Will Jackson to Kentucky
- Thread starter Smashcat
- Start date
Quick search indicates he is a 6-3 wide receiver from DC who is plucking Kentucky over NC State and UConn.
This staff won't do that. I trust their evaluations. But I admit this signing makes me feel that Lewis is headed to FSU.
Lewis will decide whatever he decides, and it would be nice to get him. Stoops has done a good job of recruiting Lewis, but there is a lot of competition. Stoops will not take a player unless he can contribute. If he signs Jackson, that means he likes Jackson's size and projection. Our coaches have emphasized size in the secondary in this class.
I'll take a couple projects with huge upside vs. an entire class of them like years past.
I love people who talk down about a kid they know nothing about other than their star rating. Stoops isn't gonna sign guys who he doesn't feel can help us.
Size of our secondary is SEC quality. Love it! No more 5'8" DBs!
I love people who talk down about a kid they know nothing about other than their star rating. Stoops isn't gonna sign guys who he doesn't feel can help us.
Size of our secondary is SEC quality. Love it! No more 5'8" DBs!
I hate to be this guy, but a lot of us were saying this about Joker several years ago and we'd point to guys like Cobb as an example that he could evaluate talent. We were also really excited that we were being mentioned by some bigger names and when we would lose them we'd make the comment about how it is hard to recruit against the big names and that before we weren't even being mentioned by such highly ranked kids.
Again, hate to bring this us, and I don't think that Stoops will have the same success as Joker, but these excuses seem to be recycled to me.
I didn't compare them at all actually. I just said that a lot of people were saying the same thing during this time of year when Joker was signing players. So, I'm comparing the excuses, not the coaches.
It has nothing to do with the coaches, other than the fact that the past coaches are past coaches. This has everything to do with the fact that we just landed a 2 star recruit who was recently committed to Western Michigan and despite that fact people on this board are talking him up by saying things like, "I trust the staff's evaluations" or, 'He's really under the radar, a real diamond in the rough!' The point is that in the past we bought into these types of recruits with these same excuses, and a whole lot of them didn't pan out. Many of them did and became fan favorites, but until this guy proves himself then I don't think we can really talk him up. Especially when we were hoping that his scholarship might go to 4 star prospect Marcus Lewis. That being said, it is much better that we are only saying these things about a handful of recruits this year rather than the majority like we have in past.
We can't talk them up, but we damn sure shouldn't talk them down on signing day. PT isnt earned by star ratings.
I didn't talk them down either. I don't like to be insulting, at least not directly. All I said is that the same excuses for lower ranked players have been used throughout the years and through multiple coaches. I have no problem talking about the kid's attributes, what skills he brings to the table, what position he could fill, etc. However, I have just gotten a little weary of the same excuses. Fact of the matter is that we missed out on higher ranked kids and used this one as a fallback. That is disappointing that we missed out on the higher ranked guys. Hopefully we found a good one, but it gets a bit tiresome to always hear the same positive spin on how these underranked kids are just diamonds in the rough and that the staff really knows how to spot them. I agree that Stoops has seemed to be able to find guys that are overlooked, but that has to stop somewhere. A lot of the guys we lost were overlooked . Then we lost them and went to guys that were overlooked even more. That doesn't really add up to me... there has to be a point where the guys are no longer overlooked and they are just not diamonds in the rough.
That being said, I am not calling for Stoops to be fired. I am happy with the direction of this program. I like our class, but wish we had a few more high profile guys. So, don't think I'm a troll or trying to jump ship just because I am trying to be pretty honest about the momentum of our last several weeks, or even last couple months.
I sure am glad you are not calling for Stoops to be fired. I am sure the AD would fire him tomorrow if you only asked.
The truth is recruiting is a crap shoot. You can improve your chance by being a great evaluator of talent but it is a crap shoot. Being a 2 star does not guarantee failure and being a 4 or 5 star does not guarantee success.
Along those same lines we've also had four stars like Morgan Newton, Ryan, Mossakowski, Micah Johnson and Glenn Faulkner who weren't all they were cracked up to be either. Nothing against those kids but it works both ways. Lewis wasn't guaranteed to be a sure fire star either.
^^ That is very true, but you don't see national championship caliber teams forgoing those 4 star guys to go after two stars. They roll the dice with guys that most people agree are going to be top of the line performers. It works out for them. Relying on the occasional underrated guy is fine, but making a living off of them will not work in our league. We've had poor luck with 4 star recruits, but we've had some pretty good ones as well. Still, that is another discussion.
Comebak, I agree with your original point. The rationalizations do sound familiar. I hope this class works out ... time will tell, and we'll support them to the end. Just not as excited as this time last year. It's frustrating, b/c we're right on the cusp and turning the corner. We'll see ..
