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Now that all of the signing periods have been completed, with Miami coming up empty on NSD, I wanted to assess our current class, including the transfer portal.
First off, kudos to Mario & the staff to navigate a tumultuous season, while pulling in a solid class in his first, full cycle. The 2008 Class, however, taught me a valuable lesson; never fully focus on the team ranking per recruiting services vs. evaluating the totality of the class, itself. As an example, Team A can recruit 25 kids that included 10-5* & 15-4*. On paper, that would be the #1 class in the nation, but if 50% of that class are strictly DEs, & the other 50% are strictly LBs…u get the point.
So here are my grades for our class, per position:
QB: C+
Though I soured on Rashada as his season progressed, the fact is we solely focused on him, when red flags began to present themselves. Our QB room is a mess, & relying upon one QB via the HS ranks, a 3* at that, is risky. This is not to say Williams won’t be the next Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, or Justin Herbert, but it is to say our QB room is in dire straights & this not the way to repair it in 2023.
RB: A-
We missed on Baxter & Young, but what a great consolation prize securing the #7 RB in the nation in Fletcher & a surging 4* RB in Chris Johnson. Fletcher showed his value & abilities in The Army All American game. He appears to be the anti-Thad Franklin, & we have a great change of pace duo in the class of ‘23. We saw the RB room look good on paper, to becoming a sore spot in the blink of an eye in ‘22, & these two immensely help restore this room.
WR: B-
This is a room that needed an infusion of talent. This is also a position that had so much talent in our back yard where we left a lot of meat on the bones (pause) from a HS & Portal standpoint. We added two dynamic guys w/ the ball in their hand, but both are on the smallish side. While they will be dynamic playmakers, neither feel like a WR1 as opposed to WR2’s. It would’ve been great if they were paired with some of the other beast that were available.
OL: A+
What an absolute haul, both recruiting via HS & Portal! If there was any position on the field I was least concerned w/, it was OL. Both Mario & Alex know what it looks like, can drop names of guys they’ve coached up to the next level, & it paid dividends this cycle.
TE: A
The room already is stacked, & adding a top 5 TE in the nation, along w/ an in-line TE that can be flexed makes this a good haul that’ll shore up an already nice room
LB: A-
Best LB recruiting we’ve had in quite some time, & got **** did we need it! Hit on 3 absolute studs w/ Papo, Malik, & Francissssssssssco Mauioga, along w/ a newly minted 4-star LB in Bobby Washington. Also, picked up some nice depth pieces in Spencer & Pulliam. Not being able to snag Hill after the smoke build up sucked, but Strong & Company identified another weak spot, & absolutely attacked it.
DE: A
Deep, rotational class. Some raw talent (Acheampong, Horton) mixed in w/ some guys who should see the field early (Bain, Wayne), along w/ a vet who will see significant time via from The Portal in Deen. This room is already primed to be the anchor of the defense, & it just got better.
DT: D-
INEXCUSABLE RECRUITING HERE. Literally whiffed on everyone. The only reason y this room is not a complete F is b/c at least we were able to snag a G5 DL from The Portal (Gore) who can play all across the line. This room has been a thorn in our side for a while, & it’s unimaginable for a school that’s produced Sapp, Brown, Wilfork, Tez, Maryland, Joseph, etc. have struggled mightily to recruit here. Not in love w/ that room as a whole, so really dropped the ball here.
S: F
Again, a lot of meat left on the bones (pause) from this position. Love Antoine as a prospect, but right now we have Kam, JW0, & Markeith Williams in the entire S room. 3 guys. This was a room where we needed to recruit, at an absolute minimum, 2 guys & we didn’t fulfill that. Here’s praying to Kam & JDub stay healthy all season.
Edit: With Jackson now requesting to be released from his NLI, we have zero prospects at a position of dire need.
CB: B
Listen, picking up the Brown brothers, along w/ Stafford was good, but let’s keep it 100, substituting an oft injured CB in Roberts via The Portal for arguably a top 5 player in the nation regardless of position, absolutely sucks ***. I’m not going to lose sleep over any recruit who spurns us, but I’m not going to CIS the situation either & act like that chit didn’t sting. Cormani immediately changes the dynamic of the squad, especially this room. Nevertheless, a very good haul under the circumstances.
ST: N/A
Replacing Hedley “The Gawd” is going to be tough. Just b/c Joyce is from Australia like Lou doesn’t mean he’ll be Lou II, & b/c I’m not familiar w/ his game, I can’t comment on him. Just hoping he’s of the same caliber. ****, as long as he’s not remotely like Feagles, I’ll be happy.
Overall, I give this class a B as it took care a couple of needs (OL, LB, RB), added to others (DE, TE, CB), while leaving other rooms head scratching (DT, S, WR). Hopefully with the portal reopening later this yr, we’ll be able to change some of these rooms with better impact/depth players.
