The 2006 College Football Recruiting Thread [Archive]

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Cuckoo

12-23-2005, 04:28 PM

I know we had one last year that was bumped recently, but I don't think I've seen any discussions so far this year. How is your team doing so far and what do you expect?

As for OU, Scout has them 6th right now while Rivals has them 8th. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with several of their players. They've pulled in a lot of offensive line help with a couple of JUCO guys and some talented freshmen like Roark. They got a JUCO quarterback to back up Bomar and a freshman quarterback who is a solid pocket-passer. And they have commitments from some really talented guys like Chris Brown (4 star RB) and Dominique Franks (4 star CB).

I think if they are able to pull commitments from DeMarco Murray (22nd overall according to Rivals) and local kid Gerald McCoy (10th overall according to Rivals), this will end up being a great class for OU.

Rumors are Murray is leaning toward OU over USC by a tad, and McCoy has narrowed to 6 but is giving no indication of who's leading.

vex

12-23-2005, 04:29 PM

Murray and McCoy are in the bag.

Cuckoo

12-23-2005, 04:30 PM

Murray and McCoy are in the bag.

Weren't you the one who said we wouldn't get Reggie Smith last year? :D

vex

12-23-2005, 04:33 PM

Weren't you the one who said we wouldn't get Reggie Smith last year? :D
Got me. Was I?:confused:

vex

12-23-2005, 04:33 PM

Dola

I wouldn't doubt that though, seeing as how Smith didn't decide until 2 hours before he signed.

digamma

12-23-2005, 04:34 PM

Murray and McCoy are in the bag.
Did someone say Bagman?

http://media.scout.com/Media/Player/21158_Garner-index-.JPG

Cuckoo

12-23-2005, 04:35 PM

Dola

I wouldn't doubt that though, seeing as how Smith didn't decide until 2 hours before he signed.

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=692818&postcount=20

;)

Yeah, I remember hoping we'd get him but didn't know for sure. When you said that, I thought you had insider knowledge.

vex

12-23-2005, 04:36 PM

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=692818&postcount=20

;)

Yeah, I remember hoping we'd get him but didn't know for sure. When you said that, I thought you had insider knowledge.
Yeah, I just searched and found that as well:)

Oh no, definitely no inside info, I just trust what Crabby says.

MJ4H

12-23-2005, 04:41 PM

Well, Arkansas was sitting pretty with one of the top 2 QBs in the country verbally committed (Mitch Mustain, Springdale HS, AR). However, a couple of weeks ago, Mustain backed out and said he is entertaining offers from some other schools (primarily, it seems, Notre Dame, though I've heard also such surprising schools as effing Tennessee). There is still a pretty good chance of landing Mustain, though, and it would be one of the biggest signings Arkansas has gotten in a very long time if we did get him. That's pretty much the talk around here these days. Of course, Springdale HS's head coach, Gus Malzahn (sp?) is now Arkansas' offensive coordinator. I think this might help the cause, but it is difficult to tell. It is going to be a long wait.

IMetTrentGreen

12-24-2005, 10:00 AM

mustain isn't a big fan of nutts. thats sounds funny. i'd say notre dame is they didnt already have two qbs, so i'd guess tennessee

i am very familiar with a lot of the ou lineman they pulled in, like curtis bailey and trent williams. they won't do shit. that guy from corsicana will be good however. i'll laugh if they get that overrated fat idiot symonette, becuase scout has him so ridiculously overrated. he's just a fat guy playing against 150 lb. white kids. overweight people + kevin wilson = flameout, guaranteed. i do like their skills guys on offense, especially if they get murray, but the oline recieved no help

texas is sick right now. best class mack has signed since vince's class, even with the loss of moody (the best back in the state, a korean barry sanders). defensively, its macks best, easy. only question mark i have is the oline, just becuase i havent seen 3 of the 4 guys other than shitty rivals video. the offensive side hinges on how good the qbs are, i think, since vince will be leaving after this year, leaving us one scholarship qb. but man, i can't wait to see those defensive recruits here. 2 could start right away, and thats saying something

Noop

12-24-2005, 10:10 AM

Seminole Report is as follows.
- We lost out on the number 1 player in the country who was a big time lean to our rivals the Florida Gators.
- We are recruiting offensive linemen(About ten last I heard.)
- Defensively we are going to recruit very well.
- Offensively I dislike the Bowden(Jeff and Bobby)
- Our most important recruiting has to be done by ironicly Jeff Bowden and the rest of the coaching staff(except Bobby) on Xaiver Lee. Bobby screwed the pooch big time when he refused to let Xaiver play. Now it looks like Xaiver is going to Texas or some JUCO for a year then he can transfer anywhere he wants.

Cuckoo

12-24-2005, 10:19 AM

i am very familiar with a lot of the ou lineman they pulled in, like curtis bailey and trent williams. they won't do shit. that guy from corsicana will be good however. i'll laugh if they get that overrated fat idiot symonette, becuase scout has him so ridiculously overrated. he's just a fat guy playing against 150 lb. white kids. overweight people + kevin wilson = flameout, guaranteed. i do like their skills guys on offense, especially if they get murray, but the oline recieved no help

I honestly don't know enough about them to comment. I just know they got several highly rated O-linemen including a 4 star JUCO guy who they say is ready to step in and play pretty quickly. Although I'm not surprised you dogged some of the OU guys, I'll trust your judgment until I see them for myself.

As for Texas, you're absolutely right. I'd say they're a lock for #1 regardless of how the rest shakes out. All the stuff I had seen on Henry told me he's going to be a solid player. He looked really impressive, and I was disappointed he switched from OU.

IMetTrentGreen

12-26-2005, 11:50 PM

no, florida, usc, and notre dame will all finish higher than texas since they lost moody and robinson

IMetTrentGreen

12-26-2005, 11:51 PM

not that it matters

waltwal

12-27-2005, 06:53 AM

i follow cal and so far they are doing very well. they have had good recruiting classes every year since tedford has been the coach and i expect they will be on top 20 this year.

2 things i would like to see on rivals tho. i would like to see how many scholarships a team has available and i would like to see rivals rate a recruiting class by average points rather than total points. a team that has 25 scholarships to give that has an average of 3.00 is rated higher than a team that has 15 scholarships to give and has an average of 3.25. i think the 15 scholarship team should be ranked higher.

bhlloy

12-27-2005, 08:28 AM

USC is going to have a monster class at RB, S and LB, but people are slightly worried about the lack of class on the OL and DL.

Demarco Murray is as good as gone to OU, SC won't guarantee him a spot at RB.

I'd love to know where you got the information about Gerald McCoy, all that I've been hearing is that SC and ND are the smart choices there.

This years class hinges on Derrick Hill and McCoy at DT (Hill is a strong Cal lean) and getting at least one (preferably two) of Schilling, Butch Young and Andre Smith on the OL. Schilling doesn't look interested but the other two have SC in their top two schools.

scooper

12-27-2005, 10:02 AM

Charlie Weis is kicking ass on the trail. He's probably turning away #1 Mitch Mustain, if that tells you anything.

Oh, and McCoy may end up at OU, but it's anything but "in the bag." No inside info here, but reading between the lines, the Irish are very much still in it. They need a DT in this class and have stopped recruiting most others. On the surface they have three spots available and other recruits have said the coaches have told them they are taken. It is speculated that McCoy holds one of those spots.

ND is doing well and will finish probably 2nd or 3rd. Most importantly, they have filled a huge need at OL, where the last two classes have netted exactly ZERO players. Thanks, Ty.

MacroGuru

12-27-2005, 10:27 AM

Cuckoo

12-27-2005, 11:27 AM

Oh, and McCoy may end up at OU, but it's anything but "in the bag." No inside info here, but reading between the lines, the Irish are very much still in it. They need a DT in this class and have stopped recruiting most others. On the surface they have three spots available and other recruits have said the coaches have told them they are taken. It is speculated that McCoy holds one of those spots.

I'm assuming bhlloy's question was meant for vex about Gerald McCoy, based on the comment that he's in the bag for OU. Based on all the interviews I've read, I would agree with scooper. The guy has done a very good job of not letting out how he's leaning, but I think Notre Dame might have the edge because of academics. The guy is sharp, and that's really important to him. I haven't heard anyone say USC, although the Trojans are on his list. I'm hearing the bet is he'll choose either Notre Dame because of academics or OU because of proximity.

My money's on Notre Dame right now, but again, he hasn't given much of a clue so far.

IMTG: That's interesting. I admit to not reading a lot about Texas but the few overall reports I have read talked about Texas having the best class overall, even if USC and Notre Dame jump up as expected.

dawgfan

12-27-2005, 03:29 PM

Ty Willie is having mixed success so far in his first full season of recruiting for Washington.

The positives: Ty has commitments from 3 of the top 5 in-state guys this year in QB Jake Locker, DL Cameron Elisara and OL Ryan Tolar. He also has a commitment from one of the top Cali RB's in James Montgomery, though he'll need to stay on that one as his parents want him to go to Cal. He signed one of the top JC WR's in Marcel Reese, helping fill a void left by the departure of talented but poorly motivated WR Craig Chambers. He also signed a pretty good MLB/DE JC prospect in Anthony Atkins.

The negatives: He lost out on a pretty good JC CB in Coye Francies who committed to the UW then switched and signed with Oregon State. CB is a position of dire need for the Huskies, and so far we've got a mediocre JC signing in Jordan Murchison (he wasn't even a starter) and some RB/Athlete types that we'll have to convert to CB. He also lost out on Husky legacy Taylor Mays to USC (his dad Stafford was a Husky under Don James in the late '70's/early 80's and currently works for Microsoft) and couldn't maintain early interest from top prospects like LB Allen Bradford and CB Shareece Wright. He also missed out early on top in-state S prospect Andy Mattingly to rival Washington State.

Willingham has some nice sleepers in his commitments, including LB Donald Butler who impressed Husky coaches in their summer camp.

Locker was a huge get - he's one of the top QB recruits in the country and is a guy that could easily be a 4-year starter after redshirting. Elisara was another big get - a stud interior DL prospect. Reece fills a big need at WR. Another DL commit is De'Shon Matthews, a 4-star guy rated the #26 DT prospect by Scout.com. He'll need to gain weight to play in the interior, but he's obviously pretty highly regarded.

There are still some big targets left on the board for Willingham that will determine if this is simply a decent class or a very good one. The biggest is OL Steve Schilling, an in-state guy that is one of the top-rated OL prospects in the country (#3 by Scout.com). He's also considering Cal, USC and Michigan, but the feeling is that the Huskies have the inside track - they also signed his teammates J.R. Hasty and E.J. Savannah last year (not coincidentally the two top recruits in last year's class) and are building a strong connection with the powerhouse Bellevue H.S. program.

Willingham also still has a shot at highly rated WR Jamere Holland and is doing well with RB/Ath Rodney Glass and OL Cody Pope. The rest of the prospects on the board are mid-level 3-star guys.

The Huskies are currently ranked with the #31 class by Scout, #23 if sorted by average star rating. If they finish in a similar position, that will be a pretty impressive job done considering the Huskies are coming off 1-10 and 2-9 seasons.

Galaril

12-27-2005, 07:40 PM

ND is having an excellent recruiting season so far. Getting James Aldridge , the # 4 RB nation wide is huge as well as Demetrius Jones,QB, # 2 dual threat QB nation wide and the 2nd best TE, Konrad Reuland. They also got the 3rd best center and cornerback overall.:) This is in addition to the Mitch
Mustain rumors and #6 QB, Zach Fraser.

BYU 14

12-27-2005, 10:34 PM

BYU has the 15th Ranked player in the Nation Pineview QB James Lark.

WR McKay Jacobsen from Carroll HS out of Southlake, TX has commited as well, he is the 52nd ranked....

Other than that we have 2 DB's ranked in the 70's and then about 10 NR's but a couple of 3 stars in the NR's.

It's nothing that will propel us immediately, but I think McKay and Lark will both be beneficial in our Offense.

McKay will be huge next Season as he will probably be the most viable big play threat with Watkins gone and Austin Collie not due back until next year......I watched some film on Lark and he is very impressive, if he doesn't go on a mission he should battle Max Hall for the starting job in 2007. He could be great with a solid O-line, which BYU should have for the next few years. At Pine View he was running for his life alot this last Season and still had a solid year.......Tico Pringle was a big JC pickup and will start next year, Mike Hague was very much under the radar going into this Season but had a breakout Senior Season.............BYU is also still in the hunt for Stanley Havili, who is probably the best RB prospect to ever come out of Utah and has been offered by USC.

