Which recruiting misses have most contributed...

[jekelish]

...to our downfall over the last dozen or so years? I was just watching the NBC pregame and they were interviewing Gronk, and it made me think about our misses.

I'd rank them, in order of the top three misses:

1) Vick
2) Ray Rice - especially since we had him and the coaching change caused him to change his mind
3) Gronk - arguably the best TE in the world is a legacy who shunned us

Yes, this is a sour grapes/what might have been post.

 

[orangenauburn]

Tamba Hali

 

[Crazy Cuse]

Vick for sure. If he came Coach P would still be our coach and that drop off when McNabb graduated none existent. Plus he wouldn't have killed all those dogs after getting a SU education, I'm sure VT offers Dog Torture 101

 

[bothsocksup]

Most recently I think missing out on Junior Onyeali has been huge.

 

[OrangeBlood]

Most recently I think missing out on Junior Onyeali has been huge.

Of the Marrone era undoubtedly. Guy is a straight beast and we had him. Damn Arizona Babes.

GROB- Rice, a player that could have kept the program going in NFL name recognition. Did we even have a shot at Gronk? He is from Williamsville but played HS in Pitt i think..

P- Vick, I honestly believe we would be a regular top 25 team if we would have landed him.

 

[Bayside44]

Vick. Gronk. Joe Daily.

We still had good RBs Ray Rice or not.

 

[44PRIDE]

I don't think any one single missed recruit was the cause of our problems. Nor to I believe any one single recruit would have been the solution to our issues.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Sidney Rice.
Anquan Boldin.
Xavier Lee.

 

[bothsocksup]

Sidney Rice.
Anquan Boldin.
Xavier Lee.

we had a shot with Boldin?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I think we offered. I don't remember if he visited.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Did we even have a shot at Gronk? He is from Williamsville but played HS in Pitt i think..

He is a legacy. We missed out on all of the Gronk kids. I was told that dad has some ongoing issues with the Cuse program.

http://www.fanbase.com/Gordon-Gronkowski

Here is also an article on Gronk from 2006 about his transferring to a HS in Pittsburgh. Says he made a recruiting visit to Cuse.
http://niagara-gazette.com/sports/x1753132676/HIGH-SCHOOL-Did-Gronkowski-transfer-for-football/print

 

[OrangeBlood]

I am pretty sure the father went to Syracuse.

 

[jekelish]

I am pretty sure the father went to Syracuse.

No reason to just be "pretty sure"...he absolutely played at SU. He was a lineman and graduated in 81. The reason I list Gronkowski as one of our biggest misses of the last 10-15 years is that he was a legacy, from NY (he transferred to a HS in PA before his senior year for better competition if I recall), and not getting him was brutal for those reasons. Best player from the state in a long time, legacy, big time recruit...and we couldn't grab him. That one hurts.

 

[OrangeBlood]

No reason to just be "pretty sure"...he absolutely played at SU. He was a lineman and graduated in 81. The reason I list Gronkowski as one of our biggest misses of the last 10-15 years is that he was a legacy, from NY (he transferred to a HS in PA before his senior year for better competition if I recall), and not getting him was brutal for those reasons. Best player from the state in a long time, legacy, big time recruit...and we couldn't grab him. That one hurts.

Completely Agree. But if what cliftonpark said is true, we never had a chance. I wonder what the feud is over?

 

[tep624]

...to our downfall over the last dozen or so years? I was just watching the NBC pregame and they were interviewing Gronk, and it made me think about our misses.

I'd rank them, in order of the top three misses:

1) Vick
2) Ray Rice - especially since we had him and the coaching change caused him to change his mind
3) Gronk - arguably the best TE in the world is a legacy who shunned us

Yes, this is a sour grapes/what might have been post.

Vick was huge.

Ray Rice - phenomenal player but we've had good RB's, and Gronk, another phenomenal player, but the team was so weak at that time I don't think he would have made a huge difference.

I'd say Vick, then followed by the Damien Rhodes' recruiting class as a whole. There were 4 or 5 high profile recruits from that class that SU was in the top 5, and in some cases top 2 for, that we lost out on. Army AA's like Tamba Hali and Shadu Moore, Greg Threat from Tallahassee Lincoln, and a couple others - and we lost out on all except for Damien.

That class really cemented the downfall of depth and talent for Coach P. When we went from classes that had 3 or 4 freshman that could legitimately play as frosh due to talent, not due to need, to 1 freshman like that if we were lucky, that's when the talent really started to go South.