We have a "Welcome to the U"

[Larry]

I take this as more of an indication that Golden isn't a fan of some of his current guys on the roster.

Well, we don't have a ready-to-play stack end on the roster. This guy isn't so much a DT as a stack end. 6'5"-6'6" 280-ish pounds...played a lot of end...stood up some, too. Lined up in 4, 5, and 6 techniques, saw him line up even wider. Saw a few plays on his hudl where he was lining up inside at the 3. We just don't have that type of player on the roster for Golden to not like what we'd have. Big, physically mature, stack and shed end prospect. I said it was a need all season long...it looks like the staff is taking one.

This is the type of player that essentially helps free up the McCords, the AlQaeda Muhammads, the Devante Bonds run free into the backfield or force the offense to keep an extra man into block.

This guy had a pretty big Title Game, which is why I guess he's getting more attention late in the process (visited WVU, had Auburn interest, etc). They played Iowa Western which has a ton of D1 prospects on it (Rodney Coe, Isaiah Johnson, etc) so I can see how people took a look at this JUCO Title Game and saw this kid pop off the screen and started digging around and realized he wasn't heavily recruited despite having a good season.

 

[hoops156]

Where did you see Muhammad would need prep? From the nd posters that were butthurt bc that was not an issue for them until he was missing some special nd admissions reqs.

 

[Ekim12]

Here's my take, we need help like no other team in the country at DL. We need to take whoever Golden thinks can help us in that area. You cant get much worse than we were last year in that area, so taking a guy like this is a step in the right direction. Is he a guy that we have heard of and has made a name for himself? No but that doesn't mean he cant be a monster in the middle with porter! Some of you just need to take a step back and let Coach Golden to his thing. WE ALL believe in Golden and he hasn't done anything to no have our trust. If anything he deserves more than we give him sometimes. He has been through a lot that he was NEVER planning on going through here and he has done it with great poise. I cant wait to get to next season to see what this team is capable of doing! BELIEVE in GOLDEN!!

 

[skyman]

Guys, A kid like this is essentially a key cog in the defense we want to run. Ideally in our D, he will never put up huge stats or get much shine. When he does his job correctly a guy like this is invaluable because on run downs they will hold the point of attack and on passing plays they will allow a guy like Muhammad to do what he does best get to the Qb. I am not a fan of the 2 gap type 3-4 (In college I would rather a attacking up field 1 gap 3-4, but I also dont get the big bucks, sooo) but its what the coaches want to run and this allows them to do it more effectively. I support this move because we dont have the lengthy, big body type who does what these guys need to make their defense look good. Look at our roster and we only have Jacoby Briscoe and he is too young to expect him to do this dirty work yet. If dono ever wants to run his D effectively he cant get by with Shayon, I am not a fan but I support them going out and finding somebody, anybody to fill that role. Hope it works, but I support the effort.


And also anyone who looked at the visit list and expected a commit from this weekend must be new to recruiting. Most of these guys have waited this long and will wait til the end. From reports the only person who has a chance of announcing before signing day is Collins AFTER his visit to Arky. But reading the tea leaves (his interview with the herald) sounds like he will take as much time as possible. Just chill, Feb 6 will be here soon enough.

 

[cane305]

With Kamala, Sunny and Fentress roaming around out there, I feel sorry for any saber-toothed tigers that might have the misfortune of meandering onto the practice field this season.

don't know about Tigers but there are a lot of cougars on the wellness center nearby

 

[Gamineal]

we are getting guys that can come off the edge faster than we have had..we just need big bodies to tie up guards and RBS staying in to block.....its a system they are recruiting not bodies like years past....