MrBug708

12-27-2005, 10:43 PM

Speaking of QB's on missions and coming back, any secrets info I should know on Ben Olson? It should be his job next year

BYU 14

12-27-2005, 10:48 PM

Speaking of QB's on missions and coming back, any secrets info I should know on Ben Olson? It should be his job next year

Has all the Tools in the World, was rusty (as would be expected) in Spring drills from what I heard, but he is the real deal, big, athletic and huge arm. He was actually graded as BYU's best recruit ever by many.....wish he had stayed but I still wish him well....unlike most of the bitter Bastards on the BYU message boards :)

You will be happy with him when all is said and done.....and as an added bonus UCLA is coming up on BYU's schedule....2007 I believe.

MrBug708

12-27-2005, 10:51 PM

They were on the schedule for this year but they backed out and we had to put in Rice instead

BYU 14

12-27-2005, 11:14 PM

They were on the schedule for this year but they backed out and we had to put in Rice instead

Yeah we went with Eastern Illinois instead :)

MacroGuru

12-29-2005, 12:34 AM

Has all the Tools in the World, was rusty (as would be expected) in Spring drills from what I heard, but he is the real deal, big, athletic and huge arm. He was actually graded as BYU's best recruit ever by many.....wish he had stayed but I still wish him well....unlike most of the bitter Bastards on the BYU message boards :)

You will be happy with him when all is said and done.....and as an added bonus UCLA is coming up on BYU's schedule....2007 I believe.
Couple of negative things, his parents tend to stick their noses into his life and the program. Also, he threw a temper tantrum in practice because one of the recruits were whipping the balls around better than he was.

He does have the tools and I hope he does well, it did feel like a kick in the nuts when he left, especially after coming out and saying he was coming back, it's why a lot of the haters are out there on the messageboards

larrymcg421

12-30-2005, 02:20 PM

Vidal Hazelton, #2 WR in the country is announcing in about 20 minutes. He is down to Miami, Penn State, and USC, although word is that he won't be picking Miami. Sucks because Miami is in desperate need of WR's at this point.

bhlloy

12-30-2005, 02:39 PM

Insiders on both PSU and USC boards are both calling Hazelton to their team. Should be interesting.

Won't be that devastated if we don't get him, because assuming Steve Smith doesn't leave to become a second day pick we still have Jarrett, Smith and last years #1 WR Patrick Turner, but you can never have enough quality at reciever. Would be a very nice pickup after Harvin and Eugene dropped us.

bhlloy

12-30-2005, 02:47 PM

DOLA - Hazelton to USC :)

cartman

01-05-2006, 12:02 AM

Recruiting just got exponentially harder against Mack Brown. The biggest stick used was that he couldn't get Texas over the hump and win a big game, much less a conference or national championship. That approach has worked very well in the past. Not so much any more.

MrBug708

01-05-2006, 12:13 AM

Does he really go out of the midwest that often though?

cartman

01-05-2006, 12:14 AM

Does he really go out of the midwest that often though?

Has he had to?

ShaefIllini

01-05-2006, 12:16 AM

Does he really go out of the midwest that often though?

I would have to imagine he would now.

cartman

01-05-2006, 12:19 AM

Does he really go out of the midwest that often though?

Delayed non-dola,

The past two seasons, OU and LSU took a top recruit away from UT at the end of the recruiting cycle. Both Ryan Perilloux and Adrian Peterson were leaning hard towards UT, but both gave the same response as to why they didn't want to go to UT: they wanted the chance to win a national championship. That cannot be held over recruits anymore as a reason not to go to Texas.

Cuckoo

01-05-2006, 09:08 AM

Eh, I don't buy it. I haven't bought it when all the OU fans said we shouldn't root for Texas because of recruiting. Texas always recruits well, and they always will. They'll get the bulk of the players from Texas. The effect on the RRS will be next to nothing.

People say Peterson chose OU because of the chance to win championships. Possibly, that's true. But OU also had a wide open competition at running back while Texas had Benson. Peterson wanted to play right away, and according to interviews, he liked Bob Stoops' personality better than Mack Brown's.

Will OU have to use something else in their recruiting trips now? Yeah, probably. Will it have much of an impact? I don't see it.

Cuckoo

01-06-2006, 10:45 AM

There are rumors that Gerald McCoy has cut his list to 3: LSU, USC and Oklahoma.

vex

01-06-2006, 11:38 AM

There are rumors that Gerald McCoy has cut his list to 3: LSU, USC and Oklahoma.
You really need to suscribe to SoonerScoop.com:p

scooper

01-06-2006, 11:47 AM

There are rumors that Gerald McCoy has cut his list to 3: LSU, USC and Oklahoma.This coincides with the rumors of Butch Lewis to ND. The Irish have three spots. The worst kept secret in San Antonio this week is Carufel's silent to ND. That leaves two. One for Sam Young if he wants it. The other for Lewis or McCoy. The rumor is Lewis decided first and took it.

If Young opts for Penn St. which is making a push, that other spot at ND opens up for WR Terrence Austin or #1 QB Mitch Mustain-who almost seems to be publicly lobbying for it.

Cuckoo

01-06-2006, 02:31 PM

You really need to suscribe to SoonerScoop.com:p

I'm assuming this means that was old news. Sorry, I just read it this morning.

I had to cut out excess expenses a couple of years ago, and unfortunately, subscriptions to magazines and/or websites were the first to go. I'd love to get the info from SoonerScoop, but I'm too poor to pay for it. :)

Honolulu_Blue

01-06-2006, 02:34 PM

I read somewhere that a running back by the name of Carlos Brown recently committed to the University of Michigan. Apparently he's supposed to be pretty good.

dawgfan

01-06-2006, 03:05 PM

Rich1033

01-06-2006, 03:59 PM

This coincides with the rumors of Butch Lewis to ND. The Irish have three spots. The worst kept secret in San Antonio this week is Carufel's silent to ND. That leaves two. One for Sam Young if he wants it. The other for Lewis or McCoy. The rumor is Lewis decided first and took it.

If Young opts for Penn St. which is making a push, that other spot at ND opens up for WR Terrence Austin or #1 QB Mitch Mustain-who almost seems to be publicly lobbying for it.Dont count Michigan out for Young just yet.

Galaxy

01-06-2006, 04:25 PM

Any good free sites that talk about recruiting?

How is Nebraska and Michigan State doing? Will Nebraska take a step foward towards returning to national contention next year?

bhlloy

01-06-2006, 05:40 PM

Update on Washington recruiting:

RB Stafon Johnson, the #2 rated RB by Scout.com has scheduled an official visit with the Huskies for the weekend following Saturday's Army All-American Bowl. Apparently his mother is a H.S. classmate of Huskies WR coach Eric Yarber. He also has official visits tentatively lined up with Georgia and Florida and camped with USC this past Summer. UCLA and Cal are also on his list.

Landing Johnson is probably a longshot, but if Ty can do so, it would be a huge get for a team coming off of 1-10 and 2-9 seasons. The last time Washington landed RB's this highly rated out of California was back in the midst of their '90-'92 run when they grabbed Tommie Smith (who converted to S) and Napoleon Kaufman.

Stafon is considered as close to a lock to USC as is possible AFAIK, although the new visits he has scheduled do worry me slightly. The "experts" on the USC board aren't worried though, to them he's just tripping like most prospects do.

Having said that, pretty strange choice of a trip to Washington (no offense intended) if he has absolutely no interest in going there. It's not like it's a glamour school. That tells me he might have some interest at least in playing for Ty.

dawgfan

01-06-2006, 05:59 PM

Stafon is considered as close to a lock to USC as is possible AFAIK, although the new visits he has scheduled do worry me slightly. The "experts" on the USC board aren't worried though, to them he's just tripping like most prospects do.

Having said that, pretty strange choice of a trip to Washington (no offense intended) if he has absolutely no interest in going there. It's not like it's a glamour school. That tells me he might have some interest at least in playing for Ty.
Yep, I've heard the talk that he's a lock for USC, but any time a guy schedules additional visits to other schools you have to think nothing is set in stone with the kid. The Huskies are in the same situation with RB James Montgomery, an early commit that was seen as a lock, but has since taken an official to Cal and is now considered 50/50 between us and the Bears.

I would be surprised as hell if we landed Stafon - it would speak very highly of Ty's ability to draw certain kids as well as the abilities of recruiting coordinator Chris Tormey (the man responsible for landing our highly rated guys out of SoCal in the late '80's/early '90's like Nip Kaufman and Mark Brunell).

FWIW, Stafon has been quoted in an interview of an interest he has in helping build a program - that's certainly much more possible at Washington right now than any of the other schools he's supposedly considering.

I'm going to assume he goes to USC, and if by some chance the Huskies land him I'll be very happy.

dawgfan

01-06-2006, 06:01 PM

Having said that, pretty strange choice of a trip to Washington (no offense intended) if he has absolutely no interest in going there. It's not like it's a glamour school. That tells me he might have some interest at least in playing for Ty.
Dola - it's painful to realize that this statement is true. Didn't use to be true, but that's what happens when you go 1-10 and 2-9...

Cuckoo

01-06-2006, 06:19 PM

Any good free sites that talk about recruiting?

How is Nebraska and Michigan State doing? Will Nebraska take a step foward towards returning to national contention next year?

I visit a number of forums and newspaper sites, so I tend to get the info from someone who does pay for it on one of the recruiting sites. I don't know of any good ones for free that have any depth of coverage.

Sorry I can't say about Michigan State, but my limited knowledge on Nebraska is that they have done pretty well overall but have lost a couple of key guys that verbally committed and then changed their minds. One of them was a QB who switched to KSU if I remember correctly.

I think Nebraska is going to be better, and they'll continue to improve. The North is weak, so there's no reason to suggest they won't get back to Big 12 Championships. But I think at least for the next couple of years, they'll be behind OU and Texas overall in the Big 12. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't beat either of those two. I'm just speaking of talent level.

Toddzilla

01-06-2006, 06:21 PM

Any good QBs left? I hear Virginia Tech had a scholarship open up...

bhlloy

01-07-2006, 03:12 AM

Dola - it's painful to realize that this statement is true. Didn't use to be true, but that's what happens when you go 1-10 and 2-9...

Heh, sorry dude. For what it's worth I think Ty has started very well and will have you back up around the top of the Pac 10 in a couple of years. Plus if you do get Schilling like you are supposed to, dude is a guy you can build an running game around. He's a monster.

Going back to your original post, I don't think Stafon wants to go to the east coast but his trip to Florida really worries me. Urban Meyer seems to have a very nice anti-USC thing going on with recruits (Both Brandon Antwine and Percy Harvin were reportedly silent commits before visits from Urban) Still Stafon is from LA, so I guess he already knows about the city and location, which is supposed to be Urban's biggest point.

bhlloy

01-07-2006, 03:15 AM

DOLA - word from the Army all-star game is that Emmanuel Moody is a lock to USC. He's supposed to be Reggie Bush without the breakaway speed, so he's a nice pickup. If Goodson comes to SC as well, we could be in the unique position of taking two 5 star backs from Texas.

DeMarco Murray is going to announce for OU tommorow also. Will be sorry to see him go, but he was our fifth option at RB (at least) and just didn't want to play DB.

vex

01-07-2006, 08:40 AM

Cuckoo

01-07-2006, 11:17 AM

Yep, looks like a done deal on Murray. Unimpressive week or not, I think this is a great pick-up. The videos I've seen of the guy look very good. He's a gamebreaker threat that, if he picks up a little more strength, can be an outstanding back in my opinion. Even if he doesn't excel at running back, he has great athleticism and could be a CB, an area of weakness for OU.

If OU can get McCoy as well, I'd consider this a fantastic class from what I've seen. Of course, this all comes with the usual recruiting caveat that nobody ever knows what'll happen with most of these guys. But you just have to get the best you can and hope you they live up to the billing.

vex

01-07-2006, 12:01 PM

And if we get Gresham, :D

dawgfan

01-07-2006, 02:36 PM

DOLA - word from the Army all-star game is that Emmanuel Moody is a lock to USC. He's supposed to be Reggie Bush without the breakaway speed, so he's a nice pickup.
Heh, isn't Bush's breakaway speed the thing that makes him special though?

