Recruiting class ranking

[puc86]

Who would not want to play for a third rate ambulence chaser from LA? What will your selling point be to recruits? "Come play for us and I will stage a slip and fall accident in a grocery store and give you a small cut of lawsuit earnings." Coach Leavitt better start watching his back now, that is as long as they do not grade the resume for grammar and spelling.

Still seems incredible to me that "with" Mike Ford we are ranked 56th.  I trust CJL & Carl Franks evaluation but it still sorta makes me go Humm ?

why

usf is middle of pack team with leavitt at helm

56th is disgraceful

i could have had that ranking from my bed in los angeles if i was coach

[crambone]

I know that I am still a relative newcomer to these forums, but is smazza always this pessimistic?

[NormalBull]

;D ;D ;D puc with the HOF post.  Got a laugh out of me on a day I figured there was no way.

Thanks puc.

Normal

[I Bleed Awesomeness]

Still seems incredible to me that "with" Mike Ford we are ranked 56th.  I trust CJL & Carl Franks evaluation but it still sorta makes me go Humm ?

why

usf is middle of pack team with leavitt at helm

56th is disgraceful

i could have had that ranking from my bed in los angeles if i was coach

really?  from your bed??  i didnt know conducting business from your bed was an order the courts gave you...i thought it was just a one year suspension, stayed, placed on three years of probation, and ordered to make restitution and take the MPRE within one year.  hmm interesting.  ive never heard of something like that handed down.  also, make sure not to hand out scholorships to our recruits for SIX months....i know you have the tendency to not give people things for 6 months, like checks you wrote them etc etc, so i figured it'd be an easy transition for you.  good luck on your recruiting endeavours.

[Triple B]

I know that I am still a relative newcomer to these forums, but is smazza always this pessimistic?

It's all an act. He really thinks CJL is doing a great job but just likes stirring things up ...

[USFMikeB]

I know that I am still a relative newcomer to these forums, but is smazza always this pessimistic?

Yes.  In fact, he's usually more pessimistic.  He loves to hate USF.

[Bullpride08]

Still seems incredible to me that "with" Mike Ford we are ranked 56th.  I trust CJL & Carl Franks evaluation but it still sorta makes me go Humm ?

You wouldn't go "HMMMM" if you had a better idea about these recruits and didn't let a source that has no credibility on HS evaluation tell you what to believe.

I'd say at a minimum, and some very credible people agree, that Claude Davis, Quenton Washington, and Richard Kelly are severely underrated.

Claude Davis is a two star DE, I say again, and Joe agrees and knows, yet Davis has offers and interest like any 3 or 4 star ranked FL player?  SO, who's wrong, are you saying this article, or ranking done by unqualified people, who decide which players deserve stars and rankings is right?  Or are you saying that UTennessee, UofIowa, Louisville, Michigan State, WVU, Auburn, and USF (among many others) is right?  I'd tend to go with the staffs of those schools, all with proven track records of finding diamonds in the rough, particularly in FL.

Another perfect example is Calvin Sutton.  I know for a fact Mr. Sutton holds offers from Ole Miss, Auburn, Nebraska, UK, and Clemson, Miami claims they're going to offer- he had dozens of offers but almost 18 from top BCS schools.  Neither website has him listed over 5-11, but Calvin is legit 6-1 220lbs.  Neither give him his true speed of 4.55, and his father does some physical training with Gary Sheffield so he would know.  One person that really knows FL football believes Calvin is one of the top 3 LB's coming out of this state this year right up there with Hicks and Edwards....Leavitt made him his #1 defensive target.  Three stars is such a travesty for this kid.  161 tackles his senior year, 19 sacks as a junior.

Nah, you've got to get a better perspective before criticizing.  Tyrone McKenzie a transfer was a three star out of HS.  Tyson Butler was one of the state's leading rushers.  This is easily USF's best recruiting class in terms of talent.  In fact, my biggest concern is some big BCS schools cherry picking us at the end.  UF's supposely very interested in Bellamy, FSU wants Kelly to visit in the worst way, Claude has visits set up with MSU, and UT after USF.  Sutton, Sinclair, McClain, Butler, Washington and more are all sporting numerous bigtime offers.  This isn't a smoke and mirrors class like some possibly in the past, all the aforementioned are legit big time recruits that have multiple BCS offers and visits.

I couldn't believe how disappointed Auburn was when Sutton said he wasn't visiting.

[Unintelligibull]

Smazza's a stirrer all right. His latest post saying not to blame our recruiting class on Keely's death went way over the line.

He sounds like a Gator fan who isn't happy unless they win the national championship. If he were a Gator fan he'd probably be upset they lost to Auburn and would want to fire Urchin Meyer.

JL and his staff know talent and they know how to coach. How else do you explain this year's success (with sub 50 recruiting classes) and a very bright future with the athletes we now have.

We're young so there isn't a lot of room for many freshmen, if any, to start this year.

Our best recruiting year will be the following year after another great season, a bowl win, and more openings.

[dabull80]

Still seems incredible to me that "with" Mike Ford we are ranked 56th.  I trust CJL & Carl Franks evaluation but it still sorta makes me go Humm ?

You wouldn't go "HMMMM" if you had a better idea about these recruits and didn't let a source that has no credibility on HS evaluation tell you what to believe.

I'd say at a minimum, and some very credible people agree, that Claude Davis, Quenton Washington, and Richard Kelly are severely underrated.

