College Football Recruiting 2008

[MJ4H]

Well since I'm sick and can hardly move these days, I thought it might be fun to stir up a little trouble. Tell us about how your favorite team's recruiting is going so far. Is your class rated highly so far? Is it under-rated, over-rated? Which star recruits is your team closing in on. Who is the make or break decision for your team? That kind of thing.

For Arkansas, we apparently have 20 committments as of now. I believe we have 25 scholarships this time around, so there are a few spots open. A couple of the major league possibilities are:

Joe Adams - WR/CB best player in Arkansas. Soft verbal to USC, but has been eyeing Arkansas again after the coaching change. Understandably uninterested in Nutt's pee-wee passing game, but quite intrigued by Petrnio's type of offense. This would be a major league change for us. If we can nab him, based on this and a few other mind-changes, it would feel like Petrino has made quite a statement about kids staying home in Arkansas (Tyler Wilson).

Aundre Dean - RB one of the top backs out there. Big power guy. Looks like he is looking at Arkansas, UCLA, and Louisville if I remember correctly (I think this is all if Texas doesn't offer him which they may not). This would be big time, but Arkansas is fairly solid at RB for this class already and wouldn't be a major loss.

     Signee        Riv/Sct Rating  Pos   Size        40 Speed  School         

HM) Ryan Mallett     *****/*****   QB    6'7" 235lb  4.85      Texarkana, TX

1) Lavunce Askew       ***/***     DT/DE 6'3" 280lb  4.83      Camden Fairview, AR

2) Khiry Battle        ***/***     S     6'0" 205lb  4.55      Dacula, GA

3) Greg Childs         ***/***     WR    6'5" 200lb  4.50      Warren, AR

4) DeAnthony Curtis   ****/****    RB    5'10"210lb  4.41      Camden Fairview, AR

5) Alfred Davis         **/*       DT    6'1" 288lb  5.56      College Park, GA

6) Austin Eoff          **/**      OL    6'5" 310lb  5.32      Fort Smith NS, AR

7)  Elton Ford          **/***     SS    6'0" 200lb  4.47      Lithonia, GA
 
8) Chris Gragg          **/***     WR    6'3" 195lb  4.60      Warren, AR 

9) Matt Hall          ****/***     OL    6'10"320lb  5.62      Russellville, AR

10) Dennis Johnson     ***/**      RB    5'8" 180lb  4.4       Texarkana, AR

11) Basmine Jones       **/**      LB/WR 6'0" 195lb  4.51      Warren, AR

12) Anthony Oden        NR/**      OL    6'8" 295lb  4.8       Indianapolis, IN

13) Jelani Smith       ***/**      LB    6'1" 210lb  4.56      Abbeville, LA

14) Zack Stadther      ***/**      DT    6'2" 275lb  4.9       North Little Rock, AR

15) Cruz Williams      ***/***     WR    6'4" 195lb  4.49      Pulaski Academy, AR

16) Tyler Wilson      ****/***     QB    6'3" 182lb  4.75      Greenwood, AR   

17) Jarius Wright     ****/**** WR/CB/S  5'11" 175lb 4.34      Warren, AR

18) Tenarius Wright    ***/***     MLB   6'2   221lb 4.63      Memphis, TN

19) Jim Youngblood     ***/***     QB    6'3"  215lb 4.69      Camden Fairview, AR

ESPN as this class ranked #25 as of now (of course this doesn't include transfers, which Arkansas hit the jackpot with in Ryan Mallett, QB 5 stars transfer from Michigan). If we can get Adams, Dean, and maybe one more major recruit, I could see this class being in the top 20. This would be pretty major for Petrino's first class with such a late start (especially given the negative publicity surrounding the move and ESPN's best efforts at discouraging recruits from considering Arkansas).

Comments? What about your favorite team?

[mckerney]

Minnesota has put together a solid class, currently ranked 25 by scout after picking up a commit from WR Brodrick Smith who chose the Gophers over Kansas State, Arizona, and Nebraska.

Some of the top guys on offense:

MarQueis Gray, QB - Announced commitment to Minnesota at the Army All American Bowl where he played a decent game with 2 TDs playing behind Terrell Pryor.

Brandon Green, WR - 4 star from the Chicago area who had offers from every Big 10 school other than Michigan and Ohio State, committed after taking his first official visit to Minnesota.

On defense they added several JUCOs to make up for the lack of having many juniors or seniors on the roster who can contribute, also added a couple solid players:

Jewhan Edwards, DT - 330 lbs defensive lineman who played in the Under Armor All American game. Florida was ready to offer after the game, but said he wasn't interested and canceled a visit to WVU.

Brandon Kirksey, DE/DT - 3 star from St. Louis area, LSU offered him in December, but he'd decided on Minnesota before he had an offer.

Sam Maresh, MLB - 4 star with great size at MLB, also will soon win his 3rd straight Minnesota state championship as a wrestler, has the size and strength to start right away, where he's needed.

Spencer Reeves, OLB - 3 star who was named the defensive player of the year in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.


Still going to have a rough season next year. Hopefully better than 1-11, but they're going to have to rely strongly on first year players at every position on defense.

[dawgfan]

Washington is doing very well this year in recruiting, thanks primarily to a very strong in-state pool of recruits.

How strong the class is depends on which service you follow - Scout.com has them rated #8 currently, Rivals.com has them rated #22 - but either way, it's the strongest class the Huskies have had since the 2001 class which featured WR Reggie Williams.

Highlights of the class:

TE Kavario Middleton - Middleton hails from the same H.S. as Reggie Williams (Lakes - Lakewood, WA) and has similar impact potential at the college level. Often split out as a wide out, he should present a terrific target for the UW as a pass-catching TE, with deceptive speed, good size and good hands. Needs to work on his route-running and putting out a consistent effort, and needs a lot of work in his blocking, but he has the potential to be the best pass-catching TE in UW history. Played DE at a recent all-star game, but TE will be his position in college.

DT Alameda Ta'amu - A local hoss (Rainier Beach - Seattle, WA) with terrific size (6'3", 335 lbs) and great strength, he has star potential on both sides of the ball. He appears headed for the DL where he should be a run-stuffing NT, but also could be a star at G.

DE Everrette Thompson - Another local stud (Kennedy - Burien, WA), Thompson has good size (6'5", 250 lbs) and the motor to be a pass-rushing terror from the edge.

DT/DE Senio Kelemete - Another local stud (Evergreen - Seattle, WA) who some consider the best player in the state this year. He projects as a star on either side of the ball as an OT or DT/DE, but he'll apparently start his Husky career on defense. He has a great motor and good instincts, and mostly needs to refine his techniques and get stronger. Depending on how he fills out, he may be an ideal 3-4 DE.

DT Craig Noble - A California kid who blew up at a summer workout where he schooled USC OL recruit Matt Kalil, he was Ty's first major out of state commitment and the Huskies have managed to hold off late advances by UCLA and USC to pry him away. Has great strength already and good size, and could play early. Probably at his best as a 3-technique tackle, but might get big enough to play some NT.

