Our departures include a couple projected first rounders, which is nice.

WR Steven Adkins only got one year as the starting top target for us, but he produced well in that role and had 78 career catches for 1333 yards and 10 scores with only 8 drops. He also returned 6 kicks for TDs this past season. Every year our return man has bested his predecessor, so we'll see if the next guy up can outpace Adkins.

WR Eric Hardy is a tough story. He was all set to be our ace WR alongside Adkins this past season but was lost for the year in the second game I think. He only ended up with 12 catches for 216 yards and a score. As our top punt returner he was averaging about 15 a return before he went down. Nevertheless, the pros like what they hear about the kid and he is excited to show what he can do on the next level.

92 OVR C Kyle Perry is a huge loss for our O-Line. He was a stud. We hope the next man up can be as steady. Unfortunate that he is not projected to be drafted.

K Matt Brigham, AKA the boomstick was a kickoff beast, and that might be why he is projected in the 4th round. Rarely did any opponent even get a chance to return his kickoffs, as they often nailed the base of the field goal apparatus, out of play. He could also hit FG's from 60 if needed, which is a luxury we will miss when we need 3 points in a tight contest in the future.

LB Jeff Palmer doesn't look like much on paper with his 82 OVR, but he was a LB with 89 speed, 84 Agility, 99 Acceleration, and 92 Zone coverage. I think if I was a bit better at scheming he would have been more impactful, but he could often be relied on to cover the middle of the field like a safety, which is a level of versatility I crave in my LBs. I think it would have helped if I could have run some of my exotic schemes in the National championship with Palmer as the centerpiece.

Transfer Requests - Deadline is 11/27 (Fri) at 11 p.m. EST
 

We're on to transfer requests.

The website is giving me problems, so I can't see who has transfer requests.

Major loses for Buffalo

QB Homesick boy - I am not going to look his name up, it hurts. He is an 80 rated FR that was to be my backup to Gates this season.

RB Michael Smith - He is projected to go in the 5th round, he was my 93 rated RB that helped me when my WR's weren't ready in his FR year.

FS Doug Hunter - I am going to miss this guy. He is a projected 1st round pick, was an all around DB and was tops in the league every year on KR and PR barely losing the hardware to UTSA's guy this year.

I think my Punter is projected to go in the 7th, not 100% sure but Harrington was solid for me the last couple of years and he will be missed.

No surprises - no transfer requests to us. USC is set to advance.

Ne requests for me, I'm good to go. I think the only one that has a transfer request is Indiana.

Offseason Recruiting - Deadline is 11/27 (Fri) at 11 p.m. EST
 

The big week is here. Come to IU, Rivero. We'll get you the Heisman.

Rivero, you know USC will make you a superstar!

What about Buffalo....think I could swing him to come here...LOL...

What am I missing?
I had a cup of coffee with Rivero. To me he is a pure CB and I couldnt see the value in fighting you vultures for a CB.

His 67 catching rules out WR.

65 Vision rules out RB for anything but sweeps...though that elusiveness and speed combo is intriguing the low strength, trucking and break tackle scores makes him easy to bring down.

Dont get me wrong, I see a 1st round CB...but not enough to make me fight over him.

Oh yeah ready to advance

You're right. The other guys shouldn't even bother with him.

Easy decision. USC is set to advance.

I'm all in, good to go.

Buffalo is done...

Hold on to your butts...

IU lands Rivero, but misses out on Danny Estes, an ATH we were hoping we could get and play at DT.

Still, happy with the outcome. Looks like USC and UTSA put their points elsewhere?

Woot!

We landed our Top 3 targets!
To finish 2nd only to Indiana in regards to top overall class.

Huh. My class has about 6 guys that I didn't have on my board. And a QB who was on my board that I never offered a scholarship to.

I am going to look now.... can't wait to see the results!! :)

USC decided to focus on 2 other guys who were higher targets. Specifically, we really wanted T.J. Lambert, the #1 receiver in the class, a 6'5" freak with great speed, acceleration, and catching. We focused the remainder of our points on the #3 WR, Shawn Ernst, in the class who had even better speed while also having very good size. Rivero in reality was a distant 3rd priority for us and we didn't focus on him.

I'm happy to say that we got both of the guys who were our real top priorities! :)

We didn't put anything on Rivero. Thought about putting everything on him, but didn't think it would be enough, and didn't want to waste opportunities to land several other guys instead.

Time for a recap of our class which finished #3 in the nation behind Indiana and Florida Atlantic, but features more 5 star players than either of them:

5 stars:

T.J. Lambert, the #1 WR in the nation and #6 player overall - He was from Oklahoma so we had to work on him a bit due to his desire to be close to home, but our tradition and championship tradition eventually convinced him to come to us. At 6'5 204 lbs, he doesn't have blistering speed, but he has very good speed and great hands. Furthermore, he runs tremendous routes already. He is a sure fire #1 receiver for us in a year or two.

Shawn Ernst, the #3 WR in the nation - He was across the country in Georgia but he didn't care about anything other than program tradition, pro potential, and conference prestige. As a result, we didn't have to work quite as hard to pick him up. He is 6'2 184 and is a true burner who will become our best deep threat in a year or two. He doesn't have the spectacular hands of Lambert but they are good enough...

J. Johnson - The #4 player in the nation and #1 player in CA was a must get for us and we secured him relatively quickly. At 6'0 180, he has the skills to play either QB, RB, or WR for us. My best guess is that he gets in line at QB but we will see...