Claude Davis is a two star DE, I say again, and Joe agrees and knows, yet Davis has offers and interest like any 3 or 4 star ranked FL player?  SO, who's wrong, are you saying this article, or ranking done by unqualified people, who decide which players deserve stars and rankings is right?  Or are you saying that UTennessee, UofIowa, Louisville, Michigan State, WVU, Auburn, and USF (among many others) is right?  I'd tend to go with the staffs of those schools, all with proven track records of finding diamonds in the rough, particularly in FL.

Another perfect example is Calvin Sutton.  I know for a fact Mr. Sutton holds offers from Ole Miss, Auburn, Nebraska, UK, and Clemson, Miami claims they're going to offer- he had dozens of offers but almost 18 from top BCS schools.  Neither website has him listed over 5-11, but Calvin is legit 6-1 220lbs.  Neither give him his true speed of 4.55, and his father does some physical training with Gary Sheffield so he would know.  One person that really knows FL football believes Calvin is one of the top 3 LB's coming out of this state this year right up there with Hicks and Edwards....Leavitt made him his #1 defensive target.  Three stars is such a travesty for this kid.  161 tackles his senior year, 19 sacks as a junior.

Nah, you've got to get a better perspective before criticizing.  Tyrone McKenzie a transfer was a three star out of HS.  Tyson Butler was one of the state's leading rushers.  This is easily USF's best recruiting class in terms of talent.  In fact, my biggest concern is some big BCS schools cherry picking us at the end.  UF's supposely very interested in Bellamy, FSU wants Kelly to visit in the worst way, Claude has visits set up with MSU, and UT after USF.  Sutton, Sinclair, McClain, Butler, Washington and more are all sporting numerous bigtime offers.  This isn't a smoke and mirrors class like some possibly in the past, all the aforementioned are legit big time recruits that have multiple BCS offers and visits.

I couldn't believe how disappointed Auburn was when Sutton said he wasn't visiting.

Now relax Bein,  you should know well enough by now that I am huge fan of JL and you missread my HUMMM ?  How can a guy keep getting these "low rated" recruiting classes and still continue to have succsess on the field.  I don't care how good of a coach you are at developing talent - you don't beat WV on the road and potentialy have a top 25 ranked team going into next year without some talent on your team.  Jump from an independent to C-USA to the BE and keep winning means you have talent, yet your recruiting class is 50 or 60 or whatever makes me go Hummm - What is wrong with this picture ?  Ya think some guys at their desk that see a few video clips know more then our coaches who go and see these players,talk to their coaches and meet their family and follow them for two or three years might know a little more.  I know I do and that is why I trust in CJL & Carl Franks and the rest of the guys.  No, you got the wrong guy here - I did not change my name to "#56 in bed Smazza".

[Bullpride08]

Smazza's a stirrer all right. His latest post saying not to blame our recruiting class on Keely's death went way over the line.

He sounds like a Gator fan who isn't happy unless they win the national championship. If he were a Gator fan he'd probably be upset they lost to Auburn and would want to fire Urchin Meyer.

JL and his staff know talent and they know how to coach. How else do you explain this year's success (with sub 50 recruiting classes) and a very bright future with the athletes we now have.

We're young so there isn't a lot of room for many freshmen, if any, to start this year.

Our best recruiting year will be the following year after another great season, a bowl win, and more openings.

Well put Bullgator...

All you have to do is look at the National Freshmen All-American teams and see who's listed.

George Selvie, and Chris Robinson...

Each were two star recruits, Selvie was a center in HS, and Robinson a safety.  Both put up sick numbers as freshmen in HS.

I don't know much about the Selvie recruiting job, but someone explained to me about Robinson, that a number of area coaches were raving about this kid, more as a TE, but one HS coach that the staff really respects told our staff that he "Was grateful to the coaching staff Robinson played on for mainly not using him to his greatest potential because that coach felt that if Robinson's HS staff used him correctly they would have made the playoffs".   This coach felt Robinson would have been a force at LB, and QB or receiver.  

Great connections.  USF's HS connections are impeccible definitely the best in the state right now- although FSU might be back on top adding Amato back to the family, and getting Dawsey in-house.

Hey you want to know about great USF coaching and recruiting look at the all-conference team.  Trae Williams- two star, Ean Randolph no-star, Ben Moffitt two-star....get the picture.

Take for instance Kevin Williams- he's a no-star not even in rivals database, not even in scouts database.  DID YOU KNOW, last year WVU beat us for Kevin Williams, he was set to enroll at WVU but academics held him back.  He didn't go JC just waited in the fall to do some part-time CC, and get his test score up.  He got his test scores up and decided to commit, and subsequently enroll at USF.  Kevin de-committed from WVU- that's a WVU team that's gone 22-3 over the past three years with wins over UGA, Gtech, among others- had a full ride offer from Iowa, and UAB, and getting some interest from a few other SEC schools before he slammed the door shut and enrolled at USF immediately.

Does this make him less of a player?  To compare I would say Kevin Williams is a clone of Trae Williams/Ean Randolph, a little bigger with exceptional breakaway speed- 4 kick returns for TD in HS in 2005.   State finalist in the 400m, 100m regional champ... What does that say about USF?  Not only did he have no stars, he wasn't even in their database but if you ask any HS coach in Pinellas County who were the five most dangerous athletes in Pinellas in 2005 they would have told you Kevin Williams, Dexter McCluster, Jock Sanders, Donald Bowen, and Andrew Harris, maybe Young and Newsome just behind those five.  Kevin averaged 15.87 yards a catch, and 10 yards a carry as a senior scoring 16 TD's, and having almost 1400 total yards.

I guess it's like the old saying goes if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, then did it happen?  If USF wins a recruiting battle and no one hears, or the recruiting services don't spend time reporting about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.