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Rank the '21 class

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Goulds Cane said:
I do my rankings a little differently

Kids I know will produce barring injury:
Leonard Taylor
Brashard Smith
Thad Franklin
Romello Brinson
Kahlil Brantley
Elijah Arroyo
Kam Kinchens
Laurence Seymore

Kids I like but I'm not 100% certain will produce:
James Williams
Chase Smith
Ryan Rodriguez
Malik Curtis

Boom or bust prospects:
Jake Garcia (All QBs are boom or bust)
Michael McLaughlin (Didn't impress me vs bad competition)
Thomas Davis (Size issues at DE, didn't impress me at LB)
Jabari Ishmael (Elite size, terrible production)

High floor/low ceilings:
Deshawn Troutman
Jacolby George
Tyler Johnson
Allan Haye

The kicker:
Andres Borregales
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I really like this list besides Tyler Johnson, I think he’s hard to project but definitely has a high ceiling.
 
MikeCane18 said:
My most intriguing prospect of this whole class is going to be Chase Smith. I really am curious to see him grow as a player, my fear is our development or lack thereof ultimately lets him down from reaching his full potential while here.
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real talk ... striker play has improved as did gil fry and keontra smith
 
Ethnicsands said:
Love that you did this. I put a version of the list up yesterday in one of these threads, and was going to come back with almost the framework you used, but shifted the focus to which were the critical evals (for the purposes of what I was discussing).

I had the same 'high ceiling, high floor' kids as you, and then had an 'easy take' group that maps relatively closely to your doubles group. Then I had a 'pure evals' group the purpose of which is to highlight the kids the coaches are making tougher bets on that we should watch out for.

I had a few of the WRs as pure evals, because I think they are, and had Garcia as an 'easy take' because I think he was. Those aren't predictions, just a way for me to narrow the focus on which the key eval bets really were. Obviously getting any evals bad is a real world issue, but given where we were at the time we took his commitment, it was basically Garcia or bust at QB, which made him an 'easy take' for me. If we'd have taken his commitment a year earlier, I'd have probably considered him a pure eval. I know I'm redundant on this stuff but I'm interested in the success rate of the real choices the staff makes on evals.

Off memory, here's the way I grouped it:

No Brainers: JW, LT, Arroyo
Easy takes: Garcia, C. Smith, Thad Franklin, Curtis (because of dire need at CB), Seymour, Rodriguez, Borregales
Pure Evals: Kinchens (because of alternatives at the position), Brinson, George, Haye, McLaughlin, B. Smith, Ishmael, Davis, Johnson, Troutman, McLaughlin, Brantley

I'm not dissing Kinchens by putting him in the eval category - he was that - there were other options including higher rated ones at S that we evaluated him as superior to. That's exactly what you hope to see if you have a staff that knows how to evaluate.
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Who are you referring to at saftey? Collier? I'm trying to think who we were actually in it for besides collier (were we really in it, im not sure)
 
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1. LT: prototype size, athleticism. By all accounts, he’s a hard worker with a good head on his shoulders. I think that negates a couple of the red flags concerning production, etc...

2. Arroyo: again, prototype size, athleticism. Productive and successful playing highly competitive ball.

3. Kam: a more athletic JJ. I think someone with his football IQ and instincts almost always translates well.

4. J Williams: freak show. Big red flag as has been mentioned is how he is utilized or where does he fit. I know some have been concerned he could outgrow safety. From a weight perspective, I’m not concerned about that. If they approach it with a plan to keep him below 230, a good training staff should be able to do that while improving overall athleticism and strength.

5: Borregales: may seem high, but many say he is a better prospect than his bro who will kick in the NFL for a long time. A good kicker is worth their weight in gold. Stability at that position for 3-4 years is a big plus.

6. B Smith: seems to fit the hyper productive yet undersized WR mold to a T. Great fit for this offense.

7. C Smith: long, rangy player with great athleticism. I like that he’s been a safety before. I always prefer guys moving down in the D as opposed to up.

8. Thad: I don’t think there’s much keeping him from top 3 in the class besides breakaway speed.

9. Romello: high upside, needs to fill out physically. I love his type of WR, lengthy and he seems to just glide.

10. Seymour: could be a very good center. I’d love for him to have a growth spurt otherwise his ceiling is limited.

11. Jacolby: seems like he’s good at everything, but master of none at this point. Very well could end up being the best WR out of the class.

12. Malik Curtis: I have him this low not out of doubting his ability, I’m more concerned about the staffs projections for him. Should be a stud special teamer. I liked Marcus Clarke as a WR conversion better.

13. Khalil Brantley: intangibles out the yin yang. He will contribute on the field and in the locker room

14. Thomas Davis: I love him as an athlete. Don’t love the size. Another one that would be nice if he had a small growth spurt. Could be a Trent Harris level contributor.

15. Ryan Rod: all the intangibles seem to be there. My only concern is him and Seymour could be fighting for the same spot and if one of them ends up at another position, they won’t be utilized to their maximum

16. Johnson: I don’t know much about him to be honest. Not a huge fan of moving rushers to LB or moving guys back on defense. Hasn’t worked that well for us.

17. Haye: I think he’ll be a guy that doesn’t show up in the highlights much, but I think he can be a solid 3 or 4 in the rotation.

18. Ishmael: it’s all about upside. Quiet recruitment so tough to know much about him unless you pay real close attention but he has the physical profile we’ve had success with.

19. McLaughlin: OL is hard to project. Not impressed with his actual football skill. Someone with his athletic profile should be dominant even with inexperience playing the position

20. Troutman: old school linebacker trapped in a high school linebacker body.



QB: much like many have left Andres out of the rankings, I have left Garcia out. QB is a crapshoot. His senior season was a glimmer of hope, but I’m still not confident he’s the guy.
 