WR/RB Chris Polk - Another stud Cali kid, Ty managed to steal Polk away from USC. As an added bonus, he's an early enrollee, already signed and in school at the UW. Has great quickness and has star potential at both WR and RB. It appears he'll start off at WR, where he may fill a hybrid role in the Huskies' spread option attack similar to Percy Harvin at Florida.

WR Jermaine Kearse - Another product from Reggie Williams' old school (Lakes - Lakewood, WA), Kearse has adequate size (6'0") and good speed, but really excels in route-running and his hands. Has a chance to play right away at a WR group decimated by graduation.

WR - Cody Bruns - A kid from Eastern Washington (Prosser - Prosser, WA) and from a H.S. program with ridiculous passing numbers, Bruns looks to be a classic "possession" receiver with deceptive speed. Reported to have great hands and running good routes, he's another guy that could get playing time as a true frosh.

Those are the top guys, but there are quite a few additional 3-star guys with good potential, and it's also a very well balanced class and one that fills a lot of needs.

Whether these guys will help next year's team enough to allow Ty to keep his job is unknown, but it appears this class has the potential to help return the Huskies to bowl contention in 2-3 years.

[CU Tiger]

Clemson is relatively quietly putting together a tremendous class.
DE DeQuan Bowers is a top 5 natioanlly ranked player
QB kyle young has amazed in senior games he was a 3* when signed now appears to be a 5*

Lots more in there, 22 signed the key will be signing day.
If Jamie Harper commits as expected...it may be a top 5 class.

[watravaler]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Minnesota has put together a solid class, currently ranked 25 by scout after picking up a commit from WR Brodrick Smith who chose the Gophers over Kansas State, Arizona, and Nebraska.

Some of the top guys on offense:

MarQueis Gray, QB - Announced commitment to Minnesota at the Army All American Bowl where he played a decent game with 2 TDs playing behind Terrell Pryor.

Brandon Green, WR - 4 star from the Chicago area who had offers from every Big 10 school other than Michigan and Ohio State, committed after taking his first official visit to Minnesota.

On defense they added several JUCOs to make up for the lack of having many juniors or seniors on the roster who can contribute, also added a couple solid players:

Jewhan Edwards, DT - 330 lbs defensive lineman who played in the Under Armor All American game. Florida was ready to offer after the game, but said he wasn't interested and canceled a visit to WVU.

Brandon Kirksey, DE/DT - 3 star from St. Louis area, LSU offered him in December, but he'd decided on Minnesota before he had an offer.

Sam Maresh, MLB - 4 star with great size at MLB, also will soon win his 3rd straight Minnesota state championship as a wrestler, has the size and strength to start right away, where he's needed.

Spencer Reeves, OLB - 3 star who was named the defensive player of the year in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.


Still going to have a rough season next year. Hopefully better than 1-11, but they're going to have to rely strongly on first year players at every position on defense.

Nice! I think Minnesota and Illinois will be challenging for the conference title before long, Brewster is the perfect coach/recruiter for the Gophers...

[st.cronin]

Didn't Minnesota miss out on the top in-state players, though?

I think recruiting is slightly over-rated, anyway. Wisconsin almost never has better than a middle-of-the-big-10 class, but they still end up with a winning record almost every year.

[st.cronin]

dola, I don't see anybody in the Big 10 challenging Ohio State anytime soon.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Didn't Minnesota miss out on the top in-state players, though?

Instate recruiting wasn't great this year. The Gophers got one of the top 3, Maresh was the 3rd best player in the state. They missed out on Michael Floyd, a 5 star reciever from Cretin-Derham Hall (a private catholic high school that frequently has top athletes in football). He is the best and most highly recruited player in the state since Joe Mauer. Second ranked player Willie Mobley chose OSU over Minnesota. The did get one positive in a transfer by Matt Carufel from Notre Dame who went to the same highschool as Floyd and was the top ranked player in the state in 2006.

Hopefully with than a year to recruit local players Brewster will be able to do better. Besides not having as long to recruit some of the players in state, the 1-11 record certainly didn't help. He made an effort to reach out to every high school coach in the state. He'll need get things turned around quickly as far as in state, there's quality talent in Minnesota coming up in the next few years. For the junior class Moses Alipate is a quarterback ranked the 59th best player in the country by Rivals, WR Bryce McNeal was named first team at the All America Combine and Fritz Rock was an honorable mention as an athlete. Then for 2010 there's a 6'7" 300+ lbs Offensive Tackle from Cretin-Derham Hall who's considered one of the top 10 sophomores in the country and already has offers from Ohio State and Notre Dame. Minnesota has picked up one commit already from one of the five local juniors they have offered.

Even though things haven't improved instate yet, overall recruiting has improved. The class is not only ranked high on scouting services, but the players they've landed have had more offers from other BCS schools. Also they've lost a lot of players from the junior and senior classes, and most of those still around haven't been that good. Last year they had 2 true freshman starting in the secondary that didn't recieve any BCS offers other than Minnesota. With a class like this there should be more quality and depth on defense in the future.

Also, I forgot to mention player they could add. Virginia Beach RB Kevin Whaley is likely to decide between Minnesota and West Virginia this week, and although I don't see it happening there are some fans holding out hope that Brewster's son Nolan will switch his commitment from Texas.

[watravaler]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

dola, I don't see anybody in the Big 10 challenging Ohio State anytime soon.

I don't see how a school with a recruiter like Zook doesn't, just my opinion...even the worst coach in the world can win 8-10 games with talent he is bringing in...but I digress. Challenging is key word, they have already shown they can beat OSU, but they may not have the resources to do it more than once or twice a decade...

Back to the pimp our recruiting class, sorry for the hi-jack...

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Clemson is relatively quietly putting together a tremendous class.
DE DeQuan Bowers is a top 5 natioanlly ranked player
QB kyle young has amazed in senior games he was a 3* when signed now appears to be a 5*

Lots more in there, 22 signed the key will be signing day.
If Jamie Harper commits as expected...it may be a top 5 class.

I've certainly noticed Clemson's recruiting class. Most services have them ranked in the top 5 this year to this point if I'm not mistaken. Very nice!

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by watravaler

I don't see how a school with a recruiter like Zook doesn't, just my opinion...even the worst coach in the world can win 8-10 games with talent he is bringing in...but I digress. Challenging is key word, they have already shown they can beat OSU, but they may not have the resources to do it more than once or twice a decade...

Back to the pimp our recruiting class, sorry for the hi-jack...

Zook is a good recruiter. He is not as good as Tressel.

[MrBug708]

MJ4H - Supposedly Dean is down to Louisville and UCLA

[MrBug708]

I'll just add the key recruits

Kevin Craft - JC player of the year (I believe) in most circles. After the issues with QB play last year, he's adding some great depth and will challenge Ben "Golden Boy" for the starting spot. Former SDSU QB and son of former SDSU HC, Tom Craft.

