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OL JJ Sparks commits to Canes

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lindend said:
What do you consider fairly recently? We offered him 15+ months ago while he was still a sophomore and he's made numerous trips to campus since the offer the staff has consistently told him they value/prioritize him.

This notion that we just recently offered him (likely after whiffing on Wise) really is morphing from an Urban Legend to an incontrovertible CIS fact.

Yet, the JJ Bolles pre-commit thread is well over a year old filled with folks saying we never get Bolles kids to commit so why are we bothering? The majority of people saw Bolles in the title and immediately surfed away

Awkward The Simpsons GIF


And because they surfed away and ignored the thread, the offer never happened until recently as we pivoted due to missing our primary C target.

BTW, I'm not disputing that Wise likely was option A at Center but this isn't an emergency plan B pivot by any means because Wise was leaning $EC for a minute.
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There are thousands of posts per day on this site. @TheOriginalCane said he was just offered in January on page 1 of this thread. And there's not been a word about this kid on any Bank or update.
 
lindend said:
What do you consider fairly recently? We offered him 15+ months ago while he was still a sophomore and he's made numerous trips to campus since the offer the staff has consistently told him they value/prioritize him.

This notion that we just recently offered him (likely after whiffing on Wise) really is morphing from an Urban Legend to an incontrovertible CIS fact.

Yet, the JJ Bolles pre-commit thread is well over a year old filled with folks saying we never get Bolles kids to commit so why are we bothering? The majority of people saw Bolles in the title and immediately surfed away

Awkward The Simpsons GIF


And because they surfed away and ignored the thread, the offer never happened until recently as we pivoted due to missing our primary C target.

BTW, I'm not disputing that Wise likely was option A at Center but this isn't an emergency plan B pivot by any means because Wise was leaning $EC for a minute.
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I know he’s been to Miami at least 3 times in the past year, one being for the FSU game
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Just offered in January.
Click to expand...

Ah, the source of the Urban Legend

X Files Myth GIF by The X-Files


No_Fly_Zone said:
@TheOriginalCane said he was just offered in January on page 1 of this thread.
Click to expand...

He was offered in January. But it was January 2024.

lindend

2025 Post in thread 'OL Board (2025 Edition)'

OL JJ Sparks from Jacksonville Boles HS got his offer because he plays w/violence



and in fact @TheOriginalCane gave the thumbs up to the offer

TheOriginalCane

2025 Post in thread 'Prospect Day (aka Junior Day) Jan 27, 2024'

lindend said:
OL JJ Sparks from Boles HS says the coaches told him they're recruiting him because he plays w/violence

Click to expand...


1706408421998.png
  • Haha


No_Fly_Zone said:
And there's not been a word about this kid on any Bank or update.
Click to expand...

D$ always throws the caveat in that just because he doesn't mention a name, doesn't mean they aren't being aggressively recruited. @DMoney are you able to comment on why he never appeared in any edition of the Bank?
 
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No_Fly_Zone said:
There are thousands of posts per day on this site. @TheOriginalCane said he was just offered in January on page 1 of this thread. And there's not been a word about this kid on any Bank or update.
Click to expand...


All of these things are true. And none of what I'm about to say is directed at you.

But I would also point out that he's a center. And most of our posters are drooling on a daily basis over 4 and 5 star OTs. If @DMoney had gotten up on a table and assured us that we were a lock for a 3-star center, most people would have ignored him and continued to argue about J'Vari Flowers.

And that is not an insult or an attack on anyone. I just feel like "recruiting centers" flies under the radar unless it was that one kid who ended up at Auburn.

A year ago, I got very solid intel from a person on this board that Carpenter was our guy at center. Well before it happened. I even hinted about it (go back and pull my posts) and most everyone just yawned.

I try to be honest and share solid information. Go back to the beginning of the Sparks threads, you had guys talking about him being a reach, you had guys talking about him being a project, you had guys talking about 105 scholarships, you had guys saying that we were going to stop recruiting other guys because of this. And none of it was true. I just casually mentioned "center" and "measure his wingspan" and "check his IQ".

Fortunately (I guess), we flew under the radar with this kid because center is not a premium "****" position. He visited three times and barely anyone knew. Slingblade Billy couldn't pull his usual slipstream move by drafting off of Mario's recruiting acumen. We got a kid from BOLLES, by God. We should all be happy, and yet a few guys seem to be mad at @DMoney for not hyping this kid more.

It's all good. Things work out. I'm happy with this take, and I'd be willing to bet the kid gets a 4th star sometime in the next 8 months.
 
lindend said:
Ah, the source of the Urban Legend

X Files Myth GIF by The X-Files




He was offered in January. But it was January 2024.

lindend

2025 Post in thread 'OL Board (2025 Edition)'

OL JJ Sparks from Jacksonville Boles HS got his offer because he plays w/violence



and in fact @TheOriginalCane gave the thumbs up to the offer

TheOriginalCane

2025 Post in thread 'Prospect Day (aka Junior Day) Jan 27, 2024'

lindend said:
OL JJ Sparks from Boles HS says the coaches told him they're recruiting him because he plays w/violence

Click to expand...


