College Football Recruiting (2014 Class) Discussion

[Matthean]

I understand they missed out on some guys, but I recall them having scholarships for more than 16 guys, so their lacking of adding substitutes is concerning. Based on ESPN's rankings, MSU tied USC for biggest signing day gains as where Michigan dropped the most. Hoke is toast if he loses the recruiting battle. Peppers essentially saved this class. Hoke is going to have to follow up this class with a really good one and I don't have that high of hopes. Even if he turns it around, there's going to be a dip in performance soon afterwards since there is a drop in talent.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

One site isn't so biased to the southern region

Maybe. I can't comment objectively I think my history with scout is kinda known.

Last I heard they had less than 70 Clemson subscribers (comapred to about 11,000 for the rivals site) but I'm sure money doesn't play a factor.

[MrBug708]

That is more message board info, less actual scouting

[CU Tiger]

Sure. But good ratings are good for business.
It's pretty widely accepted that schools with the highest subscriber base get bumps to their player ratings...on all networks.
Take the last ten years take the 4year aggregate recruiting ranking and the final season ap poll and see which correlates.

[MrBug708]

Ucla has the third most subscription s on scout and it would be nice to see that bump

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Florida recruit signed with three schools | www.ajc.com

That's the recruit I was talking about with Utah, Rumor has it his parents forged his signature and faxed in his LOI to Ole Miss without his knowledge.

[Arles]

Pretty impressed that Arizona got a top 25 football class. Maybe there's a silver lining in the angry storm clouds we've seen the past few seasons.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Oh Lordy, mama-drama on signing day. Seems that along with the increased attention to the kids, the parents also occasionally have to get their 15 minutes more frequently too.

Put adore-me in this bracket as well, as his dad won't sign his LOI to USC and wants him at LSU. I guess the SEC really does pay more.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Ucla has the third most subscription s on scout and it would be nice to see that bump

Rivals: 18
Scout: 20
24/7: 19
ESPN: 26

So this year you have a point.

the other thing that plays in is Scout coutns every signee and Rivals only counts an aggregate weighted average of the top 20. When you sign a 16 person class it hurts much more on Scout than it does on Rivals.

[MrBug708]

Scout takes just 25 verbals tho its your highest 25 iirc

[clemsonfan]

Clemson got a 2015 commitment last night. #1 OT Mitch Hyatt announced that he would be playing for Clemson over Ohio State and Georgia. He will be enrolling in January 2015.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Put adore-me in this bracket as well, as his dad won't sign his LOI to USC and wants him at LSU. I guess the SEC really does pay more.

Dad (or mom) finally did sign the LOI last night. USC ends up with the #10 class per Rivals and #1 in the Pac-12.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

That's the recruit I was talking about with Utah, Rumor has it his parents forged his signature and faxed in his LOI to Ole Miss without his knowledge.

Did his parents somehow believe he would actually go play for Ole Miss?

[CU Tiger]

This is how its done...

I interviewed a local kid earlier today who signed with a school slightly out of region as a favor for the network affiliate. Off the record we discussed another school he was very interested in and widley was reported as his favorite.

I feel comfortable telling this story because its way out of my network, I dont know any coaches there personally, the kid ultimately didnt go there, and he provided the proof I will mention below.

The school in question is a Pac 10 school and has vocal fans on this board. I will say no more

Back in the summer the young man received a small card in a very distinct envelope. Inside the card was a logo of said team and the phrase in quotes "remember who your friends are"..for the next 7 months Every other friday and identical distinct envolpe would arrive with a card insid, this time with no school logo, with the phrase "remember who your friends are" and a Visa gift card inside good for $500. Oddly enough the card had no mailing address, no return address and no postage. So it was hand delivered 2000 miles away.

Yesterday kid signed with another school.
I have to give credit though, darn near untraceable and very clever.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This is how its done...

I interviewed a local kid earlier today who signed with a school slightly out of region as a favor for the network affiliate. Off the record we discussed another school he was very interested in and widley was reported as his favorite.

I feel comfortable telling this story because its way out of my network, I dont know any coaches there personally, the kid ultimately didnt go there, and he provided the proof I will mention below.