Rahim Moore - Moore is the crown jewel of the class for UCLA right now. Had a great Army AA game with a pick in the end zone. Will likely enter the two deep for UCLA at Safety next year. Texas is pulling out all of the stops for him still, but he's solid to UCLA

Nick Crissman - Highly regarded QB who has some of the best accuracy in the nation. Made the biggest impression in the Elite 11 QB camp. He's probably the heir apparent at QB for UCLA.

Anthony Dye - Great hitter, Great Cover Corner, great speed. If he was about 2 inches taller, he'd either be an elite WR or the top CB in the nation. He'll likely be in the two deep next year at CB

Damien Holmes - Highly rated DE who probably needs a little more bulk before he's ready to contribute. Can never have too many guys on the trench.

E.J. Woods - Future SS who has the mentality of a LB. Depending how how one of the other safeties recovers from a bad injury last year (Glenn Love) could avoid a RS and see plenty of PT.

Aaron Hester - A little raw at the CB spot, but has the talent to get there. He'll likely RS this year but will likely be a starter by his RS Soph year

Datone Jones - Jones is considered a soft verbal because he's committed to UCLA, but hasn't been admitted by the academic staff yet. He's a DE who could shift over to DT eventually if the staff needs him there.

Nelson Rosario - 6'6 WR who has a 4.43 speed and weighs 215 pounds. He's only the 43rd WR in the nation (still a four star) but with those kind of vitals, the impact is there obviously

Jeff Locke - Top punter in the nation

UCLA is also in the running for Darrell Scott, who is the top RB in the nation and #2 overall, but hasn't been cleared by admission's and will likely choose between Texas and Colorado still.

Aundre Dean is the #6 overall RB and is supposedly 50/50 between UCLA and Louisville

Milton Knox is another RB who is down to Notre Dame and UCLA and still is awaiting his admission into UCLA

[Dr. Sak]

I am doing a live podcast interview with Bruce Feldman from ESPN.com at 5pm EST today. He is on to talk about recruiting. If anyone wants to join in the live chat you can go to the link below...

http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/81065

Shameless plug over...

[Cuckoo]

Some of the other OU fans may wish to comment and add their thoughts as well, but I'll go through a couple of the Sooners commits. It looks like another top 10, if not top 5, recruiting class this year for OU. And one could argue that we did better in Texas than UT, though Longhorns fans would undoubtedly dispute that.

Overall, it looks like OU will be bringing in 7 of the Rivals top 100 with 3 five star guys and 11 four star guys. Word is 4 of them will be Parade All-Americans. Anyway, here are some highlights:

R.J. Washington: 5 star defensive end that committed early. One of the top two players from Texas by Rivals. Could possibly see the field as a freshman, but OU isn't losing any DE's, so he may redshirt.

Jermie Calhoun: 5 star running back. Top player in Texas by Rivals, I believe, and ranked as #2 running back in nation. With Allen Patrick graduating, Calhoun could play immediately in the backfield with Murray and Brown.

Stephen Good: Another top guy from Texas. Good's ranked in the top 10 offensive linemen in the nation. At one point, he was a 5 star guy but missed time to injury and dropped to 4 stars. Had 55 pancakes as a junior. Could see playing time early.

Landry Jones: Elite 11 QB out of New Mexico. Tall, has a cannon for an arm and good mobility. Probably won't play early with Bradford in the starting spot, but he sounds like a dedicated guy and is already on campus. It'll be nice to have some QB depth at OU.

Josh Jarboe: Jarboe came on late but really impressed at the Under Armour game. 4 star wide receiver out of Georgia. With Malcolm Kelly leaving early, Jarboe could be a deep threat replacement.

Jameel Owens: Another option for that deep threat replacement is 4 star WR Owens, the top player in Oklahoma.

Justin Johnson: 4 star RB from Texas. Could end up at LB. Big and fast.

Stacey McGee: 4 star DT, #2 player in Oklahoma. Wants to play DE and is smallish right now, but he has the frame to bulk up and go inside. I think that's where he ends up.

Joseph Ibiloye: 4 star safety. Good speed, hard hitter.



Oklahoma only has a couple of scholarships left and will be keeping their eye on Julio Jones, the top WR in the country. He's waiting until signing day to commit on ESPN. He visited OU last weekend and is said to be down to OU, Alabama, and FSU. Might be a package deal with safety Lester (soft Bama verbal, I think).

Overall, it's a really stout class for the Sooners. I think they would've liked to do better at linebacker, particularly with Lofton leaving. They missed out on some big names there (Arthur Brown who went to Miami and Lynn Katoa who went to Colorado are a couple). But it looks like they've definitely added some offensive weapons.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Cuckoo

And one could argue that we did better in Texas than UT, though Longhorns fans would undoubtedly dispute that.

Ok, I'll bite.

OU did get three of the top 5 prospects in the Texas Fab 55, but UT got the #1 overall plus 3 others in the Top 10. Out of the Fab 55, OU has 6 commits, UT has 15. OU has to recruit well in Texas, otherwise they are toast, because there isn't a whole lot of homegrown talent they can count on each year. OU did get some names towards the top, but not much in the way of depth from Texas this season.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/cont...fab55list.html

Texas has put together another great recruiting class, with just about all of them from inside the state borders. Darnell Scott would be a great addition if he chooses Texas, because he would be able to step in right away with Jamaal Charles leaving early for the NFL.

From Rivals:

SIGNED LETTER OF INTENT 	Pos 	Stars 	Ht 	Wt 	Rivals Rank 	Hometown
Mark Buchanan			OL	4	6-6	275	5.9		Austin, TX
Dan Buckner			WR	4	6-4	209	5.9		Allen, TX
Brock Fitzhenry			RB	3	5-9	172	5.5		Giddings, TX
Blake Gideon			DB	2	6-1	189	5.4		Leander, TX
Jeremy Hills			RB	4	5-10	181	5.8		Alief, TX
Dravannti Johnson		LB	4	6-2	230	5.8		Nederland, TX
Tre Newton			RB	3	6-0	194	5.7		Southlake, TX
David Snow			OL	4	6-4	300	5.8		Gilmer, TX
Justin Tucker			K	3	6-1	172	5.5		Austin, TX

COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED 	Pos 	Stars 	Ht 	Wt 	Rivals Rank	Hometown
Emmanuel Acho			LB	3	6-2	210	5.7		Dallas, TX
Nolan Brewster			DB	4	6-1	195	5.8		Denver, CO
D.J. Grant			WR	4	6-3	205	5.8		Austin, TX
DeSean Hales			RB	4	5-10	165	6.0		Klein, TX
Antoine Hicks			ATH	3	6-2	193	5.7		Mansfield, TX
Jarvis Humphrey			DT	4	6-2	290	6.0		Cedar Hill, TX
D.J. Monroe			DB	4	5-9	165	6.0		Angleton, TX
Luke Poehlmann			OL	3	6-6	260	5.7		Brenham, TX
Kheeston Randall		DT	4	6-5	267	5.8		Beaumont, TX
Ryan Roberson			RB	3	5-10	210	5.7		Brenham, TX
Aaron Williams			DB	4	6-1	175	6.0		Round Rock, TX

[dawgfan]

Are all those guys that have signed letters already with Texas JC guys or early H.S. enrollees?

