By my count, we have 79 players currently on scholarship, 11 of whom are seniors. That would mean we have at least 17 openings for the class signing in February 2017. We have an additional 14 redshirt juniors (Kenneth Santa Marina, Sherman Badie, Serge Medina, Eldrick Washington, Eric Bell, Jason Stewart, Ade Aruna, Luke Jackson, Quinlan Carroll, Parry Nickerson, Jarod Franklin, Tristan Cooper, William Townsend, and Leonard Davis). Some of these are major contributors; some have contributed very little to this point. But, after four years in school, with graduation in sight, I expect some of these young men will be departing either voluntarily to get on with their lives, or with a gentle push. We can also expect some attrition from other underclassmen-- injuries/illness, academics, and a simple “lack of willingness”-- almost always affect a few players annually. To me, that suggests we should be able to sign at least 20 kids next February and probably more, maybe a lot more.
For 2016, we signed 23 players after eliminating the recently de-committed AJ Walker. Two players chose to enroll early, thereby counting towards 2015. That means we have four possible slots for “early enrollees” for 2017 and the potential to sign as many as 29 if early enrollees and openings on the roster permit. At this point, I’d guess we’ll sign close to 25, but there are too many variables to make a truly educated analysis. Regardless, it would be nice to sign at least a couple of kids who enroll early because we could have the potential for a really big class in 2018.
With data provided from a variety of sources, I think we’ve offered at least 220 or so kids for 2017. Of those, we’ve got six public commitments, which may or may not be “firm.” And at least 73 others we’ve offered have already committed elsewhere. Again, the firmness of such commitments is not always clear. Significant, I think, is that roughly 75% of all the kids we have offered have also receive offers from P5 schools. So, we’re not afraid to compete. Unfortunately, our six successes to date (actual commitments) are all from players with no P5 offers and, in some cases, no other G5 offers either. It’s hard to put a good spin on that. Nonetheless, after watching film of each, I think all have potential, and I like the offensive lineman, Charlie Clark, a lot. I also like the DE/TE who recently committed, Evan Reese. That said, none of them are as impressive to me as several kids Coach Fritz signed late last year.
Most of us think we need help in the offensive line, at QB, and, by next year, at running back. To me, those positions could take as many as 10 or more of our incoming class. But, based on the number of offers (not necessarily a good indicator), those are not the positions we are pursuing the most heavily. Roughly half of our offers are to “athletes,” wide receivers, and defensive backs.
We have offered close to 20 QB’s/ATH’s, 23 RB’s, and 28 Offensive linemen (at least 71 total). Of course, the right 1-2 QB’s, 2-3 RB’s, and 4-5 OL’s would probably meet our needs.
On the defensive line, we’ve offered at least 24 players I believe are defensive ends and only 10 who I’d classify as defensive tackles. The latter is a surprise to me. With the departure of Tanzel Smart after this season, we’ll only have Sean Wilson as the only (to date) proven player on the interior defense. Eldrick Washington, Eric Bell, John Washington, and Brayton Edwards fill out our “depth chart” and I doubt all of them will be back for 2017. We NEED at least two more in my view.
We also probably need two linebackers to replace our seniors, Marley and Thomas, and we’ve offered at least 25.
We’ve also offered at least one kicker (he committed to Georgia Tech) and a couple of tight ends, though I ‘d hope we eventually sign at least one of the latter.
I look at our recruiting in more detail later.
Roll Wave
For 2016, we signed 23 players after eliminating the recently de-committed AJ Walker. Two players chose to enroll early, thereby counting towards 2015. That means we have four possible slots for “early enrollees” for 2017 and the potential to sign as many as 29 if early enrollees and openings on the roster permit. At this point, I’d guess we’ll sign close to 25, but there are too many variables to make a truly educated analysis. Regardless, it would be nice to sign at least a couple of kids who enroll early because we could have the potential for a really big class in 2018.
With data provided from a variety of sources, I think we’ve offered at least 220 or so kids for 2017. Of those, we’ve got six public commitments, which may or may not be “firm.” And at least 73 others we’ve offered have already committed elsewhere. Again, the firmness of such commitments is not always clear. Significant, I think, is that roughly 75% of all the kids we have offered have also receive offers from P5 schools. So, we’re not afraid to compete. Unfortunately, our six successes to date (actual commitments) are all from players with no P5 offers and, in some cases, no other G5 offers either. It’s hard to put a good spin on that. Nonetheless, after watching film of each, I think all have potential, and I like the offensive lineman, Charlie Clark, a lot. I also like the DE/TE who recently committed, Evan Reese. That said, none of them are as impressive to me as several kids Coach Fritz signed late last year.
Most of us think we need help in the offensive line, at QB, and, by next year, at running back. To me, those positions could take as many as 10 or more of our incoming class. But, based on the number of offers (not necessarily a good indicator), those are not the positions we are pursuing the most heavily. Roughly half of our offers are to “athletes,” wide receivers, and defensive backs.
We have offered close to 20 QB’s/ATH’s, 23 RB’s, and 28 Offensive linemen (at least 71 total). Of course, the right 1-2 QB’s, 2-3 RB’s, and 4-5 OL’s would probably meet our needs.
On the defensive line, we’ve offered at least 24 players I believe are defensive ends and only 10 who I’d classify as defensive tackles. The latter is a surprise to me. With the departure of Tanzel Smart after this season, we’ll only have Sean Wilson as the only (to date) proven player on the interior defense. Eldrick Washington, Eric Bell, John Washington, and Brayton Edwards fill out our “depth chart” and I doubt all of them will be back for 2017. We NEED at least two more in my view.
We also probably need two linebackers to replace our seniors, Marley and Thomas, and we’ve offered at least 25.
We’ve also offered at least one kicker (he committed to Georgia Tech) and a couple of tight ends, though I ‘d hope we eventually sign at least one of the latter.
I look at our recruiting in more detail later.
Roll Wave
