Lull in Commitments

[SmilinBob]

Yes, there are many works to be done recruiting wise and if the Orange can keep the ones they have now and get some prospects Marrone and the staff have rated high on their list along with some JC's, I think they would have done a very good job and in my opinion keeping on the path to developing relationships to the school and staff.

 

[wfschrec]

Quite frankly the one thing that gets lost in all of this is that there are still a lot of good players left on the board and if schools fill up early they don't have the room to take some of these kids still out there ... see Ogundeko with the Florida/ND situation ... plus you have kids that blow up their last year on the high school circuit like a Cameron Lynch ... be patient fellas ... be patient.

 

[PhatOrange]

Again you are saying that Marrone is smarter than EVERY FRIGGIN college HC by waiting while all those dummies take kids early. Sorry I do not buy it. Kids are not committing early to SU and have a wait and see attitude. That is a problem. We lack impact players on both sides of the ball. That is a problem. It isn't just about numbers as I rather be us than NC St right now. But every year we are behind in the recruiting game. That isn't a good thing. We lack playmakers. That isn't a good thing. This is year 4. Marrone should be doing better at this point. Most schools are closing things up while we aren't even halfway done. There is a lot of work left to do. That is a disadvantage.

Can we get 10 more kids to commit with 7 being three stars? Sure. But you can't just assume everything will turn out roses.

I'm not saying Marrone is smarter than anybody else. Where on earth do you get that from?

I haven't gotten the impression that kids are taking a wait and see approach with Syracuse either. I see a bunch of kids we're recruiting who are taking 5 official visits.

Numbers are also limited. Maybe they'll increase but you can't over recruit by offering kids now who are on the fence.

 

[PhatOrange]

The numbers are more likely going to be 22 or 23. We never, ever end up with the minimum number of spots. Loaves and fishes, every year. So, there is more work to do to close strong than you are willing to acknowledge. (Some can be jucos, of course, and that is a good thing.)

The numbers might end up at 22 or 23 but you cant recruit like we're at that number yet. You can't over extend offers right now only to later tell kids sorry but...we don't have room for you.

It's also not necessarily a good thing if we lose another 5 players and the numbers expand to 22/23.

 

[PhatOrange]

We didn't do that great in November - January last season (Hilliard didn't make it here; we lost 3 of those early commits when better programs came knocking and our season went South), but we scrambled for some West Coast jucos who have helped (Clark, MPB, Jones, maybe Walls).

We did just fine in Nov-Jan, with limited space. 4 of 6 kids were bonafide blue chips prospects. I didn't list MPB earlier but he's a starter. Ryan Norton is doing fine. Zian Jones is in the rotation and Hilliard if he makes it here looks very promising and had a bunch of BCS offers. In fact at the end was a surprise commit to Syracuse.

If you think we scrambled at the end thats fine, maybe we did, and it was caused because we lost 2 linebackers and a defensive tackle in January who'd been committed since July - which was the point of this thread right?

Clark and Walls were added over the summer. We had room to add some players so we did.

But you look at the full picture. How many? How did we fit our needs? What quality? How do we compare to our rivals, especially regional rivals who recruit the same areas (thinking here about Pitt, Rutgers, UConn, BC, Maryland, West Virginia, maybe Vir Tech). Going into November -- January are we scrambling through our A-minus list, or are we leading with some of the prospects we most want to land?

I do look at the big picture and that's why the handwringing is a joke. We have a lot of visits set up with BCS prospects. Our 8 recruits are on par or better than anything Pitt, Rutgers, UConn, or BC currently has.

 

[orangefog]

With the number of transfers seemingly increasing the past few years. Would it be prudent for the staff to keep a few slots available to trasfers next spring/summer?

 

[CU44SE]

Greg Adkins said the other day that there will be between 12-16 scholarships this year. You get Ogundeko, Officer, Smith, and Carter your now at 12 which the staff said is the least amount. You got one for Hilliard if he comes in next year like he is supposed to. Now you have 3 spots open for others, maybe JUCO's or transfers and you get to 16. Were really not that far behind. People are taking other visits, plus they are all in season right now. They don't have the time to take their officials, so they wont do that until later in the season. That is when you will start to see people committing again.

 

[wfschrec]

Greg Adkins said the other day that there will be between 12-16 scholarships this year. You get Ogundeko, Officer, Smith, and Carter your now at 12 which the staff said is the least amount. You got one for Hilliard if he comes in next year like he is supposed to. Now you have 3 spots open for others, maybe JUCO's or transfers and you get to 16. Were really not that far behind. People are taking other visits, plus they are all in season right now. They don't have the time to take their officials, so they wont do that until later in the season. That is when you will start to see people committing again.

Don't forget they also expect Xzibit (aka Poncho Barnwell) in 1.5 years to arrive ... not to mention there is still some churn over Charles Davis who may be a backup plan as a speed back if Laray blows across state lines. We have more options than I think people realize ...

 

[wfschrec]

The numbers might end up at 22 or 23 but you cant recruit like we're at that number yet. You can't over extend offers right now only to later tell kids sorry but...we don't have room for you.

It's also not necessarily a good thing if we lose another 5 players and the numbers expand to 22/23.