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by cartman

Ok, I'll bite.

OU did get three of the top 5 prospects in the Texas Fab 55, but UT got the #1 overall plus 3 others in the Top 10. Out of the Fab 55, OU has 6 commits, UT has 15.

True, but it's more about quality than numbers. OU always recruits Texas, of course, but they also go other places. Texas is pretty much 100 percent in-state. My understanding was OU landed the top 3 in the state and 6 out of the top 25.

OU has to recruit well in Texas, otherwise they are toast, because there isn't a whole lot of homegrown talent they can count on each year.

The state of Oklahoma just doesn't have the numbers of Texas, of course, but they've pulled some pretty good players out of their backyard. One of them just left early for the NFL to join at least a few Oklahomans already there.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Are all those guys that have signed letters already with Texas JC guys or early H.S. enrollees?

I'm pretty sure they are all guys that graduated HS last month. Texas rarely signs JuCos.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Also, I forgot to mention player they could add. Virginia Beach RB Kevin Whaley is likely to decide between Minnesota and West Virginia this week, and although I don't see it happening there are some fans holding out hope that Brewster's son Nolan will switch his commitment from Texas.

Looks like Whaley has committed to Minnesota. He's the 3rd or 4th RB in this class depending on where one player ends up.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by cartman

I'm pretty sure they are all guys that graduated HS last month. Texas rarely signs JuCos.

Wow, that's quite the haul of early guys.

Seems like those guys are the real gems of the recruiting pool - they get in early and get a head start by being around for Spring practices and informal Summer workouts, and they can be added to the previous class in terms of the 25 per year limits to allow you to add more than 25 guys in the current season.

[IMetTrentGreen]

Calhoun needed three semester's worth of core credits in his senior season to qualify, and he needs Ling Xuihu to do well on his ACT for him, but not too well or it will draw clearinghouse attention.

Naturally, we all expect him to make it in. He was counting down the days until he could commit to Texas and we didn't offer him. Mystifying. He wouldn't qualify here but at least we wouldn't have to play him for 4 years if he went to Navarro JC.

Justin Johnson is a felony waiting to happen. Texas didn't even write the guy.

RJ Washington is awesome and the biggest loss since Peterson. OU got in on him really early and it paid off. Good is awesome, too, and was one of those types that doesn't like big cities. Unfortunate, because he's the real deal.

Don't know anything about any other OU commits. I don't know about that Fab55 nonsense, either (Halliburton is a moron, btw). Aaron Williams is a badass, but RJ Washington is the best DE prospect to come out of Texas in a long time. Chancey A. is overrated. I don't like that list.

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by cartman

OU did get three of the top 5 prospects in the Texas Fab 55, but UT got the #1 overall plus 3 others in the Top 10. Out of the Fab 55, OU has 6 commits, UT has 15. OU has to recruit well in Texas, otherwise they are toast, because there isn't a whole lot of homegrown talent they can count on each year. OU did get some names towards the top, but not much in the way of depth from Texas this season.

This is one of the best classes that Stoops has brought in at OU. Keep in mind that a lot of OU's best players over the past few years have been Texas high school players that weren't highly sought after by Texas (Quentin Griffin, Derrick Strait, Malcolm Kelly, just to name a few).

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

MJ4H - Supposedly Dean is down to Louisville and UCLA

I heard that a week ago, but he is supposedly considering Arkansas again.

ETA: Ok I think I found what you might be referring to. Doesn't look too good for Arkansas I agree if this is accurate.

[timmynausea]

Huge commitment for WVU today in junior college defensive lineman Tevita Finau out of Phoenix CC. He had offers from USC, Oklahoma and Florida among others. DL has been our biggest need for the past few years and was a position that RR never put much emphasis on. The new staff has added 3 JC lineman, and 7 of the current commitments are DLs but none as highly regarded as Finau. Based on the list of offers, he is probably one of the most prized defensive recruits WVU has ever landed. He has 4 years to play 3.

Other big commitments for West Virginia:

RB Terrence Kerns - 4 star back that originally comitted last year out of HS in Maryland and is in a VA prep school this year to get his test score up. The latest reports have him on track to qualify. He weighs about 230 and has been consistently running a 4.39. LSU and Maryland have been trying pry him away since Rodriguez left, but Coach Stewart was the primary recruiter all along, so he is solid.

LB Donovan Miles - Speedy LB out of Virginia that chose WVU over VT, UVA and UMD. He committed very early or he may have gotten a little more publicity.

DL Jorge Wright - Sleeper lineman from Miami that rode a monster 18 sack senior year to late offers from Michigan, Tennessee and possibly Auburn. He committed to WVU a few days ago.

Still out there:

OL Josh Jenkins - 5 stars on Scout, 4 on rivals, one of the top offensive lineman in the country hails from Parkersburg, WV. He was committed to WVU until Rodriguez left, but has since narrowed his list to Ohio State, Florida State and WVU. Reportedly he has made his decision and will announce it on signing day.

QB Coley White - Pat White's younger brother, Coley, out of Daphne, Alabama. A great athlete like his brother, he is only looking at schools that will give him a shot at QB, which now means - West Virginia, UConn, Central Michigan and Middle Tennessee State. The latest rumor has him headed to WVU and bringing HS teammate Reggie Hunt with him. Hunt is a 4 star RB currently committed to Auburn.

[Eaglesfan27]

It's been a very good class for USC at positions of need:

T Matt Kalil is a 5 star player who is 6'7 285 and is considered one of the top 3 tackles in the nation. He should be a dominant pass blocker.

T Tyron Smith is a 5 star player who is 6'5 260 and is one of the most muscular players I've ever seen with the frame to put on 30-40 pounds easily. Top 10 tackle in the country who should be a great player.

DT Jurrell Casey just committed the other day and he should be a very good player. 4 star player who is 6'0 285 pounds with good grades and a tremendous work ethic from most reports.

DT Armond Armstead is a 6'4 290 pound DT who is considered top 3 in the country. He should be a dominating run stuffer.

TE Blake Ayles is one of the top 3 TE's in the country. He should step in and contribute right away. 6'4 250 and runs a 4.6-4.7 with excellent hands.

WR Brice Butler is a 4 star player who is from Georgia and is supposed to have some of the best hands in the country. Rated in the top 20 WR's in the nation.

DE Wes Horton is a bit undersized at 6'6 230 but after a year or so to develop he could be a tremendous pass rusher. He is ranked in the top 5 of senior DE's this year.

CB Joe Adams is a 4 star player who is ranked in the top 15 at his position. There are some rumors that he might be waffling on his verbal which would hurt, but maybe not so bad if some of the other rumors are true that we might land a surprise CB from Florida.

OG Daniel Campbell - 6'5 320 pound 4 star player who should be a tremendous player in 2 years.

OG Khaled Holmes - 6'4 300 pound 4 star guard is one of top 3 rated guards in the country.