I have mixed feelings on Ty. I think he's doing a relatively good job with recruiting this year considering our record, and while last year's class was bad, he stepped into a terrible situation (the previous staff had basically quit recruiting midway through the season) and the best guys we got were ones Ty's staff landed late in the process. I also look at the talent on Notre Dame and look at how Stanford produced the most NFL players of any Pac-10 school during Ty's run there and think that getting talent shouldn't be an issue under him.

On the other hand, I'm still not sure he's the kind of coach that can win at a Don James level at Washington - consistently winning 8-10 games, challenging for the Pac-10 title every year and for a #1 ever 3-4 years, never having a losing season. Obviously I hope I'm wrong on that count. One positive is I think he's got his best staff; I think Tim Lappanno is a big upgrade at OC over Bill Diedrich.

dawgfan

01-07-2006, 02:46 PM

Any good free sites that talk about recruiting?

How is Nebraska and Michigan State doing? Will Nebraska take a step foward towards returning to national contention next year?
From glancing at the Scout.com Nebraska site, the 'Huskers are doing OK. They've really loaded up on JC recruits this year with 7 of them so far including most of their top-rated recruits. WR Maurice Purify is their lone 5-star guy, but there are some questions as to whether he'll qualify - he may have to go back to JC for another quarter or two. They have 18 recruits committed and are still on some pretty good recruits, so it should be a fairly strong class (though not at a Texas level); they currently rank #29 by Scout.com, though they are #16 by average star rating.

The Spartans are having a more modest year so far. All of their recruits are between 1 and 3 stars, though they are still on a few 4-star recruits and a 5-star JC guy. They have 16 commits so far. They rank #59 overall currently and are in the lower third of the Big-10 schools, well back of Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State.

sterlingice

01-07-2006, 02:51 PM

The Huskers had that amusing incident where Mark Price went in and scooped up a 4-star from them to K-State ;)

SI

sterlingice

01-07-2006, 02:53 PM

Kansas has a bunch of 3-stars and some 2-star. We do have the coolest new name with Xavier Rambo joining the squad next year

SI

rjolley

01-07-2006, 03:49 PM

What's Penn State's class looking like?

bhlloy

01-07-2006, 03:54 PM

Ausberry, Bradford, Moody and Butch Lewis just committed to USC at the Army Bowl. Very nice surprise getting Lewis, and Ausberry looks like a Mike Williams clone. Very cool.

DeMarco went to OU as expected. Derrick Hill to Cal.

Jai Eugene to Michigan which is a huge surprise - was supposed to want to stay close to home for his young son

st.cronin

01-07-2006, 04:21 PM

Heh, isn't Bush's breakaway speed the thing that makes him special though?

Describing somebody as being like Bush but without the breakaway speed is like saying a young pitcher is like Greg Maddux, but without the control, or that a young basketball player is like Shaquille O'Neal, but without the inside game.

bhlloy

01-07-2006, 04:32 PM

larrymcg421

01-07-2006, 04:36 PM

What's Penn State's class looking like?

PSU currently has the 23rd rated class by Rivals. They have 6 **** and 6 *** recruits. They lost to USC in a close battle for the #2 WR in the nation.

dawgfan

01-07-2006, 04:54 PM

What I meant was that Moody makes people miss and has great moves, but doesn't have blazing speed.

Lots of guys have speed to burn but don't have the ridiculous moves that Bush has. Which makes him so special.
I see what you're getting at, but to me what makes Bush so special is the combination of the ridiculous moves and the blazing speed - there are some guys with either/or, but very, very few with the combination that Bush has.

Regarding USC, the way Carroll just re-stocks the cupboards is sick - it's like he was playing EA NCAA Football the way he's able to land 5-star guys left and right and from all over the country.

C'mon Pete, you sure you don't want to take another crack at the NFL and prove the doubters wrong?

TwinCitiesFan

01-08-2006, 01:40 PM

What's Penn State's class looking like?

Penn State's class is shaping very nicely, they have some outstanding defensive players (Wallace, Evans, Odrick, committed to replace the seniors that are leaving.

Plus 5-star wr recruit C Bell who looks awesome. I don't know if anyone commented about this, Lesean McCoy RB Harrisburg will be working on his grades and not attending college this year.

Galaxy

01-08-2006, 01:59 PM

Who is the biggest suprise in recruiting wise (maybe a poor team recruiting very well?)?

Cuckoo

01-08-2006, 02:08 PM

Rivals has both Oklahoma State and Arizona as top 20 classes right now, probably the best example of poor teams recruiting well so far.

bhlloy

01-08-2006, 02:10 PM

Not a poor team by any means, but if Michael Goodson does end up committing Texas A+M have a surefire top 20 class with some very big names.

Pitt are currently ranked #8 which might be considered a surprise when you consider how bad they were this year.

Arizona have a number of very nice commits on the defensive side of the ball, including the 2 top JC prospects in the nation (both of whom SC were after :mad: )

Cuckoo

01-15-2006, 04:03 PM

Looks like Malcolm Williams (DB - 4 star by Rivals, 3 by Scout) has switched from A&M to OU. Not sure how OU is going to get all these guys. Their class is already at 25 or more, I believe, and they're still actively recruiting at least 3 guys (Gresham, McCoy and Walker).

timmynausea

01-15-2006, 04:32 PM

Pitt are currently ranked #8 which might be considered a surprise when you consider how bad they were this year.

Pitt got a lot of their commitments really early when everyone was comparing Dave Wannstedt to Pete Carroll. I wouldn't be surprised to see them lose a couple guys down the stretch.

Cuckoo

01-17-2006, 09:57 AM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/news/story?id=2294919

Mustain re-commits to the Hogs.

IMetTrentGreen

01-19-2006, 05:06 AM

tennell won't qualify, so there's that

Dr. Sak

01-23-2006, 05:01 PM

For those asking about Penn State recruiting, dont be surprised if they are top 5 and maybe even top 3. From what i have heard on the radio they are close to getting a decommit from Miami. A QB Pat Devlin, 4 star guy. Also Vidal Hazelton has now said he wants to take a trip to penn state this weekend because of Devlin's supposed upcoming commitment. Tomorrow they could get two commitments from two 4 star DL.

Grammaticus

01-23-2006, 11:11 PM

Who is the biggest suprise in recruiting wise (maybe a poor team recruiting very well?)?
Ole Miss is currently ranked 12th by Rivals. Looks like Orgeron is coming through with his strength, recruiting.

vex

01-23-2006, 11:12 PM

tennell won't qualify, so there's that
He has dyslexia, he'll probably qualify since he can take an untimed ACT.

IMetTrentGreen

01-25-2006, 07:39 AM

mack doesn't just let great players walk out of the state without a fight unless something is wrong

our opponents best players are always teh ones they beat us for, straight up. except bomar

Philliesfan980

01-25-2006, 04:30 PM

PSU is back!

General Mike

01-25-2006, 05:06 PM

Rutgers is doing fairly well. Lots of 3*s and some solid 2* guys.

Recruiting rankings are like a**holes.

JeeberD

01-26-2006, 12:34 PM

The Miners got one of the best punters in the nation. And we got a top 25 running back. And some TALL receivers. And the best part is that all 23 kids we're signing are high school kids. No JC quick fixes for us anymore...

Cuckoo

01-27-2006, 08:40 AM

Brandon Walker just announced he's choosing OU over FSU. JUCO (with 3 years eligibility) offensive lineman rated 4 stars by Rivals.

Very nice pick-up for OU.

dawgfan

01-27-2006, 01:05 PM

Husky recruiting is closing with a whimper. They just lost out on arguably the top player in the state and one of the top OL prospects in the nation when Bellevue H.S. OL Steve Schilling committed to Michigan over the UW and Cal. This one especially hurts since we landed two studs from Bellevue last year in RB J.R. Hasty and LB E.J. Savannah and it was thought the Huskies had a real good shot at Schilling despite their recent struggles on the field.

Also adding to the hurt was the decommit from stud Cali RB James Montgomery who is now saying he will follow his family's wishes and stay close to home at Cal.

But hey, we're now stealing recruits away from Nevada, Weber State and Idaho!

Tigercat

01-27-2006, 01:44 PM

Les Miles is quietly doing a solid job with LSU. We should finish in the top 5, and Keiland Williams, if he honors his committment to LSU, looks like the most physically impressive RB recruit in the nation next to Wells from OSU. Williams is ~6' 220, with good strength, and runs sub 4.4s. Sick. Hopefully Miles continues to prove doubters wrong on and off the field.

Ben E Lou

01-27-2006, 05:19 PM

No big shocker here, despite the carrot he dangled toward Bulldog Nation yesterday, but The Prince announced that he's signing with Southern Cal.

Cuckoo

02-01-2006, 08:14 AM

Well, today's the day.

For the OU fans, McCoy and Gresham are announcing this morning at their schools (Gresham earlier I think). Gresham is choosing between Miami and OU while McCoy is between USC and OU. Rivals claims both will be going to OU, but neither has said anything publicly.

Here's hoping...

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 08:16 AM

Brandon Walker just announced he's choosing OU over FSU. JUCO (with 3 years eligibility) offensive lineman rated 4 stars by Rivals.

Very nice pick-up for OU.
That hurts. We have no offensive linemen.

Cuckoo

02-01-2006, 08:23 AM

That hurts. We have no offensive linemen.

Rumor was he really liked Bowden and came close to picking FSU, but his coaches pushed him to OU (supposedly because of the strength and conditioning program). He would've had a chance to start at either place, I think.

OU needed line help really badly as well, and I think he steps in as a starter or at the very least gets time.

If OU can pick up McCoy and Gresham, I'll say this class is very good (depending on some guys like Patterson and Tennell's qualifying status).

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 08:39 AM

Anyone see this story? Pretty interesting:

Analyst denies pushing recruit toward Notre Dame
By Thomas O'Toole, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — One of the nation's top high school football players from last season says prominent recruiting analyst Tom Lemming told him he would be "showcased" and would increase his chances of being most valuable player in the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school all-star game "if I kept a certain school on my (recruiting) list."
Myron Rolle, a Princeton, N.J., defensive back who already has enrolled at Florida State, made the remarks Monday morning to a public forum on the "Collegiate Athlete Experience" conducted at George Washington University by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. They came in response to a question about the recruiting process and also were carried live on a webcast.

<TABLE class=sidebar cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2006/01/30/mug-rolle.jpg</TD><TD rowSpan=3>http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear1x5.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right>USA TODAY</TD></TR><TR><TD>Rolle</TD></TR><TR><TD class=sidebar align=right colSpan=2>http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear1x5.gif</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Approached afterward by USA TODAY, Rolle said the school in question was Notre Dame and reiterated his comments about Lemming, a national recruiting expert from Chicago whose information is used extensively by this newspaper.

"He told me if I kept Notre Dame in mind, the NBC (TV) guy would interview me and they would showcase me during the game," Rolle said. NBC, which showed the high school game in San Antonio on Jan. 7, also has a contract for Notre Dame home games. Added Rolle: "He told me I'd have a higher chance of being MVP. I took it as having less of a chance of getting MVP if I didn't keep Notre Dame on my list."

Rolle, who did not list Notre Dame among his six finalists, said Lemming told him this last spring. He also said Lemming tried to interest him in schools other than FSU, something he originally told ESPN The Magazine last summer. "He stepped out of the bounds of what he should be doing," said Rolle, who added that recruiting analysts should simply be gathering information.

Lemming, contacted by cellphone as he prepares to do football signing-day commentary Wednesday on CSTV, flatly denied ever talking to Rolle about the all-star game or suggesting he could be MVP if he kept Notre Dame on a list.

<TABLE class=sidebar cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2006/01/30/mug-lemming.jpg</TD><TD rowSpan=3>http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear1x5.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right></TD></TR><TR><TD>Lemming</TD></TR><TR><TD class=sidebar align=right colSpan=2>http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear1x5.gif</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"Myron is the biggest media hound that I've ever seen," said Lemming, who is involved with staging the all-star game. "I selected him for this game in September, and he played in the game.

"(Criticism) is part of the business when you select an All-American team. Myron's taking it to a new level. It hurt his ego when he wasn't first-team All-American."

He also said if Rolle construed questions about other schools as an attempt to sway him, he concedes he could have phrased something differently but felt he was making a legitimate point. Rolle is an outstanding student who has said wants to go to med school.