 

[2Focusd804]

Glad we got some depth on the DL as he has 3 years left. Per TOS the only other BCS offer was West Virginia, which is concerning but gotta have faith in Al

One site reports an Auburn offer as well.

good to know, however its not very comforting then WVU who was awful on D and Auburn who was a complete greasefire are the only BCS offers. In Al we trust though

So your telling me teams that had terrible defenses offering this kid is a bad thing??? Think they might be trying to upgrade??? Last time i checked our D wasn't to stellar either...

traditionally yes it isn't a great thing since they go after recruits who the better teams aren't going after as the big boys can have who they want. it should make anyone feel better that LSU, Bama, and UGA are recruiting the same kid we are compared to North Texas, Toledo and a bottomfeeder defensive BCS tier team. in many cases schools like WVU and Auburn will use their "name" to get kids like this as they are desperate and hope that they work out with good coaching and development. this is one reason that leads me to believe he committed on the spot is all of his recruitment prior to was inferior to miami.

it is no secret that we are desperate for bodies up front so the move makes sense but appears to be a project. with that being said i have the upmost confidence that golden and co can develop players and probably see something other schools don't in this kid.

or could it be that those top teams like LSU and Bama dont NEED to go the JUCO route because they have head coaches thats been at their school for 4 to 5 years and has already has the depth necessary to replenish their D-line thru high school recruits. If i remember correctly when Miami was dominating they didn't bring in a ton of JUCOs. and if u look thru the history of high ranked high school DT's the bust rate is very very high, I dont mind bringing in kids who have already played against kids who are more evenly matched and have made plays doing it.

 

[NorthFlaCane]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2012-13/players/ufombakamaluv7hh?view=gamelog

 

[motorcitycane]

How many times does Golden have to say that he is not in the business of pulling scholarships!

 

[Cans4life]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2012-13/players/ufombakamaluv7hh?view=gamelog

Seems as though he was productive and came a long towards the end of the season.

DLineman are found in the weirdest places.

 

[dycane]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2012-13/players/ufombakamaluv7hh?view=gamelog

Seems as though he was productive and came a long towards the end of the season.

DLineman are found in the weirdest places.

He had his best game - in fact a dominating game - against the toughest comp his team faced all year. I like.

 

[japancane]

I'm happy- we needed a JUCO DL pretty badly. Who knows if he'll be alright. Last 2 star JUCO kid we took (Gunter) ended up being a stud. Like Cans said, DL are found in the weirdest places.

This pick up has very little to do with Bostwick and Bryant.

 

[SpikeUM]

dont love, wasnt impressed by his film at all.

and probably means theyre not feeling great about Bostwick or Bryant

Why? Why do people do this?

Every time some name that the fanbase doesn't know pops up, we get these kinds of posts. We have been looking for Two JUCO defensive lineman forever. Its not an accident we recruited Hooks, Toby Johnson, Ben Bradley, and other JUCO d-linemen. This is about them understanding that if they want to compete on the level they think they are ready to compete at, they need immediate help on the defensive line.

Says NOTHING of the prospects of picking up Bostwick or Bryant.

Please stop using logic in a thread.

 

[De Pinga]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2012-13/players/ufombakamaluv7hh?view=gamelog

Seems as though he was productive and came a long towards the end of the season.

DLineman are found in the weirdest places.

He had his best game - in fact a dominating game - against the toughest comp his team faced all year. I like.

See some of those scores? 84-7; 84-13; 72-12... guy was never on the field, they were just racking up points

 

[grover]

guess i should be tempering my expectations. I understand these kids have waited this long to make a decision, so they'll just finish the show on Feb 6

I don't think it's about tempering expectations. You pinpointed the key issue here, which is that these recruits have waited all year to be able to announce on National LOI day. By all accounts, the weekend was a smashing success even with the loss of Fish at OC. So let's wait and see what happens. Hopefully, Grace announces for us on Tuesday, as expected, then the others commit between now and LOI day.

As far as Ufomba's commit goes, IMO (no insider), I don't think he's taking away a ship from anyone. There's enough noise about AQM and Bostwick in terms of NCAA clearinghouse that I think the coaches expect to have enough ships to offer. We can't expect to get all of Thomas, Grace, Kirkland, Bryant, Bostwick, Coley, Collins and Robinson. And if we do, I think 1 or 2 go prep, we bank on a couple kids leaving due to being too low on the depth chart (e.g., lots of depth now at QB, WR, DT, DE, TE) and, if absolutely necessary, we make room by managing out the underperformers in the offseason. This staff can navigate the situation just fine.