OG Matt Meyer - 6'7 290 pound 4 star guard is ranked in the top 10 and enrolled early and has already been practicing with the team. Should be a very good player.

DB/WR D.J. Shoemate - Excellent playmaking skills.

DE Malik Jackson - Undersized at 6'5 215 but is a dynamic pass rusher. 4 star ranking.

S Drew McAllister - 3 star safety should provide depth.

RB Curtis McNeal - 3 star RB is 5'6 180 with very good speed. Should be a reliable kick returner as well as a possible 3rd down threat.

RB Brian Baucham - 3 star RB provides depth.

LB Maurice Simmons - 3 star LB.


One other big name we are very likely to get: LB Jerrell Harris who could step in at OLB and become a dynamic playmaker.

[MacroGuru]

Great year for BYU and Bronco, However we did finally lose Hamani Stevens yesterday as he stated we are out of the contention. It appears Norm Chow paid him a call and got him to head over to UCLA. His choices are UCLA and Oregon now. Getting Austin to commit to BYU over Florida and Urban was a big win..Urban made a full court press to try and get him to change.

We have a bunch more considering however, I am wait and see on them.

2008 Player Commitments - Brigham Young
NAME	POS	HT	WT	HOMETOWN	RANK	GRADE	STATUS	NCAA SCHOOL
Uona Kaveinga	ILB	6-1	226	Lawndale, CA	ILB #6	81	Verbal	BYU
Austin Holt	TE	6-6	227	South Jordan, UT	TE #20	79	Verbal	BYU
Daniel Sorensen	S	6-2	195	Colton, CA	S #20	78	Verbal	BYU
O'Neill Chambers	WR	6-1	199	Harmony, FL	WR #86	77	Verbal	BYU
Michael Yeck	OT	6-7	255	Keller, TX	OT #66	75	Verbal	BYU
Cameron Comer	CB	6-0	175	Springville, UT	CB #71	73	Verbal	BYU
Jake Murphy	WR	6-4	215	American Fork, UT	WR #182	71	Verbal	BYU
Shiloah Te'o	S	6-0	185	Kahuku, HI	S #96	71	Verbal	BYU
Kevin Bills	DE	6-3	230	Provo, UT	DE #142	69	Verbal	BYU
Brock Stringham	OT	6-6	255	Highlands Ranch, CO	OT #110	69	Verbal	BYU
Seta Pohahau	RB	5-10	192	San Mateo, CA	RB #187	67	Verbal	BYU
Michael Alisa	OLB	6-1	200	Provo, UT	OLB #201	62	Verbal	BYU
Justin Sorensen	K	6-2	215	South Jordan, UT		45	Verbal	BYU
Atem Bol	WR	6-2	195	Hurst, TX		40	Verbal	BYU
Jerry Bruner	RB	6-2	225	Vancouver, WA		40	Verbal	BYU
Spencer Hadley	ILB	6-1	210	Connell, WA		40	Verbal	BYU
Solomone Kafu	OG	6-4	315	Rio Linda, CA		40	Verbal	BYU
Garrett Nicholson	CB	5-10	170	Salt Lake City, UT		40	Verbal	BYU
Iona Pritchard	ILB	6-0	220	South Jordan, UT		40	Verbal	BYU
Masi Tuipolotu	ILB	6-2	220	Oxnard, CA		40	Verbal	BYU

2008 Player Commitments - Brigham Young - Junior College/Transfers
NAME	POS	HT	WT	HOMETOWN	SCHOOL	STATUS	NCAA SCHOOL
Coleby Clawson	DE	6-3	230	Ephraim, UT	Snow College	Verbal	BYU
Tevita Hola	DT	6-1	300	West Valley City, UT	Snow College	Verbal	BYU
Tula Moala	OLB	6-1	220	Hawthorne, CA	El Camino College	Verbal	BYU
Jesse Taufi	OT	6-5	300	Long Beach, CA	Long Beach City College	Verbal	BYU

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

CB Joe Adams is a 4 star player who is ranked in the top 15 at his position. There are some rumors that he might be waffling on his verbal which would hurt, but maybe not so bad if some of the other rumors are true that we might land a surprise CB from Florida.

Joe is announcing at 9:45am (central) on Wednesday between USC and Arkansas.

[Eaglesfan27]

There are many rumors that Uona Kaveinga is going to back out of his BYU commit and go to USC.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

There are many rumors that Uona Kaveinga is going to back out of his BYU commit and go to USC.

They are out there as he took the trip, but according to some of his coaches, he was sticking with BYU...we will see come LOI day.

Right now, BYU has lost some top talent to UCLA and USC the past few years...it's getting to the point..I might start hating both schools.

However, with Sarks at USC and Chow at UCLA....who knows.

[bhlloy]

60-40 BYU on Kaveinga. His dad is on the record as saying he is still very interested in USC, but his mom really wants him to take his mission and go to BYU. I think he sticks with BYU personally.

EF27 - where did you here Jerrell Harris was likely? That's not at all what I've been hearing.

Khaled Holmes and Matt Meyer are keeping in touch with Joe Adams and are very confident that he is solid to USC, but I'm sure that's telling them what they want to hear. He wants to play WR and not CB, which is probably the main draw for Arkansas where he can walk right in and start in the slot from day one.

USC still leads over Michigan for Nick Perry ,who would be a huge pickup. He still has a visit to Miami to go, although the rumor is that he's considering cancelling that. I hope he does, because Shannon is cleaning up on the defensive side of the ball this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

60-40 BYU on Kaveinga. His dad is on the record as saying he is still very interested in USC, but his mom really wants him to take his mission and go to BYU. I think he sticks with BYU personally.

EF27 - where did you here Jerrell Harris was likely? That's not at all what I've been hearing.

I heard that from a friend who still lives in LA and who I believe has good info, but you never know. In any case, I think this class is shaping up very well. Although, I agree with you that Perry would be a huge pickup.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

60-40 BYU on Kaveinga. His dad is on the record as saying he is still very interested in USC, but his mom really wants him to take his mission and go to BYU. I think he sticks with BYU personally.

EF27 - where did you here Jerrell Harris was likely? That's not at all what I've been hearing.

Khaled Holmes and Matt Meyer are keeping in touch with Joe Adams and are very confident that he is solid to USC, but I'm sure that's telling them what they want to hear. He wants to play WR and not CB, which is probably the main draw for Arkansas where he can walk right in and start in the slot from day one.

USC still leads over Michigan for Nick Perry ,who would be a huge pickup. He still has a visit to Miami to go, although the rumor is that he's considering cancelling that. I hope he does, because Shannon is cleaning up on the defensive side of the ball this year.

Lot of Michigan insiders feel good on Perry. I am not in that boat but just pointing out what I've heard. The UM coaches are non stop on him.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

They are out there as he took the trip, but according to some of his coaches, he was sticking with BYU...we will see come LOI day.

Right now, BYU has lost some top talent to UCLA and USC the past few years...it's getting to the point..I might start hating both schools.