1706408421998.png
  • Haha




D$ always throws the caveat in that just because he doesn't mention a name, doesn't mean they aren't being aggressively recruited. @DMoney are you able to comment on why he never appeared in any edition of the Bank?
Click to expand...



Yes sir, you are correct. I was citing "January" from what I read, and I totally biffed it on the YEAR. ****, I'm just glad that my corporation pays almost all of our taxes electronically, because if it were up to me, I'd probably still be writing "2023" on ****.

Appreciate you, @lindend , you are a true gentleman and a monster at researching!
 
TheOriginalCane said:
All of these things are true. And none of what I'm about to say is directed at you.

But I would also point out that he's a center. And most of our posters are drooling on a daily basis over 4 and 5 star OTs. If @DMoney had gotten up on a table and assured us that we were a lock for a 3-star center, most people would have ignored him and continued to argue about J'Vari Flowers.

And that is not an insult or an attack on anyone. I just feel like "recruiting centers" flies under the radar unless it was that one kid who ended up at Auburn.

A year ago, I got very solid intel from a person on this board that Carpenter was our guy at center. Well before it happened. I even hinted about it (go back and pull my posts) and most everyone just yawned.

I try to be honest and share solid information. Go back to the beginning of the Sparks threads, you had guys talking about him being a reach, you had guys talking about him being a project, you had guys talking about 105 scholarships, you had guys saying that we were going to stop recruiting other guys because of this. And none of it was true. I just casually mentioned "center" and "measure his wingspan" and "check his IQ".

Fortunately (I guess), we flew under the radar with this kid because center is not a premium "****" position. He visited three times and barely anyone knew. Slingblade Billy couldn't pull his usual slipstream move by drafting off of Mario's recruiting acumen. We got a kid from BOLLES, by God. We should all be happy, and yet a few guys seem to be mad at @DMoney for not hyping this kid more.

It's all good. Things work out. I'm happy with this take, and I'd be willing to bet the kid gets a 4th star sometime in the next 8 months.
Click to expand...
Legit Pure center prospects are rarely like top-150 types by the recruiting services. Feels Like maybe a handful if that will be top 250 type ranked players. Last class Gormon produced two: Kalaniuvalu who Oregon got, and SJ who we got obviously; They were ranked 111 and 163 respectively. Though Technically SJ could be a guard here I guess, the other guy was the one playing Center at Gorman...That Gorman OLine was pretty insane.

Mostly legit centers are at best low 4stars that are outside like top 250.
 
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lindend said:
D$ always throws the caveat in that just because he doesn't mention a name, doesn't mean they aren't being aggressively recruited. @DMoney are you able to comment on why he never appeared in any edition of the Bank?
Click to expand...

This can all be true, and still not impact my point one iota. The perception here is this recruit committed out of the blue when UM was looking at other, more highly rated, targets at IOL. And so nobody should be offended by people asking questions.
 
No_Fly_Zone said:
This can all be true, and still not impact my point one iota. The perception here is this recruit committed out of the blue when UM was looking at other, more highly rated, targets at IOL. And so nobody should be offended by people asking questions.
Click to expand...


Understandable.

I'd also say that some kids prefer a quiet recruitment. This guy was in the Gators backyard, at a feeder school, and yet I never saw his name on their boards either. We've seen some local kids try to raise their profile if the hometown school isn't giving them enough love, and this guy said nothing, did nothing. Just visited Miami and pulled the trigger.

In this day and age, I give respect to that. Kid doesn't seem like an attention-seeker.
 
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htownkidd said:
Francis
Bell
Brock
Coop
Rodriguez

All are gone for sure.
Click to expand...
- Well Francis could return but shouldn't.
- Bell is a senior, but really it depends if JuCo counts or not towards eligibility. Haven't some ruling said it doesn't... He technically could be granted additional years if he seeks them for all we know.

But yeah we need a big OLine class.

Already have:
Ervin
Congdon
Sparks

Top of board +1s no matter what:
Cantwell
Pepe
Johnnie Jones
Kolojay

Want:
Pickett
Wise
Heze Kent
G'Nivre Carr
 
No_Fly_Zone said:
And there's not been a word about this kid on any Bank or update.
Click to expand...

LOL, D$ broke his silence on Sparks on Friday. Reading between the lines, I'm thinking Wise was #1 on the C board and Sparks #2.

@DMoney in the April 4, 2025 Bank

The Canes believe JJ Sparks (Jacksonville) is a top center prospect, and they pursued him heavily as they spent more time around him. But they will continue to recruit the OL hard with an emphasis on volume.​

DMoney

Thread 'The Bank (4/4)'

Spring is in the home stretch, but recruiting is just gearing up. Here is the latest on the team:

- Miami has another loaded visit weekend. Visitors include DE Bryce Perry-Wright (Atlanta), WR Jalen Lott (Dallas), RB Jae Lamar (Moultrie, GA), S Zech Fort (IMG/Georgia commit), WR Brayden Robinson (Dallas) and CB Hayward Howard (New Orleans). DL Nolan Wilson (Picayune, MS) has also been on campus this week. Lamar and Howard in particular are names showing a lot of interest.

- In terms of the next dominos, I think the defensive backfield is the...
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