Recruiter of the Year

[cloverleaf]

Each year Rivals honors one coach as being the "Recruiter of the Year." The award this year goes to Florida linebacker/special teams coach D.J. Durkin. I don't know much about Durkin other than he came to Florida from Stanford a couple of years ago.

Florida ended up with a consensus top-5 class according to most experts. Unfortunately for the Gators, some key position needs were not filled.

:think2:

 

[CoachCB]

CL,

I saw this earlier on another board. He basically went into North Carolina and got two 5-star recruits....and 4 of the top 13 recruits in the state of NC.

But....I will agree w/ you; UF missed on a lot of positions of need:

- OL: landed two 5-star kids....which is good, but they missed on Avery Young (went to Auburn) and should have had a couple of "plan b" kids (nothing wrong with taking a few 3-star OL's).

- WR: signed 2 (a 4-star and a last day 3-star that was on nobody's radar and signed out of nowhere....I guess you could say they had a "plan b" on this kid)....but they needed 3 or 4. There are very few playmakers on the UF roster at WR. If Diggs (5-star out of MD who still has not signed) picks UF, it will be big...but I ain't holding my breath!

- RB: signed 1. Needed at least 2. One of the kids (Davis) got pissy and ended up signing w/ South Carolina. UF will go into spring practice with TWO scholarship RB's. Unreal! There was no excuse not to have a plan b here. There are dozens of solid RBs in the state of Florida. Not sure why they didn't go after a plan b when Davis de-committed.

UF played last season with 71 scholarship players. They needed a full class and Muschamp only signed 23 (and they could have exceeded the 25 number w/ 6 early enrollees). He only got 19 last year - and two of those transferred before the season even started (1 was a RB)....and then 2 more left mid-season. So only 15 of his first class are still on campus. UF will play this year w/ less than 80 scholarship playes (not counting walk-ons who are awarded an open scholarship).

But, Durkin won the award for what he did in North Carolina....not for UF's lack of meeting needs.

Saban should have won the award! Unreal what that guy can do.... As a Gator fan, it's disgusting!!

---

 

[cloverleaf]

Coach, I posted this info at another site this morning but lends toward our topic.

Using Rivals rankings of the top-20 players in Florida....looking at who signed the state's best players. Many BCS schools recruit the state because of the number of Division I prospects but usually Florida, FSU and Miami secure the most.

Florida - 5
Miami - 5 (#1 player)
Alabama - 3
Southern Cal - 2
Auburn - 1
Clemson - 1
Florida State - 1
Georgia - 1
Marshall - 1

Seeing FSU at just one player is surprising. Al Golden seems to be improving the Miami program. South Florida and Central Florida let Marshall come down and swipe one. Alabama hits the Sunshine state for one or more good players every year.

 

[CoachCB]

CL, that's an interesting list. It seems Bama owns the panhandle...but they do go "into" the state w/ a lot of success. I'm not sold on the WR Chris Black being so highly ranked. I know some people at First Coast HS, and they said he's a great athlete...but has issues. In this day and age of "big" receivers, he's only 5'10-ish. Miami had a solid class...but FSU went outside the state w/ great success this year...and into Alabama for 2 big-time prospects (which is a total surprise to me). I don't understand the allure of FSU anymore...especially with the total rise of the SEC over the last 10 years. I'm also surprised that UGA didn't get more than 1.

I would argue, once you get outside of the top 10 prospects in the state it's really a wash between #11 and #50 or so....probably around #50-75 you start to see a drop off in talent. I don't understand why Muschamp didn't land one of those 3-star OL's that went to other BCS schools. A kid that committed to USF, Ga Tech, UCF, etc could have certainly come in and provided depth, grown/developed, and possibly contributed by the time he was a redshirt junior. Instead, we have only 4 OL's in the last two classes. How many did Alabama sign??

---

 

[russ1945]

I have heard Mack Brown is going to write a book on recruiting called "5 stars = 5 wins" (2010 edition).

 

[rolltide]

I have heard Mack Brown is going to write a book on recruiting called "5 stars = 5 wins" (2010 edition).

or "A guide on how to see 4 of the five 5 stars you signed leave the program they committed to and how to get the fan base to defend you"

 

[cloverleaf]

Coach, you are right about the Florida Panhandle being good to Alabama of late. We got a 5* safety (Eddie Williams) out of Panama City this year. He will get his first look at wide receiver......big kid who is fast and Saban thinks he could play this season.

Secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt has only been at Bama for two or three years but he's has been excellent bringing in top talent. He's our best recruiter in my opinion and covers Mobile and the Florida Panhandle.

When Saban had to replace his offensive line coach who retired last year....he brought in Jeff Stoutland from Miami. Guess where his recruiting area is....South Florida and its already paying dividends.

One thing about Saban....he hires coaches for recruiting as much as coaching abilities. If a coach can't recruit...he won't work under Saban.

 

[GoSooners]

Saban is simply a beast. There's no other way to put it. He's won 2 out of the last 3 national championships. Has pulled in no telling how many number 1 recruiting classes, and probably has the top 2 players for 2013 locked up. It reminds me of the Pete Carroll USC dynasty's of the 2,000's. Pretty much unstoppable juggernauts with the top recruits. Saban needs to lead Mack Brown around on a leash for a year to show him how it's suppose to be done.

 

[rolltide]

Saban is simply a beast. There's no other way to put it. He's won 2 out of the last 3 national championships. Has pulled in no telling how many number 1 recruiting classes, and probably has the top 2 players for 2013 locked up. It reminds me of the Pete Carroll USC dynasty's of the 2,000's. Pretty much unstoppable juggernauts with the top recruits. Saban needs to lead Mack Brown around on a leash for a year to show him how it's suppose to be done.

assuming you're talking Reuben Foster as one of those guys I'll say that after watching his tape he's as impressive of a HS linebacker as I've ever seen. Haven't seen the Nkemdiche tape

local kid in the Burgh to watch for is Robert Foster. I think his recruiting is wide open and he has the chance to be a dominant WR and kick returner. This season he averaged 15 ypc, 35 per kick return, 45 per punt return and he plays in AAA which is our 2nd tier schools...so very good HS football.

 

[rolltide]

speaking of 2013 recruiting Rivals just released their initial Top 100 for next year...Reuben Foster is #2 (Robert is #26)

http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-rivals100/2013

 

[GoSooners]

assuming you're talking Reuben Foster as one of those guys I'll say that after watching his tape he's as impressive of a HS linebacker as I've ever seen. Haven't seen the Nkemdiche tape

local kid in the Burgh to watch for is Robert Foster. I think his recruiting is wide open and he has the chance to be a dominant WR and kick returner. This season he averaged 15 ypc, 35 per kick return, 45 per punt return and he plays in AAA which is our 2nd tier schools...so very good HS football.

Yeah, Foster and Nkemdiche were who I was referring to. They could be the two best defensive prospects of the Rivals era. Unless UGA can steal one of the two away, the Bama defense will be deadly once again with those two coming in together.

 

[Maggiore]

assuming you're talking Reuben Foster as one of those guys I'll say that after watching his tape he's as impressive of a HS linebacker as I've ever seen. Haven't seen the Nkemdiche tape

local kid in the Burgh to watch for is Robert Foster. I think his recruiting is wide open and he has the chance to be a dominant WR and kick returner. This season he averaged 15 ypc, 35 per kick return, 45 per punt return and he plays in AAA which is our 2nd tier schools...so very good HS football.

I think Urban Meyer is going to go all in with Robert Foster. My guess is he ends up a Buckeye.

 

[rolltide]

I think Urban Meyer is going to go all in with Robert Foster. My guess is he ends up a Buckeye.

i agree...unfortunately i think pitt loses foster to ohio state and boyd to usc leaving only kugler likely going to pitt out of the "can't miss" 4 PA players (TE from central PA is the 4th). I say "loses" because they were the first to offer these kids...

 

[rolltide]

Yeah, Foster and Nkemdiche were who I was referring to. They could be the two best defensive prospects of the Rivals era. Unless UGA can steal one of the two away, the Bama defense will be deadly once again with those two coming in together.

not that i sit in my basement like CP eating cheetos and watching HS football vids but Reuben's tape is totally insane. Really excited about him...reminds me of Saleem Rasheed with a bad attitude

 

[cloverleaf]

Reuben Foster has been committed to Bama since before last season.

He is from LaGrange, Georgia, located just down the road from Auburn.

I think he is a solid commit for the Tide...he and (DC) Kirby Smart have built a good relationship. Auburn and Georgia will worry this kid to death before signing day.