However, with Sarks at USC and Chow at UCLA....who knows.

Sark and Chow are dead to me..

That fucker Neuweasel pretty much snatched Hamani Stevens for UCLA at the 11th hour, who looked likely to commit to BYU a little over a week ago!!

I think Kaveinga is still pretty solid for BYU. He will start as a true frosh and is a great fit for that Defense, stepping into Bryan Kehl's spot. What I worry about more is that he gets lured away when he comes back from his mission, ala Ben Olson......In the case of Olson that worked out better for us, but if it happens with Kaveinga it would be a huge blow.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Great year for BYU and Bronco, However we did finally lose Hamani Stevens yesterday as he stated we are out of the contention. It appears Norm Chow paid him a call and got him to head over to UCLA. His choices are UCLA and Oregon now. Getting Austin to commit to BYU over Florida and Urban was a big win..Urban made a full court press to try and get him to change.

We have a bunch more considering however, I am wait and see on them.

We should also pick up Chamber's buddy Kedron Paul if he can qualify, he has a schollie contingent on that. Check out his highlights on youtube, could be a solid CB/KR

[IMetTrentGreen]

It has started to come out that Darrell Scott is going to pick Texas. I'm nonplussed since you never know how these super power high school kids will turn out, but it makes a nice statement. We don't usually go after these kids. But at least something positive came out of Jamaal Charles going pro.

[MrBug708]

Darrell Scott deserves the hype that he's getting but he has what some people call "fit" issues. His mom wants him at UCLA, but that isn't going to happen

Uona Kavinega apparently wants to come back to UCLA, but apparently some of UCLA's current verbals didn't like how he keeps flip flopping with what he wants. A lot of them were very close in the offseason and used to have BBQ's at one of the recruits house so they all became really good friends before they even set foot on UCLA's campus so they felt betrayed by Uona. So I doubt he ends up coming to UCLA. His reason for faith being his reason for going to BYU was also incorrect, it was grades, but he has since received a qualifying score.

UCLA is looking at Craig Noble, a verbal to UW.

Dean verballed to UCLA and will likely be in the mix for the starting RB job as a freshmen

[timmynausea]

One more big name still out there for WVU that slipped my mind:

OT Greg Shaw - Rivals has Shaw as a 4 star T out of Miami with offers from LSU, Florida, and South Florida among others. He narrowed his choices from those 4 down to WVU and LSU this week and is in Morgantown on his official visit now. It's been rare for WVU to sign a true tackle prospect that has the combination of 6'5"+ height plus quick enough feet to be a great pass blocker. We've routinely been taking shorter guys that would be ideal at guard and coaching them up into tackles. Shaw is listed between 6'5" and 6'7" on the various sites and has great agility, so this would be a big step up.

There are also reportedly 2 or 3 other guys that WVU is keeping totally quiet, which I assume to mean players that are already committed elsewhere that we're trying to lure away at the last minute.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Darrell Scott deserves the hype that he's getting but he has what some people call "fit" issues. His mom wants him at UCLA, but that isn't going to happen

Uona Kavinega apparently wants to come back to UCLA, but apparently some of UCLA's current verbals didn't like how he keeps flip flopping with what he wants. A lot of them were very close in the offseason and used to have BBQ's at one of the recruits house so they all became really good friends before they even set foot on UCLA's campus so they felt betrayed by Uona. So I doubt he ends up coming to UCLA. His reason for faith being his reason for going to BYU was also incorrect, it was grades, but he has since received a qualifying score.

UCLA is looking at Craig Noble, a verbal to UW.

Dean verballed to UCLA and will likely be in the mix for the starting RB job as a freshmen

Grades? BYU is one of the hardest universities for athletes to get into, the take it above the standard for players to get in, that plus the Honor Code are two major bitches that will keep BYU from getting some of the top athletes in the nation.

However, we have done quite well in the past with what we can get.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Grades? BYU is one of the hardest universities for athletes to get into, the take it above the standard for players to get in, that plus the Honor Code are two major bitches that will keep BYU from getting some of the top athletes in the nation.

However, we have done quite well in the past with what we can get.

Beat me to it, probably the only pac 10 school with higher academic standards than BYU is Stanford.

BYU loses kids to grades and honor code every season

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, I disagree with everything Bug said as well. I think the major issue for this kid is that his faith is leading him to BYU. His family is leading him to USC (not UCLA.)

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Grades? BYU is one of the hardest universities for athletes to get into, the take it above the standard for players to get in, that plus the Honor Code are two major bitches that will keep BYU from getting some of the top athletes in the nation.

However, we have done quite well in the past with what we can get.

That's incorrect, at least for the grades issue. A few years back, the Orlando Sentinel did a report on how the admission's department lets football players into the program (ie meeting the NCAA minimum, special admissions, what gpa kids need in core classes et al)

Here are their rankings
PACIFIC-10
9 Stanford
8 UCLA
6 Cal
5 Arizona
5 Oregon
5 Washington
3 Arizona State
3 Oregon State
3 Washington State
3 USC

ATLANTIC COAST
9 Wake Forest
8 Duke
7 Georgia Tech
6 Boston College
6 North Carolina
6 Virginia
4 Maryland
4 Florida State
4 Miami
2 Clemson
2 NC State
2 Virginia Tech

BIG EAST
7 Syracuse
6 Connecticut
6 Pittsburgh
4 Rutgers
2 Cincinnati
2 Louisville
2 USF
2 West Virginia

BIG TEN
9 Northwestern
7 Michigan
7 Penn State
6 Illinois
5 Indiana
5 Iowa
5 Purdue
5 Wisconsin
4 Minnesota
3 Michigan State
3 Ohio State

BIG 12
7 Texas
7 Missouri
5 Colorado
5 Oklahoma
5 Kansas
5 Nebraska
4 Baylor
4 Texas A&M
3 Iowa State
3 Texas Tech
2 Kansas State
2 Oklahoma State

CONFERENCE USA
10 Rice
8 SMU
8 Tulane
5 Tulsa
5 UCF
4 Houston
4 Memphis
3 Southern Miss
2 East Carolina
2 Marshall
2 UAB
2 UTEP

MID-AMERICAN
7 Buffalo
7 Miami (Ohio)
6 Ohio U.
5 Kent State
4 Ball State
3 Northern Illinois
3 Eastern Michigan
3 Central Michigan
3 Western Michigan
2 Akron
2 Bowling Green
2 Toledo

MOUNTAIN WEST
8 Air Force
6 San Diego State
5 TCU
4 Wyoming
3 UNLV
3 BYU
3 Colorado State
3 New Mexico

SOUTHEASTERN
9 Vanderbilt
7 Georgia
5 Florida
5 Kentucky
3 Alabama
3 Arkansas
3 Auburn
3 LSU
3 Ole Miss
2 Mississippi State
2 South Carolina
2 Tennessee

SUN BELT
3 Louisiana-Lafayette
3 Louisiana-Monroe
2 Arkansas State
2 Florida Atlantic
2 Florida International
2 North Texas
1 Middle Tennessee
1 Troy

WESTERN ATHLETIC
4 Hawaii
4 Nevada
3 Fresno State
2 Boise State
2 Idaho
2 San Jose State
2 Louisiana Tech
1 New Mexico State
1 Utah State

INDEPENDENTS
9 Army
9 Navy
7 Notre Dame
2 Temple

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yeah, I disagree with everything Bug said as well. I think the major issue for this kid is that his faith is leading him to BYU. His family is leading him to USC (not UCLA.)

