Recruiting the Class of 2004
I accidentally let my assistants have control of recruiting when I started my game. So, while I could play an active role in recruiting, things were also happening behind the scenes. I didn't figure out what was going on until two players I had never seen before accepted scholarship offers from us. Fortunately, they're both good players, although one is a very mediocre student.
That being said, I'm delighted with our recruiting class.
Rivals ranks them #22 in the nation.
My first target was offensive tackle
Dave Ransbottom, rated as the top player in Maryland and the #5 player at his position in the nation. He was admittedly a long shot, but our academic reputation and his desire to play close to home gave us a chance. At one point, I was sure we'd lose him to Penn State, but we ended up securing his signature. If Ransbottom is as good as advertised, he'll step directly into our starting lineup. He looks like he'll be a coach's dream, with a Terrific attitude.
We reached across the border to snag the best player in Delaware, too: guard
Jon Quinn. Jon should also contend for a starting spot from Day One. I also have a good feeling about OG
Dustin Kolosa, a massive young man who is an exceptional student.
Normally, when my starting quarterback is a sophomore, I don't make recruiting another QB1 a high priority. However, when he plays like Billy Scutaro did, my priorities change. I wanted a dual-threat QB to run our Wing T offiense, and I found one in
Travis McGruddy. He threw for over 3200 yards and rushed for nearly 1000 more, accounting for 27 touchdowns.
Fullback
Raymond Armstrong is considered one of the best FB prospects in the country, an all-purpose back who can run, catch, and block.
Andrew Horton and
Harvey Sawyers should add depth in our running back stable, at least.
We had less success landing our top targets on defense. DE
Moe Sutter should be a star; the experts' choice as the top defensive player in New Jersey, he will have a chance to replace the graduated
Jake Caldwell.
The computer assistants kept chasing linebackers, so we ended up signing five of them. Big
Andrew Barrett is the best of the lot on paper, but keep an eye on
Tattoo Tim Wiggins, whom our staff think is a sleeper. Once I saw his name and discovered he was, indeed, a decent player, I had to recruit him.
Tom Breeden should immediately upgrade our lousy punting game. I knew we were losing a kicker to graduation, but it turned out to be our kickoff specialist, not All-Conference star
Conrad Cassidy. I might not have worked so hard to land
Willie Torres if I'd been more careful.
Our incoming class have strong credentials as students, too.
Mercury Sims is one of the players the AI assistants brought in. He's the only mediocre student in the class. On the other hand,
McGruddy,
Ransbottom, and
Sutter epitomize what I want Chevy Chase players to be. I hope to establish Chevy Chase as the dream school for the nation's best student-athletes.