State of 2024 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
- Start date
We need a lot>. we are rnked 46 and 13th in SEC. We need recruiters.
We have strong recruiters. Given the number of highly recruited players who generally commit during the fall, plus the lack of standardization in player rating criteria, summer class rankings are meaningless. I trust our coaches.
I will just add this. In this class, our commitments already include an outstanding QB, an outstanding RB, an outstanding CB, and a bunch of athletic LBs with tools. We still need to add WRs, OTs, defensive linemen, and safeties to the class.
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You got to be kidding, the 2 front line guys are not the number 13 starting unit in SEC. UGA's receiving unit is ranked high, but that is because of Bowers at TE. Got some fast kids, some decent size kids but no 1000 yard receiver type kids, only been about 20 years since we had one.
Given that some commitments in the national 2024 class were publicly announced prior to the most recent transfer portal window, we are beginning to see some predictions from commenters in the world of recruiting that fall 2023 will be one of the most active in recent history for flips.
For example, if the Smith twins were to commit to UK, that would be a hypothetical example of flip activity being predicted for this recruiting cycle. I am still far from convinced they will pull the trigger, but Coach Marrow is trying to flip the Smiths as well as a number of other committed prospects. We know Coach Marrow often stays in touch with prospects after they commit elsewhere. FWIW, there have been multiple reports this summer that UK's coaches are trying to flip Miami DT commit Artavius Jones, FL DL commit Kendall Jackson, UC RB commit James Patterson, OH St RB commit Sam Williams-Dixon, NWern OL commit Zachary Franks, OR OT commit JacQawn McRoy, and GA Tech OL commit Jordan Floyd.
Current UK starting LB Trevin Wallace signed with us after flipping from BC. Current Wildcats Khamari Anderson and Kendrick Gilbert also flipped to us after de-committing elsewhere. I am anticipating that our coaches will flip other prospects in the 2024 class, and I am pretty sure they are focusing now on WRs, OTs, defensive linemen, and safeties.
For example, if the Smith twins were to commit to UK, that would be a hypothetical example of flip activity being predicted for this recruiting cycle. I am still far from convinced they will pull the trigger, but Coach Marrow is trying to flip the Smiths as well as a number of other committed prospects. We know Coach Marrow often stays in touch with prospects after they commit elsewhere. FWIW, there have been multiple reports this summer that UK's coaches are trying to flip Miami DT commit Artavius Jones, FL DL commit Kendall Jackson, UC RB commit James Patterson, OH St RB commit Sam Williams-Dixon, NWern OL commit Zachary Franks, OR OT commit JacQawn McRoy, and GA Tech OL commit Jordan Floyd.
Current UK starting LB Trevin Wallace signed with us after flipping from BC. Current Wildcats Khamari Anderson and Kendrick Gilbert also flipped to us after de-committing elsewhere. I am anticipating that our coaches will flip other prospects in the 2024 class, and I am pretty sure they are focusing now on WRs, OTs, defensive linemen, and safeties.
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I`m not the one asked, but I`d say it`s around 40/60 in favor of Michigan. They had an edge flip to Miami earlier this week, so their class, at edge, isn`t as crowded as it was. I forgot which is which, but one committed early and the other waited, so maybe one is more of a possible flip than the other. But are they a package deal?
JR said they can't put in FC for committed prospects or he would put in one for UK. Roush and Luckett put in ON3 predictions for UK. They are hearing if they are eligible and stay in state they will be at UK next year. If they transfer back out of state, anything can happen, but UK is in great shape. Hopefully Luckett and Roush's source isn't reading what JRow said on HOB because they are basically repeating what he said last week. Lol
When does Corbin's season start, this upcoming weekend? One can assume if the Smiths play they're eligible and will stay in state.
I have heard a couple say they were eligible. Luckett said today they were not. Who knows unless there is something official
FWIW the Smith twins are listed on the Corbin roster on the KHSAA website. I doubt that ensures they are eligible but it's something.
All I can really tell you right now is that I don't believe Jacob and Jerod are on the same page yet.
Another issue is whether the twins have damaged their relationship with Harbaugh by moving back to Corbin. Or, perhaps, whether they moved back to Corbin because they aren't on the same page with Harbaugh anymore. We just don't know.
I believe their recruitment will stretch into the fall. We would be lucky to get them. I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic at this point, but I trust our coaches.
Whether they play for Corbin doesn't tell us what they will decide. I tend to doubt their recruitment is over. We will see.
They just got Fonged. Wiltfong flipped his pick to UK and UM insider was quoted saying it isnt over but if they flip UM is out. Looks like it is getting closer to actually happening.
IMO, we can be certain Roush and Luckett are reading and regurgitating what JR posts.
