Disagree that late commits are better than decommits, strongly.
Analysis of this recruiting class
- Thread starter bdgan
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Disagree that late commits are better than decommits, strongly.
No but I did expect a little better than what we got. Dioubate, Hamlin, Ferns, Hudson, etc. would have made a big difference. I expected Franklin to be able to sell some DTs and LBs on the prospect of early PT. I would have hoped for more than 3 of the top 15 in PA and for at least 1 or 2 of the top 10 in NJ. I don't blame these misses on the sanctions. Michigan had a couple of losing seasons and that didn't slow down their recruiting (it did last year when they were without a HC).
The good news is that this small class gives us a few more scholarships next year (15+).
I expect PSU to be a top 20 team. Alabama or OSU would consider a 20th ranked class to be a D. Pitt would think it's a B. I think it's a C for PSU.
I will agree that I'm more than a little disappointed in the LB'r signings.
JMO but I think the DL signing were ok to good. I wish we could have kept Dioubate.
Colon is apparently deciding between Miami Ohio and Colorado State (more likely neither). Chavis is a big upgrade
Compare Dwumfour and Shelton's offer list- theres only 1 team different. See if you can figure out why
Dioubate definitely hurts. Jordan played in the UA All American game but 'might be OK.' Got it
The Juco DT (darn, I cannot remember names today) is better than any DT decommit, given our situation at DT. We need someone who can contribute this year. We got that with his commitment.
And Barbir is better than Nordin IMHO, but I admit that that's because I was absolutely sick of the Nordin drama.
So there's at least two.
Maybe that's because we are a 2nd rate program. PSU hasn't been an "elite" program since the late 90's.
Maybe not elite but we still won a lot of games until the Sandusky mess hit the fan.
2005 11 wins
2006 11 wins
2007 9 wins
2008 9 wins
2009 11 wins
2010 7 wins
2011 9 wins (lost last 3 after Joe was fired)
Two B1G titles in those years. A B1G title seems far away right now but I hope I'm wrong.
21 4 star recruits in the last 2 classes. 11 in the previous 3. 2 or more 5 star recruits in the same class for the first time in over a decade. The talent isn't perfect, but it is getting much better.
You can't seriously equate sanctions with losing seasons? It's not just the impact to on field performance, but overcoming the negative perception in the media and lesser informed public at large.
Thrift will not contribute this year. He weighs 260 and wasn't recruited by anyone else. He is by far the lowest ranked recruit on 247 composite.
So you are batting 1.0000% troll posts. You may want to mix it up a bit.
Not trending well?
2 years in a row we finished anywhere from 15 to 19 or so.
That is better than in almost all of the years in Joe's reign
No.... for a PSU team things ARE trending well. Have you paid attention the last 4 years? What do you expect?
Not Thrift, Chavis. 6'3", 295 pounds. 21 years old. I'll take my chances with getting a contribution this year from someone with those credentials over pretty much any high school player.
Chavis wasn't a replacement for Dioubate, Thrift was.
Chavis wasn't the replacement for Dioubate, Thrift was
Well, I'm quite certain you follow this more closely than I do. If you're saying that we possibly could have had Chavis AND Dioubate, then I stand corrected.
I like this class, I think they filled the needs with some nice players.Filling up the roster with scholarship players is progress to me. They've had to rely on so many walk-ons the past few years that any player worth a scholarship is going to help and contribute to the team. It's a team sport and one kid can't single handedly win a game. It's all about the chemistry and cohesion that is instilled by the coaching staff. Now, I believe at least offensively, they removed the weakest link (Donovan), and his complicated scheme that makes kids think to much and not react. I may be in the minority, but I don't think the defense will be as bad as what people think next year. Regardless, the best offense may just be the best defense. Even last years defense would have been so much better if it weren't for the offense making them stay on the field.
As far as the number of 4 star recruits from tOSU, MSU, and MU, what did you really expect? They were clearly the better teams this year and all have been in the playoff conversation recently (Unlike PSU), so who would you pick as a high profile recruit? Then you have the kids that just want to stay home no matter what you try to sell him...nothing anyone can do about that. I won't even get into the negative recruiting since that has been beat into the ground and everyone should already realize why this happened. There was a reason they couldn't keep some of these kids locked down, but I don't blame Franklin solely for that.
The best recruiting all comes down to what happens on the field and I believe this class has strengthened this team. Make it happen on the field, which I think they will, then we won't be on the shorter end of the recruiting stick in the BIG East for to much longer. It's progress in my opinion.
Could you imagine a dominant team on the field combined with Franklin's recruiting ability???
As far as the number of 4 star recruits from tOSU, MSU, and MU, what did you really expect? They were clearly the better teams this year and all have been in the playoff conversation recently (Unlike PSU), so who would you pick as a high profile recruit? Then you have the kids that just want to stay home no matter what you try to sell him...nothing anyone can do about that. I won't even get into the negative recruiting since that has been beat into the ground and everyone should already realize why this happened. There was a reason they couldn't keep some of these kids locked down, but I don't blame Franklin solely for that.
The best recruiting all comes down to what happens on the field and I believe this class has strengthened this team. Make it happen on the field, which I think they will, then we won't be on the shorter end of the recruiting stick in the BIG East for to much longer. It's progress in my opinion.
Could you imagine a dominant team on the field combined with Franklin's recruiting ability???
I think kids stayed away for a few years because they knew PSU wouldn't be able to go to a bowl game or contend for a B1G title due to sanctions. I think that's all in the past.
