The Pyramid - WSU Signing day Presser - Now Recruiting Tracker

[CU Tiger]

Thought it might be fun to do a real life style signing day presser to add some flair and immersion so here goes:

First we hit on every guy we signed. We think all of them are players and wouldn't trade any of them for anyone in the world. A few future all pro NFL hall of famers for sure. Blah blah blah

A quick run down on our class.

1 - TE Weaver 5 *. We didnt set out to need a TE intending instead to sign one next year. But the #1 TE in the country listed WSU as his favorite from the get go so we jumped in and had him in the fold by week 9

2- ATH/(QB) Wise 5* - Our #1 priority was signing our QB of the future and we had to run all the way to signing day but big things in this kids future. Big things. Most unusual recruitment. Visited everywhere but here had to pick the lock 2x but got our man in the end. #1 overall player. (81OVR)

3 - ATH (QB/DB) Miller 4* - He was deemed more obtainable than Wise from the get go so we signed him quickly. He could have been our QB of the future (75 OVR) but with Wise inking he will likely move to a DB spot.

4- WR Mitchell 4* - We have a litany of good young WR who all fall into the possession mold and we needed a big field stretcher. Mitchell fits the bill with his 90 speed. Led for him out of the gates and chased him to week 9 to earn his commitment.

5 - SS Lewis 4* Our defensive backfield needs a talent injection. This 78 OVR rated SS fits the bill.

6 - CB Townsend 4* 80 OVR. Stud we identified in week 2 but we werent on his board and trailed by 2,735. Once he saw the magic of Puhlman we had him on the board by week 7. Big time get for us. Will start as a Freshamn.

7 - WR Underwood 4* - As mentioned above needed some speed at WR. We played with Underwood from the start all the way to NSD his 68 OVR scares me but his 95 SPD reassures us he will find a roll in our offense.

8 - DE Pierce 4* 79 OVR - Both of our starters here were Fr last year so we needed a talent infusion. Pierce started out with us as 3rd and we had him inked by week 5. Another likely starter as a true Fr

9 - DE Watson 4* 75 OVR - We set out to sign 2 DE's and after landing Pierce early set our sights on Watson. Not as dominant as Pierce but will play a role for us.

10 - WR Jackson 4* - We said we needed speed at WR but this 77 OVR possession guy was too good to pass up.

11- ATH Lee 69 OVR - The guys think he is a FS, not real sure where he fits but he can run, catch and tackle. We will find a home for him somewhere on our team.

12 - SS Walker 4 * 68 OVR - Really need numbers in the DB. ANd as time went on we thought we would be stuck using Miller at QB. We moved on Walker in week 10 and signed him in week 13 to provide some numbers here JIC. May not make the team after Wsie will allow me to move Miller into the defensive backfield we will see.

13 - G Willis 70 OVR - We needed warm bodies and he is one. Next

14 - DT Hamilton 3 * 73 OVR. My early season notes say this about DT. "5 Starter level players. None graduate. No room need none."...but when a mid 70s kid keeps you listed #1 without any attention the first 5 weeks of the season you have to open your eyes. Started recruiting in week 5 signed in week 9.

15 - CB Landrum 3* 75 OVR - One of 4 Gems we signed. Listed as a 3* but graded at 75 OVR with blazing speed. Only needed 1 CB this off season and Townsend more than fit the bill. Still too talented not to sign once it became apparent we could. May stick at CB or may get slid to SS/FS.

16 - Rodgers K 3* - Intend to cut our current kicker who is rated 90 OVR as a P despite being a K by position and 77 there, since I didnt understand the rule here. So needed a replacement. Rodgers fits the bill.

17 - Huff - MLB 3* 79. We run mostly a 4-3 or 3-3-5 so MLB isnt a huge position for us. Additionally I have 3 good starter quality players so I didnt intend to take a MLB. Was scouting mass quantities of MLB guys looking for an OLB skill set and look what we found a +12 gem. SIgned him up. Not sure if he stays inside or (more likely) moves outside. Either way he will help us immediately.

