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Priority WR Tyler Williams returns to campus

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DMoney said:
Mark Pope was a 5* on Rivals. Ryan Moore was the top receiver in the nation. Both failed in large part because they lacked the football character.

WR is an intangibles position. Even the maniacs are maniac workers. Obviously, the gold standard is an Andre Johnson or Julio Jones with HOF talent and walk-on work ethic. But I would make the character stuff non-negotiable.
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I agree on the character stuff being non-negotiable but as I said it’s a rant based on less than a handful of guys. One who was barely a 5 star on only one service and the other who was nearly 20 years ago. The reality is majority of 5 stars possess those intangibles.
 
TRick72 said:
I agree on the character stuff being non-negotiable but as I said it’s a rant based on less than a handful of guys. One who was barely a 5 star on only one service and the other who was nearly 20 years ago. The reality is majority of 5 stars possess those intangibles.
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Trust me, I want five stars. The point is that we’ve signed all types of guys (including five stars) and the one constant among the successful guys was an unusually good work ethic.
 
Interesting subject. I took a look at the top 10 WR's in 2019 class as that class has mostly finished their college careers by now.

1. Jadon Haselwood: 5 star. Signed with Oklahoma. OK but not great player. Transferred to Arkansas. Undrafted free agent. Didn't come close to living up to best WR recruit in the country ranking. Underperformed relative to his rating.

2. Garrett Wilson: 5 star. Signed with OSU. Player three years achieving 70 receptions his third and final year. Drafted 10th by the Jets. NFL offensive rookie of the year. Lived up to his 5 star rating.

3. Kyle Ford: 5 star. Signed with UCLA. Still in college, having just announced he's entering the portal for the 2024 season. Last three years at UCLA have each been 20 reception years. Has not come close to living up to his 5 star billing. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

4. Theo Wease: 4 star. Signed with Oklahoma. Transferred to Missouri. Still in school having announced he will be returning for the 2024 season. Has played well in 2023, but his career hasn't matched his #4 WR ranking coming out of HS. Underperformed relative to his rating.

5. George Pickens: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Played outstandingly well in his true Freshman and Sophomore years. Tore his ACL causing him to miss his third and final season at UGA. Drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh. Lived up to his #5 WR ranking at UGA.

6. Joe Ngata: 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Played 4 years there and had a good senior season. Never was elite for Clemson. Undrafted free agent. Underperformed relative to his rating.

7. Dominick Blaylock: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Transferred to Georgia Tech. Mediocre at best. will go undrafted this year. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

8. Puka Nacka: 4 star. Signed with Washington. Transferred to BYU. This one is the toughest to categorize of all the top 10 guys. His career has played out in reverse order. Far better in the pros than in college. He didn't do anything his first two years at UW. Played very well, but not elite at BYU, hence his 5th round selection by the Rams. Absolutely blew up his first year in the NFL, against obviously tougher comp than college. I can't decide if he lived up to his HS ranking or not lol.

9. Frank Larson. 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Transferred to UM. Subsequently transferred to Mass. Complete bust. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

10. Dylan Wright. 4 star. Signed with TA&M. Transferred to Minnesota. Subsequently transferred to TCU. He's never done a thing in college. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

These were the top 10 WRs in the 2019 class. At least to my eye, WR's ranked in the elite level have been a crapshoot for all schools. UM isn't the only school to have elite WR recruits underperform. (Caveat: possibly other WR classes would yield different results.)
 
PalyCane said:
Interesting subject. I took a look at the top 10 WR's in 2019 class as that class has mostly finished their college careers by now.

1. Jadon Haselwood: 5 star. Signed with Oklahoma. OK but not great player. Transferred to Arkansas. Undrafted free agent. Didn't come close to living up to best WR recruit in the country ranking. Underperformed relative to his rating.

2. Garrett Wilson: 5 star. Signed with OSU. Player three years achieving 70 receptions his third and final year. Drafted 10th by the Jets. NFL offensive rookie of the year. Lived up to his 5 star rating.

3. Kyle Ford: 5 star. Signed with UCLA. Still in college, having just announced he's entering the portal for the 2024 season. Last three years at UCLA have each been 20 reception years. Has not come close to living up to his 5 star billing. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

4. Theo Wease: 4 star. Signed with Oklahoma. Transferred to Missouri. Still in school having announced he will be returning for the 2024 season. Has played well in 2023, but his career hasn't matched his #4 WR ranking coming out of HS. Underperformed relative to his rating.

5. George Pickens: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Played outstandingly well in his true Freshman and Sophomore years. Tore his ACL causing him to miss his third and final season at UGA. Drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh. Lived up to his #5 WR ranking at UGA.

6. Joe Ngata: 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Played 4 years there and had a good senior season. Never was elite for Clemson. Undrafted free agent. Underperformed relative to his rating.

7. Dominick Blaylock: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Transferred to Georgia Tech. Mediocre at best. will go undrafted this year. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

8. Puka Nacka: 4 star. Signed with Washington. Transferred to BYU. This one is the toughest to categorize of all the top 10 guys. His career has played out in reverse order. Far better in the pros than in college. He didn't do anything his first two years at UW. Played very well, but not elite at BYU, hence his 5th round selection by the Rams. Absolutely blew up his first year in the NFL, against obviously tougher comp than college. I can't decide if he lived up to his HS ranking or not lol.

