Class of 2015 JUCO OLB Ted Taylor (KS) Signed LOI

[CuseOnly]

???
you don't "waste" a scholarship ever big fella. the staff clearly thinks the kid can contribute, but if they're wrong it's better to have a two year hit to the roster than four. Not sure why so many on this board get their panties all bunched up whenever they see the term JUCO.

last I checked, scholarships are year to year.

 

[kcsu]

Hey what can I say? It happens from time to time. I believe last time was the Wes Lindor thread. Plus some of my best work didn't even make the cut.

Anomander you are a great poster and bring a ton of information to this board. Having gone off the rail a few times myself i love the fact that you stick to your guns and defend your position. This board is for fun and sometimes "getting into it" is ok as long as it isnt mean spirited. I have loved the back and forth between two really great posters.

For my part i think that he is a good late find. I like Juco players in small doses and think that this kid for many of the reasons already posted is a good risk.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Not for nothing, but I think I would know what I was saying. Read the thread.

Kind of hard for anyone to see how disparaging you were being if they can't see what was deleted... unfortunately I still can. Don't act innocent you are better than that.

 

[anomander]

Kind of hard for anyone to see how disparaging you were being if they can't see what was deleted... unfortunately I still can. Don't act innocent you are better than that.

I stand by everything I said that was deleted. There wasn't anything that bad other then some reasons why I felt it was a big reach. One point was being his CC has sent 10 players to FBS programs the past 2 years. Programs from Arkansas, Kansas St, all the way down to WKU, and So Alabama. Point being the school has been heavily scouted by basically every program in the country, and we were apparently the only school who saw something. I think that's a valid point?

But the post that you quoted had nothing to do with that. I agreed with exactly what Bnoro said about recruiting JUCO's. I'm fine going after the elite ones like Mavety, or guys like Trey who has 3 years to play, but I don't understand the under the radar JUCO's. I'm not trying to play innocent, or hide behind anything I said. I fully stand by it.

 

[CIL]

I stand by everything I said that was deleted. There wasn't anything that bad other then some reasons why I felt it was a big reach. One point was being his CC has sent 10 players to FBS programs the past 2 years. Programs from Arkansas, Kansas St, all the way down to WKU, and So Alabama. Point being the school has been heavily scouted by basically every program in the country, and we were apparently the only school who saw something. I think that's a valid point?

But the post that you quoted had nothing to do with that. I agreed with exactly what Bnoro said about recruiting JUCO's. I'm fine going after the elite ones like Mavety, or guys like Trey who has 3 years to play, but I don't understand the under the radar JUCO's. I'm not trying to play innocent, or hide behind anything I said. I fully stand by it.

I think you have made that point perfectly clear.

 

[anomander]

I think you have made that point perfectly clear.

Good, just wanted to make sure. I mean she did just said I was acting innocent.

I'm just responding to people now.

 

[tep624]

Good, just wanted to make sure. I mean she did just said I was acting innocent.

I'm just responding to people now.

I think the issue was that literally the next post after the post saying that he signed with SU was one from you saying nothing more than "Waste of a Scholarship" or something like that. The stuff being said on this page is perfectly reasonable.

 

[jekelish]

I stand by everything I said that was deleted. There wasn't anything that bad other then some reasons why I felt it was a big reach. One point was being his CC has sent 10 players to FBS programs the past 2 years. Programs from Arkansas, Kansas St, all the way down to WKU, and So Alabama. Point being the school has been heavily scouted by basically every program in the country, and we were apparently the only school who saw something. I think that's a valid point?

But the post that you quoted had nothing to do with that. I agreed with exactly what Bnoro said about recruiting JUCO's. I'm fine going after the elite ones like Mavety, or guys like Trey who has 3 years to play, but I don't understand the under the radar JUCO's. I'm not trying to play innocent, or hide behind anything I said. I fully stand by it.

Well, we weren't the only school to see something in him. He got a scholarship offer from Kansas, apparently, back in January, and his coach for whatever reason hid that from him.

 

[Toga]

Well, we weren't the only school to see something in him. He got a scholarship offer from Kansas, apparently, back in Jan

uary, and his coach for whatever reason hid that from him.

