I would give this ODU recruiting class a strong "A". It is ranked by 247Sports as the second best class in C-USA behind only Marshall. Counting the early signees who are already in class, the Monarchs signed 31 of 32 commits with 14 three-star recruits signed. A 15th three-star is a California JUCO offensive lineman who did not sign and is reportedly wavering while considering an offer from Arizona State. I suspect we will know his decision sometime tomorrow.

There is considerable help on defense and considerable speed across the board. The one QB who signed was the two-time Gatorade offensive player of the year in South Carolina and was just named as an honorable mention member of the Parade All-American team. For a full look at this class see the article below by Harry Minium in the Virginian-Pilot.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/02/breakdow...ting-class

(02-05-2014 07:04 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Afflicted is no longer worth correcting on the Rice board, but on here..

Tell him about the Easter Bunny.

(02-05-2014 02:20 PM)DxfanMiner Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 02:14 PM)gcp_mineros Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 01:56 PM)DxfanMiner Wrote:  F
as in Fire Kugler.

kthxbye

Geez, one year and it's off to the chopping block... At least give him some time to bring in recruits. Did I fall asleep for a decade of winning or are you a Price supporter? How many winning seasons did UTEP have before Kugler arrived? I think we can spare another 3-4 years before it's time to discuss a change.

1. He had three bowl births and two 8 win seasons..

2. not many but ok...there were more coaches out there with head coaching experience..

3. Id rather not be a doormat in football while teams like La Tech and others can recruit well and we are crap...

1. And zero winning seasons since 2005

2. So he should have declined the offer from Stull because you think there were more qualified candidates willing to accept a low ball offer... I get it now

3. Does anyone want to be a doormat? I'm puzzled that you felt this needed to be stated. I think you want Kugler to fail so that you can say "I told you so" to anyone that will listen.

This post combined with the comments you have made in another thread or two tell me everything I needed to know about your "fandom". If you actually cared as much about the program as you did about your username contest you might be able to set aside your grudge and give the guy a chance to build something. What kind of message would it send to other candidates if our AD cans a coach after 1 or 2 seasons? If you think filling a coaching job and recruiting are subpar now, just imagine what kind of setback it would be if you had your way.

I'm probably on a deserted island when it comes to Kugs, but some of his comments have really irritated me when it comes to UTEP. He seems to throw everyone under the bus. His first outspoken comment midway through last season was against his players, the next week, was against the previous coaching staff, and today, I think he took another stab at the players and previous coaching staff

(02-05-2014 11:16 PM)randaddyminer Wrote:  I'm probably on a deserted island when it comes to Kugs, but some of his comments have really irritated me when it comes to UTEP. He seems to throw everyone under the bus. His first outspoken comment midway through last season was against his players, the next week, was against the previous coaching staff, and today, I think he took another stab at the players and previous coaching staff

His previous comments were interpreted by me as accountability. He holds everyone to the same standard including himself , hence the 3 years to turn it around or I'll walk comment. Price didn't win with his own recruits and left the cupboard bare in some ways that will take a couple years to offset. If he he continues to lose and it is obvious that the loses are a result of coaching then I'll agree with you. It does help your argument that he didn't modify the style and play calling to the players on the team this year but I won't concede that unless he is still trying to ground and pound with finesse players in year 3. You did get me curious though. Time to go watch the press conference.

(02-05-2014 07:04 PM)At Ease Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 06:48 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  I'll give Rice a B+. Most of our recruits committed very early in the process and didn't waver. When they did commit to us, recruiting services knocked them down a "star." They must think that no good athletes would possibly want to play for Rice. Times have changed and we are now taking athletes from P5 schools. There are also several "hidden gems" in this class, as in the past. All these guys could be redshirted, which probably says much more about the state of the program than the quality of the class.

Afflicted is no longer worth correcting on the Rice board, but on here..

To say we're taking athletes away from P5 schools is ridiculous. Few of our recruits had any BCS offers, those that did were lowest level BCS schools, and there's little indication there was any serious competition.

The offer lists of our recruits is fully consistent with their rankings.

The only player to lose a star was our QB commitment, and that had far less to do with committing to Rice than the fact that none of the big schools he camped with over the summer, that earned him recognition from the sites, offered him a scholarship.

This is how they talk to the David Bailiff and CUSA supporters over on the Parliament. Obnoxious, isn't it?