9. Frank Larson. 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Transferred to UM. Subsequently transferred to Mass. Complete bust. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

10. Dylan Wright. 4 star. Signed with TA&M. Transferred to Minnesota. Subsequently transferred to TCU. He's never done a thing in college. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

These were the top 10 WRs in the 2019 class. At least to my eye, WR's ranked in the elite level have been a crapshoot for all schools. UM isn't the only school to have elite WR recruits underperform. (Caveat: possibly other WR classes would yield different results.)
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Hasslewood was so obvious he was going to be basic I remember clearly not wanting him

Pause
 
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PalyCane said:
Interesting subject. I took a look at the top 10 WR's in 2019 class as that class has mostly finished their college careers by now.

1. Jadon Haselwood: 5 star. Signed with Oklahoma. OK but not great player. Transferred to Arkansas. Undrafted free agent. Didn't come close to living up to best WR recruit in the country ranking. Underperformed relative to his rating.

2. Garrett Wilson: 5 star. Signed with OSU. Player three years achieving 70 receptions his third and final year. Drafted 10th by the Jets. NFL offensive rookie of the year. Lived up to his 5 star rating.

3. Kyle Ford: 5 star. Signed with UCLA. Still in college, having just announced he's entering the portal for the 2024 season. Last three years at UCLA have each been 20 reception years. Has not come close to living up to his 5 star billing. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

4. Theo Wease: 4 star. Signed with Oklahoma. Transferred to Missouri. Still in school having announced he will be returning for the 2024 season. Has played well in 2023, but his career hasn't matched his #4 WR ranking coming out of HS. Underperformed relative to his rating.

5. George Pickens: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Played outstandingly well in his true Freshman and Sophomore years. Tore his ACL causing him to miss his third and final season at UGA. Drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh. Lived up to his #5 WR ranking at UGA.

6. Joe Ngata: 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Played 4 years there and had a good senior season. Never was elite for Clemson. Undrafted free agent. Underperformed relative to his rating.

7. Dominick Blaylock: 4 star. Signed with Georgia. Transferred to Georgia Tech. Mediocre at best. will go undrafted this year. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

8. Puka Nacka: 4 star. Signed with Washington. Transferred to BYU. This one is the toughest to categorize of all the top 10 guys. His career has played out in reverse order. Far better in the pros than in college. He didn't do anything his first two years at UW. Played very well, but not elite at BYU, hence his 5th round selection by the Rams. Absolutely blew up his first year in the NFL, against obviously tougher comp than college. I can't decide if he lived up to his HS ranking or not lol.

9. Frank Larson. 4 star. Signed with Clemson. Transferred to UM. Subsequently transferred to Mass. Complete bust. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

10. Dylan Wright. 4 star. Signed with TA&M. Transferred to Minnesota. Subsequently transferred to TCU. He's never done a thing in college. Significantly underperformed relative to his rating.

These were the top 10 WRs in the 2019 class. At least to my eye, WR's ranked in the elite level have been a crapshoot for all schools. UM isn't the only school to have elite WR recruits underperform. (Caveat: possibly other WR classes would yield different results.)
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I realize this is a one-year sample, but it goes to show that recruiting/drafting is truly a crap shoot. There are so many variables (some controllable, some not) involved, that it's hard to identify the next great... It's a guessing game. Is it work ethic; lack of competition; injuries? Idk. That's why I'm reluctant to label a coach as a good talent evaluator or a bad one.
 
DMoney said:
Trust me, I want five stars. The point is that we’ve signed all types of guys (including five stars) and the one constant among the successful guys was an unusually good work ethic.
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He's got a good rep in the area. Especially compared to Gage. I've got a soph this year in the area. I'll see him live again this year. I asked around just out of curiosity lol. I didn't know that much about Tyler. The more I find the more I like him, a lot.
 
Cajuncane said:
We need guys that are reliable guys that can catch…we have enough speed we need guys that can go up and get a contested throw on 3rd and 10.
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Lots of ways to skin a cat at WR. The most important thing is that the cat is getting skinned. Personally I prefer getting the fastest dudes, and getting them completely obsessed with routing a ***** up and catching the football. To me, that's the system we should run and recruit to. But man, nothing is fool proof. That was Bamas recipe for a minute and they absolutely stacked those guys. But over the last few years, those same types weren't executing at the same level. I know there are WR types, but I don't think you have to have all the WR types to have an elite group. Having 3 Santana Moss types is elite, because they would get open on 3rd down, without the need to win a jump ball.
 
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DMoney said:
Mark Pope was a 5* on Rivals. Ryan Moore was the top receiver in the nation. Both failed in large part because they lacked the football character.

WR is an intangibles position. Even the maniacs are maniac workers. Obviously, the gold standard is an Andre Johnson or Julio Jones with HOF talent and walk-on work ethic. But I would make the character stuff non-negotiable.
Click to expand...
A great example of this is ochocinco. People viewed him as a flashy diva. What people didn’t know is that during football season, he brought a blanket with him and slept at the stadium so he could watch game film and train all day long.
 
👀

@DMoney has him on the monitor closely list in the March 18 Bank

- The following are a few players to keep an eye on in the next few weeks: CB Chris Ewald (Chaminade), RB Girard Pringle (Armwood), DT Floyd Boucard (Central), WR Tyler Williams (Sumner), OL Taren Hedrick (Community School of Naples) and Tylon Lee (Pace, FL).​
 
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