Suddenly his faith became important in the last month? I just think the kids really doesn't know what he wants. He's basically Eric Lorig part 2

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

That's incorrect, at least for the grades issue. A few years back, the Orlando Sentinel did a report on how the admission's department lets football players into the program (ie meeting the NCAA minimum, special admissions, what gpa kids need in core classes et al)

Here are their rankings
PACIFIC-10
9 Stanford
8 UCLA
6 Cal
5 Arizona
5 Oregon
5 Washington
3 Arizona State
3 Oregon State
3 Washington State
3 USC

ATLANTIC COAST
9 Wake Forest
8 Duke
7 Georgia Tech
6 Boston College
6 North Carolina
6 Virginia
4 Maryland
4 Florida State
4 Miami
2 Clemson
2 NC State
2 Virginia Tech

BIG EAST
7 Syracuse
6 Connecticut
6 Pittsburgh
4 Rutgers
2 Cincinnati
2 Louisville
2 USF
2 West Virginia

BIG TEN
9 Northwestern
7 Michigan
7 Penn State
6 Illinois
5 Indiana
5 Iowa
5 Purdue
5 Wisconsin
4 Minnesota
3 Michigan State
3 Ohio State

BIG 12
7 Texas
7 Missouri
5 Colorado
5 Oklahoma
5 Kansas
5 Nebraska
4 Baylor
4 Texas A&M
3 Iowa State
3 Texas Tech
2 Kansas State
2 Oklahoma State

CONFERENCE USA
10 Rice
8 SMU
8 Tulane
5 Tulsa
5 UCF
4 Houston
4 Memphis
3 Southern Miss
2 East Carolina
2 Marshall
2 UAB
2 UTEP

MID-AMERICAN
7 Buffalo
7 Miami (Ohio)
6 Ohio U.
5 Kent State
4 Ball State
3 Northern Illinois
3 Eastern Michigan
3 Central Michigan
3 Western Michigan
2 Akron
2 Bowling Green
2 Toledo

MOUNTAIN WEST
8 Air Force
6 San Diego State
5 TCU
4 Wyoming
3 UNLV
3 BYU
3 Colorado State
3 New Mexico

SOUTHEASTERN
9 Vanderbilt
7 Georgia
5 Florida
5 Kentucky
3 Alabama
3 Arkansas
3 Auburn
3 LSU
3 Ole Miss
2 Mississippi State
2 South Carolina
2 Tennessee

SUN BELT
3 Louisiana-Lafayette
3 Louisiana-Monroe
2 Arkansas State
2 Florida Atlantic
2 Florida International
2 North Texas
1 Middle Tennessee
1 Troy

WESTERN ATHLETIC
4 Hawaii
4 Nevada
3 Fresno State
2 Boise State
2 Idaho
2 San Jose State
2 Louisiana Tech
1 New Mexico State
1 Utah State

INDEPENDENTS
9 Army
9 Navy
7 Notre Dame
2 Temple

This interests me...link please......

[MrBug708]

I'll look for the link, it came out in 2006 and the original story link doesn't work. I'll come through for ya though

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Suddenly his faith became important in the last month? I just think the kids really doesn't know what he wants. He's basically Eric Lorig part 2

Not the last month, it's always been there. He is interested in going to a school that respects his choice of going on a mission, and one that can prepare him to play coming off his mission.

USC has some recent experience with that, although I know they try and talk the kid out of going.

Oregon has a solid program set up for it too.

I just look at Tenn and their big LDS DE they had, just couldn't get him back into shape after his mission.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I'll look for the link, it came out in 2006 and the original story link doesn't work. I'll come through for ya though

Thanks, I am just curious what years they looked at, I know players that weren't able to get into BYU because of grades and test scores but they got into a lot of these upper number schools with what they had, it's the only reason I am curious as to what is being looked at.

[MrBug708]

From a message board since the OS link is dead. It was copied and pasted from the original article
-------------------------------------------

NCAA is keeping score

Colleges face a tougher measuring stick in regard to their admission decisions

Alan Schmadtke
Sentinel Staff Writer
January 15, 2006

It was a time-honored tradition, an offseason coaching version of one-upmanship.
The game, unnamed by its participants, was, "How Low Can You Go?"

"You'd go to the convention and hear guys say, 'This kid's got no chance to qualify, but we'll get him in,' " Clemson assistant Brad Scott said. "Then you'd hear the next guy tell about the guys they were going to take."
Every year such scenes were repeated constantly behind closed doors after National Signing Day. College coaches would huddle with lists of signees from rival schools, making notes on which academically at-risk players had been signed. Cursing generally followed.
Sentiments were mixtures of disappointment, disbelief and jealousy.

Coaches then would show up at their conference's spring meetings to air grievances about leveling the playing field. Those days are almost over.
"We don't really hear that anymore," Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said.

A new code -- APR -- is sweeping through college football.

At the NCAA Convention last week, university presidents received updated Academic Progress Rating numbers, the new, penalty-attached measuring stick for how well schools sign, keep and graduate athletes. Presidents are taking this seriously, and making sure everybody in their athletic department and conference is, too.

"There's going to be some peer pressure. This was part of the intent, the scarlet-letter approach," Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson said. "Nobody wants to be embarrassed."

No two conferences were created equally and no two schools operate equally. Although the NCAA has its standards, at the end of the day each college's admissions director can say yes or no to whatever recruit he or she wants.
The only judgment needed is whether there's a realistic expectation that the athlete in question can handle that school's coursework and graduate.

"I've been at schools where there's one degree program that's a lot easier than all the rest, and whenever we had a player get in trouble, we'd put him in that program," said one longtime I-A assistant who asked to remain anonymous. "Some schools don't have programs like that, but a lot of them do. If you have the program and you know kids can get through it, that doesn't give you much heartburn when you recruit a kid who might be at-risk."
Some schools also are private, which means they operate with much less outside scrutiny.
Such judgment calls will provide some of the intrigue on National Signing Day. Some coaches will evaluate the competition with mixed emotions. Others won't look back.

"I'm sure we'll see players we wish we could have taken, but the way I look at it, they're somebody else's problem," UCF Coach George O'Leary said. "Some of those players can help you win, but a lot of times they help you lose."
Getting them in

Since 2005, the NCAA has required athletes take 14 "core" courses in four years of high school to get into a Division I college. That grade-point average in those courses is then placed on a sliding scale of SAT and ACT scores. The higher the GPA, the lower an athlete's test score could be.

