anotnio Crwford (Plant Senior, Plant City)
As for GA, getting Kallon is huge (and a credit to our recruiting staff), and Pat Gamble is a great GA prospect. If we could land Dalvin Tomlinson and Chris Moody, I would argue we’ve done a great job in GA.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
Comments like this
baffle me. When CPJ first got here, everyone complained that he was only recruiting Georgia, and now, I’ve heard quite a few comments, like this one, about him not recruiting Georgia enough. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
CPJ Signees from Georgia/Total Number of Signees
2009: 14/21
2010: 14/18
2011: 11/23
2012: 6/11 (thus far)
So, 2011 was the first year that we didn’t sign 67% of our players from Georgia, and we’re over 50% thus far for 2012. We are going to have difficulty attracting the best talent from Georgia because of all the other big schools that also recruit this area, but a lot of our players are coming from the state. Also, it’s not like the guys that we’re getting from out of state are bad; I happen to like Attaochu, Lewis Young, Orwin Smith, David Sims, etc.
Nice job guys...
From what I’ve seen of Andrews, he looks like a more athletic version of TW. Looks like someone who could also step in at A-Back if he falls down the QB depth chart.
Couple of other questions…
1) I see that we are hosting 4-star LA athlete Darion Monroe (recently decommitted from Texas A&M), IN kicker Ryan Frain (recently decommitted from Illinois), and some others. Is there anyway for us to get a list of visitors to the campus these next few weeks?
2) I noticed that Faith Ekakitie recently committed to Iowa, so I hope Dalvin Tomlinson signs with GT to help us shore up our D-line.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
"Without Further Adieu"?????
Don’t you mean “Without Further Ado”?
by Dive Keep and Pitch on Dec 8, 2011 1:20 PM EST reply actions
Damn it.
Being official here is not as much fun as I thought it would be….
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
I'm making finger guns right now...
…and wishing all of my friends were cooler than being red-headed ATO’s at Wisconsin.
Very good work...
and am looking forward to the rest of the recruiting season. As a side note to those folks commenting regarding we need more kids from in state, the goal is to not only get outstanding football players, but OUTSTANDING STUDENTS. Last night a big time DT recruit that was considering GT, Faith Ekakitie, decided to go to Iowa. But that was after he was rejected at Northwestern as he was unable to meet the admissions criteria.
That is why CPJ and his staff spends their time evaluating the academic end first, because if they can’t qualify, why waste any time recruiting them. Great article and keep up the good work.
by cuttysark on Dec 8, 2011 1:29 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Excellent point
if they can’t qualify, why waste any time recruiting them.
One thing I like to keep in mind about recruting ...
… is that while it would be nice to have 85 future NFL players on scholarship, it’s not necessary. GT footballs plays in the NCAA, not the NFL. If you consider that there are 32 NFL teams and the NFL draft has just seven rounds, then there are only 224 players that are NFL worthy each year. That’s about 1.87 players per team in the FBS. Maybe I’m oversimplifying things, but that’s how I look at recruitment.
by Dive Keep and Pitch on Dec 8, 2011 3:55 PM EST reply actions
That is an excellent view
It’s probably oversimplified, but it gets the right point across. Of the 22 starters, if you have a few NFL caliber players, you will win more than you lose (see 2009) because, on average, the other team won’t that many. I would say that Georgia Tech has more than 1.87, but perhaps not as much as the Alabamas and LSUs of the world.
But more than 1.87 draft-able players...
…play on the NCAA teams that win a lot. Now, that’s not to say that having a bunch will MAKE you win (UGA, UNC, etc.), but teams that win a lot DO tend to have lots of them (Bama, LSU, etc.)
Talent is not sufficient...
…but there is a very strong case that it is necessary.
by first and thom on Dec 8, 2011 4:22 PM EST up reply actions
And it's really not all that important how many Stars they have when they arrive...
but how many they have when they leave. Ask uGA about the hordes of players who come in with all-world talent and end up doing pretty much nothing.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
The best players on Tech's defense
were three star guys. We’ve seen plenty of both types, so recruiting stars aren’t as crucial as those sites would like you to believe.
