Saturday against Houston is “Senior Day.” We have ten scholarship seniors who will be honored at the game: Sherman Badie, Parry Nickerson, Luke Jackson, Eldrick Washington, Ade Aruna, Quinlan Carroll, Jarod Franklin, Dontrell Hilliard, Sean Wilson, and Rae Juan Marbley. I'm not sure but a couple of "walk-ons" may join them.
As Guerry pointed out last week, as a group, they were not well regarded out of high school. Rivals listed only Badie and Marbley as 3-stars. 247, who issues 3-stars to the majority of BCS signees, granted that rank to Badie, Aruna, Washington, Marbley, and Hilliard.
On the field, the group has not seen much success. Seven of them (Badie, Nickerson, Jackson, Washington, Aruna, Carroll, and Franklin) received redshirts and were on the roster for the 2013 bowl team. But, since then they have gone 14-32. Regardless, to the best of my knowledge, they all have represented my university very well and deserve to be honored.
It will also be interesting to see how many, if any, of our redshirt juniors choose to be honored. By my count we have 12 of them, some major contributors and some whose contribution has been less noticeable. I’d guess that 3 or 4 who have not played much this past year could choose to signal the end of their college careers. Others, even major contributors, could choose to “get on with their lives.” It’s hard to guess from afar. Regardless, as we have seen, some players participate in senior day and then come back. And some appear to be returning but change their minds later in the spring. Of interest, nonetheless.
Of course, Hunter Knighton is a special case. He already graduated from U of Miami (possibly missing a national championship run) and still has one more year of eligibility. I’m not even sure of the protocol. Did he participate in senior day at Miami? Did he play enough or is he close enough to a graduate degree to convince him to return? Do the coaches want him to return? I don’t know the answers but, for whatever reason, I think he’ll be back.
The visiting list of recruits for our final home game should also be interesting. We probably have 4-8 remaining openings in our recruiting class. This may be the last chance to impress.
Finally, the game itself has some interest
. Though it appears to be a long shot, we still have the potential to gain bowl eligibility. A win would shorten those odds considerably.
Roll Wave!!!
As Guerry pointed out last week, as a group, they were not well regarded out of high school. Rivals listed only Badie and Marbley as 3-stars. 247, who issues 3-stars to the majority of BCS signees, granted that rank to Badie, Aruna, Washington, Marbley, and Hilliard.
On the field, the group has not seen much success. Seven of them (Badie, Nickerson, Jackson, Washington, Aruna, Carroll, and Franklin) received redshirts and were on the roster for the 2013 bowl team. But, since then they have gone 14-32. Regardless, to the best of my knowledge, they all have represented my university very well and deserve to be honored.
It will also be interesting to see how many, if any, of our redshirt juniors choose to be honored. By my count we have 12 of them, some major contributors and some whose contribution has been less noticeable. I’d guess that 3 or 4 who have not played much this past year could choose to signal the end of their college careers. Others, even major contributors, could choose to “get on with their lives.” It’s hard to guess from afar. Regardless, as we have seen, some players participate in senior day and then come back. And some appear to be returning but change their minds later in the spring. Of interest, nonetheless.
Of course, Hunter Knighton is a special case. He already graduated from U of Miami (possibly missing a national championship run) and still has one more year of eligibility. I’m not even sure of the protocol. Did he participate in senior day at Miami? Did he play enough or is he close enough to a graduate degree to convince him to return? Do the coaches want him to return? I don’t know the answers but, for whatever reason, I think he’ll be back.
The visiting list of recruits for our final home game should also be interesting. We probably have 4-8 remaining openings in our recruiting class. This may be the last chance to impress.
Finally, the game itself has some interest
. Though it appears to be a long shot, we still have the potential to gain bowl eligibility. A win would shorten those odds considerably.Roll Wave!!!