Saw that. Wiltfong is one of the more dependable sources out there. He is wrong occasionally, but not often. So, as far as it goes, that's good news. At the end of the day, I consider the twins' recruitment more difficult to predict than most. For one thing, there are two of them, and we have seen circumstantial evidence that they don't feel exactly the same way, such as the fact that they committed to MI at different times. For another thing, they are committed to MI, relocating to Corbin, and taking UVs to UK. So the twins already decided on MI and Jacob cancelled his June OV to UK. To my uneducated way of thinking, that means anything can happen now. They could stick with MI, they could flip to UK, or they could flip somewhere else. The longer this takes, the worse for us (probably). It would make me very happy if they sign with UK. But my experience as an observer of UK recruiting tells me that what I want to see (LOL!), and what the rest of us here want to see, will mean nothing when decision time comes IYKWIM.
I will say this much now, though. A lot of posters are still publicly complaining about UK's 2024 class, just like a lot complain about our class every summer. I keep saying that we still have 4 months until the signing date, and important recruiting developments happen for us every fall. If the Smith twins flip to Coach Marrow, there will be a surge of exhilaration here, and multiple redundant threads, probably an overreaction if we are honest about it. But the truth is that we should, and can, trust our coaches regardless of the twins. The most important commitments for our 2024 class so far have probably been Cutter Boley, Elijah Groves, and Terhyon Nichols. But the most important target for us out there is still Brian Robinson.
I am wondering about something.
The background is that UK already has commitments from Antwan Smith, Elijah Groves, Caleb Redd, and Steven Soles. Uncommmitted Brian Robinson OV'ed UK in June, and Jacob Smith just UV'ed twice recently. Amontrae Bradford and Lorenzo Cowan will OV UK on September 8. UK's staff is still aggressively recruiting Devin Smith. All these prospects have something important in common. Publicly, UK is recruiting all of them as LBs. (How many LB scholarships are in UK's 2024 class?)
So here is my question. Antwan Smith has track speed, good athleticism, and is 6'3" and about 190#. Although it has been reported that UK's staff is recruiting Smith as a LB, maybe they actually see him as a WR or S? None of us can answer this question yet, but it seems to fit with the large number of LBs UK is still recruiting.
The background is that UK already has commitments from Antwan Smith, Elijah Groves, Caleb Redd, and Steven Soles. Uncommmitted Brian Robinson OV'ed UK in June, and Jacob Smith just UV'ed twice recently. Amontrae Bradford and Lorenzo Cowan will OV UK on September 8. UK's staff is still aggressively recruiting Devin Smith. All these prospects have something important in common. Publicly, UK is recruiting all of them as LBs. (How many LB scholarships are in UK's 2024 class?)
So here is my question. Antwan Smith has track speed, good athleticism, and is 6'3" and about 190#. Although it has been reported that UK's staff is recruiting Smith as a LB, maybe they actually see him as a WR or S? None of us can answer this question yet, but it seems to fit with the large number of LBs UK is still recruiting.
We`re low on linebackers now, so I can see us taking more than normal. A. Smith can put on 30 pounds and be a force at LB.
I have wondered the same thing. It seems they like smith at Will as a Jamin type LB. Where does soles fit at? He said they recruited him at SAM but seems like a WILL also. Are groves and Redd both SAM LBs, Redd possibly a Jack? Then add the Smith twins to that. Jarod most think Jack, and Jacob DE. If Robinson csn be added that could be 3 Jacks. Of course he could play Jack or DE and is the best of the bunch. They don't really have a true Mike in that group. It is interesting for sure.
To answer the other post about recruiting concerns. I have them but not at these positions. Yes A Smith and Soles may be projects and Groves may be a little ways off before seeing the field but this area apart from not having a Mike is coming together. Most years we would be elated with Redd and Groves, but some just see the misses on Nichols and not originally getting the twins on campus. Plus not finishing with BRob. I 100% agree there is concern about tge OT recruiting, and DT also. Some of our top targets didn't even make it to their visits. They will be back in the portal looking to fill both of those positions in December. Of course if they add someone as a Fresh they will need a year or two unless they are Deone.
Overall I am not overally disappointed in this class. I definitely see some bright spots. They finally got a HS qb. They got a really good TE. Need one more RB but Mizzell has a ton of potential. WR is far from done. If they add. Gilmore that will be awesome. I like Selm and LaFondant as OGs. It isn't highly ranked but not horrible. If they add a good RB and Gilmore the Off will be solid except missing at OT.
The Def is going to have a ton of potential. Nichols is a great cb addition. I would like to see them add another CB. Marshall may play CB but seems to be more of a S. He is also going to hard to keep if FSU comes hard afyer him. They need another S. The Safety room is good but has zero depth. Need a good addition there. If A Smith stayed around 200 he could be an awesom add at safety. I just think he will add weight and be more like square.