BeBe Thomas was a 3-Star player...
Joe Hamilton might have been a 3-Star player…not sure because back in the mid-1990’s they didn’t have the “ATH” designation.
Now of course, I’d rather prefer the guys with the highest ceilings. However, I’d like the guys we can get to contribute and produce meaningful results on the field.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
Stars correlate with, but don't cause, success.
Orson Charles, one the top 3 TEs in the country this year? 5-star. Crowell, SEC freshman of the year and Freshman All-American? 5-star. Malcom Mitchell, leading WR as a true freshman? 5-star. Jarvis Jones, unanimous all-SEC linebacker? 5-star.
It’s nice to get guys who have extreme physical ability. The thought is that a 5-star should be so good that he can be a major force even without massive development. A lot of them pan out (Matt Barkley, Julio Jones, Greg Reid, A.J. Green, DeAnthony Thomas, Reggie Bush) but many do not. There are busts. By the same token, there are tons of guys who come up from relative obscurity to play great football. But the percentages are lower. We don’t think of a pine-riding 3-star as a bust in the same way that a pine-riding 5-star would be, but there is a much higher percentage chance that the average 3-star will be sitting while the average 5-star is playing.
If you had a roster full of 5-stars or a roster full of 3-stars, would you even have to think about it?
by first and thom on Dec 10, 2011 4:27 PM EST up reply actions
I think that being on either end of the spectrum changes expectations
Having a bunch of 1- and 2-star players means that you’re going to be a hot commodity of a coach when you go and win a bowl game, whereas having a bunch of 4- and 5-star players means you’re going to be on the hot seat, big time, when you lose to UCF in the Liberty Bowl.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I think uga is doing themselves no favors by holding onto a guy like Richt, who has proven that he can do little to improve players once they get there. He won the SEC East this year, but with the talent on that roster they should be able to hang with the LSUs and Boise States of the world.
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
I always appreciate my rival's opinion of UGA's coach.
Two things:
(1) Only one team held with LSU this year, and that’ Alabama – where even the water boy is a 5-star.
(2) Our team is quite young. Let’s see how we do next year.
by first and thom on Dec 11, 2011 10:43 AM EST up reply actions
Agree...
A higher number of stars means a higher potential for success…not disputing that. Is it preferred? Sure.
But for every Orson Charles and Aaron Murray there’s a Montez Robinson, Zach Mettenberger, Caleb King, or Alex Hebron. It’s a very high-risk high-reward method of talent acquisition. It seems to me that CMR sometimes is more interested in the number of stars over a lot of other immeasurables.
Tech just doesn’t have the recruiting budget to blow through kids like that if they don’t pan out. To get multiple and national 4- and 5-star recruits requires lot of traveling and face time with coaches from the time kids are sophomores and before. Its just too damn inefficient, costly, and soulless to operate that way. It’s much better to find the right type of kid for your school and build the program’s reputation until you can get the Francis Kallon’s of the world to come to your school.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 10, 2011 11:30 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
That's right - not everybody pans out.
Contribution is what counts, not potential – and stars are pure potential.
But easy on the accusations of Coach Richt. I think it’s out of line to call the man soulless or star-blind. He booted Mettenberger even though he was not required to do so, and Mett is set to the be LSU’s starter next year.
by first and thom on Dec 11, 2011 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
The 5- and often 4-star players
Even the guys at these recruiting sites can identify those as talented football players. Where the usefulness cuts off is their assessments of 3-star guys. Often, video availability, level of competition, and potential for growth are reasons a guy is a 3-star and doesn’t get much more attention.
So, while you’ll definitely see correlation with five stars and success, that’s expected as those are the top 20 or so players in high school football. The rest of the group is kind of a mixed bag.
That's right - 5-stars are supposed to be "can't miss" prospects, and some still miss.
A guy can fail to make the cut for any reason at all.
by first and thom on Dec 11, 2011 12:28 PM EST up reply actions
Like bringing in recruiting classes greater than 85/4 on average?