Lemming said he merely questioned his choice of FSU when Rolle had offers from Stanford and Duke among others and "told me he wanted to go to the best school possible. ... I took it as asking a legit question."

Lemming says he had Rolle among his top recruits in the summer but dropped him to 28th as the season progressed because he said he didn't play well. Rolle, whom newspapers in New Jersey said missed three games because of injuries, played in the U.S. Army game. Both he and Lemming said he was not interviewed by NBC.

He did not make first- or second-team USA TODAY All-USA. He is, however, currently the No. 1 prospect on ESPN.com. Lemming's No. 1 is Chris Wells, an Akron, Ohio, running back who is expected to sign with Ohio State and was MVP in the U.S. Army game. Rolle said Wells deserved to be MVP.

"Every year kids get mad," Lemming said. "It's just not in front of the Knight Commission."

scooper

02-01-2006, 08:52 AM

JeeberD

02-01-2006, 08:53 AM

We stole one from Washington State. Sorry, Coug... :cool:

Kimball defensive end Robert Williams said Tuesday night that he has orally committed to Texas-El Paso.

Oral commitments are nonbinding. The first day a recruit can sign a national letter of intent is Wednesday.

Williams (6-4, 200), No. 52 on SportsDay’s Area Top 100, picked UTEP over Washington State. Williams had said on Monday that UTEP “was sitting pretty good with his parents.”

WSUCougar

02-01-2006, 08:57 AM

We stole one from Washington State. Sorry, Coug... :cool:
That's the breaks. The funny thing is that while you were posting this I was posting a Ping thread to you about the same thing!

Hope Williams works out for you guys.

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 09:00 AM

Just got back from Signing Day ceremonies at Tucker. BIG NEWS! OL Cameron Reed got the biggest phone call of his life at 7pm last night giving him the official offer, and at 9 this morning, he signed with Army!!! Congrats Cam!

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 09:01 AM

Most Notre Dame fans agree. Lemming's a douche bag. He's the typical snake oil salesman trying to squeeze another buck out of willing Lemming lemmings by prolonging the drama around these kids. Reporting is one thing. Getting involved in the process is another.

Don't make the mistake of thinking many people in or around Notre Dame like him or want him around.
I don't really look at ND as being the bad guy, but Lemming and possibly NBC (depending on whether Lemming meant that the NBC guy was involved in this, or just that he'd talk to him). I could see NBC wanting that scenario to play out for their own financial reasons, entirely independent of ND.

scooper

02-01-2006, 09:05 AM

Uhg. Don't get me started on NBC.

JeeberD

02-01-2006, 09:11 AM

That's the breaks. The funny thing is that while you were posting this I was posting a Ping thread to you about the same thing!

Hope Williams works out for you guys.

Thanks! It's really improtant for us to be able to sign talent here in Texas, especially with most of our games being played to the east of El Paso now. Signing a DFW top 100 is something that's been difficult for us to do in the past, and hopefully it becomes easier and easier over the years.

And now that we're focusing more on Texas talent, that'll leave more recruits for you in Cali (where we used to do a TON of recruiting)... :)

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 09:24 AM

Uga paysite is slammed. Did we get Rashad Jones?

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 09:25 AM

Finally got in. WE GOT HIM! :D

WSUCougar

02-01-2006, 09:35 AM

And now that we're focusing more on Texas talent, that'll leave more recruits for you in Cali (where we used to do a TON of recruiting)...
The ironic thing is that we've got a mini-pipeline working in Texas now. One of our recruiters is apparently quite the stud down there. We've landed three more oral commits from Texas in this class.

It's all good. :cool:

Cuckoo

02-01-2006, 09:44 AM

Looks like Gresham picks OU over Miami. Sweet.

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 09:50 AM

Looks like FSU got the #1 rated TE, to go along with a previous years' #4 TE. On a team that throws to the TE about 5 times a year. Maybe they'll convert them to OL...

Wolfpack

02-01-2006, 10:03 AM

Signing a DFW top 100 is something that's been difficult for us to do in the past, and hopefully it becomes easier and easier over the years.

Something about this statement struck me as funny. This is the first time I've ever seen a single metropolitan area have a "Top 100" reference. National, yeah. State, yeah. Metroplex? That's new. I never realized the well was that deep for football talent in Texas.

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 10:11 AM

I had a top 100 Tallahassee football player wash my car last weekend. I believe he was ranked #93.

General Mike

02-01-2006, 10:15 AM

Kordell Young officially signed his LOI with Rutgers.

Go Scarlet Knights.

scooper

02-01-2006, 10:19 AM

Spiller to Clemson seems to be the surprise of the day so far.

The Tigers have a nice class.

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 10:26 AM

I think this enhances FSU's slide from on the field disappointment to "spilling" (no pun intended) over into recruiting. This team had a major need on the OL, yet appears to only have 1 decent recruit so far, and now we've lost an excellent RB. Which is no surprise, really. Look at how great our RBs have been, and how poorly we've run the ball over the past 5 years or so.

cartman

02-01-2006, 10:27 AM

For those interested, and can get it, ESPNU is devoting all day to Signing Day.

edit: starting at noon Eastern

Channel 609, DirecTV

Cuckoo

02-01-2006, 10:53 AM

#4 overall player in the nation, DT Gerald McCoy, picks OU. Outstanding!

GrantDawg

02-01-2006, 10:54 AM

Finally got in. WE GOT HIM! :D
Yup, and Moreno too.

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 10:57 AM

Yup, and Moreno too....and that big cheer you just heard came from the general direction of Statesboro, GA.

Poli

02-01-2006, 11:01 AM

scooper

02-01-2006, 11:03 AM

#4 overall player in the nation, DT Gerald McCoy, picks OU. Outstanding!
Thank God. I did not want that guy at USC.

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 11:06 AM

wade moore

02-01-2006, 11:13 AM

FSU signed a kid 20 minutes from Neyland Stadium, the tight end ksyrup was talking about.

Good luck. I knew this crop would be a downer in terms of blue chips, 5 stars, what have you. One year shouldn't make or break you, so hopefully we'll be ok.
What are we getting? I've never kept up with recruiting in the past, but with recent woes (particularly at QB) I'm interested to see what we're getting...

Ksyrup

02-01-2006, 11:53 AM

FSU stole Damon McDaniel, a top 5 WR, from Florida.

wade moore

02-01-2006, 11:53 AM

FSU stole Damon McDaniel, a top 5 WR, from Florida.
Thank you! Keep stealing players from UF please ;).... Could you move to UGA next?

Poli

02-01-2006, 12:01 PM

What are we getting? I've never kept up with recruiting in the past, but with recent woes (particularly at QB) I'm interested to see what we're getting...
Not a whole lot. I haven't tracked the last minute decisions of a few kids, but for the most part I've read our best group will be offensive linemen, with one of them being a kid we signed last year but ended up at the Hargrove Military Academy.

We're signing 24 kids overall, JT Mapu returning along with the "top rated" JUCO DE out of Coffeyville CC, Walter Fisher.

I hear some TE in Alabama is declaring between UT, Bama, and Auburn, with Bama in the lead...some sites have him listed at UT, others Bama.

I do have a link if you'd like to read more about some of the others:
http://www.utvols.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=79027#79027

Poli

02-01-2006, 12:02 PM

Dola, just read the kid signed with Auburn. I love this stuff.

MrBigglesworth

02-01-2006, 12:27 PM

Anybody hear any news on Vidal Hazelton?

JeeberD

02-01-2006, 12:28 PM

Something about this statement struck me as funny. This is the first time I've ever seen a single metropolitan area have a "Top 100" reference. National, yeah. State, yeah. Metroplex? That's new. I never realized the well was that deep for football talent in Texas.

Yup, every once in a while during the football season (every Sunday maybe?) the Dallas Morning News will have a list of the National, State, and DFW Top 100 players and show who's recruiting them. Never used to be able to find UTEP anywhere on those lists, but we're starting to make some inroads now... :)

Blade6119

02-01-2006, 01:57 PM

We're signing 24 kids overall, JT Mapu returning along with the "top rated" JUCO DE out of Coffeyville CC, Walter Fisher.
Everybody and their mother are saying Louis Holmes is the best Juco in this class, and he is DE...signed with Arizona...i have seen 8 lists and all 8 have him #1 in the nation

Poli

02-01-2006, 02:05 PM

Blade6119

02-01-2006, 02:05 PM

I'm not all that concerned about the recruiting pissing matches. For example this defensive end thing. I don't care. If you go to rivals.com, depending on how you search either player is one spot ahead of the other.
Explain that to me...on rivals i cant find your listed ahead of holmes(and ardent, you know me of all people isnt getting into a fight with you,..just enjoying that arizona out recruited tenn.

Poli

02-01-2006, 02:08 PM

Well, for example, this is the first page I ever pulled up to look at the ranking of both. My initial read that Fisher was the top was based off a paper in Nashville, go figure.

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WDE (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=17&Position=11&Year=2006&qs=1') | SDE (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=18&Position=11&Year=2006&qs=1') | DT (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=50&Position=12&Year=2006&qs=1') </TD><TD>Linebacker (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&Position=13&Year=2006&qs=1')
ILB (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=19&Position=13&Year=2006&qs=1') | OLB (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=20&Position=13&Year=2006&qs=1') </TD><TD>Defensive Back (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&Position=14&Year=2006&qs=1')
CB (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=21&Position=14&Year=2006&qs=1') | S (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=22&Position=14&Year=2006&qs=1') </TD><TD>Other (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?Other=1&School=&Sport=1&Position=15&Position=22&Year=2006&qs=1')
ATH (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=27&Position=22&Year=2006&qs=1') | K (javascript:window.location='quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=23&Position=15&Year=2006&qs=1') </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=icontable style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR class=header><TD class=first>Strongside defensive end</TD><TD width=75>Stars</TD><TD width=35>RR (javascript:openHelp(1))</TD><TD width=85>Ht/Wt/40</TD><TD width=100>Hometown</TD><TD width=45>Rank</TD><TD width=90>Schools</TD></TR><TR class=first><TD class=first>Robert Rose (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=34717) </TD><TD>http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gif </TD><TD>6.1 </TD><TD>6-4/255/4.71 </TD><TD>Cleveland, OH </TD><TD>1 </TD><TD>Ohio State (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2006&School=56&Sport=1) </TD></TR><TR class=gray><TD class=first>Melvin Alaeze (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=42971) </TD><TD>http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gif </TD><TD>- </TD><TD>6-3/280/- </TD><TD>Chatham, VA </TD><TD>NR </TD><TD>Maryland (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2006&School=40&Sport=1) </TD></TR><TR class=first><TD class=first>Walter Fisher (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=42146) </TD><TD>http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gif </TD><TD>- </TD><TD>6-2/265/4.7 </TD><TD>Coffeyville, KS </TD><TD>NR </TD><TD>Tennessee (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2006&School=80&Sport=1) </TD></TR><TR class=gray><TD class=first>Louis Holmes (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=38386) </TD><TD>http://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gifhttp://vmedia.rivals.com/images/database/stargold.gif </TD><TD>- </TD><TD>6-5/280/4.6 </TD><TD>Scottsdale, AZ </TD><TD>NR </TD><TD>Arizona (http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2006&School=4&Sport=1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Poli

02-01-2006, 02:08 PM

While at other times, I see Holmes listed ahead of Fisher. Meh. Who cares? They're both supposedly good.

Wolfpack

02-01-2006, 02:11 PM

Somewhat of a quiet day for NC State, mostly 2-3 star prospects. Some fans are vigorously spinning that stars don't mean much while others are saying the opposite. Given that this is the first time in a number of years I really haven't been tuned in to the recruiting scene and generally haven't seen anyone to get overly excited about, I'm inclined to agree with the latter group. Even if the vast majority of kids we bring in are 2-3 star recruits, you need a 4- or 5-star stud to headline with, to get the buzz going. We've had a few of those over the last several years, but no dice this year, it looks like.