18 - OLB McCarty 3 * 68 OVR Preseason notes say "Both starters graduate this year. Have a stud underclassmen and a bunch of role players. Need 2." McCarty was attainable and serviceable. He will bump a couple walk ons. Hope to out recruit him before his time is up but for now he is an assett.

19 - DE Edwards 2* 53 OVR. None of my staff has ever heard of this kid. But on signing day he faxed his LOI in and drew a picture of a pirate ship on the top. Like the moxie. We have a scholarship open so we took him. Will probably cut him in camp. (Seriously didnt recruit this kid it was what I term a signing day surprise where your committ board doesnt match your target board and you go searching ...here he is)

20 - G Wilson 2 * 69 OVR. As I mentioned we needed warm bodies up front. He fits the bill.



Sorry for the typos. Have a cast on the hand now. Sucks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Awesome write-up. I might start doing these in the Ladder.

[CU Tiger]

Would be fun if we could get every coach to do a brief one every year and then revisit them in a few seasons.

[MacroGuru]

I like that idea

[CU Tiger]

Well I figured I would morph this thread into a WSU dynasty general thoughts thread and also going to start one for FAU in the Ladder. Life being what it is we will see how consistent I am with this but I keep a ton of notes on these teams anyway and it will be fun to post some of them here for public ridicule.

Probably my favorite aspect of this game is roster management and building. I am sucker for it both in real life and here. It is largely my draw to college football as weird as that may sound.

So I am going to shed some light on my processes as we move forward here. It may hurt me I suppose by sharing key tactical info but...oh well. Maybe it will increase buy in for others and potential new owner's just a tad.

Early in NCAA 2013 I stunk out loud at this game. My first console football game in a decade. I forced myself to join the Ladder to make myself get better. The early FAU results speak for themselves as to how bad I was. I quickly realized the acquisition of talent was the #1 key to success. So I set about making a process to track my skills there and improve.

[CU Tiger]

I have 5 key things I manage every season in every league and I will begin to share some of those in this thread moving forward.

They are:

1) Position Number Ideals
2) Roster Overall thoughts by position
3) Lowest Common Denominator
4) Needs and score brackets
5) Weekly point tracking

Broken down further they look like this.

1) Position Number Ideals

The game caps you at 70 players overall but allows you to sign up to 25 players per season. Given a 5 year potential playing career this allows for a 43% churn rate. This will encompass early draft departures, cuts, transfers and less than max class sizes. With this is mind we need to have targets numbers by position to know who to pursue, else we all have weaknesses and we will end up with a disproportionate number of our favorite players.

Its also important to remember unlike real life players dont really have caps in this game. You can count on a +5 OVR every year in the program with few exceptions. As such the longer in the program the better they are. I try to redshirt every player at some point along their journey.

After some experimentation the following works well for me and its what I strive for and you will find rarely do I vary more than 1 away from this in any league at any given time.

QB - 4
This could be argued to be too high but it works for me. I like to have one red shirted every year and always to be prepared for a transfer or back up deciding to test the NFL waters. To this end, I typically sign a QB every year.

RB - 4
Similar strategy to QB. RBs typically maximize ability in year 3 so this allows a redshirt year and a year as a back up before they star as a rSo.

FB -2
I personally wouldn't carry a FB at all but the game makes me. I keep 2 so I never count on a Fr. Im typically formation subbing HBs from above into this roster spot so...whatever. I have found this to be far and away the most talent devoid position in the game so if you want a good one you either move them or sign them way early.

WR - 8
8 is the magic number here. I sign 2 every year. Sometimes more. if I anticipate early departures. I run a fair amount of 5 WR sets need 1 back up in case of fatigue or injury and redshirt the 2 freshmen. That makes 8.

TE - 3
Starter. Back Up. Young grooming (RS) talent.

OT - 6
I will tell you upfront my OL numbers are high. Remember that personal bias I mentioned above. Anyway my thinking here is a starter and back up dedicated on each side. A swing 3rd string that doubles up on both sides and a guy red shirting.

OG - 6
See Ot

C - 3
Starter, back up and RS guy.

Offense Total: 36

DE - 6
Basically my OL philosophy carries over here. A full 3 deep depth chart at each position with only 1 guy doubling up and a RS guy.