(02-06-2014 01:57 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 07:04 PM)At Ease Wrote:  

(02-05-2014 06:48 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  I'll give Rice a B+. Most of our recruits committed very early in the process and didn't waver. When they did commit to us, recruiting services knocked them down a "star." They must think that no good athletes would possibly want to play for Rice. Times have changed and we are now taking athletes from P5 schools. There are also several "hidden gems" in this class, as in the past. All these guys could be redshirted, which probably says much more about the state of the program than the quality of the class.

Afflicted is no longer worth correcting on the Rice board, but on here..

To say we're taking athletes away from P5 schools is ridiculous. Few of our recruits had any BCS offers, those that did were lowest level BCS schools, and there's little indication there was any serious competition.

The offer lists of our recruits is fully consistent with their rankings.

The only player to lose a star was our QB commitment, and that had far less to do with committing to Rice than the fact that none of the big schools he camped with over the summer, that earned him recognition from the sites, offered him a scholarship.

This is how they talk to the David Bailiff and CUSA supporters over on the Parliament. Obnoxious, isn't it?

Don't know what the problem is between At Ease/Gravy vs. Afflicted, and don't much care. Some truth to both sides.

My opinion is that this group looks a lot like our last 4-5 signing classes, i. e., the guys who won 10 games and a conference championship last year, the guys who were drafted into the NFL last year and the guys going to the combine this year. So maybe it will be OK. Ask me in 2016 or 2017.

You want a grade? Same as all the others: incomplete.

(02-06-2014 01:57 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  This is how they talk to the David Bailiff and CUSA supporters over on the Parliament. Obnoxious, isn't it?

Oh, now you think you represent Bailiff supporters?

(11-26-2011 11:23 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Bailiff and his staff should all be let go, but they'll be back. I'm absolutely convinced that no one at Rice even cares about the football program. No matter what happens on the field, I have a very strong feeling that Bailiff will be allowed to coach out the remainder of his contract.

As our local beat writer Vito put it: "... This will be the year in which rankings suddenly matter again at North Texas."

And to that, I blissfully say, "Woo! Nine 3* commits!"

----

But really, we got everyone we wanted, grey shirts that are there will be fine, and there's scholly room available for Mac's infamously productive/successful walk-on-to-scholarship program.

Like someone mentioned, we pulled in a TON of skill talent on offense. Like four stud recievers, a couple of RBs, and I think three QBs at this point. Which is setting up for a revamp at offense emphasizing a speed to match that which we already have on defense so, hey! Sweet!

----

Tangentially, it was insanely gratifying watching the Seahawks win the Super Bowl because it legitimized the football philosophies we run at UNT under McCarney:

• Quickest/Hardest-hitting Defense
• Stellar Special Teams
• "Pound the Rock" on Offense

I grade the Southern Miss class as a C-. Not bc the quailty of players, bc I think we got some good ones. Not bc of losing 5 of our top recruits in the last 2-3 days. But more so bc we failed to fill our most needed positions with quailty and depth.

We needed at least 3 RBs, we got 2 and one of those is a FB, so really we got 1.
We needed at least 3-4 LBs. We got 3, but 2 of those were added after we lost some recruits in the last few days.
We needed 4-5 OL. We got 3. 2 of them are JUCO transfers. These were two big gets and they will step in and start next year, no doubt. But will be gone in 2 years.

Biggest disappointment to me, Losing Torrence Brown to Penn St. He was going to be a big time DT for us. Oh well.

(02-06-2014 02:58 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(02-06-2014 01:57 AM)Afflicted Wrote:  This is how they talk to the David Bailiff and CUSA supporters over on the Parliament. Obnoxious, isn't it?

Oh, now you think you represent Bailiff supporters?

(11-26-2011 11:23 PM)Afflicted Wrote:  Bailiff and his staff should all be let go, but they'll be back. I'm absolutely convinced that no one at Rice even cares about the football program. No matter what happens on the field, I have a very strong feeling that Bailiff will be allowed to coach out the remainder of his contract.

Good jab. You managed to find one of the few darts I've thrown at Bailiff over the past seven years. Now go back and list all my posts in favor of him...

We had the highest rated class, but I would give it a B-. We needed another JUCO tackle, we lost a LB to USF on signing day.

The class has potential but doesn't measure up to last year's class on paper.