The sliding scale was implemented in response to years of criticism that entrance requirements put too much emphasis on standardized test scores, which, critics argue, are racially and culturally biased. The sliding scale is supposed to place more emphasis on academic success in core courses and less on test-taking days.
In 2008, the academic sledding gets tougher. Athletes will have to pass 16 core courses, including an extra year of math.

The days of the partial qualifier -- a student who has a solid GPA but a sub-par test score, or vice versa -- are gone. The NCAA eliminated the middle-ground recruit as it re-engineered standards both for incoming freshmen and ongoing students.

Now recruits are either qualified on the sliding scale or they're not. All final determinations are made by the NCAA's Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse.

Where debate and discussion comes in is when schools decide to admit athletes the Clearinghouse declines to certify. Therein lies the competition.

In the Mid-American Conference, for instance, some Ohio schools assure in-state prep athletes that if they secure a high school degree, admission is all but automatic. But Miami (Ohio) and Ohio U. make no such guarantee.

Schools in other states make similar pledges. Florida schools used to do it, but that was long before the state's population exploded in the 1980s. Now Florida high school graduates are merely assured of a spot in a local junior college.

Schools can enroll academic non-qualifiers, but athletes must pay their own way to school for their freshmen year. Often they do so by receiving financial aid.

Another issue is junior-college recruiting. A minority of schools thrive on it. Others dabble. In many cases, admissions officers are more likely to approve junior-college prospects than high school recruits with troubling transcripts.
"Cal has a reputation of being like Harvard in terms of getting into school," said one Pac-10 assistant who asked not to be identified.

"That's probably true for the every-day student. In football, they take a hard look at high school kids, but they're pretty active with the junior colleges. They're not as picky."
Since 2000, the Bears have signed 28 junior-college recruits.

UCF can relate. The Golden Knights have brought in 26 JC transfers since 2001. Even under O'Leary, who raised the academic bar for high school recruits above NCAA standards, UCF has added seven JC transfers. On the other hand, UCF coaches can tick off names of former high school prospects they couldn't touch but other schools in the MAC and Conference USA did.

Likewise, in 2002, Ron Zook's staff at Florida signed coveted middle linebacker Lance Mitchell of City College of San Francisco. But the SEC required a math class Mitchell didn't have, so he instead enrolled at Oklahoma. He started for two seasons with the Sooners and now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
An ongoing discussion

Although coaches don't spend much time at conference meetings whining about rivals admitting inadmissible recruits, conference leaders make sure academics have a standing place on the agenda. League leaders don't negotiate standards, but they're always around.
When the WAC needed to supplement its roster of schools after a sweeping round of conference realignments in 2003, there wasn't much choice. Almost immediately after Rice, SMU and Tulsa announced they were leaving for a re-formed Conference USA, WAC leaders turned to Utah State and Idaho. Both schools had clamored for WAC membership.

How those schools' academics fit with the remaining WAC schools wasn't much of an issue for two reasons. First, Utah State and Idaho are state schools with like missions of the other WAC schools.

Second, there weren't any other choices among I-A schools.

There was an immediate plus, Benson said. When the new WAC was formed on July 1, 2005, "for the first time in 10 years we have institutions that from an academic standpoint look more similar to one another."

Around the country, conferences have made peace with where they are. Commissioners make few apologies, preferring program's win-loss records, graduation rates and APR numbers to speak for them.

All, however, are wary. The last thing they want is to go to a league meeting and see their presidents engaged in a fraternal game of "How Low Can You Go?"
Alan Schmadtke can be reached at [email protected].

ATLANTIC COAST
9 Wake Forest
8 Duke
7 Georgia Tech
6 Boston College
6 North Carolina
6 Virginia
4 Maryland
4 Florida State
4 Miami
2 Clemson
2 NC State
2 Virginia Tech
BIG EAST
7 Syracuse
6 Connecticut
6 Pittsburgh
4 Rutgers
2 Cincinnati
2 Louisville
2 USF
2 West Virginia
BIG TEN
9 Northwestern
7 Michigan
7 Penn State
6 Illinois
5 Indiana
5 Iowa
5 Purdue
5 Wisconsin
4 Minnesota
3 Michigan State
3 Ohio State
BIG 12
7 Texas
7 Missouri
5 Colorado
5 Oklahoma
5 Kansas
5 Nebraska
4 Baylor
4 Texas A&M
3 Iowa State
3 Texas Tech
2 Kansas State
2 Oklahoma State
CONFERENCE USA
10 Rice
8 SMU
8 Tulane
5 Tulsa
5 UCF
4 Houston
4 Memphis
3 Southern Miss
2 East Carolina
2 Marshall
2 UAB
2 UTEP
MID-AMERICAN
7 Buffalo
7 Miami (Ohio)
6 Ohio U.
5 Kent State
4 Ball State
3 Northern Illinois
3 Eastern Michigan
3 Central Michigan
3 Western Michigan
2 Akron
2 Bowling Green
2 Toledo
MOUNTAIN WEST
8 Air Force
6 San Diego State
5 TCU
4 Wyoming
3 UNLV
3 BYU
3 Colorado State
3 New Mexico

PACIFIC-10
9 Stanford
8 UCLA
6 Cal
5 Arizona
5 Oregon
5 Washington
3 Arizona State
3 Oregon State
3 Washington State
3 USC
SOUTHEASTERN
9 Vanderbilt
7 Georgia
5 Florida
5 Kentucky
3 Alabama
3 Arkansas
3 Auburn
3 LSU
3 Ole Miss
2 Mississippi State
2 South Carolina
2 Tennessee
SUN BELT
3 Louisiana-Lafayette
3 Louisiana-Monroe
2 Arkansas State
2 Florida Atlantic
2 Florida International
2 North Texas
1 Middle Tennessee
1 Troy
WESTERN ATHLETIC
4 Hawaii
4 Nevada
3 Fresno State
2 Boise State
2 Idaho
2 San Jose State
2 Louisiana Tech
1 New Mexico State
1 Utah State
INDEPENDENTS
9 Army
9 Navy
7 Notre Dame
2 Temple

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Not the last month, it's always been there. He is interested in going to a school that respects his choice of going on a mission, and one that can prepare him to play coming off his mission.

USC has some recent experience with that, although I know they try and talk the kid out of going.

Oregon has a solid program set up for it too.

I just look at Tenn and their big LDS DE they had, just couldn't get him back into shape after his mission.

UCLA has never objected anyone taking a mission, I know they offered to let the Tevaga's go on missions if they wanted to and each turned it down. They also offered UW bound Kevin Prince a scholarship and were going to let him go on a mission. But after the Ben Olson experiment, I wouldn't surprised if they discouraged them from taking them now

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

UCLA has never objected anyone taking a mission, I know they offered to let the Tevaga's go on missions if they wanted to and each turned it down. They also offered UW bound Kevin Prince a scholarship and were going to let him go on a mission. But after the Ben Olson experiment, I wouldn't surprised if they discouraged them from taking them now

They will a lot more the weasel there...no offense, the guy will kill your program, hopefully Chow balances him out for your programs sake.