I do wonder how much losing Doc Holliday to Florida's staff has hurt us. We still pull the Florida kids, but we didn't seem to be close on anybody. Matter of fact, now that I think about it, apparently we may have lost a recruit who would rather walk on at Florida, depending on test scores he'll be getting in a couple of weeks. *sigh*

Blade6119

02-01-2006, 02:13 PM

While at other times, I see Holmes listed ahead of Fisher. Meh. Who cares? They're both supposedly good.
If you look, that was obviously a pre-lim ranking...they are all ranked in order now...TENN DIDNT GET THE BEST ;)

dawgfan

02-01-2006, 03:01 PM

Lemming is a jackass. Even if he didn't do what Rolle is accusing him of (and in this case I give Rolle more credibility given the litany of similar complaints about Lemming in the past), Lemming admits to offering advice to Rolle. This is flat-out unethical - he's a reporter, he should be strictly reporting the news and not becoming involved in any way other than reporting the news. He shouldn't be offering any advice on school choices, solicited or not.

Washington has a similar (though smaller scale) problem with one of the "reporters" that covers Husky recruiting. Ruth Robbins, whose "Realdawg" website got booted from the Rivals network and is now an independent site that is on it's last financial legs (she has filed bankruptcy papers in Washington state) goes way beyond the ethical line in dealing with recruits, similarly offering advice to recruits, getting waaaaay too cozy in her relationships with them (including posting on their "MySpace" sites as though she was best buds with these guys) and trashing competing websites and reporters and trying convince these kids to have exclusive interview arrangements with her. She's flipped her lid on more than one occasion, calling the visitors to the Scout.com Washington site a bunch of "KKK peckerwoods". It's also pathetic to see this middle-aged, white, Eastern Washington woman try to talk in urban slang with these recruits.

I think we're getting very close to D-Day for recruiting websites - something has got to change in how these things work, because it's clear that there are some rogue operators out there that are more booster than reporter.

dawgfan

02-01-2006, 03:04 PM

Dola -

In Husky recruiting news, we've signed all but one of our commits and got a signing-day surprise as a pretty good RB/CB prospect in Matt Mosely signed with Washington instead of Arizona State. There is also some controversy over JC transfer Ashlee Palmer, who originally commited to Nebraska in the early December JC signing period, but faxed a scholarship agreement to Washington today. This one looks messy, and may take some time to sort out.

There's still some faint hope that local stud Taylor Mays, a Husky legacy, will switch course and sign with Washington over USC and that Cali RB James Montgomery will go with his heart over his families' wishes and sign with Washington over Cal.

gstelmack

02-01-2006, 03:13 PM

Klinglerware

02-01-2006, 03:13 PM

Butter

02-01-2006, 03:16 PM

Very impressed with Tommy "Inconsistency" Bowden, bringin' home a mighty fine class to Death Valley.

Butter

02-01-2006, 03:16 PM

I. J. Reilly

02-01-2006, 04:26 PM

Oregon State rapped up a pretty solid class today. They did lose Alfred Rowe last night to USC, but that shouldn’t hurt to much. Overall it looks like a really good mix of JC guys who can help right away and high school athletes that can be developed where they are needed. Lot’s of TE and LB’s. If recruiting classes were graded by the number of 3 star LB’s in each class, OSU would win hands down.

PS: Dawgfan, sorry about Francies.

Galaxy

02-01-2006, 04:27 PM

Pittsburgh looks like it is hauling in a nice class.

JeeberD

02-01-2006, 04:45 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2006
Contact: Jeff Darby

UTEP Announces 2006 Football Recruiting Class

EL PASO, TEXAS — UTEP Head Coach Mike Price announced the Miners’ 2006 football recruiting class, featuring 28 prep standouts and one junior college transfer, on Wednesday.

“It’s a great recruiting class,” Price said. “Pretty much everyone who committed early stayed with us and showed loyalty. We were able to touch in every one of our recruiting areas, including East Texas, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Arizona and California.”

The group features eight student-athletes ranked among the top 300 preps in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine — RB Donald Buckram (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS), WR/DB Brandon Jordan (Missouri City/Hightower HS), TE Jonny Moore (San Antonio/John Marshall HS), DL George Randall (Sugarland/ Kempner HS), DB Melvin Stephenson (Grand Prairie/South Grand Prairie HS), QB James Thomas (Missouri City/Thurgood Marshall HS), RB Jason Williams (Tyler/Robert E. Lee HS) and DL Robert Williams, who is originally from Denver, Colo. but currently attends Kimball High School in Dallas.

Six UTEP recruits are rated among the nation’s finest high school players at their respective positions in the latest issue of PrepStar magazine — OL Rod Huntley (Arlington, Texas/Sam Houston HS), TE Jonny Moore (San Antonio/John Marshall HS, OL/DL Will Osolinsky (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon HS), LB Royzell Smith (Missouri City, Texas/Thurgood Marshall HS), OL Alex Solot (Tucson, Ariz./Rincon HS) and QB James Thomas (Missouri City/Thurgood Marshall HS).

In addition, Kyle Petersen is regarded as one of the top 10 high school punters in the country by SuperPrep Magazine, which also projects Robert Williams as a linebacker in college and lists him as one of the nation’s top 100 prep signees at that position.

UTEP signed 20 student-athletes currently attending high schools in the Lone Star State, with six coming from programs in California and three from Arizona.

The breakdown by position is as follows (some players listed at multiple positions): five offensive linemen, three defensive backs, three wide receivers, three wide receivers/defensive backs, two defensive backs/linebackers, two defensive linemen, two quarterbacks, two running backs, two tight ends, one linebacker, one linebacker/defensive lineman, one offensive lineman/defensive lineman, one kicker and one punter/kicker.

“We were able to address some areas of concern,” Price said. “Offensive line and wide receiver are two areas we went after. We signed two good quarterbacks and two exceptional running backs, which we needed in our program. Our special teams needs were met as well.”

2006 UTEP Football Signees

Name Pos Ht Wt Hometown (High School)
Kris Adams WR/DB 6-3 185 Fort Worth, Texas (Everman HS)
Cornelius Brown DB 5-11 185 Houston, Texas (Forest Brook HS)
Donald Buckram RB 5-10 180 Copperas Cove, Texas (Copperas Cove HS)
Tanner Cullumber OL 6-4 265 Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS)
Kye Darden WR 5-10 165 Brownwood, Texas (Brownwood HS)
Evan Davis WR 6-1 180 Los Angeles, Calif. (Oceanside HS)
Elijah Goldtrap TE 6-5 255 Lake Los Angeles, Calif. (Serrano HS)
Pierce Hunter WR 6-4 210 National City, Calif. (Bonita Vista HS)
Rod Huntley OL 6-2 300 Arlington, Texas (Sam Houston HS)
Brandon Jordan WR/DB 6-2 205 Missouri City, Texas (Hightower HS)
Jose Martinez K 5-11 185 San Jose, Calif. (South HS/Bakersfield College)
Anthony McNac OL 6-4 300 Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster HS)
Michael Mitchell DB/LB 6-1 190 Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)
Jonny Moore TE 6-5 230 San Antonio, Texas (John Marshall HS)
Anthony Morrow DB 6-0 185 Fallbrook, Calif. (Fallbrook Union HS)
Will Osolinsky OL/DL 6-7 260 Phoenix, Ariz. (North Canyon HS)
Kyle Petersen P/K 6-4 220 Alta Loma, Calif. (South Hills HS)
George Randall DL 6-6 265 Sugarland, Texas (Kempner HS)
Eric Reynolds WR/DB 5-11 200 Port Arthur, Texas (Memorial HS)
Aaron Sims DB/LB 6-1 205 Fort Worth, Texas (Denton HS)
Royzell Smith LB 6-2 200 Missouri City, Texas (Thurgood Marshall HS)
Robert Soleyjacks LB/DL 6-3 235 San Diego, Calif. (Highland Park [Texas] HS)
Alex Solot OL 6-7 280 Tucson, Ariz. (Rincon HS)
Melvin Stephenson DB 5-11 185 Grand Prairie, Texas (South Grand Prairie HS)
James Thomas QB 5-11 185 Missouri City, Texas (Thurgood Marshall HS)
Trevor Vittatoe QB 6-2 200 Bedford, Texas (Trinity HS)
Jon Wiley OL 6-5 275 Pittsburgh, Pa. (Duncanville [Texas] HS)
Jason Williams RB 6-0 205 Tyler, Texas (Robert E. Lee HS)
Robert Williams DL 6-3 195 Denver, Colo. (Kimball [Texas] HS)

2006 UTEP Football Signee Biographies

Kris Adams
WR/DB, 6-3, 185, Fort Worth, Texas (Everman HS)
Rated a top-100 player in the Dallas/Fort Worth area by The Dallas Morning News ... first team All-District 15-4A wide receiver and cornerback as a senior at Everman High School ... registered 16 catches for 430 yards (26.9 avg.) and five touchdowns last season ... also rushed 35 times for 367 yards (10.5 avg.) and a score ... had a long reception for 76 yards and a long rush for 81 yards ... on defense totaled 34 solo tackles, including one for loss, as well as six interceptions, 13 pass break-ups and a fumble recovery ... led Everman High to the district title his senior year ... high school coach was Dale Keeling ... also recruited heavily by Baylor, Houston and Oklahoma State ... three-year letterwinner in basketball and four-year letterwinner in track and field as a prep ... second team All-District choice in basketball as a junior ... district champion and regional qualifier in the long jump ... honor roll student ... member of the National Society of High School Scholars and listed in Who’s Who Among Academic Students ... parents are Adrian and Kristin Dorsey ... has one brother and one sister ... full name is Kristofer Bryant Adams ... nicknames are “Ace” and “The Future” ... born 9/4/87 (Fort Worth, Texas).

Cornelius Brown
DB, 5-11, 185, Houston, Texas (Forest Brook HS)
All-District 19-4A wide receiver and cornerback as a senior at Forest Brook High School ... also tabbed an All-Area cornerback in 2005 ... third team All-Greater Houston cornerback as a sophomore ... had 400 yards receiving, 130 rushing, 100 passing and 250 on kickoff returns as a senior ... also blocked 12 kicks his senior year ... four-year starter at corner and two-year starter at wideout ... also started four games at quarterback his senior year ... high school coach was Marshall White ... also recruited heavily by Houston, Prairie View A&M, Southern, TCU, Texas Southern and Texas State ... two-year basketball letterwinner and four-year track and field letterwinner in high school ... regional qualifier in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays ... mother is Johnnie Brown ... has two brothers and one sister ... full name is Cornelius Brown ... nickname is “Cornbread” ... born 2/26/88 (Houston, Texas).

Donald Buckram
RB, 5-10, 180, Copperas Cove, Texas (Copperas Cove HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... third team All-State 5A honoree by the Texas Sportswriters as a senior at Copperas Cove High School ... also first team All-District 13-5A and first team All-Centex last season ... rushed for 1,546 yards on 217 carries (7.1 avg.) with 26 touchdowns ... also caught seven passes totaling 58 yards, and returned four kickoffs for 83 yards (20.8 avg.) ... earned first team All-District and second team All-Centex honors as a junior ... member of a district championship team his junior year and a 13-1 squad as a senior ... played two years of varsity ball, seeing action at tailback, slot receiver and cornerback while also returning kicks ... high school coach was Jack Welch ... also recruited heavily by Houston, New Mexico and Tulsa ... ran track as well ... advanced to state in the 4x200 relay as a freshman and junior, and in the 100 as a junior ... parents are Donald, Sr. and Delia Buckram ... has one brother and one sister ... full name is Donald Ray Buckram, Jr. ... nicknames are “D-Buck” and “Don B.” ... born 2/9/88 (Fort Hood, Texas).

Tanner Cullumber
OL, 6-4, 265, Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton HS)
Earned All-State honors as a senior at Hamilton High School ... played four years of varsity ball, seeing action at defensive tackle as a freshman and sophomore, and offensive tackle as a junior and senior ... member of a pair of state title teams (2003, 2004) and state runner-up in 2005 ... high school coach was John Wrenn ... also recruited heavily by Idaho State and UNLV ... father is Jeff Cullumber and stepmother is Tammy Cullumber ... has two brothers and one sister ... full name is Tanner Brooks Cullumber ... born 12/8/87 (Chandler, Ariz.).