This ranking is based only on earliest production because of depth and opportunity.

Starts day one
1. Borregales
2. Curtis (punt returns)

Part of the rotation 2 deep
3. Arroyo
4. Taylor
5. Williams

Year two starters
6. Kinchens

Year 2 two deep
7. Garcia
8. Chase
9. Brantley
10. Brashard
11. Brinson
12. George

Year 3 starters
13. Seymore
14. Franklin
15. Rodriguez

Year 3 two deep
16. Troutman
17. Johnson
18. Davis

Depth until 4th or 5th season.
19. Ishmael
20. Haye
21. Mclaughlin
 
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DMoney said:
Just to be clear, I only ranked him in his own category because I won't pretend to evaluate kickers with any precision.

From what we can see, he looks like a stud and if he's as good as his brother he'll make a huge difference in Ws and Ls.
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I get it, and due to competition stats are not always reliable for many positions, but as a kicker they are a much better indicator.
5 games in the 19-20 season Pat: 5 for 5 FG 2 or 2 long of 48
13 games 18-19 season Pat 57 for 59 FG 12 for 15 long of 57 93 points total.
 
DMoney said:
If you haven't seen @Lance Roffers's detailed class breakdown, check it out here, here and here.

For the rest of us, I figured we'd resurrect the annual tradition of ranking the class. Post yours below. I broke mine down into tiers and then ranked them within the tier. In honor of spring training, I used baseball analogies.

Home Runs

Elite prospects with high ceilings and high floors. The true blue chippers.

1. Leonard Taylor- Prototypical 3-technique in Manny’s upfield defense. Still looks like a baby and is only scratching the surface physically.
2. James Williams- His physical tools stand out, but this is a high IQ player with a passion for football. Smart enough to play all over the defense.
3. Elijah Arroyo- Long, athletic, tough, natural pass catcher and route runner. Similar to Kellen Winslow II on the field.

Doubles

These are talented players who are easy to project to the next level. They aren’t as physically gifted as the first group, but they're very good.

4. Kamren Kinchens- Special intangibles and a complete skillset at safety. Bigger and more talented version of Jaquan Johnson.
5. Laurence Seymore- Five-star player in a two-star body. Quick, balanced athlete with a strong lower body and dynamite in his hands.
6. Chase Smith- An easy fit at striker. 6’4 with outstanding movement skills. Huge potential if he bulks up.
7. Thaddius Franklin- Smooth 225-pound athlete who played basketball and dabbled at QB. Ultra-productive and natural as a runner.
8. Romello Brinson- I have the receivers grouped close together, but Brinson is the most complete of the group. Dee Wiggins-type length and movement skills with much more toughness and better hands.
9. Brashard Smith- Big-play specialist with a RB build in the slot. Deceptive tackle-breaking ability similar to Kedarius Toney.
10. Jacolby George- Productive South Florida WR who makes it look easy. Plays faster than his speed by changing pace, and plays bigger than his size with strong hands.
11. Ryan Rodriguez- This guy screams “starter on a championship team.” Technician with impeccable hand placement. Bigger and more athletic than you’d expect in person.

Big Swings

Boom or bust. These kids have the NFL potential to land in the first group (often even more than the second group), but there is some significant projection involved.

12. Jake Garcia- Nearly every QB falls in this category. If they hit, they’re stars, if they bust, they transfer. Garcia has everything you want except quick-twitch athleticism. His ability to elude the first rusher will make him or break him.
13. Tyler Johnson- The strength of a wrestler and the movement skills of a safety. Ragdolled Julian Armella at times last year. Can he keep his temper in check and make the transition from EDGE to LB?
14. Thomas Davis- Big-time quickness and upfield explosion. The question is position- at 6’0, does he stay at DE or move to LB?
15. Jabari Ishmael- Long (6’6) projection player who was athletic enough to play as an off-ball LB. He needs to turn the tools into pass-rush production.
16. Michael McClaughlin- Has a lot of the uncoachables- size, IQ, intensity and movement. Used poor technique to dominate bad competition. Can he get more bend and roll his hips at 6'7?
17. Malik Curtis- Every week he made a highlight-reel play. Travis Benjamin-type speed with more size. He needs to prove he is tough enough to be a full-time defender.

Singles

Low-ceiling, high-floor guys who have the skills to be effective college players.

18. Deshawn Troutman- Fast, instinctual linebacker with tremendous production. Size and strength is the question with him.
19. Allan Haye- Limited by size, but an emerging converted BBall player who finds a way to hit the QB.
20. Kahlil Brantley- All-around football player who has played QB, WR, TE and LB. Outstanding hands but average physical traits. Similar to Larry Hodges.

The Kicker

21. Andres Borregales- Won’t claim to be able to evaluate Ks, but he seems to have a **** of a leg.
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keep this list and revist in 2024.
 
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Liberty City El said:
1. Elijah Arroyo
2. Leonard Taylor
3. Kamren Kinchens
4. Chase Smith
5. Thad Franklin
6. Romello Brinson
7. Malik Curtis
8. Kahlil Brantley
9. Jacolby George
10. James Williams
11. Ryan Rodriguez
12. Laurence Seymore
13. Allan Haye
14. Jabari Ishmael
15. Thomas Davis
16. Brashard Smith
17. Tyler Johnson
18. Deshawn Troutman
19. Michael McLaughlin
20. Andres Borregales
21. Jake Garcia
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Someone did it lol I was waiting for someone to drop JW. But can't argue if he's up on the list or down I get it and understand. I think Jake never plays here imo
 
Slurper: Arroyo,JW (have to put him here),LT Borregales, Chase Smith , Brashard Smith,Brinson, Kam, Khalil (Herndon 2.0), Curtis, Thad

Mope: everyone else
 
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