Class of 2024 DB Ibn McDaniels (NJ) COMMITTED / SIGNED NLI TO SYRACUSE (1/13/24)

[007]

He has elite measurables, not debateable, but what can be gleaned from his tape is that he’s fully recovered from an injury suffered his junior year. You can also see on his tape that he never gives up on plays and even if the comp isn’t great (I’m not sure personally) you can still see his body movement, anticipation and positioning for cover skills. Now the schools Elizabeth played this year, many are schools that put out P4 talent so I don’t think the comp is horrible.

He was the best player on a fairly bad team (3-8 this year). So you factor in junior year injury (couldn’t camp), senior year on a pretty bad team and that he was a late qualifier, it’s reasonable to think that he could have been overlooked even with elite measurables.

All good points tep624 There is little doubt he was overlooked.

 

[NJCuse97]

My sister in law worked there for years but has been with Novartis for awhile now.

If Novartis in Cambridge, I was a lead on their latest research building.

 

[qdawgg]

If they give him an 80 that is ridiculous but wouldn’t be completely surprised. That means they gave zero effort to spend any time even looking into him at all. Elite measurables for a CB should get him much higher. Hopefully they see SU’s current commits are starting to be of a higher caliber and that starts factoring in as well.

No they shouldn’t. Measurable are meaningless if the kid can’t play the position. And I’m not saying Ibn can’t play the position. But you don’t hand out grades because you think they should be good with their measurable. If he had at least attended camps but had gotten hurt his junior year then there be information from camps to what kind of player he is or could be. But he’s largely an unknown. I like this offer/commit but saying he should have a decent rating I think is pushing it because at this point there’s not a lot to base that off.

 

[tep624]

No they shouldn’t. Measurable are meaningless if the kid can’t play the position. And I’m not saying Ibn can’t play the position. But you don’t hand out grades because you think they should be good with their measurable. If he had at least attended camps but had gotten hurt his junior year then there be information from camps to what kind of player he is or could be. But he’s largely an unknown. I like this offer/commit but saying he should have a decent rating I think is pushing it because at this point there’s not a lot to base that off.

I think film against known quantities he played against would be a better barometer. But if that turns out well, then the measurables would be a contributor. It’s hard to grade just on measurables alone.

 

[qdawgg]

I think film against known quantities he played against would be a better barometer. But if that turns out well, then the measurables would be a contributor. It’s hard to grade just on measurables alone.

Exactly and my post is in no way knocking the kid. I like the offer, as I said. But to say he should be a 4 star is a bit of a reach. He may be a 4 star but to expect recruiting sites to deem him a 4 star with limited games and no camps (for right or wrong) isn’t realistic.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Yes, you did.

"He could be good but seems like a bit of stretch for Fran to be wasting a scholarship. He should probably be offered a PWO spot."

Here is a former SU recruit that didn’t have offers, but had measurables.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

What facts do you have that leads you to believe that the Head Coach shouldn't have offered him a scholarship?

Due solely to the fact that other schools didn’t offer.
This is likely the result of Fran’s Jersey connections reaching out once Fran took the job. He got video, talked to coaches, met the kid, offered. I’m good.

 

[baggerbob]

Nothing about that says I know more than him. I just disagree, you don’t need to know more to think a kid like this probably doesn’t need a scholarship to come here.

Fran certainly knows more, but that doesn’t mean I have to pretend like this kid is going to be a major contributor to the team.

Why don't you come back to this in 2 years, we don't need anymore comments on this kid from you.
You said what you wanted so we don't need to hear anymore.

 

[upperdeck]

way less issues now with taking a kid when you can have the talk and buy your way out of scholies pretty easy now.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Nothing about that says I know more than him. I just disagree, you don’t need to know more to think a kid like this probably doesn’t need a scholarship to come here.

How do you know what the family can afford? All in, SU is about $100k per year.

 

[anglerman]

Exactly and my post is in no way knocking the kid. I like the offer, as I said. But to say he should be a 4 star is a bit of a reach. He may be a 4 star but to expect recruiting sites to deem him a 4 star with limited games and no camps (for right or wrong) isn’t realistic.

It doesn’t matter what recruiting sites say period. They rated our 2 backup QBs as 4 star players out of high school. Not exactly correct.