DT - 6
When I set up my numbers I was running exclusively 4-3 Defenses. This carried over the same philosophy for my 2 DT spots. I am currently evaluating this and may be tweaking it down to 5.

OLB - 6
You are going to see a trend developing. Dedicated starter and back up for each side. swing for 3rd string on both sides and a RS guy

MLB - 3
Again in 4-3 days this made sense. As Ive experimented with 3-4 I may need to up this number. Worth noting that with 3 MLB you will be using an OLB on your MLB depth chart. My OCD doesnt like this. So I usually cheat my own system and carry 4 here.

CB - 6
This is the same tired argument from me,only its not. In this case when I run Dime I put 4 CBs on the field. this gives me 4 starters a U and a RS

FS - 3
3 deep depth chart, Nuff said.

FS - 3
See FS

Defense Total:33

Offense/Defense Total: 69

Allows me to carry 1 K/P, however in reality Im never perfect here and always have a K and a P. As I said I am now mostly carrying 5 DTs.

[CU Tiger]

Due to the way formatting looks I am going to break this into another post.

2) Roster Overall Thoughts by Position

I go position by position as broken down above and write a quick 1 sentence synopsis. Maybe something like
"Have 6, 1 graduates need 1/ Have 4 good young talent. Need 1 but low priority."
Or
"Have 6, lose none but 1 needs to be upgraded"

I find this invaluable because in season recruiting after a player signs and you suddenly have extra points, its easy to get shiny object syndrome. Or you find that 78 OVR WR and You HAVE to have him. Only when you look back you dont really NEED a WR but by contrast you dont have a starting C next year and none on your board. It helps keep me focused.

3) Lowest Common Denominator

This is pretty simple. I have a small grid with positions broke down and I list the lowest OVR by position. This allows a nice quick historical trending glance to see if I am improving my overall roster talent. Plus it allows me to make a quick go/no go decision on an interested player who doesnt fit my needs.

If a recruit is available that is better (OVR) than a player already on my roster I will always take him and make room for him. Given the +5 OVR annual bump it means he improve my overall talent regardless of individual attributes.

4) Needs and score brackets.

Next I make a list (before ever looking at available prospects) of what positions I intend to recruit, based on my position ideals above and graduating seniors. I never count on early losses unless they are obvious. Next beside each player I list the current OVR range of all projected returning players at the position. The idea here is I need to see if a player I am recruiting really fits into my roster. If I am looking at a WR who is a 63 for example and my 7 other returning WR will not be graduating and are 75-91..well it is doubtful that 63 will ever play. If he is the best I can do I might as well spend the scholarship somewhere else this year as it will be wasted here.

5) Weekly point tracking.

Next I set up my board by position and track my standing and the points I spend on each recruit. It is amazing the game throws out some really bad data. There are times when you will close 200 points but it will only say 50. There are some other hidden tells I've learned through this.

I will be limited in what I share here (in season) as it will directly effect my recruiting strategy but I will share one neat tip Ive found. CPU teams dont notice when you start recruiting a player. They do notice when you offer a player. So when you find that gem mid season that you trail by 2500...then you throw points at them and see yourself climb 600 the first week. If you keep the steady pressure you can take the lead and pull away without ever waking the sleeping giant. However if you offer now and try to get the quick point bump, the CPU will respond. Every. Time. and you will be in a dog fight. If you are in a big bonus deficit you will have no chance at this point. Likewise you can make a recruit sign with another tea through this same strategy. If you are watching closely enough and see a human closing on a player the CPU leads for and you cant out gain that human because of bonus points, you can offer the player and "wake" the CPU up to compete against the human on your behalf. The game within the game if you will.

Anyway hope any of this is useful and it will all start to make more sense as I post real data as the season advances.

Note the order above is not necessarily the order I'll be posting as, for example 1 & 2 create 4.

[Kodos]

Interesting stuff, CU. I download my roster from the website, then remove the seniors. From there, I mark roster spots that I want to fill in the current recruiting year. I'll highlight guys that I'd like to replace. You mentioned some interesting things that I may incorporate into my recruiting habits. Honestly, recruiting is an area where I could stand to improve my methods some. My classes tend to come together late, and I sometimes neglect a position group. For example, my o-line in the Pyramid is pretty thin right now because I was chasing skill position players. I'm trying to focus my efforts a bit more on guys who I get decent point totals for each week.