 

[jekelish]

Well, I don't know if "hid" is the right word. But apparently he DID get a Kansas offer back in January but wasn't aware of it until a week ago or so.

 

[VaSaltine]

I really question the Kansas offer. I can't think of a single reason a coach would hide an offer from a recruit in his situation. Schools weren't exactly knocking down his door and he even said himself he felt his football career was over. If coach did so there must be a damn good reason, such as some past bad experience like that SC kids scholly being pulled two days before signing say.

 

[timkay99]

I stand by everything I said that was deleted. There wasn't anything that bad other then some reasons why I felt it was a big reach. One point was being his CC has sent 10 players to FBS programs the past 2 years. Programs from Arkansas, Kansas St, all the way down to WKU, and So Alabama. Point being the school has been heavily scouted by basically every program in the country, and we were apparently the only school who saw something. I think that's a valid point?

But the post that you quoted had nothing to do with that. I agreed with exactly what Bnoro said about recruiting JUCO's. I'm fine going after the elite ones like Mavety, or guys like Trey who has 3 years to play, but I don't understand the under the radar JUCO's. I'm not trying to play innocent, or hide behind anything I said. I fully stand by it.

What does Taylor have to do to make this a good sign in your opinion?

It is likely he has more of an impact with Syracuse then a guy like Womack.

Womack has high upside, but also has a low floor with potentially playing a position only 1 guy sees the field.

Again, I really don't think there is a difference with these post signing day signs. Taylor for me will be as much a contributor as Avant will be.

It is rare to find starter upside after signing day (yes, Bromley is an exception).

 

[BKCuse]

There are ALWAYS kids who fall through the cracks both in HS and JuCo. Sounds like Taylor missed a lot of football games due to injuries so that right there is prob what prevented him from getting more offers.

He looks fast and he hits hard on tape so I like him a lot but more importantly this staff has proven it's got an eye for talent.

And I'm a huge proponent of adding JuCo guys. Not only are they physically more ready to contribute but they're hungry as hell after their JuCo experience and if they bust you get to replace them in just 2 years.

I only wish the kid was on campus for spring ball.

 

[Rocco]

Scott, Chuck and Clark think this kid will be able to contribute. They wouldn't have offered him just to fill out a roster spot.

The fact he had little interest from other schools is puzzling for sure, but he may just fit nicely into our defensive schemes. He can run and hit, which is what a blitz-happy D needs.

At the end of the day, these guys aren't handing out committable offers just to do it; they offer kids who they think can help the program. It's fun to speculate, but let's see what this kid can do in camp.

If they like him right now, I like him right now. Once he's on campus will be another story.

 

[O-pulse]

Ted Taylor, welcome to the Cuse football family! As you can plainly see, if you read your thread here, like all families we have our dysfunctional elements. Try to ignore that and enjoy your time at Syracuse. Make the most of it!

 

[jekelish]

At this point, I'm just watching to see how many pages of "this kid can't contribute!" vs "this kid can contribute!" we can get in a row on a kid who has still never ever set foot on campus, before spring practice has even officially started.

 

[Full_Rebar]

What does Taylor have to do to make this a good sign in your opinion?

It is likely he has more of an impact with Syracuse then a guy like Womack.

Womack has high upside, but also has a low floor with potentially playing a position only 1 guy sees the field.

Again, I really don't think there is a difference with these post signing day signs. Taylor for me will be as much a contributor as Avant will be.

It is rare to find starter upside after signing day (yes, Bromley is an exception).

To me, you go and get JUCO's to come in for January and play Spring ball so they are ahead of your incoming freshmen class when Aug. practices start. It's a little concerning to get a guy after NSD who is not coming until summer.

As for Womack, he's a 3-sport athlete (All-State SS) with good size/speed and very good academics. 100 schools were contacting him within days of his film being posted. Taylor was at a very good JUCO and still had 1-2 offers.

Not saying he can't contribute, but I can see why there are questions about him taking a scholarship. With all of the coaching changes, you never know when you might get a 5th year kid who is looking to move on after going through Spring ball with a new staff.

