Top 10 disappointing teams starts

[ctbrown24]

From Rivals...

10) USF

Despite the hiring of Skip Holtz, the USF Bulls have struggled with seeing a bump in their recruiting in 2011. The class is currently headlined by quarterback Matt Floyd, running back Willie Davis and offensive lineman Max Lang - all of whom have been given a three-star designation by Rivals.

Where the Bulls are falling short is at the skill positions on offense, especially wide receiver, where they need a surge of talent. At this time, the only wide receiver committed to the Bulls is Punta Forda (Fla.) Charlotte wideout Alex Mut.

Holtz and his staff closed strong in 2010. They will need a repeat effort in 2011 in order to start turning things around on the field.

Link: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1143525

[tau.reanb]

To be fair, we're on that list with pretty high company-- West Virginia, Tennessee, Penn State, Oregon State, etc.).  Really that speaks more to the greater expectations people have of our football now, and less to the notion we have a bad recruiting class. 

[Paisa el Toro]

And I'll reserve judgment until the close of recruiting for this year. We're still in play for some highly touted recruits. I just hope we can close the deal on some of the local ones. We need to lock down Tampa Bay.

[The Dude]

Is he the only writer who thought this?  Most every beat writer had USF in it's first down year due to the Leavitt debacle and USF basicallly ditching much of their 2010 class cause CJL didn't start recruiting last year till NOVEMBER, plus a class that had 4 to 5 non-signs.  Add Leavitts class in 2009 with another four or so non-signs and Holtz has to fill up with second tier and last minute fill ins talent.  How is that a down year?

Didn't he just beat Cincinnati?

Why don't we wait a little, like 3-4 games and start making those type decisions then?

[SANJAY]

Is he the only writer who thought this?  Most every beat writer had USF in it's first down year due to the Leavitt debacle and USF basicallly ditching much of their 2010 class cause CJL didn't start recruiting last year till NOVEMBER, plus a class that had 4 to 5 non-signs.  Add Leavitts class in 2009 with another four or so non-signs and Holtz has to fill up with second tier and last minute fill ins talent.  How is that a down year?

Didn't he just beat Cincinnati?

Why don't we wait a little, like 3-4 games and start making those type decisions then?

What are you talking about?  Leavitt had 9 recruits committed before November last year, 7 of whom ended up signing.  The two who did not were Brion Carnes who committed to USF in the fall of 2008(a year prior) and Justin green who was a signee from 2 years prior.

Also, what do non qualifiers from 2009 have to do with perception of the 2011 class?  Holtz does not have to take anyone in this class he does not want to.

[The Dude]

Looking at the timeing of "Slapgate", Leavitt basically did little to NO recruting in AUGUST (0), SEPTEMBER (0), OCTOBER (1), NOVEMBER (0), and commited an undersized OT/OG in Reiter and Montague, who was CJL's second non-sign of the class.  Carnes was one, Green was two, Powell was three, Montague was four, Hayes was FIVE.

Losing the FIVE players was not Holtzes' fault.

Losing five players out of a potential 22 (20 in class), 22 with Carnes and Greene, is pathetic.  The article is about how USF is a Top 10 disapointing team.  We basically had a class of SEVENTEEN and from after the 1/31 date we filled in after the Mitchell commit.

And Skip Holtz isn't going to take a scholarship away from a kid simply because Leavitt commited him and Skip didn't, unless there is an ethical or moral issue.

[SANJAY]

Looking at the timeing of "Slapgate", Leavitt basically did little to NO recruting in AUGUST (0), SEPTEMBER (0), OCTOBER (1), NOVEMBER (0), and commited an undersized OT/OG in Reiter and Montague, who was CJL's second non-sign of the class.  Carnes was one, Green was two, Powell was three, Montague was four, Hayes was FIVE.

Losing the FIVE players was not Holtzes' fault.

Losing five players out of a potential 22 (20 in class), 22 with Carnes and Greene, is pathetic.  The article is about how USF is a Top 10 disapointing team.  We basically had a class of SEVENTEEN and from after the 1/31 date we filled in after the Mitchell commit.

And Skip Holtz isn't going to take a scholarship away from a kid simply because Leavitt commited him and Skip didn't, unless there is an ethical or moral issue.

No one is criticizing Holtz for the 2010 class.  The bottom 10 ranking from the article is for the 2011 class which is made up of all Holtz recruits.

As for saying that no recruiting is done because there are no commitments in a given month is wrong.  Coaches are recruiting all the time, year round limited only by the quiet and dead periods instituted by the NCAA.  Coaches are phoning, emailing, visiting recruits and a recruit's HS coaches.  That is what the current staff is doing and what the last staff did.  Terrence Mitchell was being recruited by USF for nearly 2 years by the time he committed, as are some of the more name recruits locally.

You can't count kids that did not sign with USF (Carnes and Greene) against the class as nonqualifiers; I believe Carnes is at Nebraska.  You can count Powell and Montague.  Hayes was qualified by the the NCAA but then denied by the academic committee, he's playing at Houston now. 

[The Dude]

Sanjay.  I only added Carnes and Green because YOU mentioned them.