Kye Darden
WR, 5-10, 165, Brownwood, Texas (Brownwood HS)
First team All-District 16-4A cornerback and punter, as well as second team All-District wide receiver, as a junior at Brownwood High School ... other junior honors included Texas Prep Extra All-Centex first team 4A defense punter, Texas Prep Extra Central Texas All-Underclassman Team and Class 4A-5A All-Big Country First Team Defense ... recorded 14 receptions for 286 yards and three touchdowns as a junior, as well as 19 carries for 160 yards and two scores ... defensive totals included 25 stops and nine pass break-ups ... saw action at wide receiver, cornerback and punter as a junior while also returning kicks and punts ... played in three games as a senior, starting at quarterback before suffering a season-ending knee injury ... senior totals were 566 yards passing with four touchdowns, and 146 yards rushing ... honorable mention All-District wide receiver as a sophomore, tallying six catches for 124 yards and a TD ... also returned punts as a sophomore, helping Brownwood High to an 11-1 record ... participated in the 2005 Nike camp in Fort Worth, running the second-fastest shuttle time (3.85) with a 33-inch vertical ... earned Academic All-District recognition as a senior ... also recruited heavily by Sam Houston State, SMU and Oklahoma State ... all-around athlete who also lettered in baseball (center field/pitcher), soccer (midfielder/sweeper) and track and field (100, long jump, triple jump, sprint relay, 800 relay) throughout his prep career ... earned Academic All-District honors in all three sports ... first team All-District sweeper in soccer and second team All-District pitcher on the diamond ... mother is Teresa Ferguson and stepfather is Brian Ferguson ... has two brothers ... full name is Corbyn Kye Darden ... nickname is “K2” ... born 3/15/88 (Brownwood, Texas).

Evan Davis
WR, 6-1, 180, Los Angeles, Calif. (Oceanside HS)
First team All-North County and second team All-CIF wideout as a senior at Oceanside High School ... registered 61 catches for 1,143 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2005 ... two-year varsity letterwinner for coach John Carroll ... played defensive back, safety and wide receiver as a junior, and strictly WR as a senior ... member of a 12-1, CIF and league title team as a junior ... helped Oceanside to another CIF championship with a 10-3 mark as a senior ... also recruited heavily by Boise State, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho, Idaho State, Utah and Utah State ... four-year letterwinner on Oceanside’s basketball and track and field teams ... competed in the 300 hurdles, long jump, 4x100 and 4x400 relays in track ... honor roll student ... mother is Ethel Davis ... has two sisters ... full name is Evan Ivory Davis ... nickname is “Showtime” ... born 3/6/88 (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Elijah Goldtrap
TE, 6-5, 255, Lake Los Angeles, Calif. (Serrano HS)
Earned All-League, All-Area and All-CIF recognition as a tight end in 2005 ... tallied 21 catches for 305 yards (14.5 avg.) with two touchdowns on offense ... rated as Serrano High School’s leading percentage blocker every week ... posted 40 tackles, two sacks and an interception on defense ... All-League and All-Area tight end as a junior in 2004 as well ... had 19 receptions for 330 yards (17.4 avg.) and three touchdowns on offense, and contributed 13 tackles and a sack on defense ... split time at wide receiver, tight end and defensive end during a three-year varsity career at Serrano High School ... helped Serrano to a 14-0 mark and league title as a junior ... high school coach was Ray Maholchic ... also recruited heavily by Colorado State ... competed in baseball (pitcher/first base) and basketball (forward) in high school as well ... earned honorable mention all-league honors on the hardwood ... parents are David and the late Lele Goldtrap ... has one brother and one sister ... cousin, Uriah Moena, played football at Hawaii ... full name is Elijah Kavika Goldtrap ... born 3/23/88 (Lancaster, Calif.).

Pierce Hunter
WR, 6-4, 210, National City, Calif. (Bonita Vista HS)
Two-time first team All-League and first team All-County academic selection at Bonita Vista High School ... recorded 41 catches for 686 yards (16.7 avg.) and eight touchdowns as a senior, and 45 receptions for 777 yards (17.3 avg.) and 10 scores as a junior ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coach Carl Parrick ... member of a 10-2, league title team as a senior ... also recruited heavily by Arizona, Nevada, San Diego State and Washington ... played basketball all four years as a prep, earning All-League recognition as a sophomore and junior ... honor roll student ... he is left-handed ... parents are Marty and Benelia Santos Hunter ... has one brother ... father played for the California Angels in major league baseball ... full name is Pierce Benjamin Santos Hunter ... born 1/18/88 (San Diego, Calif.).

Rod Huntley
OL, 6-2, 300, Arlington, Texas (Sam Houston HS)
Listed as one of the top offensive linemen in the Midlands region by PrepStar ... first team All-District 7-5A offensive lineman as a senior at Sam Houston High School ... earned second team All-District honors as a junior ... played quarterback and tight end as a sophomore, and left tackle as a junior and senior ... high school coach was George McFarland ... also recruited heavily by Kansas ... mother is Sheila Franklin ... has three brothers and three sisters ... full name is Rodney Huntley ... born 11/19/86 (Arlington, Texas).

Brandon Jordan
WR/DB, 6-2, 205, Missouri City, Texas (Hightower HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... team MVP and second team All-District 20-5A wide receiver as a senior at Hightower High School ... also tabbed second team All-District as a junior ... senior statistics were 25 carries for 238 yards (9.5 ypc) and 29 catches for 445 yards (15.3 ypc) with six touchdowns ... recorded 11 receptions for 347 yards (31.5 avg.) and three scores as a junior ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coach Gene Johnson ... played wide receiver and tight end as a sophomore, and strictly wide receiver as a junior ... saw action at tight end, wide receiver, running back and safety his senior year ... member of a 10-1 team his junior season ... also recruited heavily by TCU and Tulane ... three-year letterwinner in baseball, earning second team All-District recognition as an outfielder his junior year ... four-year letterwinner in track and field, competing in the long jump, triple jump, 400 and 800 ... honor roll student ... parents are Paul and Darlene Jordan ... has one sister ... father competed in the triple jump at Tennessee and was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team ... full name is Brandon Girrard Kidd Jordan ... born 5/29/88 (Houston, Texas).

Jose Martinez
K, 5-11, 185, San Jose, Calif. (South HS/Bakersfield College)
Ranked as the top junior college kicking prospect in the country by Chris Sailer Kicking ... overall, rated the fifth-best kicking prospect nationally by Chris Sailer Kicking ... will have two years of eligibility at UTEP ... kicked two seasons at Bakersfield College for coach Jeff Chudy ... Bakersfield College’s Special Teams Player of the Year in 2005 ... named the Offensive MVP at the 2005 Golden Empire Bowl ... second team All-Western State Conference as a sophomore ... converted 81.3 percent (13-of-16) of his field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards in 2005 ... drilled 52-of-53 (98.1 percent) of his point after touchdown tries as a sophomore ... averaged 78.2 yards on kickoffs ... Bakersfield College finished 9-3 in 2005 ... handled kickoff and some punting duties as a freshman É Bakersfield was 7-4 in 2004 ... played football one year as a prep at South HS in Bakersfield for coach Steve Napier ... All-Area punter and first team All-Southwest Yosemite League as a senior ... set the South school record with a 49-yard field goal and had nine touchbacks in one game to break another ... converted 34-of-35 (97.1 percent) of his PAT tries and was 4-of-7 on field goal attempts ... lettered three years in soccer as well ... gained the Jockey Club Award as Bakersfield’s top athlete in the city ... selected to the All-North HS Tournament team ... soccer Offensive MVP of the Southwest Yosemite League in 2004 ... scored a school-record 22 goals to go along with 13 assists as a senior ... attended Willow Glen HS in San Jose, Calif., as a freshman ... also recruited heavily by Colgate, Idaho State, Marshall, Mississippi and Ohio ... parents are Jose and Grace Duran ... has three older brothers (Franky Barr, Joey Murillo, Thomas Murillo) ... full name is Jose Martinez, Jr. ... born 7/24/86 (San Jose, Calif.).

Anthony McNac
OL, 6-4, 300, Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster HS)
Rated a top-100 player in the Dallas/Fort Worth area by The Dallas Morning News ... three-year starter in the offensive line for the Lancaster High School varsity team ... played left guard as a sophomore and junior, and right guard as a senior ... two-time first team All-District 14-4A choice (2004, 2005) ... honorable mention All-State as a senior ... high school coach was Andrew Jackson ... also recruited heavily by Baylor, Kansas State and Texas A&M ... honor roll student ... parents are Edgar Anthony, Sr. and Gloria McNac ... has one sister ... full name is Edgar Anthony McNac ... born 6/6/88 (Dallas, Texas).

Michael Mitchell
DB/LB, 6-1, 190, Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)
Second team All-District 13-4A defensive specialist as a senior at South Oak Cliff High School ... also earned All-Area honors on defense despite playing eight games with a broken arm ... contributed 73 tackles, 13 sacks, seven forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and tackles for losses totaling 200 yards as a senior ... also blocked a field goal and racked up 17 quarterback pressures ... on offense, rushed nine times for 108 yards (12.0 per carry) ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coach J.B. Wallace ... played running back, strong safety, wide receiver and fullback all three years ... played outside linebacker as a junior and defensive end as a senior as well ... also recruited heavily by Baylor, Colorado State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, SMU and Tulsa ... four-year member of the track and field team, competing in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays as well as the open 400 ... member of South Oak Cliff’s 4x200 and 4x400 relays that finished second in the district his junior season, advancing to regionals ... picked to win district in the open 400 entering his senior season ... played basketball his junior year ... honor roll student ... parents are Melvin Hall and the late Evelyn Mitchell ... has one brother and two sisters ... full name is Michael Jamal Mitchell .. nickname is “Greyhound” ... born 8/5/87 (Dallas, Texas).

Jonny Moore
TE, 6-5, 230, San Antonio, Texas (John Marshall HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player and one of the top 10 tight ends in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... rated one of the top tight ends in the Midlands region by PrepStar ... first team All-District 27-5A and first team All-City tight end as a junior at John Marshall High School ... posted 20 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns ... injured his knee his senior year and played in only one game ... listed as a U.S. Army Top 400 Player in the Nation entering his senior season ... had seven receptions for 90 yards as a sophomore ... high school coach was Mike Carew ... also recruited heavily by Northern Colorado and TCU ... two-year soccer letterwinner, seeing action at stopper and goalie ... parents are John and Janice Moore ... has one brother, Jeremy, who plays rugby at Texas Tech ... full name is Jonathan Dennis Moore ... nickname is “Jonny” ... born 10/1/87 (Stevens Point, Wis.).

Anthony Morrow
DB, 6-0, 185, Fallbrook, Calif. (Fallbrook Union HS)
First team All-Avocado League running back as a senior at Fallbrook Union High School ... rushed 191 times for 1,174 yards (6.1 ypc) and 10 touchdowns in 2005 ... three-year varsity letterwinner ... played running back and cornerback as a sophomore, running back as a junior and running back/safety/outside linebacker as a senior ... posted 49 tackles and two interceptions on defense as a senior ... helped Fallbrook Union reach the CIF title game his sophomore year ... broke his ankle his junior season and played in only three games ... high school coach was Dennis Houlihan ... also recruited heavily by Arizona, Colorado, Fresno State, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon, San Diego State and Washington ... two-year member of the track and field team, running the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay ... he is left-handed ... parents are Anthony, Sr. and Kimberly Morrow ... has one sister ... full name is Anthony Lenorris Morrow, Jr. ... nickname is “Train” ... born 6/8/88 (Camp Pendleton, Calif.).

Will Osolinsky
OL/DL, 6-7, 260, Phoenix, Ariz. (North Canyon HS)
Listed as one of the top offensive linemen in the West by PrepStar ... first team All-State and first team All-Northwest Region defensive end as a senior at North Canyon High School ... honorable mention All-Desert Valley Region defensive end as a junior ... tallied 42 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries as a senior ... as a junior, led the region in sacks (5.5) while adding 30 tackles and an interception ... two-year varsity letterwinner for coach Brian Cole ... played defensive end as a junior, then opened his senior year by seeing action at both offensive tackle and defensive end before breaking his hand midway through the season ... after breaking his hand, played solely defensive end the rest of the year ... led North Canyon High to a 14-0 mark and state championship in 2005 ... made the “play of the game” in the state championship, recovering a fumble by the opposing quarterback ... also recruited heavily by Montana, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Oregon, UNLV, Utah, Washington and Washington State ... three-year letterwinner in track and field, throwing the shot put and discus ... ran the hurdles his freshman year ... parents are Bill and Rosemarie Osolinsky ... has one sister ... cousin, Jimmy Fontenot, played football at LSU ... full name is William Vincent Osolinsky ... nickname is “Oz” ... born 11/27/87 (San Bernardino, Calif.).