Thoughts & Discussion?
First off, kudos to Mario & the staff to navigate a tumultuous season, while pulling in a solid class in his first, full cycle. The 2008 Class, however, taught me a valuable lesson; never fully focus on the team ranking per recruiting services vs. evaluating the totality of the class, itself. As an example, Team A can recruit 25 kids that included 10-5* & 15-4*. On paper, that would be the #1 class in the nation, but if 50% of that class are strictly DEs, & the other 50% are strictly LBs…u get the point.
So here are my grades for our class, per position:
QB: C+
Though I soured on Rashada as his season progressed, the fact is we solely focused on him, when red flags began to present themselves. Our QB room is a mess, & relying upon one QB via the HS ranks, a 3* at that, is risky. This is not to say Williams won’t be the next Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, or Justin Herbert, but it is to say our QB room is in dire straights & this not the way to repair it in 2023.
RB: A-
We missed on Baxter & Young, but what a great consolation prize securing the #7 RB in the nation in Fletcher & a surging 4* RB in Chris Johnson. Fletcher showed his value & abilities in The Army All American game. He appears to be the anti-Thad Franklin, & we have a great change of pace duo in the class of ‘23. We saw the RB room look good on paper, to becoming a sore spot in the blink of an eye in ‘22, & these two immensely help restore this room.
WR: B-
This is a room that needed an infusion of talent. This is also a position that had so much talent in our back yard where we left a lot of meat on the bones (pause) from a HS & Portal standpoint. We added two dynamic guys w/ the ball in their hand, but both are on the smallish side. While they will be dynamic playmakers, neither feel like a WR1 as opposed to WR2’s. It would’ve been great if they were paired with some of the other beast that were available.
OL: A+
What an absolute haul, both recruiting via HS & Portal! If there was any position on the field I was least concerned w/, it was OL. Both Mario & Alex know what it looks like, can drop names of guys they’ve coached up to the next level, & it paid dividends this cycle.
TE: A
The room already is stacked, & adding a top 5 TE in the nation, along w/ an in-line TE that can be flexed makes this a good haul that’ll shore up an already nice room
LB: A-
Best LB recruiting we’ve had in quite some time, & got **** did we need it! Hit on 3 absolute studs w/ Papo, Malik, & Francissssssssssco Mauioga, along w/ a newly minted 4-star LB in Bobby Washington. Also, picked up some nice depth pieces in Spencer & Pulliam. Not being able to snag Hill after the smoke build up sucked, but Strong & Company identified another weak spot, & absolutely attacked it.
DE: A
Deep, rotational class. Some raw talent (Acheampong, Horton) mixed in w/ some guys who should see the field early (Bain, Wayne), along w/ a vet who will see significant time via from The Portal in Deen. This room is already primed to be the anchor of the defense, & it just got better.
DT: D-
INEXCUSABLE RECRUITING HERE. Literally whiffed on everyone. The only reason y this room is not a complete F is b/c at least we were able to snag a G5 DL from The Portal (Gore) who can play all across the line. This room has been a thorn in our side for a while, & it’s unimaginable for a school that’s produced Sapp, Brown, Wilfork, Tez, Maryland, Joseph, etc. have struggled mightily to recruit here. Not in love w/ that room as a whole, so really dropped the ball here.
S: F
Again, a lot of meat left on the bones (pause) from this position. Love Antoine as a prospect, but right now we have Kam, JW0, & Markeith Williams in the entire S room. 3 guys. This was a room where we needed to recruit, at an absolute minimum, 2 guys & we didn’t fulfill that. Here’s praying to Kam & JDub stay healthy all season.
Edit: With Jackson now requesting to be released from his NLI, we have zero prospects at a position of dire need.
CB: B
Listen, picking up the Brown brothers, along w/ Stafford was good, but let’s keep it 100, substituting an oft injured CB in Roberts via The Portal for arguably a top 5 player in the nation regardless of position, absolutely sucks ***. I’m not going to lose sleep over any recruit who spurns us, but I’m not going to CIS the situation either & act like that chit didn’t sting. Cormani immediately changes the dynamic of the squad, especially this room. Nevertheless, a very good haul under the circumstances.
ST: N/A
Replacing Hedley “The Gawd” is going to be tough. Just b/c Joyce is from Australia like Lou doesn’t mean he’ll be Lou II, & b/c I’m not familiar w/ his game, I can’t comment on him. Just hoping he’s of the same caliber. ****, as long as he’s not remotely like Feagles, I’ll be happy.
Overall, I give this class a B as it took care a couple of needs (OL, LB, RB), added to others (DE, TE, CB), while leaving other rooms head scratching (DT, S, WR). Hopefully with the portal reopening later this yr, we’ll be able to change some of these rooms with better impact/depth players.
Thoughts & Discussion?
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