A prime example of this was the TJ Neal disaster ... who apparently was offered ... never accepted early on and then wanted to come here and then said SU just blew him off ... the Inn was full and he missed his window ... dragging things out can hurt recruits just as much as it can the school. Me I like that they are patient and not going to insight panic ... I trust the staff knows what they want and how long they are willing to wait for it.

 

[PhatOrange]

A prime example of this was the TJ Neal disaster ... who apparently was offered ... never accepted early on and then wanted to come here and then said SU just blew him off ... the Inn was full and he missed his window ... dragging things out can hurt recruits just as much as it can the school. Me I like that they are patient and not going to insight panic ... I trust the staff knows what they want and how long they are willing to wait for it.

where did Neal end up? Everybody said he would not qualify.

 

[PhatOrange]

Don't forget they also expect Xzibit (aka Poncho Barnwell) in 1.5 years to arrive ... not to mention there is still some churn over Charles Davis who may be a backup plan as a speed back if Laray blows across state lines. We have more options than I think people realize ...

and Myles Hilliard is not listed as a commitment but he should be. So we're at 9.

 

[Orangepace]

Maybe. But is there a reason why this would be true only for SU (or for MAC schools with few reported commits) and not for our rivals (Pitt, Rutgers, BC, most ACC schools) who have longer lists of commits at this stage?
Look -- it is OK that our staff has a lot of work to do to close this class. We are likely to win some rivalry games, get a shot at a decent bowl, and our profile & buzz might well improve month to month. If we are engaged with a number of better prospects, and get visits in November, it could all turn out OK.

Well, I would say yes, it's much more true for a team of our nature than most of ACC schools. The majority of those schools are established in recruiting circles over the last decade. We have developed some pipelines, but it's also true that we have to target some B's at the same time as our A's.. And it's more likely for us to have a Plan A recruit jump ship or waver in their commitment as opportunities open at other schools than it would be for a VT or FSU.

 

[PhatOrange]

If everything holds firm there are 16 available scholarships for this class.

With 9 commitments there are 7 available scholarships remaining.

 

[SoBristol]

The numbers might end up at 22 or 23 but you cant recruit like we're at that number yet. You can't over extend offers right now only to later tell kids sorry but...we don't have room for you.

It's also not necessarily a good thing if we lose another 5 players and the numbers expand to 22/23.

You do realize that we have extended 120 offers, right? (Not all at once, but we made a lot of offers knowing the percentages.) We made a lot of early offers to prospects who are now on the commit lists of others or have taken us off their lists. Lots of prospects have offers but are still deciding.
As to losing 5 players and having the class come in at 22/23 -- the fact is that it happens every year. Players leave after their 4th year (Boatman last season; Chandler Jones; maybe Pugh this year if the NFL rates him highly). There is always attrition. There is usually attrition from our commit list as well. Do you follow the "loaves and fishes" discussions on these threads?

 

[SoBristol]

PhatOrange, we seem to agree that we needed to scramble in November -January last season; and the staff did well with Jucos and transfers. I already said that earlier in the tread. And I like jucos, more than most. Credit to the staff for catching up. And reason to believe they can do it again, through jucos if necessary.

As to the opinion we are matching our regional rivals in the high school recruiting battles, well, opinions may differ. We have work to do. I know the staff is working this as well as possible.

 

[timkay99]

where did Neal end up? Everybody said he would not qualify.

Illinois

http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/neal_tj00.html

 

[tep624]

I admittedly forgot about Hilliard, so we're actually at 9, not 8. I believe we had one spot remaining in the 2012 class that didn't get filled due to the decommits and then Hilliard not qualifying made 2, which went to Clark and Walls for this season.

9 out of 16 is 56%. Hilliard was a consensus 3 star so he'd only add to the quality of our recruiting rankings. Even if we exceed 7 spots and go in the 8-9 range, we're still involved with around that many prospects if not more that are planning officials to Syracuse.

UCONN, for instance, is at 15 - if they are taking a full complement of 25 or more, that's at most 60%. So based on purely the size of our class, we're about 1-2 recruits off from a percentage basis as compared to those schools that are our peers that are taking full complements. Again, I'm not sure exactly the expected size of all of our peers' recruiting classes.

In the words of DC, Whoop De Damn Do.

 

[javadoc]

In the words of DC, Whoop De Damn Do.

What intrigues me is the list of guys we are involved with but do not yet know about. Or guys that we are supposedly not in on, but there is interest.

 

[PhatOrange]

What intrigues me is the list of guys we are involved with but do not yet know about. Or guys that we are supposedly not in on, but there is interest.

This is probably a good size list. I've heard us involved with kids and neither site has syracuse listed as a school of interest. And as is the trend with Marrone's recruitment, surprise names have popped up late. Eskridge, Hilliard, Desir, Jeremi Wilkes, Keon Lyn and Micah Robinson come to mind as kids that when it became public (visits) they had not been on the radar.

And there's been other late visitors that come out of left field DT Tod Chandler (USF) and DE BJ DuBose (LVille) come to mind.

 

[chakka3421]

Who are the top 5 left must needed positions?