Kyle Petersen
P/K, 6-4, 220, Alta Loma, Calif. (South Hills HS)
National Top-10 punter by SuperPrep ... third team All-State punter by calhisports.com as a senior ... other 2005 honors included first team All-CIF Southern Section punter, first team All-CIF Southern Section Division VII punter, first team All-San Antonio League kicking specialist, first team All-San Antonio League Academic Team and first team All-San Gabriel Valley punter (by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune) ... listed as a five-star punter by Chris Sailer Kicking, a top-10 kicker in the United States (second on the West Coast) by Scouts Inc./ESPN, and the second-best kicker in Southern California by The Los Angeles Times ... tabbed a top-125 player in California by calhisports.com, and a top-125 player in the U.S. by maxemfinger.com ... rated a top-100 player in the West by Street & Smith’s ... also a calhisports.com 250 Hot List selection ... member of the United States Army All-American West Team, earning scholar-athlete of the game honors ... averaged 34.3 yards on 26 punts, and 57.9 yards on 87 kickoffs (54 touchbacks) as a senior ... junior honors included first team All-San Antonio League kicking specialist, first team All-San Antonio League academic team, second team All-CIF Division 7 kicker, second team All-San Gabriel Valley punter and second team All-State Underclassmen Team punter ... averaged 37.1 yards on 51 punts as a junior, as well as 52.2 yards on 62 kickoffs (22 touchbacks) ... high school coach was Steve Bogan ... also recruited heavily by Arizona State, California, Duke, Fresno State, Oregon, Oregon State and South Carolina ... earned All-League honors as a member of South Hill’s basketball and swimming teams ... also competed in baseball ... chosen South Hill’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior ... kicks with his right foot but writes with his left hand ... parents are Michael and Marlaine Petersen ... has two brothers and three sisters ... uncles Bob and Harry Bishop played major league baseball for the San Francisco Giants ... full name is Kyle Christopher Petersen ... born 7/8/88 (West Covina, Calif.).

George Randall
DL, 6-6, 265, Sugarland, Texas (Kempner HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... first team All-District 25A selection as a senior at Kempner High School ... also tabbed second team All-Greater Houston by the Houston Chronicle and chosen Kempner’s Defensive Lineman of the Year as a senior ... senior totals were 55 tackles, five tackles for losses, three sacks, six quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery ... named to the preseason All-Greater Houston Team by the Touchdown Club entering his senior campaign ... played defensive end and blocking tight end during a two-year varsity career ... also recruited heavily by Kansas State and UCF ... high school coach was Mike Ferrell ... stepfather is Terrell Johnson and mother is Tammy Johnson ... has one sister ... full name is George Edwin Randall, Jr. ... nickname is “Big George” ... born 5/4/88 (Galveston, Texas).

Eric Reynolds
WR/DB, 5-11, 200, Port Arthur, Texas (Memorial HS)
Earned first team All-District 22-5A honors as a wide receiver in a 2005 season that was impacted by Hurricane Katrina ... Memorial High School played only three games due to the disaster ... second team All-District selection as a junior and honorable mention All-District as a sophomore ... saw time at wide receiver and deep snapper in two and a half years on the varsity squad ... also saw action at free safety as a senior ... led Memorial High to 17 wins from 2003-04 ... high school coach was Dean Colbert ... also recruited heavily by Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa State, Texas State and Tulsa ... competed in track and field as a prep, running the 200 and 4x100 relay ... parents are Eric, Sr. and Marie Reynolds ... has one brother and one sister ... cousin, Will Gulley, played football at Houston ... full name is Eric Lee Reynolds, Jr. ... born 11/22/87 (Port Arthur, Texas).

Aaron Sims
DB/LB, 6-1, 205, Fort Worth, Texas (Denton HS)
Rated a top-100 player in the Dallas/Fort Worth area by The Dallas Morning News ... honorable mention All-District 5-4A honoree as a junior at Denton High School ... injured his knee as a senior and played in only four games ... rushed for 205 yards on 34 carries (6.0 avg.) with two touchdowns as a senior ... scored on a 53-yard run versus Denton Ryan in week two of the season ... also had 21 receiving yards and six tackles ... as a junior, picked up 374 yards on 69 carries (5.4 avg.) with three TDs ... added 11 kickoff returns for 208 yards (18.9 avg.) ... 2004 defensive totals were 63 stops, three tackles for losses and three pass break-ups ... registered 32 tackles, two pass break-ups, and 15 kickoff returns for 287 yards (19.1 avg.) as a sophomore ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coaches Randy Patzkowski and Gary Fischer ... played free safety as a sophomore, then split time at running back and free safety as a junior and senior ... returned kicks all three years ... also recruited heavily by Kansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Oklahoma State, SMU and Tulsa ... also competed in track and field (four years) and basketball (two years) ... regional qualifier in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays ... state qualifier in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays as a freshman, and shot put as a sophomore ... honor roll student ... parents are Anthony, Sr. and Vanessa Sims ... has two brothers ... cousin, Dustin Pleasant, played football at Wyoming ... full name is Aaron Xavier Sims ... born 12/9/87 (Lubbock, Texas).

Royzell Smith
LB, 6-2, 200, Missouri City, Texas (Thurgood Marshall HS)
Listed as one of the top defensive back prospects in the Midlands region by PrepStar ... co-District 20-5A Defensive MVP and first team All-Greater Houston choice as a senior at Thurgood Marshall High School ... played outside linebacker as a junior and inside linebacker as a senior ... had 128 tackles, 19 quarterback hurries, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, two pass break-ups and a fumble recovery his senior year ... part of a 9-1, district title team his senior year ... two-year varsity letterwinner for coach Dennis Brantley ... also recruited heavily by Baylor, Indiana, Iowa State and Toledo ... ran track for four years as a prep, competing in the 200 and 4x200 relay ... member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes ... parents are Royzell Smith III and June Woods ... has one brother ... full name is Royzell Smith ... nickname is “Ro” ... born 2/25/88 (Atlanta, Ga.).

Robert Soleyjacks
LB/DL, 6-3, 235, San Diego, Calif. (Highland Park [Texas] HS)
Four-time All-District 7-2A honoree (twice on offense, twice on defense) at Highland Park High School in Amarillo ... four-year varsity letterwinner for coaches Bryan Welps and Victor Soliz ...played defensive end and tight end as a freshman and sophomore, and running back/defensive end as a junior and senior ... also saw some time at linebacker and defensive tackle his senior campaign ... rushed for 935 yards on 124 carries (7.5 avg.) as a senior ... ran for 1,501 yards on 256 attempts (5.9 avg.) as a junior ... member of a district title team as a sophomore ... also recruited heavily by Arkansas, Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M ... two-time All-District basketball player ... also ran track, competing in the high jump, 4x200 and sprint relays ... ran a leg on Highland Park’s 2005 district champion 4x200 relay unit ... two-time Academic All-District selection ... member of the FCA ... parents and Rodolfo and Justina Soleyjacks ... has two brothers and one sister ... brother, R.J., played football at West Texas A&M ... full name is Robert Bermillo Soleyjacks ... born 6/12/88 (Oceanside, Calif.).

Alex Solot
OL, 6-7, 280, Tucson, Ariz. (Rincon HS)
Decorated offensive lineman during a two-year varsity career at Rincon High School ... listed as one of the top offensive linemen in the West by PrepStar ... first team All-State 4A player by arizonavarsity.com and PrepAZ.com as a senior ... other senior honors included second team All-State (all levels) by PrepAZ.com, first team All-Sonoran Region, first team All-South Arizona by the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen, and honorable mention All-State by the Arizona Republic ... honorable mention All-Sonoran Region as a junior ... helped Rincon High School to its first playoff appearance in 17 years as a senior ... high school coach was Matt Johnson ... also recruited heavily by Wyoming ... also a member of Rincon’s baseball and track and field teams ... threw the shot put and discus ... parents are Alan and Barbara Solot ... has one brother ... uncle, David Bounds, played football at Clemson and grandfather, Jessie “Red” Bounds, played football at Tulane ... full name is Alexander Ian Solot ... born 5/28/88 (Tucson, Ariz.).

Melvin Stephenson
DB, 5-11, 185, Grand Prairie, Texas (South Grand Prairie HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player and one of the top 20 defensive backs in the state by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... first team All-District 6-5A cornerback and second team All-District running back as a senior at South Grand Prairie High School ... rushed 67 times for 660 yards (9.9 avg.) and six TDs as a senior ... also amassed 22 tackles and a fumble recovery from his cover corner position ... second team All-District cornerback as a junior, tallying 30 stops and a 41-yard interception ... also ran for 208 yards on 25 attempts (8.3 avg.) with three touchdowns as a junior ... two-time All-Area cornerback (2004 and 2005) ... two-year varsity letterwinner for coach David Fisher ... member of a 10-2, district and bi-district title squad as a senior ... also recruited heavily by Central Michigan ... four-year track and field letterwinner, competing in the 100, 4x100 and 4x200 relays ... parents are Melvin, Sr. and Cheryl Stephenson ... has a sister and a half-brother ... two of his cousins - Michael Huff (Texas) and Marcus King (Missouri) — are 2006 NFL Draft prospects ... full name is Melvin Otis Stephenson II ... nickname is “Showtime” ... born 7/6/88 (Dallas, Texas).

James Thomas
QB, 5-11, 185, Missouri City, Texas (Thurgood Marshall HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... rated one of the top quarterbacks in the Midlands region by PrepStar ... chosen the District 20-5A Offensive MVP as a senior at Thurgood Marshall High School ... threw for 2,089 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2005, while also rushing 121 times for 971 yards ... passed for 1,400 yards and 10 TDs as a junior en route to being named a second team All-Greater Houston Underclassman ... also rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns ... member of a 9-1, district title team his senior year ... two-year varsity letterwinner for coach Dennis Brantley ... also recruited heavily by Arkansas, Indiana and TCU ... honorable mention All-District outfielder in baseball as a prep ... member of the National Honor Roll ... parents are James, Sr. and Lillie Thomas ... has four brothers and two sisters ... brother, Jesse Sowells, plays for the Tennessee Titans ... full name is James Edward Thomas II ... nickname is “J.T.” ... born 4/18/88 (Missouri City, Texas).

Trevor Vittatoe
QB, 6-2, 200, Bedford, Texas (Trinity HS)
Team Texas first team quarterback as a senior at Trinity High School ... also a first team All-District 6-5A honoree and team MVP ... completed 75 of 129 passes for 1,999 yards with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions as a senior ... also had eight rushing TDs for a 14-1 club that won the state title ... as a junior, completed 148 of 242 attempts for 1,972 yards with 14 TDs and five interceptions ... also added eight rushing scores ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coach Steve Lineweaver ... member of two district championship teams (2003, 2005) ... also recruited heavily by Texas State ... two-time Academic All-District pick ... parents are Vernon and the late Kari Vittatoe ... father played basketball at Hardin-Simmons ... has one brother and one sister ... full name is Trevor Lee Vittatoe ... nickname is “Deisel” ... born 1/4/88 (Bedford, Texas).

Jon Wiley
OL, 6-5, 275, Pittsburgh, Pa. (Duncanville [Texas] HS)
Earned second team All-District 7-5A honors as a left tackle his senior season at Duncanville High School ... played only one year of varsity ball after dislocating his shoulder his junior year ... high school coach was Dan Schreiber ... also recruited heavily by Sam Houston State, TCU and Wyoming ... parents are Demitrius Wiley and Joy Sparrow ... has one brother and two sisters ... full name is Johnathan Lamar Wiley ... nickname is “Big Jon” ... born 9/25/88 (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

Jason Williams
RB, 6-0, 205, Tyler, Texas (Robert E. Lee HS)
Listed as a Texas Top-300 player and one of the top 20 running backs in the Lone Star State by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine ... first team All-District 12-5A offensive selection as a senior at Robert E. Lee High School ... rushed for 1,291 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior ... ran for 781 yards and six scores as a junior ... split time at running back and strong safety during a three-year varsity career ... member of a 12-3, state championship team his junior year ... high school coach was Mike Owens ... also recruited heavily by Arkansas State, Colorado State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State ... three-year track and field letterwinner, competing in the long jump, 100 and sprint relay ... parents are Winfred and Vickie Williams ... has two brothers ... full name is Jason Bryant Williams ... nickname is “The Hammer” ... born 10/20/87 (Tyler, Texas).

