Babers has not dipped into juco except for Ryan Guthrie LB in 2017 - 2018 (made all-ACC 2nd team) and Williams LB in 2017 - 2019 (starting this season) and Tisdale OL (2nd unit). Welch might be the only example of an “overlooked guy”. Marrone’s rebuild used jucos in several spots, notably Tiller at OG.
With where we are in the roster, and in the 2020 recruiting cycle, could use juco help, as well as grad transfer help. We are thin at DT, LB, CB, OT. Devito will improve, but an upgrade at QB would make us a much better offense.
Far from the only example of the "overlooked" guy -- see: Guthrie. And I'm not talking about walk-ons.
I have a difficult time pegging Alton Robinson as a JUCO, given the circumstances of him ending up there, how his legal issue resolved, and how he arrived here late in camp the moment he was cleared.
But even so, let's just count him as a JUCO. He is a star, perhaps the best talent we've had on the team in years, and a guy that we normally wouldn't have landed if not for the stars aligning and the kid falling into our lap. Kudos to our staff for leaving no stone unturned. So let's break the rest of the list down:
Robinson -- see above, true impact player
Guthrie -- didn't receive any other D1 offers, despite being a JUCO all-american, due to being undersized
Berry -- solid complimentary depth player
Pierce -- production dipped substantially in 2nd year, due to him being a hotheaded personal foul machine
Allen & Williams -- neither made it to campus
Johnson -- has yet to see a meaningful snap
Williams -- special teams ace as a first year player, starter in second year
Grosvenour -- platoon guy as senior, who hasn't seen much PT
From that list, Robinson is a true impact player [arriving here under extremely unusual circumstances], Guthrie was a very good player who far outshot his offer list, Berry is a quality depth guy who has been a spot starter, and Williams is getting quality run this year. Pierce looked like he had a world of potential, but failed to live up to it.
The rest? Not much production.
And this is the issue I have with this thread -- the question is NOT whether we can get some quality players via JUCO, it is whether we can consistently land starting caliber players via that route. Somebody posted above that we need a talent infusion, but I don't believe that it is realistic to expect that we can get that from the JUCO ranks.
Supplemental depth? Sure.
Quality prospects who can step right into starting roles? Less likely.
Impact players? Not very often.
I also contend that it is easier to fill some positions via JUCO [i.e., linebackers] than it is to find others [OT, DT, etc.]. In part, I think that's what explains us having success with Guthrie, Williams, Siriki Diabate [back in the day], etc.