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 11, 2011 6:53 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I would argue that cutting Mettenberger was the politically shrewd thing to do, especially since in early 2010 it was obvious Murray was gonna be the guy…and he’d probably seen enough of LeMay to cut ZM.
Not calling the man soulless per se, just saying the ZM situation was handled, especially considering the kids mom worked in the UGA Ath Dept, in a way that pretty much only benefitted CMR.
Look, what CMR does puts enough talent out there to be very competetive in the SEC…I’m just saying his recruiting classes look a lot better on the way in than they do once they’re done playing.
"Reach down in there...TURN THAT DAMN THING UP!" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Dec 11, 2011 6:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
My thoughts exactly
The Church of Paul Johnson - There's not much to it outside of whooping ass and giving haters the finger. To HELL With georgie!
by LilBroey700 on Dec 11, 2011 10:49 PM EST up reply actions
I think your read on the ZM situation is precisely wrong.
Mettenberger outplayed Murray in the spring game and the two were knotted up in competition. LeMay hadn’t committed. Murray was probably narrowly favored for the spot in the fans’ eyes, but the issue was not settled and we had no depth at QB. We played 2010 with Murray (redshirt freshman) and Hutson Mason (true freshman) and then walk-ons. Calling that move “political” is the opposite of what I think – the policital move would have been to keep Mett on board.
Richt has said that cutting Mettenberger was a very difficult decision, but Mettenberger’s lies about what happened made it a necessary decision.
Yes, many of UGA’s recruiting classes have under-performed. But this year’s class most certainly did not.
by first and thom on Dec 12, 2011 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
Say more about this if you would. . .
“Yes, many of UGA’s recruiting classes have under-performed. But this year’s class most certainly did not.”
Do you mean simply mean that Georgia had a good season record (which they did) or do you mean that this year’s class played up to expectation and elevated the team?
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 12, 2011 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
Their top two recruits
certainly played well…when they were on the field. Injuries could definitely be a problem with them, but they played well when healthy. I don’t really know much about the rest of their recruits.
3 of our best receivers were freshmen.
Crowell had an obviously successful year at RB. Amarlo Herrera played extremely well at ILB. Two freshmen backed up on the OL. One DB played consistently, and, along with two others, were major contributors on special teams. Our Juco NT was solid and made a huge difference. A true freshman OLB was a difference maker in the Vandy game.
This year’s class really contributed on the field.
by first and thom on Dec 12, 2011 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
I wonder why the announcers in the SEC championship were dissing on Crowell?
They implied some things about his work ethic and inability to learn the play book. Just wonder what that was about since I don’t have any first hand knowledge on that subject.
by Atlanta's original team on Dec 12, 2011 10:38 PM EST up reply actions
The fanbase is a bit divided on the guy, but I don't think we should be.
He has tremendous potential and has certainly earned his season-end honors. He was hurt a good bit, but its hard to dock points for that, given that he was playing high school ball a year ago. He was suspended (drug rumors) for one game and Coach Richt held him out a quarter of another game. His sideline manner sometimes struck the wrong note with people – whether he was too happy looking or to serious looking.
Expectations around the kid are sky high. His flashes of brilliant play (running inside, outside, catching passes, or even blitz pick-up) feed the fire. And, as a result, his merely excellent freshman campaign is viewed by many as a disappointment. I hope it will be his worst season, and that he gets his head screwed on tighter next season.
by first and thom on Dec 13, 2011 1:09 AM EST up reply actions
He definitely has talent
He just needs to get right above the shoulders. I don’t look forward to playing him in the future.
Might not make the Bowl game.
Grades and such. Still doesn’t know whom to block.
You'd do it for Randolph Scott!
RANDOLPH SCOTT!
by DressHerInWhiteAndGold on Dec 13, 2011 7:24 PM EST up reply actions
I don't know about his grades...
… but his blitz pickups were great. He looked like a freshman early in the year, but made great reads in a pretty complex blocking scheme by his third game.
by first and thom on Dec 14, 2011 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
I liked this a lots.
Looking forward to being more tuned in to recruiting this year…starting, well, now!
Fan is short for "fanatic" nimrod.
#THWG. Love, North Ave. Trade School
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