The school in question is a Pac 10 school and has vocal fans on this board. I will say no more

Back in the summer the young man received a small card in a very distinct envelope. Inside the card was a logo of said team and the phrase in quotes "remember who your friends are"..for the next 7 months Every other friday and identical distinct envolpe would arrive with a card insid, this time with no school logo, with the phrase "remember who your friends are" and a Visa gift card inside good for $500. Oddly enough the card had no mailing address, no return address and no postage. So it was hand delivered 2000 miles away.

Yesterday kid signed with another school.
I have to give credit though, darn near untraceable and very clever.

Heh... of course, that got me curious, so I looked at all South Carolina state HS recruits who ended up at schools outside of the South and who were 3 star or higher on Scout. No one matched up that I saw that had a Pac 12 school as their #2 (heck, found few that had offers from the Pac 12).

I'm sure what you're saying is true, just stumped who it could be, so I figure I must be using one of your descriptors to literally or loosely.

[Lathum]

The only 3 PAC 12 teams with vocal fans here are USC, UCLA, and UW. USC and UW changed coaches, yet the cards kept coming...

maybe a few Stanford guys and at least one Coug also

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Lathum

The only 3 PAC 12 teams with vocal fans here are USC, UCLA, and UW. USC and UW changed coaches, yet the cards kept coming...

maybe a few Stanford guys and at least one Coug also

Lots of rumors about the UCLA coaching staff engaging in dirty recruiting practices floating around, but I figured from me, it would just be seen as a bitter Trojan fan.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Lathum

The only 3 PAC 12 teams with vocal fans here are USC, UCLA, and UW. USC and UW changed coaches, yet the cards kept coming...

maybe a few Stanford guys and at least one Coug also

Not sure that means anything when you consider the sources of the money (the boosters) don't change with the coaches.

[CU Tiger]

1- Kid isnt from the Carolinas
2- Boosters boost regardless of the coach

FWIW Clemson did not offer or pursue the kid. This is not a sour grapes deal. To be honest, I am impressed by the tactic. And the amount of money given to a minimal prospect.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Lots of rumors about the UCLA coaching staff engaging in dirty recruiting practices floating around, but I figured from me, it would just be seen as a bitter Trojan fan.

I've seen those rumors, though it's different sort of "dirty". More classified as classless, but the sources are USC fans so we do have to take it with a grain of salt.

TBH it sounds more like sour grapes circa UCLA fans around 2004-2006 who were convinced USC and Pete Carroll were dirty.

That might be a bad comparison because they were...lol

[MrBug708]

I would guess UCLA, but if it's only 500 dollars, I can see how we struck out on most kids from the south

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I would guess UCLA, but if it's only 500 dollars, I can see how we struck out on most kids from the south

That's $500 every two weeks though.

For probably half the prospects in the south that's major revenue.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

1- Kid isnt from the Carolinas
2- Boosters boost regardless of the coach

FWIW Clemson did not offer or pursue the kid. This is not a sour grapes deal. To be honest, I am impressed by the tactic. And the amount of money given to a minimal prospect.

Oh I thought you said the kid was local. I figured that would be South Carolina for you.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

That's $500 every two weeks though.

For probably half the prospects in the south that's major revenue.

So 7000 for the cycle roughly, which doesnt seem like much in the recruiting game these days.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Oh I thought you said the kid was local. I figured that would be South Carolina for you.

If it is a UCLA guy, the only southern guys we really missed on stayed local in the south, no? Unless it's Knox, but he's not local enough IMO

A good guess is Sark. He covers 2/3's of the local base.

[Chief Rum]

Yeah Knox is the only guy I can think of in an "SEC" state and who at one time was looking at is hard. But it barely qualifies. He's in Texas. Why would an affiliate ask a South Carolina based journalist/recruiting consultant to interview a Texas kid?

Evans went to Bama. Dupre amd Godcheaux to LSU. We stopped recruiting Mcgrew. Thomas went to Arkansas. We got Young. We stopped recruiting Allen. Marlon Mack? But he went to USF and said he basically committed to UCLA to raise his profile.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

So 7000 for the cycle roughly, which doesnt seem like much in the recruiting game these days.

Man where some of these kids come from...$7k...heck they did for that. Literally.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Happy with IU's class. Wilson's staff has definitely improved our recruiting quite a bit.

Seeing 3 and 4 star guys signing gives me hope.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Rivals: 18
Scout: 20
24/7: 19
ESPN: 26

So this year you have a point.

the other thing that plays in is Scout coutns every signee and Rivals only counts an aggregate weighted average of the top 20. When you sign a 16 person class it hurts much more on Scout than it does on Rivals.

