Unfortunately it looks like we have indeed missed on some late prospects that could have boosted up this class.
I know Tommy will put a good spin on it. And I realize that our staff seem to be better evaluators of talent than the rivals/scout people, and most of the other college staffs, and that Tommy seems to get more out of less on the field. But it is disappointing that after 3 straight winning seasons and bowl games that we have lost the battle for several recruits to teams at our same level. I thought we had moved beyond that, to the position where we'd start snagging a few of the big time players away from the BCS schools, not just fighting to snag the second tier players away from our fellow conference schools.
Good thing it is such a small class.
ChattTiger Wrote:Unfortunately it looks like we have indeed missed on some late prospects that could have boosted up this class.
I know Tommy will put a good spin on it. And I realize that our staff seem to be better evaluators of talent than the rivals/scout people, and most of the other college staffs, and that Tommy seems to get more out of less on the field. But it is disappointing that after 3 straight winning seasons and bowl games that we have lost the battle for several recruits to teams at our same level. I thought we had moved beyond that, to the position where we'd start snagging a few of the big time players away from the BCS schools, not just fighting to snag the second tier players away from our fellow conference schools.
Good thing it is such a small class.
I hear you brother. It is disappointing to lose recruits to USM, but I can at least understand it given the ones we lost were in their "backyard". What alarms me is how well UAB did this year...their class blew ours away. ECU also appears to have done considereably better. I'm guessing we rank near the bottom of our conference.
I think it's time to evaluate the situation. Maybe our staff as a whole (not including TW) is not as good a recruting staff as we thought. Maybe we should take the occasional chance on a recruit with marginal grades. I know we still have issues with facilities.
And for those koolaid drinkers who will immediately start their bashing of this post, there is no bigger Tiger fan out there than me so you stop that nonsense before it starts.
TigersRuleAll Wrote:And for those koolaid drinkers who will immediately start their bashing of this post, there is no bigger Tiger fan out there than me so you stop that nonsense before it starts.
No bashing here. This is the second straight class where we were way behind in the number of commitments that others had and we were told to be patient. For the very nice classes of 2002, 2003, 2004, we had a steady stream of verbals without the delays.
Not a bad class we have, but we obviously have not capitalized on the success of the last three seasons.
DOES JOE LEE DUNN HELP OUR CASE
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I hear you brother. It is disappointing to lose recruits to USM, but I can at least understand it given the ones we lost were in their "backyard". What alarms me is how well UAB did this year...their class blew ours away. ECU also appears to have done considereably better. I'm guessing we rank near the bottom of our conference.
I think it's time to evaluate the situation. Maybe our staff as a whole (not including TW) is not as good a recruting staff as we thought. Maybe we should take the occasional chance on a recruit with marginal grades. I know we still have issues with facilities
I don't get it...how do you guys think our class is below those other schools? Rivals? Scout?
We got some great talent...it is a smaller class...it had to be...and Tommy and his staff has proven that their classes (with lower ranked players than we have gotten so far this year, mind you) show up on gameday -
Bottom line is that I trust Tommy and the coaching staff more than I trust any ranking service...
sure there are some players we wished we had gotten, but overall we are getting better players top to bottom than ever before.
actually, on paper I think we are only behind UAB, UCF, and USM as far as the conference goes. ECU has a much larger class, but no 4/5 star players.
at least UAB isn't our competition for nBE expansion like ECU/UCF are.
Memphus01 Wrote:Bottom line is that I trust Tommy and the coaching staff more than I trust any ranking service...
sure there are some players we wished we had gotten, but overall we are getting better players top to bottom than ever before.
no, not really. what we are getting is players who, while they may not be as talented coming out of high school, are able to actually make it onto campus and remain eligible. They then are redshirted a year, take a year or two after that to make it on the field. so essentially, they are Juco type players who have the benefit of having been in our system for 2 or 3 years, so it is easier to plug them in and have them be effective.
From Rivals:
2004
Greg Hinds ATH 6-2 220 4.5 5.9 Southaven, MS ****
Brandon Patterson DB 6-1 175 - 5.0 Germantown, TN **
Rod Smith DB 6-1 200 4.6 - Milan, TN **
Earnest Williams WR 6-0 170 4.5 5.4 Alamo, TN **
Ryan Williams DT 6-2 280 4.9 5.3 Memphis, TN **
Heath Grant LB 6-2 215 4.7 5.1 Starkville, **
Maurice Jones WR 6-2 185 - - Memphis, TN **
of this list from the 2004 class Hinds was regarded by all to be the best player we got that year....
and while I think he is really good...all those two star recruits below him have proved they can play at a pretty high level as well...
so if you look at rivals that class was all two star players...with a handful of 3 stars and one four star...
but all those 2 stars are playing like 3-4 stars in our system...
