We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

[thesportsguru11]

A look back at the 2016 UConn Recruiting Class

UConn Huskies Recruiting - 2016
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Josh Parrish	G	HS	Wallingford, CT	6'3	261
Tim Duchane	LB	HS	Bethesda, MD	6'2	239
Jeff McNeal	ATH	HS	Belton, SC	6'1	179
Rashad Harris	WR	HS	Hendersonville, TN	5'11	176
Kevin Lacey	WR	HS	Holdenville, OK	6'1	202
Trent Ginn	T	HS	Braintree, MA	6'8	256
Brantell Webb	T	HS	Norwich, CT	6'6	327
Jake Crowder	CB	HS	Kearny, NJ	6'0	185
Quintin Harrell	DE	JUCO Jr	Waterbury, CT	6'4	249
Brent Howard	DT	HS	Northview, OH	6'1	302
Willie Chase	LB	HS	Atlantic City, NJ	6'2	204
Tashawn Coleman	LB	HS	Hesperia, CA	6'0	204
Sammie Leonard	LB	HS	Hyattsville, MD	6'4	236
Travis Lumpkin	CB	JUCO Jr	Redland, MD	6'3	175

Today, as we bid farewell to the class of 2020, we stop and take a look back at the UConn recruiting class of 2016, with most of its members graduating as part of this year's bunch.

The 2016 class was ranked a pedestrian 68th. However, many had bigger impacts than their initial ratings indicated, and there were no true busts, meaning this class had more value than the 68th best ranking gave credit for.

A select few became key members of the national title run of 2017 and many of these names were starters on this year’s playoff team. And.. a few left in a huff. But that’s a story for another time.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane by re-evaluating the 2016 recruiting class for UConn, with a career recap for each prospect and a grade of their success level at UConn.



OL Josh Parrish

A four year starter, Parrish eventually moved from guard to tackle. Nevertheless, he was all-league candidate every year and was the rock on the offensive line for a long time. He was a fourth round draft pick last spring. Parrish lived up to his four star billing, without a doubt.

Grade: A


LB Tim Duchane
Career Stats: 132 tackles (21 for loss), 3 sacks, INT

It took a long time for Duchane to gain traction in the linebacking race (and actually didn’t play the Tennessee game as a coach’s decision), but came on strong late in his fifth season. Nevertheless, his “grade” suffers from the fact that he barely saw the field until his redshirt junior year, and didn’t gain a full-time starting job until the third week of his senior year.

Grade:B-


ATH Jeff McNeal
Career Stats: 134 rush, 589 yards, 3 TD, 76 rec, 1249 yards, 7 TD, 15 tackles, 3 INT, defensive TD

I personally hyped up McNeal probably way too much when he was being recruited, but deservedly so. With his speed and size, I thought McNeal would be the running back of the future.. Back when I had no faith whatsoever in Josh Marriner. McNeal, after acting in super utility early in his career, finally appeared poised to take his running back job in 2019. However, he left injured in the season opener against Illinois and lost his job by the time he returned. McNeal did find a home as a third down back for us this year and as one of our slot/split end receivers and as our return man. While he wasn’t a superstar, he definitely made an impact at UConn.

Grade: B

WR Rashad Harris
Career Stats: 160 rec, 2882 yards, 25 TD

Harris kind of appeared out of nowhere in 2019. Then a junior, Harris was tasked as the #1 wideout following graduations of Damon Mitchell and Jon Haden. Harris shone in 2019 and 2020, tallying over 2500 yards while becoming UConn’s all-time leading touchdown catcher. Plus..he has a play named after him. You know you’re good when…

If UConn didn’t focus so much on the run game, Harris could’ve been UConn’s greatest receiver of all-time. The Tennessee native has a bright future in the NFL and I am really excited to continue to track his progress.
Grade: A

WR Kevin Lacey
Career Stats: 54 rec, 734 yards, 7 TD

A lesser offensive recruit in 2016, Oklahoma native Lacey may be most notable for beginning UConn’s pipeline into Big 12 territory, which has now produced stars such as J.P. Byers, also from Oklahoma. It took Lacey about four years to hit the field, but was capable when he played. Lacey worked alongside Jeff McNeal out of the slot primarily as a senior, and played well in his role, catching 42 balls for over 600 yards and six scores.

