Well two things stand out behind the scene. He is said to have a very high ceiling and his work ethic is at a super high level. Why I think this guy should be a really good OL for us. And he already has a nice frame.
State of 2024 Recruiting
- Thread starter Rembrandt90
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A lot depends on whether M. Cox, E. Cox, Flax, and Hall come back. Everyone has been dumping on Burton lately, but he is only a sophomore. Almost every school wanted him. There are rumors that Malachi Wood is up to 310# and looking good in practice. Ford, Wood has a reputation for athleticism. Burton, Ray, Rodriguez, Wood, Keenum, Ramsey, and Christman should be back. So we may or may not need more offensive linemen from the portal. Probably so, but not clear yet.
But I strongly believe we need a new OL coach.
For an OG, he does. It isn't a LT frame. He is very similar physically to George Asafo-Adjei, and I could see him playing some RT perhaps, depending on who else is developed (or transfers in) at RT.
Described as 'incredibly light on his feet for a man his size, incredibly strong and delivers a powerful punch. Will start out at guard but could move to OT later. A powerful run blocker right now.'
That's why I compared Nave to George Asafo-Adjei. Same size and build. Like Asafo-Adjei, Nave Probably starts out as a RG. And like Asafo-Adjei, maybe eventually a RT, depending on who else is competing at RT when the time comes. I would not discount the possibility that Nave could become a really good OG. It's the position that made Bunchy Stallings an All American.
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I haven't seen a play by play statistical analysis that says targeting calls are ruled incorrectly, after review, at a higher rate than the likes of players being on/off/over line of scrimmage, holding, & committing pass interference. Illegal procedures are nitpicked to death. Offensive PI is like to never called when it happens.
Said to possibly be 'the steal of the Midwest.' Would love to know why OH St parted ways. He grew up a Buckeye fan.
From what I have seen he still is. I read a couple things. One was that OSU didn't think he had progressed much the last couple years. The other was they thought they were about to flip William Satterwhite from UT.
Just as BC420 says, there has been quite a bit of online material speculating that Satterwhite may flip to OH St. Satterwhite is from Akron, so we can see why this looks realistic. OH St's coaches are still trying to flip Gabe VanSickle from NWern, and may succeed. Also, Jordan Seaton and Aidan Bryant hold OH St offers and remain uncommitted. Bryant's written OH St offer just came last month, so OH St is actively recruiting him. So, besides Nave, OH St still has three solid OL commitments is still aggressively recruiting a bunch of other interesting prospects. OH St's class is very close to getting full, and it's possible that Ryan Day may have cleared a scholarship here. It's also possible that Nave took another look at OH St's future depth and realized he might not get onto the field. He certainly won't have that problem in Lexington.
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Illegal procedure isn't a hard call. If the offensivce player makes an illegal movement prior to the snap, the flag gets thrown. But I agree PI is arbitrarily called. They aren't supposed to call PI o an uncatchable pass, but that happens all the time and it goes to show how arbitrary these calls can be. Hand fighting is allowed more and more every year, and there isn't a clear line between what is permissible and isn't. This shows the problem with leaving the game outcome in the hands of the officials. The more penalties increase the discretionary leeway for officials to call it or not, the more the game outcome falls on the shoulders of officials to make complex and arbitrary calls that prolong drives and change outcomes. We don't like to think of it this way, but it also gives officials more power to influence outcomes intentionally. Maybe that never happens anymore but IDK.
And that's the problem with targeting. It is an arbitrary call, with no clear line between innocence and guilt because ball carriers are taught to lower their pads (and heads) as contact approaches. It is reviewable, but the instantaneous call on the field cannot be overturned without what an official considers clear and certain replay evidence. So once the call is made, it is going to stand most of the time in reality. I watch enough football to know the targeting call is largely arbitrary. That's why the NFL does not have a targeting penalty. You haven't seen a play by play statistical analysis because that hasn't been done, which doesn't mean targeting is called properly.
Nave's commitment is #23 in the class. Since UK's coaches are still actively recruiting multiple 2024 prospects, it seems clear now that Coach Stoops aims to sign a full class.