Robert Williams
DL, 6-3, 195, Denver, Colo. (Kimball [Texas] HS)
National Top-100 linebacker by SuperPrep ... Rated a top-100 player in the Dallas/Fort Worth area by The Dallas Morning News ... second team All-State 4A by the Texas Sportswriters and first team All-District 4A defensive end as a senior at Justin F. Kimball High School in Dallas ... recorded 108 tackles and two interceptions in 2005 ... also earned All-District honors as a junior ... three-year varsity letterwinner for coach Darrell Jordan, playing wide receiver and defensive end all three years ... led Kimball High to three consecutive district titles ... also recruited heavily by Iowa State and Washington State ... first team All-District basketball player at Kimball as well ... parents are Robert, Sr. and Betty Williams ... has one brother and four sisters ... full name is Robert Lynn Williams, Jr. ... born 8/21/88 (Denver, Colo.).

Poli

02-01-2006, 04:50 PM

Jeeber, there's no chance I'm reading all of that. :)

Wolfpack

02-01-2006, 04:59 PM

Chuck Amato REALLY needs to pull it together. He had a program on the upswing and is starting to tank it. NC State should be getting better, not worse. Losing staff, losing recruits, what's next?

There's been some grumbling about the fact that we did so poorly in NC this year and basically just pulled leftovers out of Florida. State fans continue to be annoyed by the fact that Carolina continues to dominate in-state recruiting no matter how badly they do on the field. Michael Jordan and the basketball program at UNC (along with the good folks at Nike...remember Ronald Curry?) have probably done more for UNC football than UNC football actually ever will do for itself. (blood pressure elevating...must stop now before I begin to rant....)

As for Butter's point, it's not all that farfetched anymore. A lot of money has been ponied up for the program, especially after 2002's great year and now results are expected, especially as we seem to be the only team in the conference that now beats FSU on a regular basis (Noop or Ksyrup will naturally interject that FSU has decayed over the recent years, which is generally true). It has been posited that we do well against FSU, but not well against UNC because we may have too many Florida kids. The Florida kids all want to beat FSU, but could care less about UNC, which is what the fanbase still cares about more. We may say we think of FSU as our rival in football, but deep down, we still would take 1-10 and a win against UNC over 10-1 and a win against FSU. It's all in who you have to deal with on a daily basis and Carolina fans are everywhere in the state, living vicariously through their basketball and football teams (the school? Oh, yeah...the school....). (blood pressure rising again...must stop again....)

Logan

02-01-2006, 05:03 PM

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top">"I'm not thinking about redshirting. I think that I can go in and compete with anybody."--Knowshown Moreno
</td><td class="" 1="" align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="bottom">
</td></tr></tbody> </table>

Just a warning...I had heard he was playing against my old high school this past season (Marlboro...not a good team), so I went and watched. Fumbled 3 times, once without being touched.

EDIT: Kordell Young will be better :).

General Mike

02-01-2006, 05:12 PM

JeeberD

02-01-2006, 05:14 PM

Jeeber, there's no chance I'm reading all of that. :)

Slacker! :D

Klinglerware

02-01-2006, 05:19 PM

If he qualifies. Which I doubt, but I could be wrong.

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that he didn't even take the SATs until a few weeks ago. Very surprising, especially since Middletown is relatively affluent (i.e., the kids are under pressure to perform academically).

Also, when was the last time a highly touted Shore Conference prospect actually panned out? Not a rhetorical question, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions. Charlie Rogers maybe. Klecko doesn't count since he wasn't heavily recruited out of high school...

timmynausea

02-01-2006, 05:27 PM

What the hell, Jeeber? You could've split that into like 9 or 10 different posts to keep your numbers up. It's not like you to put that much information into a single post.

Tigercat

02-01-2006, 05:34 PM

Ben E Lou

02-01-2006, 05:37 PM

If he qualifies. Which I doubt, but I could be wrong.I thought I heard that he was only one point away on the ACT. Do I have that wrong?

Logan

02-01-2006, 05:41 PM

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that he didn't even take the SATs until a few weeks ago. Very surprising, especially since Middletown is relatively affluent (i.e., the kids are under pressure to perform academically).

No, it wasn't a couple weeks ago. It was THIS SATURDAY. The 28th. So he's either really confident, or knows he doesn't have a shot.

Also, when was the last time a highly touted Shore Conference prospect actually panned out? Not a rhetorical question, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions. Charlie Rogers maybe. Klecko doesn't count since he wasn't heavily recruited out of high school...

Klecko (Marlboro!) was the man. As for other Shore players...I really didn't pay too much attention to the area after I graduated. Cory Brooks (RB) got a ride to Syracuse in 2001, but I don't think he ever saw action and may have actually quit the team.

General Mike

02-01-2006, 05:44 PM

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that he didn't even take the SATs until a few weeks ago. Very surprising, especially since Middletown is relatively affluent (i.e., the kids are under pressure to perform academically).

Also, when was the last time a highly touted Shore Conference prospect actually panned out? Not a rhetorical question, I'd be interested in hearing your opinions. Charlie Rogers maybe. Klecko doesn't count since he wasn't heavily recruited out of high school...

Yeah, Moreno didn't take it til last weekend or whenever the most recent SAT test date was. As far as Shore conference kids go, I can't even think of any non-Rutgers Shore Conference guys, and the only one who has done anything at Rutgers since Schiano got here is Gilkison.

Logan

02-01-2006, 05:46 PM

Yeah, Moreno didn't take it til last weekend or whenever the most recent SAT test date was. As far as Shore conference kids go, I can't even think of any non-Rutgers Shore Conference guys, and the only one who has done anything at Rutgers since Schiano got here is Gilkison.

So you share my dislike of Mike Cortese (Jackson, '01)? :)

General Mike

02-01-2006, 06:05 PM

I thought I heard that he was only one point away on the ACT. Do I have that wrong?

He might be, but kids in New Jersey generally don't take the ACT. Now maybe that's changed in the 7 years since I was in HS, but when I was in HS it was PSAT/NMSQT in October of your Junior year, SAT in the spring, and then SAT again in the fall of your Senior year.

Like I said, I could be wrong, and he could end up being very good there, but the fact is he is going to be behind 3 RBs who are in their home state, and Georgia will probably sign another instate RB or 2 next year.

General Mike

02-01-2006, 06:13 PM

So you share my dislike of Mike Cortese (Jackson, '01)? :)

No. Plus he was a walk-on, and I didn't realize Jackson was in the Shore Conference.

JeeberD

02-05-2006, 12:23 PM

Wow. Jeeber, your passion for your Miners is great, but that bold has the worst attempt at recruiting spin I have ever heard.

8 players that are rated in the top 300 in Texas? UTEP with a good coach should be able to snag 8 of the top 100 in Texas in a good recruiting year. 8 of the top 300 in Texas sounds like a good recruiting year for a Div 1AA team.

Talent is DEEP in Texas, Tigercat. This is one of UTEP's best classes, ever.

Miners thrilled with talent of incoming recruits

Matthew Aguilar
El Paso Times
Thursday, February 2, 2006

The UTEP football program's 2006 recruiting class seems to be a landmark haul for head coach Mike Price.

It is the first time that he had all the paperwork and everybody committed before noon on National Signing Day. And it was that close to becoming the first Price class with no junior college transfers (there was one, who signed Wednesday).

It also may end up being the most talented and well-rounded in Price's illustrious, 24-year head coaching career -- a result of television exposure, UTEP football camps around Texas and the movie "Glory Road."

The class addressed the Miners' pressing needs -- receiver, offensive line and secondary -- and then some.

"In my opinion, it's as good as any recruiting class we had at Washington State," Price said at a news conference announcing 28 prep standouts who on Wednesday signed national letters of intent to play football for the Miners at the Larry K. Durham Sports Center. "I don't know if we'll have a Marcus Trufant or a Drew Bledsoe, but it's good."

The group features eight players ranked among the top 300 preps in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine -- running back Donald Buckram (Copperas Cove); receiver/defensive back Brandon Jordan (Missouri City); tight end Jonny Moore (San Antonio); defensive lineman George Randall (Sugarland); defensive back Melvin Stephenson (Grand Prairie); quarterback James Thomas (Missouri City); running back Jason Williams (Tyler) and defensive lineman Robert Williams (Dallas).

Six other recruits are regarded as among the nation's finest high school players at their respective positions in the latest issue of PrepStar magazine: offensive lineman Rod Huntley (Arlington, Texas); Moore; offensive/defensive lineman Will Osolinsky (Phoenix); linebacker Royzell Smith (Missouri City, Texas); offensive lineman Alex Solot (Tucson); and Thomas.

Punter Kyle Peterson is regarded as one of the top 10 high school punters in the country by SuperPrep magazine, which also projects Williams as one of the nation's top 100 signees at linebacker. And the last-second junior college addition was kicker Jose Martinez, who Price expects to redshirt this year so that he is the go-to guy in 2007 and '08.

"We feel like we got the best kicker on the West Coast in Jose," Price said.

Price said a dozen of the players run a 4.5 seconds or better in the 40-yard dash, and another dozen are 6-foot-4 or taller.

Almost all of the recruits are from Texas (20), while six are from California and three from Arizona.

John Talman, a recruiting analyst for the Web site Rivals.com, said UTEP quickly is becoming a force in big-time football recruiting -- not just in Texas, but all across the country.

"The reason this class is different is that (UTEP) actually had to go head-to-head with bigger programs," Talman said. "In the case of Moore and Buckram, they had to go head-to-head with TCU and Iowa State. I see that a lot more -- which is the real (indication) of how good a recruiting class is going to be. (Price) is doing a great job of finding guys that even we are having a hard time finding out about."

Price seemed especially high on running back Buckram, who the coach said will play next year, along with Williams (as backups to starter Marcus Thomas), and quarterbacks Thomas and Vittatoe.

"He reminds me an awful lot of (former UTEP tailback Howard Jackson)," Price said of Buckram. "He's taller than Howard, and obviously a little bigger than Howard. He has that same type of brilliant speed."

Price said quarterback Thomas may have been dismissed by some programs because of his size, 5-11 and 185 pounds. Price, though, described his play as "wow."

"He's very fast," he said. "This kid is brilliant."

Vittatoe, he said, is the more traditional Price-style drop-back quarterback.

"(UTEP quarterbacks coach Aaron Price) saw him in the (Texas state championship) game, and he called me and said, 'He can throw every pass we need,' " Price said. "He's got a rifle. We're excited about Trevor. We took him over some real good quarterbacks."

Price said six of the 28 recruits may greyshirt so that they can get right academically.

"There are six that may be a point or two short or that need to be cleared through the clearinghouse," he said. "(But) we've got 23 who are ready to go."

Price also anticipates 12-14 invited walk-ons, mostly local prospects.

"It's unfortunate that we did not sign (any local players)," he said, adding that Will Henry of Hanks was the only El Paso player offered a scholarship. Henry opted for Nebraska.

Also included in this class are three players who greyshirted or redshirted last season: quarterback Lorne Sam (transfer from Florida State), safety Braxton Amy (Richmond, Texas, Foster) and defensive back Da-mon Cromartie (Riverside, Calif.).

Overall, Price said it is easily the best class since he arrived at UTEP.

Recruiting coordinator Jeff Banks said: "These three classes are the future of the program."

Miner notes: Spring training will start on March 20, not March 21 as was originally announced. The spring game will be Thursday, April 13.

Matthew Aguilar may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6166.

Tigercat

02-05-2006, 01:36 PM

i don't question how deep the talent can go in Texas, I would just suspect that UTEP with a good coach could get more of the top 100 talent in Texas. Figure Texas takes most of the top 20. A&M gets another 20. Oklahoma with 10 at most. Other out of state powerhouses combine for about 20. Thats 30 prospects or so that UTEP only has to compete with the likes of TCU and North Texas for. With a good coach I am just surpised y'all don't do a little better, at least on the recruiting charts.

timmynausea

02-05-2006, 02:21 PM

Check out this quote from a Texas A&M recruit that was in a newspaper article earlier this week.

"They take care of you down there," McCoy said. "I know from my brother they keep your pockets full, give you plenty of money, keep feeding you meals. Besides that all the help they give you with football. They keep you on your grades with private tutoring. Just good all-around."

The weird thing is that the article doesn't even mention that this kid is talking about getting money for going to A&M.
http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16051619&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475011&rfi=6