Grade: C+


OT Trent Ginn

A Massachusetts native, Ginn won the starting right tackle job as a redshirt junior in 2019. Very streaky player who could play like an All-American one game and a JV player the next. He led the team in sacks given up in 2020, but somehow still garnered All-Big 12 honors last year. Though I call bull.

Grade: C+


OT Brantell Webb

Trapped behind Ginn for a lot of his career, Webb moved inside to right guard as a redshirt senior and played quite well. Much like Duchane, however, his grade suffers because it took a long time to develop into that.

Grade: C+


CB Jake Crowder
Career Stats: 80 tackles (4 TFL), 1 sack, 8 INT

Oy vey. Where do we start here. Crowder toiled on the scout team for a couple seasons until emerging out of nowhere in 2019 to tally 8 INT’s and garner All-American honors. Expected to team with Shavlion Wade as a good corner duo in 2020, Crowder struggled mightily in spring practice, and it carried over in game-play as he got torched for 10 catches and at least 100 yards by both of his assignments in the opening two weeks. Wade outshone Crowder quickly, and then Crowder got benched after the Michigan game and left the team after a spat with Coach Diaco in September. It’s hard to grade a player like this, but as I see it, he had zero career INT's outside of 2019. He had one good year and that’s it.

Grade: C+

DE Quintin Harrell (JUCO)
Career Stats: 76 tackles (27 for loss), 10 sacks, 4 INT

Harrell was one of the early superstars of our dynasty, alongside names like Deshon Foxx, Geremy Davis, Jefferson Ashiru and “Maquise” DeLorenzo. Harrell was a jack of all trades at UConn. He walked in in 2016 and won the starting defensive end job, garnering all-conference honors. When he got pushed out of the rotation by mega-freshman Sam Rourke, Harrell moved to linebacker and thrived, showing impressive hands and edge rushing skills for someone who was 6’4 and 249 (though he looked a lot bigger). The Sportsman Award was named in his honor for being a great teammate who was willing to accept any role given to him, ensuring his legacy at UConn will remain. This grade may be more sentimental than anything else, but I think Harrell played well enough to deserve it.

Grade: A-


DT Brent Howard
Career Stats: 40 tackles (16 for loss), 7 sacks

Depth issues squeezed Howard onto the bench until his fifth year, but Howard still made the most of his opportunities and played well as a serviceable starting nose tackle in the 3-4. Also won the aforementioned Harrell Sportsman Award in 2020.

Grade: B-


LB Willie Chase
Career Stats: 2 tackles

Never saw the field much and eventually grad transferred back to New Jersey to play for Rutgers.

Grade: D


LB Tashawn Coleman
Career Stats: 32 tackles (5 for loss), sack

Same as the above.. Though Coleman actually did start a few games in 2018 and 2019. However, Coleman was slow and not good in coverage. With Marcus Bradford and Tim Duchane firmly entrenched as starters in the middle, Coleman left as a grad transfer for San Jose State last year and tallied 66 tackles and two sacks. Good on him, but that doesn’t affect his grade at UConn.

Grade: D


LB Sammie Leonard
Career Stats: 230 tackles (54 for loss), 18 sacks, 2 INT, other various forced fumbles and recoveries

Leonard will go down as one of the most underrated players in dynasty history. Everyone remembers Sam Rourke and his 78 TFL’s, but few will notice that Leonard finished his career with 54 TFL’s, coming in second all-time at UConn behind Rourke. Leonard was a two or three year starter depending on how you look at it, but contributed in all four of his years as an active player, be it on special teams or in the base 3-4, where was a fantastic edge rusher alongside John Cox. A two-star prospect, Leonard played much bigger than his rating ever indicated. He probably won’t stick in the NFL, but here’s hoping. I think he’s good enough.

Grade: A


CB Travis Lumpkin (JUCO)
Career Stats: 70 tackles (6 for loss), sack, 5 INT

Another player who gave me headaches for a long time. After redshirting in 2016, Lumpkin was slotted as the slot corner in 2017. And he was horrendous in that role. I hoped that by moving him to the outside in 2018 would provide better results, and Lumpkin did play better. However, there would be plenty of moments where he got burned or just looked lost on defense. Coming in with a 76 overall rating plus the extra redshirt year to develop, Lumpkin disappointed me.