Little foreshadowing here...

The day after committig to Clemson Scout Drops Mitch Hyatt to the #2 Ot and #4 overall OL in 2015.

He is still #1 Ot and #1 OL on rivals, espn and 24/7....

That lawsuit still burns dont it scout.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Little foreshadowing here...

The day after committig to Clemson Scout Drops Mitch Hyatt to the #2 Ot and #4 overall OL in 2015.

He is still #1 Ot and #1 OL on rivals, espn and 24/7....

That lawsuit still burns dont it scout.

What lawsuit?

[MrBug708]

That was also scheduled day for 2015 ranking updates. Had he not committed he would have dropped

[CU Tiger]

No chance. You are talking about the OT Saban said was the best high school OL prospect he had ever scouted...but he is now the 2nd best OL after dominating the GA elite OL say...

I'm fine and with whatever he is ranked... but that move was pure spite.

[MrBug708]

Again, scouts rankings were scheduled to change on that day. Reading anything into it is silly. The ratings are going to change a few more times

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Again, scouts rankings were scheduled to change on that day. Reading anything into it is silly. The ratings are going to change a few more times

These two ideas are not mutually exclusive - Scout was going to update their rankings on that day, and they could have used that as their opening to knock Hyatt down a few spots for reasons other than strictly evaluation.

[vex]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

What lawsuit?

We'll never know.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

These two ideas are not mutually exclusive - Scout was going to update their rankings on that day, and they could have used that as their opening to knock Hyatt down a few spots for reasons other than strictly evaluation.

If one guy was involved of all rankings. I doubt someone like Biggins or Huffman is going to downgrade some kid in the south out of pure spite.

I'm sure you enjoy when Cougs and Ducks complain about Fetters moving kids down when they verbal to their schools

[CU Tiger]

right but 5 years in a row Scout has ranked Clemson's class 6-20 spots lower THAN ANY OTHER SERVICE...

the aforementioned lawsuit was settled in 2009.

Clemson's scout service USED to be cutiger.com....its now cutigers.com...

All because someone wouldnt sign over creative control...

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Scout takes just 25 verbals tho its your highest 25 iirc

class size was 19 btw

[MrBug708]

Makes sense because scout has resources in the west more so than most other services creating a balance that isn't so southern based

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

If one guy was involved of all rankings. I doubt someone like Biggins or Huffman is going to downgrade some kid in the south out of pure spite.

But ultimately it's Scott Kennedy that makes the call.

I'm sure you enjoy when Cougs and Ducks complain about Fetters moving kids down when they verbal to their schools

That was always funny when it happened. I'm not sure that Fetters is involved as much anymore - I think he submits his lists, but I suspect Biggins & Huffman have greater sway, especially with Huffman spending a lot of time in the NW.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2014 Auburn signee arrested | Saturday Down South

#11 CB overall, Kalvaraz Bessent. Possession over 20g, possession with intent.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

2014 Auburn signee arrested | Saturday Down South

#11 CB overall, Kalvaraz Bessent. Possession over 20g, possession with intent.

So..this means he avoids a redshirt and gets right to work,right?
Isn't that how its done on the plains?

[CU Tiger]

Awkward

Character-filled class

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I've read a lot more on this (most of it unsubstantiated rumor) and I think I have somewhat of a handle on it.

McDowell wants to go to Michigan State. His decision is made. He's firm about it. AFAIC, that's the end of the story. You win some, you lose some. He's a great prospect, and Dantonio has proven the value of the Michigan State program.

McDowell's mom apparently has legal custody, so she has to sign the LOI. His father signed a blank piece of paper this morning. She won't sign.

The NCAA prohibits Dantonio from mentioning McDowell until he has an LOI. That's why Michigan State is silent. It's obviously an annoyance for Dantonio because technically McDowell can still go anywhere, but for a commit like that, you put up with some annoyance.

From twitter-rumored statements, McDowell's mom is a piece of work, and, while she might be inclined to get over whatever happened to her in the past in East Lansing, insults from childish Michigan State fans have made her dig in her heels.

Other rumors indicate she was unhappy with something Malik experienced on his East Lansing visit, and when she tried to address this with Dantonio on his in-house visit in Southfield, Michigan, the conversation didn't go well. Last night, when Malik made his final decision, that didn't go over well, either, and she refused to attend his press conference.