Thanks Memphus! That was a great look back at what lots were saying at the time was a bust of a class.
Two stars basically equals, "We don't know jack about this player, but he signed with a I-A school."
The "we're doomed" chatter every year is beginning to get tiring. We're getting guys like Calhoun, Malouf, Bowens, Govan, and Longstreet... I don't care what our recruiting classes are ranked by third-party sites designed with profit in mind, I care about the results on the field. We've gone to three straight bowls.
Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
2002: 60
2003: 72
2004: 62
2005: 87
Blake Butler, Tavares Gideon, Tim Goodwell, Mario Pratcher, Wesley Smith, Heath Grant, Will Hudgens, Carlton Robinzine, Earnest Williams, Antonio McCoy, Maurice Jones, Brandon Pearce, Brett Russell, Ryan Williams... can anyone guess what they have in common?
Psicosis Wrote:Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
They certainly do. I think they definitley know how to evaluate talent. That's why I'm concerned that a large number of guys that were targeted by the staff have decided to play elsewhere.
3601 Wrote:Psicosis Wrote:Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
They certainly do. I think they definitley know how to evaluate talent. That's why I'm concerned that a large number of guys that were targeted by the staff have decided to play elsewhere.
We only have so many scholarships, you know. Some of the people we recruit are always going to end up somewhere else. EVERYONE loses recruiting battles.
Aside from LT Walker, I see most of our top priorities (Govan, Calhoun, and Malouf, for instance) on board.
Psicosis Wrote:Two stars basically equals, "We don't know jack about this player, but he signed with a I-A school."
The "we're doomed" chatter every year is beginning to get tiring. We're getting guys like Calhoun, Malouf, Bowens, Govan, and Longstreet... I don't care what our recruiting classes are ranked by third-party sites designed with profit in mind, I care about the results on the field. We've gone to three straight bowls.
Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
Gee...I really wish I had written that.
Y'all win. This is a GREAT recruiting class. I've never seen better.
Psicosis Wrote:3601 Wrote:Psicosis Wrote:Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
They certainly do. I think they definitley know how to evaluate talent. That's why I'm concerned that a large number of guys that were targeted by the staff have decided to play elsewhere.
We only have so many scholarships, you know. Some of the people we recruit are always going to end up somewhere else. EVERYONE loses recruiting battles.
Aside from LT Walker, I see most of our top priorities (Govan, Calhoun, and Malouf, for instance) on board.
With recruiting classes like this we can continue to win and we can continue to go to bowls. However, if we want to go to the Liberty Bowl we need a little better.
3601 Wrote:Y'all win. This is a GREAT recruiting class. I've never seen better.
Sarcasm aside, 2002 was better. 2003 was worse.
3601 Wrote:Psicosis Wrote:3601 Wrote:Psicosis Wrote:Call me crazy, but I think Tommy and crew MAY know what they're doing.
They certainly do. I think they definitley know how to evaluate talent. That's why I'm concerned that a large number of guys that were targeted by the staff have decided to play elsewhere.
We only have so many scholarships, you know. Some of the people we recruit are always going to end up somewhere else. EVERYONE loses recruiting battles.
Aside from LT Walker, I see most of our top priorities (Govan, Calhoun, and Malouf, for instance) on board.
With recruiting classes like this we can continue to win and we can continue to go to bowls. However, if we want to go to the Liberty Bowl we need a little better.
3601 not trying to bash here but,
How many of these kids have you seen play? How many will you have to interact with over the next 4 to 5 years? Dont worry about stars. Stars dont measure a kids attitude or if he can even make it in school. I see numerous long term upgrades in this class. We have the QB of the future and two tall talented wideouts for him to throw too. A big center the sleeper of the class. A kicker that could kick for 4 years. A bunch of big and SMART Dbs and LBs that we needed. We didnt need an impact QB we have one waiting(Hankins). We didnt need a superstar running back we have three waiting to play( Doss, Pitts and Barnes). We have 9 good Olinemen and the deepest Dline in 5 years. We did miss on 3 D linemen I know we wanted. Gray, Walker and Jones. and Smith the LB, But add in Mills and Brown and Rochette from last year and that is a wash. We needed a K ,Dbs, and Lbs more than any other position.
It sounds like we got some players that have the potential to be much better than rated. I would include in that Calhoun (sounds like he could truly be special), the center, and even Bowens and Govan. This may not appear to be an exciting class at this point, but I like the potential and think we will be very happy with them in a couple of years. Maybe sooner for some like Duke.
MemphisMojo Wrote:What if I told you a certain 5 star qb making noise just south of here could have come here
I would tell you to put down the crack pipe. There is no way in hell that Schaffer wanted to come here and we turned him down.