Grade: C

Quote: Originally Posted by whughes

I wish nothing but the best for TDL going forward. Although he never quite lived up to his expectations he looked to be poised to have a great season this past year until he got injured. It'll be interesting to see how he does under Coach Shea. Id love to get a player of his caliber at CMU, it might be enough to push us over the edge

TDL is going to fit well with Coach Shea.. believe it or not, TDL was the best running QB we had on the team.. Shea runs a spread option attack so his talents are probably going to be well-utilized. Beyond that, Shea has a good track record with QB's of TDL's caliber. Brad Ewing was the QB in 2019 and he was a Heisman finalist, while Miles was an All-American and national award winner last season.

How TDL does is going to be a nice wake-up call for us.. The last time a talented QB left us, D-Ham set the world on fire at Old Dominion. We're going to learn more about his future soon.

But I must say.. It'd be some kind of cosmic karma if TDL leads USC to the playoff or a national championship. I would feel very apoplectic.


---

CMU actually does have a player of that caliber, surprisingly. I erred in the season recap by saying that Paul O'Toole graduates for you this year.. that is incorrect apparently, as he showed up in the editor as still part of your team now that I am at the Cut Players screen. Further, he's 93 overall. I guess we'll see what happens!

That doesn't rule out, say a star running back or a good wide receiver from using a grad transfer into CMU, however.

[orlegend0208]

Love that last write up! I've always loved revisiting recruiting classes to see if guys lived up to their star rating/potential.

[thesportsguru11]

New Dominion

College Football world flips finger on UConn as former washout Hamilton completes meteoric ascension, declares for NFL Draft

Somebody out there hates Bob Diaco. Or so I’m led to believe.

Two years after drinking and crashing himself (literally) out of UConn, former quarterback of the future David Hamilton (95 OVR) has completed his ascent to the forefront of college football. Just not in a UConn uniform, as some of us may have once predicted.

Hamilton, then a true sophomore, parted ways with UConn in December 2018 and washed up at Old Dominion, where he redshirted the 2019 season because of NCAA transfer rules. As such, Hamilton was first eligible to play for Coach James Coley’s Monarchs this fall. And did he ever shine. Leading the Monarchs to a 12-2 record, a Conference USA championship and a Liberty Bowl win over Texas A&M, Hamilton completed 291 of his passes for 3,903 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2020, ranking second in the nation in each category. D-Ham was a unanimous first team All-Conference USA selection and an honorable mention All-American. Now, having had his fifteen minutes of fame in Norfolk, Hamilton has announced his intentions to go pro, forgoing his fifth and final year of eligibility.

Hamilton is projected as a mid-round prospect.

For those unfamiliar with why we’re reporting on a random quarterback from Old Dominion.. Hamilton was recruited out of Maryland in the same recruiting class as Isaac Jackson in 2017. Hamilton was viewed as the better prospect and immediately gained the backup quarterback job as a true freshman in 2017, spotting Bryant Shirreffs in garbage time. Expected to be the starter in 2018 after Shirreffs graduated, Hamilton got himself suspended for the opening half of the season opener at Boise State for showing up to a team meeting late and drunk in February. D-Ham guided the comeback win in Boise and played very well early, as was expected. However, his play started to decline a bit before ultimately tearing his rotator cuff in UConn’s win over Oklahoma State in October. As it turned out, that would be the last time we saw D-Ham in a UConn uniform. Hamilton was involved in a car crash in December 2018 while under the influence, and Coach Diaco promptly kicked him off the team.

While he may have busted out of UConn.. He sure as hell found his calling elsewhere. And we’re sure as hell going to follow his path in the NFL.