Anyway, I would treat McDowell as a Michigan State commit. With the exception of this drama with the mom, there's nothing to indicate a change is warranted. And she'll come around when she sees him in uniform.

The rumors apparently are that in East Lansing she heard a player telling her son that if he goes to State he doesn't have to attend class. Then when the coaches visited, an unnamed coach told him that he is grown now and he can choose to go where he wants to.

Apparently his parents wanted him to leave Michigan entirely to get him away from friends they feel are a bad influence. I happen to agree with his mother in that I wouldn't want my kid to go to MSU. (My daughter actually is attending some school in Columbus I told her I will always root against.) If I heard that my kid wouldn't have to go to class at any school I would want them to go elsewhere. As far as the coach thing... the coach is right, but telling a kid in front of his parents to basically ignore them is pretty douchy (and unsurprising here.)

Good luck to McDowell wherever he goes. I just hope he doesn't change his mind & end up in Ann Arbor. He apparently wants to stay close to friends that may be a bad influence. He may also like the idea of not attending class. This, combined with a video I saw where he was asked about his decision (what made MSU stand out, relationships with coaches, etc) where he had all the enthusiasm of a dead cow makes me see red flags on him.

It would be interesting if the recruitment of McDowell ends up in an NCAA investigation. But if every school that allowed it's football players to skip going to class were to get hit by the NCAA there wouldn't be anybody for the shiny new playoff.

[BishopMVP]

Nice background info on a UMass WR - Mission Bay wide receiver goes long | U-T San Diego Preps

We've all seen the "1st in his family to attend college" line before, but what really struck me here was that none of his 4 brothers graduated back in East Saint Louis, he had teachers telling him he'd never amount to anything, so instead he lives with an uncle for 2 years on the west coast and puts up a 4.0 and a 2000 on his SAT. Makes you wonder just how much potential is being wasted by shitty school systems.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Nice background info on a UMass WR - Mission Bay wide receiver goes long | U-T San Diego Preps

Makes you wonder just how much potential is being wasted by shitty school systems.

Or who sat for that SAT...

[HomerSimpson98]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This rivals network crash may get UGLY.

From what I am seeing between 3 networks over 1,900 cancellations ahve ALREADY been requested. At $100/year that's a hit to the bottomline. And thats only from the local rivals guy and 2 other networks.

One of the regional guys just opined that nationally he expects to lose 15,000 subscribers today...

So now that the dust has settled on this, any one have any idea of how much business Rivals lost because of this?

[CU Tiger]

Network wife I have no idea...my friend on the local network says he has heard estimates closer to 9,000 than 15k.
I do know this.
Rivals gave everyone who sent a complaint email a free month, and everyone who replied to that 3 additional free months. They are NOT re-imbursing the site operators for this.

I've heard a few grumbles amongst those guys about looking for other networks but suspect thats more talk than anything.

24/7 supposedly had their largest sign up day ever by more than triple NSD last year.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Or who sat for that SAT...

Kid's a 2* going to UMass. I don't think there needs to be a massive conspiracy.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

The rumors apparently are that in East Lansing she heard a player telling her son that if he goes to State he doesn't have to attend class. Then when the coaches visited, an unnamed coach told him that he is grown now and he can choose to go where he wants to.

Apparently his parents wanted him to leave Michigan entirely to get him away from friends they feel are a bad influence. I happen to agree with his mother in that I wouldn't want my kid to go to MSU. (My daughter actually is attending some school in Columbus I told her I will always root against.) If I heard that my kid wouldn't have to go to class at any school I would want them to go elsewhere. As far as the coach thing... the coach is right, but telling a kid in front of his parents to basically ignore them is pretty douchy (and unsurprising here.)

Good luck to McDowell wherever he goes. I just hope he doesn't change his mind & end up in Ann Arbor. He apparently wants to stay close to friends that may be a bad influence. He may also like the idea of not attending class. This, combined with a video I saw where he was asked about his decision (what made MSU stand out, relationships with coaches, etc) where he had all the enthusiasm of a dead cow makes me see red flags on him.

It would be interesting if the recruitment of McDowell ends up in an NCAA investigation. But if every school that allowed it's football players to skip going to class were to get hit by the NCAA there wouldn't be anybody for the shiny new playoff.

Wasn't Perles nailed for players getting help in school?