[CU Tiger]

Well we ushered the teams out of the meeting rooms and broke out the white boards and ipads and headed out for our coaches' excursion to the islands to prepare for the coming season.

Pre Season Position Summary
QB 3 players. None graduate. 3rd string should never play. No need til next year. Take a gimme.
HB Have 4. Lose 1. No real need but take a gimme. Take must have 90+ speed
FB Have 2. Lose 1. BU is SO and good. Need 1 this year or next. On board but very low priority.
WR Have 9. Lose 2. Need 1. Could use some upgrades near bottom of board.
TE Have 2. Lose 1. Have a 78 True Freshman future. Need another body.
OT Have 6 lose none. No need.
OG Have 6. Lose none. No need. Starters are all SO.
OC Have 2. 1 Graduates. Need 1 or 2 even.
DE Have 6. Lose none. All young only studs.
DT Have 6. Lose 2. Need 2
OLB Have 5. Lose none. Need 1 or more if upgrade.
MLB Have 3. Lose 1. Need 1.
CB Have 7. Lose 1. No need STRENGTH.
FS Have 4. Lose none. No need. Low talent on bottom.
SS Have 3. Lose 1. Need 1.
K Have 1. Freshman.
P Have 1 time to find replacement.

While sipping our fruity drinks by the pool after everyone had presented their takes we bgean to assemble our recruiting board.

[CU Tiger]

Next we take a deep dive into our current talent pool.

QB HB FB WR TE OT OG C
71 79 78 68 78 70 69 76 P
DE DT OLB MLB CB FS SS K 86
74 73 68 73 75 69 78 84

These values represent the lowest OVR rating of a player who will return next season.

It seems apparent that we are disproportionately talent poor at OG, OT, OLB, and FS.

Wr is discounted because while I have 2 low rated players they are role players. Both of my 69 WRs are 95+ Speed guys who will run 1 or 2 routes in my system.

So if a OT, OG OLB or FS shows interest we will recruit him as a talent upgrade.

[CU Tiger]

BTW I've got to improve on formatting here as this looks much nicer in my spreadsheet but it will work for now and we will grow and improve as we can.

This season is kind of a shame, on the heels of our first title we have a plethora of young offensive skill guys who would like to jump in the fold, however we are stocked full with little room for them.

In contrast on Defense we have a real need at DT and OLB.

DT is one of those positions where demand exceeds supply every year, and this year is no different. We have a couple of good looking young bucks in our cross hairs but looking at the competition we will have to go the distance to land them both most likely. Having to commit to 15 weeks of 1400 points allocated to DT, will likely hurt our overall class.

OLB is a different story. I look for something different here. It is rare that I have ever been in a recruiting war with another human for OLB, Part of this is scheme and part of it is my refusal to convert CB to OLB and even DE which is so predominant in online leagues.

WR we will add a few bodies but that is an area, in stark contrast to DL, where there is never a shortage of supply. I wont get into a bidding war for a WR.

So this is our mindset as we approach the initial recruiting board. Now back to our drinks.

[Kodos]

If you use the code tags, things will line up.

QB	HB	FB	WR	TE	OT	OG	C	
71	79	78	68	78	70	69	76	P
DE	DT	OLB	MLB	CB	FS	SS	K	86
74	73	68	73	75	69	78	84	

[Kodos]

Too bad this died. I was enjoying this thread.

[CU Tiger]

They didn't die...don't worry.

I cant really post weekly recruiting thoughts in season as it would be a competitive disadvantage and the boosters would get mad at me.

However I have been writing a summary every week and will be posting all of them after signing day.

[Kodos]

Cool. I just lost out on a 4-star athlete QB named Junior Adams to Troy. We'd been chipping into their lead after getting in on him late and we were only about 100 points behind. Everyone else was locked out. They had a visit last week, then it'd be our turn this week. I was SURE he was ours. Their lead was pretty much gone. But the dude committed to them. Bastard! He was going to be a stud.