4 stars:

C A. Carter - The #4 C in the country and #1 C in CA. He saw the depth chart and knew he wanted to be a Trojan. He is a likely starter in a year or two.

G C. Keyes - The #3 G in the country out of NC always wanted to come play for USC. I don't know why, but we loved this kid for it. He could play some this year and is a likely starter by next year.

Athlete C. Washington - At 6'0 172, this speedy player out of Louisiana reminds some people of our old HB Joe McKnight. He is a gliding runner who has very good but not elite top speed. Interestingly, his best position might be corner back although he wants the rock.

CB C Johnson - This player out of Pennsylvania was our top target at CB. He has very good speed and coverage abilities already. He will be a starter down the road.

CB B. Norwood - This was our 1B target at CB. This speedy player from MS has very good coverage abilities already.

SS J. Huff - The #2 SS in the nation and #1 in CA. A local kid who knew he wanted to come to USC and we are glad to have him. He doesn't have the speed of some of our classic safeties, but he is a big hitter at 6'1 195 and should intimidate receivers.

Athlete R. Cochran - This is our smallest athlete at 5'10 166. He has the elusiveness and speed to be a scatback but also has skills to play at CB. Tough decision for this one...

Athlete D. Thomas - This guy is a player we identified as a gem early in the process. This 6'1 215 pound player out of Texas has excellent speed for his size and is great at zone coverage. He also has all of the tools to be a RB for us. S vs RB will be a tough choice for our coaches...

TE R. Harrington - We need to groom our next TE and this was the top TE in CA and 4th best in the nation. He is 6'5 249 with good speed for his size and ok receiving abilities although he is best at blocking at this point...

T A. Parker - We desperately need OL and this was the top T in the nation. At 6'3 300, he is a bit short for T but his technique is great. He might start for us as a true freshman...

3 star players:

DT M. Mooney - We missed out on the top DT's and we needed a depth guy, so we signed this player from Ohio. He is undersized at 6'4 254 and will need to redshirt and develop but he should add depth down the road.

OLB F. Green - We missed out on our top LB targets and this kid approached us BEGGING to be a Trojan. He is a nice depth guy at 6'1 220 with decent mobility and good tackling abilities.

FS B. Simpson - We think this 3 star is a hidden gem. He has tremendous speed and athleticism which we love in our zafeties and is a surprisingly big hitter at 5'10 185. If he can develop, he could start down the road...

TE B. Cutler - This kid from California really wanted to be a Trojan and he worked hard and had a good senior year, so we took a flier on him. He is undersized at 6'1 230 and might be more of an H-Back for us. We'll see.

EA servers have beeen down on XBOX for 2 hours here.
Ugh.
I hate this company

2020 Recruiting Results
 

Position Changes - Deadline is 11/29 (Sun) at 11 p.m. EST
 

We're on to position changes. As always, I recommend that you make the changes in game, not on the site.

I'll probably do mine Friday.

I can't do mine until Saturday / Sunday

No problem. No rush. Think I accidentally left the old deadline.

Changes made. I like our team this year. Should be interesting.

Changes done....My hell I thought I had a deeper team. Going to be an interesting season.

Changes done. I think my team has the tools to repeat this year. My only question is the OL and who will step up to be our #1 receiver.

Changes done.
We are ok. Still 1 year away from being re-stocked.

Cuts will be hard for this team this year as they will shape us moving forward. Going to have to take some bumps next year to position better for the long run.

any openings?

Hi Tyrone. Yes, there are openings, but you'd have to start with one of the teams in the bottom tier. This is a promotion-relegation league that has been going for 10 seasons (we're entering the 11th season). You absolutely are welcome to join, but I just wanted you to know upfront that you'd be coming in at a disadvantage. Another option would be to join the American Conference league, which is not a promotion-relegation league, and has only been going for one season (it's in year 2 right now). If you join The American league, you would start with Maassluis (we'd move Maassluis back into the American Conference in year 3). Let me know which league you'd prefer and what your Xbox Live handle is, and I'll send you an invitation.

Sorry, meant to advance us last night (I like to do this stage from the console, not on the web). Will move us forward tonight. Does anyone care if I blast right past training results?

go for it.

I am all for it. Can't wait to get to the games!

No objections here

Cuts - Deadline is 12/5 (Sat) at 11 p.m. EST
 

We're on to cuts.

USC is done. Jimmy Stewart is set to have a HUGE year... salivating.

Cuts done and Gates is going to be running for his life or quick passes. I didn't realize my G situation was as bad as it is.

Yeah, I've done that a couple of times -- roll into a season and see that my o-line is only 6 or 7 playable players.

My oline is like that this year... Maybe it will slow down Stewart. :(

I would have pushed harder for higher rated G's if I would have known my G's would stay in their OVR of 60's and not bust into the 70's range like I thought they might.

I'm hoping to get this handled tonight. Things got pushed back a day today, my boy was home sick.

Nevermind, did my cuts online because the guys I needed to cut were few and I had a couple walk ons that were just aching to stop practicing with the good players.

Okay, I think we're down to CU.

For my own reference when we hit the next stage.

It'd be cool if we could do a Big Ten-SEC Challenge where every team in those leagues plays a team from the other conference the week before conference schedules kick in. We could maybe do it on a small level if we had equal numbers of owners in each conference.

done here