Overall the class will come togerher. They could add 5 of their top recuits this fall. Add Mikel and the naysayer shut up completely. Just wish they could do better on the lines. Just my thoughts. Lol
CFB is in a new age. If the high school recruiting class is disappointing, gaps can be filled in the portal. No one would call UK's high school quarterback recruiting even good the last 5 yrs. Yet we go into 2023 with one of the best QBs in the SEC.
Our recruiting ranking is due to low numbers. And IMO the few commits is due to the staff being more selective. We don't offer "projects" or roster number fillers. We accept commits from SEC athletes. And if we don't get enough of them from high schools we've proven we can get them from the portal.
Our recruiting ranking is due to low numbers. And IMO the few commits is due to the staff being more selective. We don't offer "projects" or roster number fillers. We accept commits from SEC athletes. And if we don't get enough of them from high schools we've proven we can get them from the portal.
Definitely agree with you here. Our coaches have become much more selective. And by "selective", I mean Stoops is taking prospects that he and his staff like after extensive evaluation, such as Soles, Rodriguez, and Lafontant. These prospects have been heavily scouted by our coaches. Our coaches are not scouting players based on the online player ratings, which is why we did not heavily pursue Zuri Madison, Fred Johnson, or Tayvion Galloway. It is easy to identify more examples of prospects with good online ratings whom our coaches passed on.
I think this depends a little more on the position. There is no question that Malachi Wood, Elijah Reed, and Noah Matthews are projects, but they have raw athletic tools and frames that are projectable given the heavy amount of evaluation our coaches did with them. It is particularly worthwhile to take a project like Wood with the huge frame and known athleticism, knowing that our conditioning staff should be able to add 50# of good weight to his frame over 2 years or so. After all, many offensive linemen are in that same "project" 1boat coming out of hs.
This staff has had some amazing project development successes such as Josh Allen, Calvin Taylor, Luke Fortner, and Logan Stenberg. In each case, our coaches evaluated and understood the competitiveness, intelligence, and burning desire to succeed. I don't foresee Mark Stoops ever becoming an online recruiter. The most basic reason for Stoops' success here is that he, Coach Mike, and Coach Marrow are better (and harder working) evaluators of talent than most SEC football coaches. That skill only increases as our coaching staff improves and matures. If we are being realistic and fair about this, credit Coach Mark Stoops and Mitch Barnhart for keeping Coach Marrow and Coach White here, bringing in Coach Mike and Coach Boulware, and bringing back Liam Coen.
Kind of strange for a head coach to do…
Last night one of the Mich insiders said UM coaches were talking to them and there was real concern. Today two of the the UM Insiders flipped their picks to UK. Two top analysts Dohn and Wiltfong flipped their picks last night. I haven't seen it but others have mentioned an article were they interviewed Jacob and from what they're saying he isn't going to UM and never wanted to. It sounds like it is more him trying to flip Jacob
One note they're insiders are saying that Harbaugh has went hard back after Brian Robinson.
No not really. Trying to let the kids own their choices rather than recruiting outlets. Right now they are Mich commitments, if that changes they deserve to be the ones to ultimately announce that. I've seen HS coaches react this was about commitments, denying 1 was made so the kid can have their moment to shine.
It's interesting because WRs are a dime a dozen for the NFL draft, but a plus CB can really get paid. We've put several CB/DBs in the NFL in recent years.
Not necessarily. We need to see whether our coaches view him as a RB or LB. If they view him as a RB, as they likely will, we need to see how he stacks up in practice competition against our other RBs.
Just what the kid perfers, and to capitalize at WR you better be elite. But to be fair he is athletic enough to contribute on either side of the ball, maybe needs a couple years. But I don't think he has much interest in DB.
Knowing that a "flip" to UK would be EXTREMELY beneficial for those 2 becoming eligible, it seems RIDICULOUS for the Corbin HC to say this on Twitter(X)!!!!
Yup, kind of like having the brains and resources to become a doctor and deciding to become a nurse.
But in the context of the question posed, even if Keyes is a RB now, does his arrival shut down RB recruiting in our 2024 class? IDK. Our 2024 RB room would be DSK, Wright, Wilcox, Mizell, and Keys. Is that enough for Coen and Boulware? Could be, but that assumes Keyes is ready by then to contribute in an SEC spread offense and no attrition from the room between now and then. The chance of outbound transfers is constant concern now.
What if he profiles as a S rather than a CB? NFL safeties take a beating in run support and tend to have shorter careers. Not everyone has the hips and flexibility to play CB in the NFL or the SEC.