 

[RMH44]

To me, you go and get JUCO's to come in for January and play Spring ball so they are ahead of your incoming freshmen class when Aug. practices start. It's a little concerning to get a guy after NSD who is not coming until summer.

As for Womack, he's a 3-sport athlete (All-State SS) with good size/speed and very good academics. 100 schools were contacting him within days of his film being posted. Taylor was at a very good JUCO and still had 1-2 offers.

Not saying he can't contribute, but I can see why there are questions about him taking a scholarship. With all of the coaching changes, you never know when you might get a 5th year kid who is looking to move on after going through Spring ball with a new staff.

I understand as well...but I think taking a JUCO is far less risk (2 year vs 4 year) than taking a flyer on a kid out of HS.

At a minimum, this kid will play on specials which is a necessity. Maybe the coaches evaluation of him is correct and he competes for 2-deep time from the get go? time will tell.

Either way, investing in this kid for 2 years is far less risk than investing in a HS kid that you noticed walking down the hall on a recruiting visit. If Davis can contribute as much as Josh Kirkland did than he is well worth the investment.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Stephen Bailey ‏@Stephen_Bailey1 16m16 minutes ago Syracuse, NY
Shafer expects JUCO signee Ted Taylor to compete with Bennett and Thomas for that strong-side LB spot in preseason camp.

 

[timkay99]

To me, you go and get JUCO's to come in for January and play Spring ball so they are ahead of your incoming freshmen class when Aug. practices start. It's a little concerning to get a guy after NSD who is not coming until summer.

As for Womack, he's a 3-sport athlete (All-State SS) with good size/speed and very good academics. 100 schools were contacting him within days of his film being posted. Taylor was at a very good JUCO and still had 1-2 offers.

Not saying he can't contribute, but I can see why there are questions about him taking a scholarship. With all of the coaching changes, you never know when you might get a 5th year kid who is looking to move on after going through Spring ball with a new staff.

Merely cited Womack as an example. There tends to be an assumption when guys are first recruited that they will always pan out (more evaluated for what they can do vs. what needs to be fixed). I am very excited to have Womack on the squad because his upside is so high at a position of need. There is a decent chance he never plays though if he stays at QB simply b/c only 1 can play.

Avant was a guy we took late post NSD last year. Upside is a depth WR. Has value.

I think most of what you get after NSD is depth. I think Taylor will be depth and play specials. Has value.

I think fans lock in on upside when evaluating recruiting classes and individual signees (and tend to assign higher upside to HS over JUCO). There is a strong need for usable depth and that gets lost at times when looking at classes.

Key for the post for me is, what role does Taylor need to have going forward for this to be a good sign? Would he need to make an impact in the base defense? If he plays special and either Cullen/Henderson redshirt, is it a good sign?

Mainly wanted to ask Anomander b/c he didn't think any of the JUCO's we have signed besides Kelly were any good even though most saw the field in one way or another. If Taylor is held to that same standard, then I think he will be regarded as a bad sign. But, a lot of high school guys have been failed recruits if he looked at them in the same prism.

I have no opinion on Taylor. He is a 3 to play 2 guy and I prefer taking those JUCO's just b/c they can have the option of redshirting.

 

[Full_Rebar]

My opinion isn't based on Taylor, but rather on a couple of other JUCO's that were taken late in the game and caused issues. I have some concerns about taking any non D1 transfer after the NSD because that can typically mean red flags. I see that Taylor in the running to start, so maybe we are really looking at some issues with last year's Frosh LB group and this is a guy who can contribute (which to me is travel squad and provide depth).

In Womack's case, his academics aren't an issue and it appears he might have just slipped through the recruiting cracks. Even if he didn't pan out, I think we can all agree that SU needs to take some shots to land athletes and hope they turn into P5 football players.

 

[baggerbob]

Our Return teams under Marrone, and so far under Scott have been bad, if this Kid comes in, and can help not having people take punt returns to the house, he earns his way.

 

[CuseLegacy]

 

[Upstate]

Well, that's a nice development.

 

[CuseLegacy]