Making things much more complicated and interesting, it looks like at least ten scholarship Wildcats listed as "seniors" on UK's official roster actually have COVID options for the 2024 season. Who knows how many of those Wildcats will actually elect to return next season? Hopefully our coaches have an idea about it, because that number will directly influence how many transfers Coach Stoops can accept from the transfer portal.
Making things much more complicated and interesting, it looks like at least ten scholarship Wildcats listed as "seniors" on UK's official roster actually have COVID options for the 2024 season. Who knows how many of those Wildcats will actually elect to return next season? Hopefully our coaches have an idea about it, because that number will directly influence how many transfers Coach Stoops can accept from the transfer portal.
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There is speculation that Phillips is going to keave but who knows. Flax already used his covid year. Davis is gone. There will be several transfer as always. Bingham already left the program. It seems it always evens out. I think most assumed it would be a smaller class then add several from the portal. At this point all we can basically do is speculate
I am just covering what has been publicly reported elsewhere. On another thread, I have guessed whether the seniors named by TOS will return in 2024.
Jeremy Flax redshirted in 2020. According to his official UK bio, he was a redshirt sophomore in 2021. If that is true, and I assume the bio was proofread prior to posting, Flax is a redshirt senior in 2023 with a COVID option still available. That's the math, and I am just repeating what has been posted in two other places. So I could be wrong.
Rowland said he is hearing Flax has a shot at a late draft pick. I am not saying that is true but he said he heard that. Another poster asked if he had a covid year left and Rowland said he confirmed he did not. He said he would not be back. I had previously thought he may have the covid year
All I am saying is that UK's official website says Flax redshirted in 2020 and was a redshirt sophomore in 2021. If true, that would give him an unused COVID season. Maybe JR is correct, but that isn't what UK's website says. If Flax does get drafted in this next NFL draft, it would be a late pick just as you said. Late picks sometimes succeed, but it is uphill. If he wants an NFL career, there is no doubt in my mind that another season at UK would facilitate that goal. Of course, if JR is correct, then that is a moot point.
But the issue here is more generally about seniors who can choose to come back in 2024 or not. On paper, UK could lose M. Cox, E. Cox, and Flax after this season. 2023 has been a better year than 2022 for our OL, but it has still been shaky at times. If we have to start over again in 2024 with Burton, Ford, and a bunch of redshirt freshmen and transfers, I would expect things to get considerably uglier upfront. The transfer portal gave us Dare Rosenthal and Marquez Cox but also Bowles and Ford. This may not be a popular opinion, but I have doubts whether we can really count on the transfer portal again to rebuild our OL. That's just what I see. I would like to be wrong.
Without a major influx of OL talent UK could open Spring '24 practice with an OL of:
LT-Dylan Ray
LG-Paul Rodriguez
C-Koby Keenum
RG-Jagar Burton
RT-Courtland Ford
Let that sink in.
Better find 2-3 portal QBs who can run for their life ‘cause one won’t make it a whole season
First of all, that isn't an awful OL, although there are several caveats. Experienced depth is potentially a big problem there. Keenum IS our center of the future, just needs reps and experience. I don't see Dylan Ray as a starting SEC LT, although I believe Ray can thrive as an OG. Ray has size, adequate athleticism, and a big motor. Rodriguez has size but has not played enough for us to form an opinion yet. I believe the LG job will belong to Ray before it belongs to Rodriguez. Jager Burton, still only a sophomore, was highly recruited and is likely to develop into a better than average SEC RG with more development. AFAICS, the book is still out on Courtland Ford although I am not suggesting he will fail.
Nonetheless, OT is the scary part. It is being said that Malachi Wood is having a terrific redshirt season and is >310# now. However, Wood may be a longer term factor, not necessarily in the starting picture just yet
I am not concerned about the IOL positions, where we are young but the talent and depth are more than adequate. Out of Keenum, Ray, Burton, Rodriguez, Ramsey, Selm, Johnson, Lafontant, and Nave, some of these guys are going to develop into good SEC IOL players. The talent is there. OT is the problem. Even if Ford and Wood pan out, future trouble is brewing at the two OT positions. Word continues to leak out that Nik Hall is done because of the back injury. No matter what anyone is speculating now, it appears highly likely that all four 2024 OL commits will eventually be developed as IOLs unless Nave can handle RT. None of them are LTs. The future LTs were supposed to be Hall, Goodwin, and Wohlabaugh, but that's blown up. Maybe Courtland Ford can handle LT in the SEC, but I have doubts.