 

[ibs794]

One site reports an Auburn offer as well.

good to know, however its not very comforting then WVU who was awful on D and Auburn who was a complete greasefire are the only BCS offers. In Al we trust though

So your telling me teams that had terrible defenses offering this kid is a bad thing??? Think they might be trying to upgrade??? Last time i checked our D wasn't to stellar either...

traditionally yes it isn't a great thing since they go after recruits who the better teams aren't going after as the big boys can have who they want. it should make anyone feel better that LSU, Bama, and UGA are recruiting the same kid we are compared to North Texas, Toledo and a bottomfeeder defensive BCS tier team. in many cases schools like WVU and Auburn will use their "name" to get kids like this as they are desperate and hope that they work out with good coaching and development. this is one reason that leads me to believe he committed on the spot is all of his recruitment prior to was inferior to miami.

it is no secret that we are desperate for bodies up front so the move makes sense but appears to be a project. with that being said i have the upmost confidence that golden and co can develop players and probably see something other schools don't in this kid.

or could it be that those top teams like LSU and Bama dont NEED to go the JUCO route because they have head coaches thats been at their school for 4 to 5 years and has already has the depth necessary to replenish their D-line thru high school recruits. If i remember correctly when Miami was dominating they didn't bring in a ton of JUCOs. and if u look thru the history of high ranked high school DT's the bust rate is very very high, I dont mind bringing in kids who have already played against kids who are more evenly matched and have made plays doing it.

Bama always gets JUCO players on defense.

 

[Cans4life]

At the very least he'll intimidate opponents walking off the bus.

 

[JHallCanes]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2012-13/players/ufombakamaluv7hh?view=gamelog

Seems as though he was productive and came a long towards the end of the season.

DLineman are found in the weirdest places.

The 2012 football season was another to remember for Butler Community College. Head Coach Troy Morrell led the Grizzlies to the NJCAA National Championship Game for the sixth time in his 12 year tenure. On a roster filled with future Division 1 players, none may have a more interesting back story than Ufomba Kamalu.Kamalu is 6-foot-6, 280-pound defensive lineman from Georgia that excelled for the Grizzlies this season, logging 54 tackles and 7.5 sacks. The son of Nigerian immigrants, he may have the most upside of any of Morrell’s charges.“Ufomba is really just learning the game,” Morrell said. “He’s progressing week by week. He was MVP of the national title game on defense.”Kamalu’s father was in the Nigerian Army, and came to American to earn his doctorate from Cal. When Kamalu was born, his parents sent him to Nigeria to learn the culture. He returned to the U.S. in eighth grade, and began playing organized football for the first time a year later.“He’s well put together,” Morell said, impressed by the potential Kamalu possesses. “The thing that separates him, I think, is his flexibility. He’s lean, streamline, and he’s a runner. He’s definitely got a long frame where he can pack on good weight.”Morrell isn’t sure what Kamalu’s future holds. He visited West Virginia and Auburnin December, but he is still an under the radar prospect. With three years of eligibility remaining, he could opt to return to Butler in 2013.

 

[Larry]

I'm happy- we needed a JUCO DL pretty badly. Who knows if he'll be alright. Last 2 star JUCO kid we took (Gunter) ended up being a stud. Like Cans said, DL are found in the weirdest places.

This pick up has very little to do with Bostwick and Bryant.

JUCO kids and their star rankings are very poor things to go by...they are barely evaluated by these sites and a lot of their offers come in late, so the sites can't base their star ranking off of that.

JUCO Ball is an uptapped evaluations area for the sites. There isn't a big market for it, so I understand.

 

[gcane44]

Wow. when you look at the stats game by game, it is apparent that he wasn't playing as much or making as much of an impact at the beginning of the season, but as the season went on, he turned into a certified monster! 6 sacks in his last 3 games! 14 tackles and 3 sacks in his last game (which I'm assuming was the toughest opponent)!!


With all this negativity towards this commitment, mark me down as a fan of this guy. Larry put it VERY well in terms of describing his likely role on our squad. This guy can be versatile and play some DE and DT. I really think this guy will be a solid contributor to our squad over the next 3 years. There aren't many guys who are 6'6 280 pounds and have athleticism and body control walking around. In watching his highlights, one thing that I really like is regardless of if he is at DE or DT, when he engages with an OL, he is the one dictating the movement, he is not getting moved around by guys who weight more than him and are probably stronger. He is holding his ground/gap, and even pushing OL back from the interior and on the edge. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to convince myself, but the more I learn about this guy, the more I like this pickup