If kids are still saying away today it's because they don't know the coaches (new OC & DC) they or don't have the confidence that the current staff can turn things around. That's what Michigan experienced the last few years but obviously no longer under Harbaugh. It's Franklin's job to convince kids that PSU will be good enough to compete for a title in a year or two. It's also his job to convince them that he and his assistants are capable of getting them to the next level.
Some of you people are nuts. ESPN has us ranked number 15. There are over 120 FBS teams. At the bare minimum we are a B+. In my mind C+ starts down around 38 where Pitt is at.
The grades for this class won't be available for about 5 years. Just relax and enjoy a cup of "Chill the f*ck out".
Someone elsewhere did the 2 deep from the last 2 classes. Yes LB needs to get addressed, but we have Rivers already for 2017. If you do just a 2 deep from the last 2 classes things are getting better. No other way to put it. 4+ star kids everywhere.
This is a very good recruiting class. Were there disappointments?...sure. However, the end product stands very well on its own merits. Anyone thinking otherwise is delusional.
I think it's all about your perspective.
When you look at who signed today and compare the stars and rankings vs. PSU teams in the past, this class is pretty good. We have some great kids coming in, and a handful of what appears to be elite talent. The class as a whole may not be "blow your mind amazing," but it's good. It's better than average compared to most schools, better than average for PSU historically, and addressed some specific positions of need nicely.
When you look at how this class started, vs. how the last few weeks played out, things look bad. We thought we were headed to a top 10 class, but we didn't close the deal. A lot of our home state talent went elsewhere. Most of our undecided recruits over the last week all went elsewhere. I don't think we won one of those battles and seemingly settled on backup plans to fill those scholarships. Compared to our peers, the other top schools in the Big 10 East killed it. OSU and UM recruited at a "blow your mind amazing" level this year and we did not. MSU seems to be about where we are in terms of recruiting class rankings. These are the teams we have to beat every year to be successful. Each of those teams are already ahead of us on the field (unsurprisingly, due to sanctions), but if you take this year's recruiting rankings at face value it would appear that they will remain ahead of us. To close the gap, perception would say we need to recruit better than them to close that gap more quickly. The class rankings point to that gap widening, not closing. Hence the negativity.
So I think there are positives and negatives. To me it kind of washes out. I'm happy with the class in general. But I'm also disappointed when I think about our strong recruiting start, vs. what actually materialized in the end. Regardless, nothing about recruiting changes the fact that I'll be rooting for every one of the kids that signed today, regardless of their star ranking. And of course recruiting rankings aren't everything. Sure, it's a rough indicator and if you play the odds more stars and higher rankings should equal better performance, but you never know. Maybe we did in fact close the gap on our competition even though the rankings say otherwise.
BTW, I'm a firm believer in "win and they will come." Success on the field will improve future recruiting tremendously. One way around this is to hire a superstar coach such as Harbaugh, that will attract talent regardless.
When you look at who signed today and compare the stars and rankings vs. PSU teams in the past, this class is pretty good. We have some great kids coming in, and a handful of what appears to be elite talent. The class as a whole may not be "blow your mind amazing," but it's good. It's better than average compared to most schools, better than average for PSU historically, and addressed some specific positions of need nicely.
When you look at how this class started, vs. how the last few weeks played out, things look bad. We thought we were headed to a top 10 class, but we didn't close the deal. A lot of our home state talent went elsewhere. Most of our undecided recruits over the last week all went elsewhere. I don't think we won one of those battles and seemingly settled on backup plans to fill those scholarships. Compared to our peers, the other top schools in the Big 10 East killed it. OSU and UM recruited at a "blow your mind amazing" level this year and we did not. MSU seems to be about where we are in terms of recruiting class rankings. These are the teams we have to beat every year to be successful. Each of those teams are already ahead of us on the field (unsurprisingly, due to sanctions), but if you take this year's recruiting rankings at face value it would appear that they will remain ahead of us. To close the gap, perception would say we need to recruit better than them to close that gap more quickly. The class rankings point to that gap widening, not closing. Hence the negativity.
So I think there are positives and negatives. To me it kind of washes out. I'm happy with the class in general. But I'm also disappointed when I think about our strong recruiting start, vs. what actually materialized in the end. Regardless, nothing about recruiting changes the fact that I'll be rooting for every one of the kids that signed today, regardless of their star ranking. And of course recruiting rankings aren't everything. Sure, it's a rough indicator and if you play the odds more stars and higher rankings should equal better performance, but you never know. Maybe we did in fact close the gap on our competition even though the rankings say otherwise.
BTW, I'm a firm believer in "win and they will come." Success on the field will improve future recruiting tremendously. One way around this is to hire a superstar coach such as Harbaugh, that will attract talent regardless.
So true if this were 1986, but it's not. These kids never saw PSU dominate and win MNC's. Most recruits know they had an iconic coach get pissed on and that the program is digging it's way out of a hole. That is the reality of PSU today. I think that is why some here pissing and moaning. They can't wrap their head around that.
They should be able to wrap their head around the fact that PSU has been much better than Pitt for the last several decades and that we have a much better game day atmosphere.
They have. That's why even though Pitt won more games than we did CJF out recruited duzzy.....
But to keep dominating the state, and I use "keep" even though CJF didn't really do as good a job of it as he did in 2015, CJF needs to win games as well.... 7-6 is not a springboard to top 10 recruiting classes.
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As I've stated in another thread, we are wasting resources and time. Hiring 3 coaches with Western Pa. ties fighting Pitt. All the while Harbaugh is raiding New Jersey where the elite talent is. All so we can say we "dominate the state".
The hires may have actually been about football first than geography. One year isn't a trend in recruiting and when the W's come, JF will sell with the best of them.
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