So we need a couple of transfers who can play LT in the SEC. After we were fortunate enough to acquire Dare Rosenthal and Marques Cox, maybe an impression has formed that getting SEC LTs out of the portal is easier than it really is in reality. Our current OL coach still hasn't proven he can be a successful SEC coach or recruiter. I am increasingly concerned that a huge problem may be developing there, and I suspect that the only way to get this straightened out is to bring in a highly credible OL coach to replace Zach Yenser. It is telling that we haven't even been able to get a campus visit from Andrew Dennis. Ever since John Schlarman passed, the OL coaching position has been an impact level problem in our program. Fixing this definitely cannot be kicked down the road any longer. This coaching upgrade is immediately necessary for OT recruiting and for player development. JMO.
Your IOL list doesn't include Christman. I expect him to be in the two deep next year...or has he left the team?
Oh I agree re Ray, I was throwing that list out there as likely starters if the OL room stays as is(we know that's not likely, some will be added) but in that scenario if not Ray at LT then who? Player I've been disappointed in is Ford. To Flax's credit, Flax has taken the RT job but he began the season splitting time with Ford only to see Ford's PT lessen to the point he didn't play vs SCAR. Of course, he could've been dinged, never saw anything like that. But he's one I was hoping to see develop to a '24 starter and maybe he will. UK's GOT to have better OL development.
Yup…and that ain’t going to work wjtb a major Qb question.
This is why crapping the bed this year is a massive issue. Three poor years in a row will hurt the program
Christman will be back. Before I project him in our 2024 OG rotation, I need to know more about his injury and his rehab. At any rate, he probably figures into the LG competition if he is fully heslthy. but it is likely that he will miss spring practice.
Actually I thought Mikell would probably pick TN. Neon Deion got a good one. Now we don't have to play against him.
When you say "crapping the bed", are you referring to the nation's #21 recruiting class or to our 8th consecutive bowl season? No dispute from me that this isn't the team we hoped it would be in the beginning. It isn't. That's for sure. It is appalling that we didn't beat SCal last week, and I continue to believe we would have beaten MO at home if not for all the stupid penalties. I am convinced Yenser and Woodward have to be fired. But "crapping the bed" sounds like an inflammatory false narrative to me. Aside from Yenser, this coaching staff is still recruiting at a high level. They can continue to utilize the transfer portal to plug holes in the roster.
But in order to decisively reverse the regression on our offense in 2022 and 2023, I am convinced Yenser and Woodward have to be fired and replaced by experienced position coaches who can recruit and develop top level SEC talent. Yenser and Woodward obviously can't do that at this stage of their careers, and it has hurt our offense. Thankfully, we still have a top half of the SEC defense despite our green secondary.
I’d call 6-5 …and likely to be 6-6 as crapping thr bed.
I’m actually happy with the recruiting classes..it’s almost like the regular season didn’t impact the recruiting. Which is a head scratcher
It's been Colorado since he visited, I guess playing for a legend is ok, but he couldn't have made a worse decision for his career. It's a mess and seems the only reason Deion is there is to promote his sons. UT wasn't in his top 3, old Atlanta vol has a new handle and trolling them again. He was able to get away with it for several years before they finally figured him out.
Yeah. I wonder if Sanders will be there past next year? Seeing how bad their season ended along with Colorado recruiting class isn’t that good and has little guys in the trenches…it’s pretty easy for elite kids to see going with Sanders isn’t going to be all the initial hype
That number is based on the star rating systems of the recruiting service(s)? Or does that come from somewhere else? Thanks.
Colorado has 5 2024 players committed from the State of Georgia. Zero from the State of Colorado. Now I get Georgia high school football is really good, but no players committing to the home state school???? Especially considering the hype....
I give Stoops credit...he pulled out the UL game...7-5....but even at that...7-5 was a poor season (a tad better than crapping the bed of 6-6)
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