We are now exactly four weeks to “signing day,” 2016. The “dead period” ends soon, school starts, and we have three “visit weekends” in front of us, the first in only nine days. We have many needs on our football team and possibly not enough “openings” to fill them.
We’ve signed two players already who will count toward 2015 recruiting, leaving us the potential to sign 25 more according to the NCAA. Of course, we also must remain within the overall limit of 85, so that’s also a consideration. According to the official site, I have us with 64 scholarship players returning. Of course, that includes many players who, due to injuries, academic deficiencies, suspensions, or simply lack of contribution might not be back. Others, of course, due to the change in staff, dissatisfaction with school, etc., might not return. If everyone came back, we’d have 21 openings, two of which, like I mentioned, are already filled. To sign 25 more, we would need at least six kids currently on scholarship to somehow “vacate” them. I’m certainly not wishing that on anyone specifically, but I think it is likely that we could approach that number, with four being a reasonable (my view) “over/under.”
So, what do we need?
Personally, I think our greatest needs coming out of last year were QB’s, OL’s, WR’s, and DB’s. The best I can tell, we’ve signed one QB and one DB, and have 2 OL’s, 2 WR’s, and 4 more DB’s currently committed. We’re probably OK now for DB’s but a great, fast, “lock-down” corner would still be nice.
At QB, we’ve got one “new” QB and I can’t believe we won’t sign at least one more. Two would be better.
On the offensive line, we’ve got 2 presumably committed and I think we need at least two more. We lost Shienle, Hanson, Godfrey, and Bradley (who never played) from last year’s woeful line, so bringing four in doesn’t seem excessive.
At wide receiver, we return exactly one proven BCS-level WR, a former walk-on who performed admirably considering his talent level, an injured player who, if fully recovered, is a likely starter, and two sophomores who played little and contributed less as freshmen. I like our two commitments but at least one more would seem in order.
At DB, we’ve likely run out of room, but, as mentioned previously, a “top-flight” corner would be welcome still.
Lesser needs are at TE, RB, DL, and LB. I’d still like to see us sign a tight end who can “really” block. I don’t see one on our roster. A hard-charging, big, short-yardage running back is also needed, especially since the oft-injured Lazedrick Thompson is entering his senior year. We’ve got three DE’s and two DT’s committed according to my calculations, but we’ve lost two mainstays on the line and the backups from last season don’t look that good. Still, we may be OK there. At LB, Thomas and Marley played the vast majority of downs and are both seniors. Depth is necessary here, though Marbley, Ed Williams, and Zach Harris all could step in admirably if they can attain their potential under the new staff. I’d still like to see a big, rough MLB, like the de-committed Giovanni LaFrance in this class. At least one seems to be on the radar.
If we do end up having ten more openings, my current “wish list,” based on who our coaching staff appears to be tracking, would include, in no particular order:
Lindsey Scott, QB, Zachary, La (Syracuse Commit)
Malik Staples, RB, Peachtree Ridge, Ga (Louisville Commit)
Benaiah Franklin, RB/WR, Marietta, Ga (Purdue Commit)
Latrell Williams, WR, Columbia HS, Fl (USF Commit)
Drew Wilson, OL, Bamberg, SC (Georgia Southern Commit)
Kelton Hollins, OL, Zachary, La (TCU Commit)
T.J. Brunson, LB, Richland, SC (Uncommitted)
Evan Hinson, DE/TE, Deltona, Fl (Uncommitted)
Ca’Ron Baham, ATH, John Ehret, La (Uncommitted)
Tre Jackson, ATH, University Lab, La (South Carolina)
Since most of these guys are currently committed and the others have good options, the likelihood of getting more than 2-3 of these kids is remote. But, one can hope. A “clean sweep” would probably move us to near the top of AAC “recruiting rankings” by most services.
Roll Wave!!!