Other Noteworthy Early Declarees:

LB Eric Jamison - 93 OVR - rJR - USC
TE Marcello Stevenson - 92 OVR - rJR - Alabama
LB Bryce Sintez - 92 OVR - rJR - Alabama
RB Anthony Beach - 92 OVR - rJR - Oregon State
S Skylar Drexler - 91 OVR - rSO - Notre Dame
LB Michael Gross - 91 OVR - rJR - Michigan
WR Deon Huff - 91 OVR - rJR - Notre Dame
WR Chris Broussard - 91 OVR - rJR - Stanford
S Samson Newby - 91 OVR - JR - Auburn
WR Andrew Chingon - 90 OVR - JR - Florida
WR Ty Haley - 90 OVR - JR - Notre Dame
DE Trevor Gates - 90 OVR - rJR - Tennessee
LT James Colvin - 90 OVR - rJR - USC
LB Carlton Rollins - 89 OVR - rJR - Oklahoma
WR Victor Wheatley - 89 OVR - JR - Ole Miss
LT Carnell McCoy - 88 OVR - rJR - Oklahoma
RT John Retonzes - 88 OVR - JR - USC

------------------------

Nelly wants more, returning to Oregon for senior year

In a move that will stun (and disappoint) everyone in the football world, everyone's favorite annoying a-hole isn't going anywhere. Oregon’s star quarterback Se’Nelquez “Nelly” DeWeaver (progressed to 99 OVR) has announced his intention to stay in school for his senior season. Despite winning a national title and looking likely to be a first round pick right now, DeWeaver wants to try for the shot at defending Oregon's national title, upping his draft stock preferrably to #1 overall and winning the Heisman Trophy.

Quote:

I haven’t won the Heisman yet, right? I haven’t proven myself as the best ever yet, right? Well then I’ll come back to prove it. Let’s go. Quack quack.

Nelly figures to be a Heisman favorite entering 2021, along with running backs Luke Williamson from UConn and Braylon Norton from Auburn. Nelly figures as well to be the top quarterback available for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Alas... Oh my. One more year of blinding egotism. I hope we see this kid again.

------------------------

Quote: Originally Posted by orlegend0208

Love that last write up! I've always loved revisiting recruiting classes to see if guys lived up to their star rating/potential.

This is the second such post I've done in this dynasty.. frankly it's not something I've done before (off-site or not) but it's been really enjoyable.. you're absolutely right.

It's scary looking back because I remember recruiting some of these kids.. this was over two years ago now in real time.

I remember all the hype I placed on Jeff McNeal, and I remember thinking that these lower ranked kids named Rashad Harris and Sammie Leonard were never going to turn into anything.. both have been massively impactful in their time here. And now everyone's graduating! This is the second recruiting class I put together in this dynasty.. It's so rewarding to look back.

In the next couple seasons, when we look at upcoming recruiting class reviews we'll see the stars of the present such as Luke Williamson and Shav Wade. Neither were blue chip prospects either.. It will be well worth it to give them A+ recruiting grades, to say the least.

[thesportsguru11]

Author's Note: I owe the molotov cocktail line later in this post to this article.. I thought it was pure genius.

I haven't done a storyline post like this.. in a long time. Maybe not even in this dynasty before. While it's been mostly news articles, I don't do much in terms of story dialogue stuff anymore. But I had a jolt of inspiration and now seems like a good time to try it out. This should make a lot more sense soon. Here we go!

Diaco, Valentine have meeting; Transcript

Quote:

Diaco: I just want to know why you want to do this [move to the ACC]. We have a great TV deal right now, we’re in a good position right now. Valentine: I think the opportunities are better in the ACC. Close geographically, Notre Dame is likely coming in with their huge NBC TV deal. I have a good relationship with ESPN. The Big 12 doesn’t have that affiliation.. Diaco: Fox, Bobby. Fox broadcasts most of our games. And NBC and ESPN have absolutely no relationship with one another. Valentine: Who cares!? We could make TV history if we make a relationship. ABC, ESPN, NBC working together.. we'd be unstoppable! The ACC, and in turn us, would be at the forefront of college football. Notre Dame is going to make this whole thing go around, but only if we buy in. This is a good thing. Diaco: No. It’s not. The only good thing you’re saying right now is more money. I don't care about money. I'm worried about the fantastic relationship with [Bob] Bowlsby [Big 12 Commish] that you're about to piss away. He helped us immensely to get here and I want to stay loyal to them. They praise us for the fact we’re bringing in fans and revenue way out east. We're expanding their market. Same goes with West Virginia. Valentine: What about travel times, Bob. Do you not remember Oklahoma? You guys looked jetlagg-- Diaco: NO. We played like a molotov cocktail of ugliness that day. Travel had nothing to do with it. We're playing good teams, and that's what I care about. I will not let you break this up. I paved the way for you to even come close to sniffing this job. Warde and I pushed this program to new heights.. Unfortunately he left for a better opportunit-- Valentine: Opportunity. Yes. Which is what we’ll have more of in the ACC. Warde is gone. I am here now. Diaco: More opportunity for what? Playing BC every year? We're already doing that. Saving the goddamned ACC from going extinct? They turned us away multiple times, and only came knocking on your door now because they are so beyond desperate.. Two playoff teams in seven years. They knew you’d be stupid about it, like usual, so they came calling you. They didn’t realize what they could’ve had way back then. This is only your second year here.. I’ve seen way more than you have and I’m telling you, straight up, this is a garbage deal. Valentine: The fact that you've seen more gives you the authority to talk down to me? Diaco: You have no sense of what the word leadership actually means. Valentine: This university hired me for a reason. Diaco: Not a very good one. I wanted to do this job, or at the very least get Brad Edwards [George Mason A.D.] in here, but they couldn’t do that. No, we have to make a splash, whatever that means. We won a national title, there is no splash to be made here! Splashes are for universities down on their luck. Get the worst leader in sports history up here... Fired in one year by the Red Sox because everyone hated you. Valentine: My managerial experience is completely separate from my ability to run an athletic department, which I have done before and have done well at before. Diaco: Yeah at puny Sacred Heart. They worshipped the ground you walked on just because your name alone put them on the map. You make me sick. Valentine: Likewise. I’m in the leadership position here. Let me do my thing. You worry about controlling your players. Diaco: I’m not having that argument. Valentine: The facts speak for themselves. You had two players leave the team this year. Diaco: Who were distractions. I tried to work with them, but they didn't want it. These were two senior starters.. we still nearly won the national title without them. If you can’t appreciate what I’m doing here as coach, where we're at now compared to before I came.. You don’t understand anything at.. *phone vibration*... Hang on just a sec. Valentine: Don’t you dare answer that phone -- you are in a ****ing meeting Bob! Diaco: Hello? … oh hi Shad, I’m doing fine. 4:00 tomorrow? Sure thing. I’ll be there. I'm suddenly available. Valentine: What the **** are you doing? Diaco: Bobby. I’m out.

[BookWork123]

Well.......I don't know how to respond other than I saw it coming...gonna be interesting to see who UConn goes with next...


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[young22]

So he's gone... this season will be an interesting one. Hopefully y'all can whoop Nelly's *** this year.

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[bryan3169]

Uh-oh?! Good god what dimwit move with Bobby V make if Diaco does officially jump to the NFL or another program. You know he's gonna bring in a dimwit


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[thesportsguru11]

Quote: Originally Posted by BookWork123

Well.......I don't know how to respond other than I saw it coming...gonna be interesting to see who UConn goes with next...

Sadly you aren't the only one. I had envisioned doing this a little more abruptly.. but I built up the story throughout the year and it made sense to draw to a crescendo like I did.

I'm looking forward to seeing who exactly we can get.. the Coach Carousel is quite weak this year and there aren't a lot of big name guys available. We'll take a look at this in the next post.

Quote: Originally Posted by young22

So he's gone... this season will be an interesting one. Hopefully y'all can whoop Nelly's *** this year.

Yeah, you're right.. if it wasn't interesting enough breaking in a bunch of new starters, it really will be interesting now that we're likely headed out of the Big 12 and finding a new head coach.

I want Oregon so badly.. you don't even know. I think a rematch this season would be the most anticipated game in the dynasty's history.. moreso than the first or second playoff runs, or anything else.

Quote: Originally Posted by bryan3169

Uh-oh?! Good god what dimwit move with Bobby V make if Diaco does officially jump to the NFL or another program. You know he's gonna bring in a dimwit.

Bobby V has his own master plan.. hey good on him but you're absolutely right. Because he was worried about his own legacy, he forced out the heartbeat of UConn football, the most successful coach the school has ever known. Just because they couldn't agree. There are a couple names I have on my list for the next post who will be "total Bobby V hires".. we'll see if any of those come to fruition.

For his sake, I hope the new head coach works out. Or else it's . For a long time.