If you watch his video you can see he has elite athleticism and great size. I think he has a ton of potential. I bet when Fran saw his tape he was like whoa I got to get this kid. He could play safety or WR, he could grow in to a LB as well.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Gentlemen, you're starting to confuse me as to whether the thread title should be IBN or IBM.
Please keep it on the young man...Ibn McDaniels.

 

[Consigliere]

I started in Armonk HQ in 1979 and worked in NY/CT locations for 18 years before joining a Pharma in CT. Congrats on sticking it out that long!

And mine was in Endicott - the birthplace of IBM!- though I never saw much of it after the first three of my 20 years. IBM retired me in 2020.

 

[anglerman]

To be fair, Ibn was most likely offered based on his measurables (height, 40, vertical) and, more importantly, as a product of the staff's multiple connections in NJ. I don't think much can gleaned from his tape given the level of competition. The OP's "wasted" scholarship declaration is ridiculous without knowledge of what the staff has heard about the kid, let alone taking into account their years of experience identifying and coaching high level DB talent.

But you can see the kids athleticism regardless of who he is playing. He also shouldn’t be penalized because the competition is not good

 

[SUFaninNJ]

If Novartis in Cambridge, I was a lead on their latest research building.

East Hanover. I forgot, that she’s been with Regeneron (in Tarrytown) since 2017.

I’m fine with this signing as others have mentioned, he’s got the measureables. In Fran I Trust.

 

[All4SU]

I don’t know anything about anything. But when a school hires the consensus #1 recruiter it seems like you have to kind of let him do his thing.

 

[orangefog]

I don’t know anything about anything. But when a school hires the consensus #1 recruiter it seems like you have to kind of let him do his thing.

Isn’t it perfectly logical that Fran Brown forgot everything he knows and decided to just waste a scholarship on this player?

 

[bnoro]

I didn’t say I know more than him, I’m just surprised that a guy who goes out and grabs top talent isn’t saving that spot that for a proven transfer or a higher quality player. Sorry I’m not a huge fan of getting more unrated players with injury concerns. That worked so well the last 8 years. But hey, it’s SUPER impressive that you watched a highlight tape and it’s full of highlights. All I see is a player who couldn’t get scouted in NJ and seemingly only holds 1 P5 offer.

If he had multiple soft tissue or muscle injuries I'd be concerned. A broken collarbone is not an "injury concern".

 

[bnoro]

Tape reminds me of when I watched Bromley's tape. Has the physical attributes, makes plays, gets after it. You can't teach heart.

 

[CbusCuse]

No they shouldn’t. Measurable are meaningless if the kid can’t play the position. And I’m not saying Ibn can’t play the position. But you don’t hand out grades because you think they should be good with their measurable. If he had at least attended camps but had gotten hurt his junior year then there be information from camps to what kind of player he is or could be. But he’s largely an unknown. I like this offer/commit but saying he should have a decent rating I think is pushing it because at this point there’s not a lot to base that off.

I never said measurables alone. Watching the tape, the kid can play. And I’m not just talking height and weight measureables. You can see his speed and athleticism as well. Measurables factor in. He’s a an athletic 6’-3” CB. In what world doesn’t that bump his rating?

 

[CbusCuse]

And junior year is typically when kids start getting rated. He only played a handful of games before getting injured. And I haven’t seen any posted highlights from that season. His injury is likely the biggest reason he didn’t get rated. Not because he’s not good enough.

 

[anglerman]

Tape reminds me of when I watched Bromley's tape. Has the physical attributes, makes plays, gets after it. You can't teach heart.

Totally agree. You could also say Doug Houges tape He was a special athlete as well

 

[baggerbob]

Totally agree. You could also say Doug Houges tape He was a special athlete as well

He reminds me of a safety we had in the 90's 4.38 speed about 6-2, 200 when he got here. Was a RB converted to Safety Tebucky Jones, he didn't turn out bad.

 

[money3189]

We don’t have to love every single player that gets brought in just because they get a scholarship. Believe it or not, most unrated kids don’t go on to do anything in college, especially at the P5 level.

Absolutely and its ok to spend some time researching why Fran likes the kid despite his lack of P5 interest. You might see a kid with similar traits Alijah Clark had in HS who missed out on camp/showcase opportunities. There are no wasted scholarships now. You can always replace them with the transfer portal.

 

[cusefan88]

It boils down to the last staff taking 5-10 guys like this potentially after striking out. This dude is a high-upside low-risk player. Really excited to see Fran's version of Diamonds in the Rough.