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- Feb 3, 2018
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We have all read about ways different staffs are using social media, Zoom, Facetime, etc to make connections with players during this extended period of no visits. I've been following this blog since were were recruiting this kid. Miller Moss - pretty much the last "major" QB prospect left uncommitted. He eliminated Miami from his last 4 finalists. Here are a few excerpts from this week's blog on SI- he talks about the different ways all 4 of his final schools are recruiting him: LSU, Alabama, UCLA and USC. Really interesting - It isn't just WHAT these teams are doing, it's the impression and interpretation of what is being done/said that is interesting... Two of these schools already have a 4 or 5 star QB committed: LSU and USC. Alabama has Bryce Young waiting to take the job. Only UCLA is a place he has the chance to go in and start pretty quickly.
LSU
What LSU has done has been really interesting. They've gone on a weekly schedule of doing a Zoom. That Zoom includes the first part, for me and my family, and a campus tour and being able to speak with Coach O (Ed Orgeron). After that I'm able to sit down with Coach (Russ) Callaway and Coach (Steve) Ensminger and really talk ball. That's one of my favorite things to do with college coaches.
You get a good grasp if you could see yourself playing in that system. Just being able to talk protections, concepts and schemes and then watch that film. Watch Joe Burrow and the accuracy he plays with and that kind of stuff. See how your game stacks up against his and if you can see yourself playing that position, making those throws and playing in those games. There's definitely special things he's done and they're showing me the highlights, but he was really special in a lot of things. Being able to get an in-depth look at his season and what he was able to do and then realize and understand the method behind that has been interesting and I look forward to continuing to do that.
ALABAMA
In terms of Alabama, obviously Coach (Nick) Saban speaks for himself. I've been talking with Coach Saban about every other week on FaceTime. He doesn't give his phone number out so I have to FaceTime another number [laughing], which has been interesting. The only way you can get his phone number is if you win a national award, so if you win the Maxwell or one of those you can. Tua (Tagovailoa) won the Maxwell, (Jerry) Jeudy won the Biletnikoff, so they had it. I don't believe anyone on the current team has it...when you're Nick Saban, you get to do those kind of things.
The most interesting thing about speaking with Nick Saban is just how psychologically adept he is. You're talking to him and it's unlike talking to any other coach because you feel like you're being tested and analyzed in how you answer every single question. It's honestly intellectually stimulating to have a conversation with him and I think that's something you don't get with any other coach.
The flip side of that, the other main part of my recruitment at Alabama is Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian). Similar to what I've been able to do with Coach Ensminger, me and Coach Sark are able to get on Zoom, where he can share his screen with me and we've been able to talk ball. Obviously watching Tua, who is so special, and watching those four potential first round wide receivers the past two years has been phenomenal. I think, like I said before, it's a really unique experience. Not only do you get to see these guys work and these guys play at an in-depth level, you get to see how you feel your game stacks up against them. And you get to see what goes into and what is behind the success that they have.
USC
I've been talking with Coach (Clay) Helton on FaceTime pretty much on a weekly basis. Every Wednesday we get on the phone and just talk about different stuff, life, stuff like that. I've been getting on group FaceTimes with the whole staff. Obviously Gavin (Morris) and Coach Donte (Williams), who is actually the DB coach but we get along really, really well. He's a big L.A. guy so we can bond in that sense. They've done a great job. They have one of the most in-depth coaching staffs and continue to reach out to me. They've been really really good in that respect.
UCLA
They gave me the opportunity to get on the phone with Troy Aikman this morning.
He was such a down-to-earth guy, you would never know that he's accomplished what he has accomplished. He's been so successful, one of the most notable quarterbacks in NFL history. We got into the UCLA recruitment and why he felt like UCLA would be a good spot for me. He was able to tell me things about his relationship with Coach (Chip) Kelly and why he felt like that would be a great person for me to learn the game from and how that translates into the NFL. We were able to bond on a bunch of different levels. Obviously the love of playing quarterback, but just a lot of geographical things and love for the game, stuff like that.
He definitely gave me a perspective on UCLA that I hadn't had before. I wouldn't say changed my mind, in terms of my recruitment, but he definitely added what I would say is more complication to an already-tough decision. It's weird that I have Troy Aikman's number in my phone. He was a really cool dude, actually. He moved out to Oklahoma later on. He was born and raised in L.A., his name was Troy and he grew up a USC fan and ended up being one of the best UCLA quarterbacks ever, which was kind of ironic. I asked him what it was like going to UCLA growing up a USC fan, which is a hypothetical situation for me. It's not really a secret, I grew up rooting for Pete Carroll's teams. It was kind of hard not to, being an L.A. kid. That was another unique perspective he could provide.
LSU
What LSU has done has been really interesting. They've gone on a weekly schedule of doing a Zoom. That Zoom includes the first part, for me and my family, and a campus tour and being able to speak with Coach O (Ed Orgeron). After that I'm able to sit down with Coach (Russ) Callaway and Coach (Steve) Ensminger and really talk ball. That's one of my favorite things to do with college coaches.
You get a good grasp if you could see yourself playing in that system. Just being able to talk protections, concepts and schemes and then watch that film. Watch Joe Burrow and the accuracy he plays with and that kind of stuff. See how your game stacks up against his and if you can see yourself playing that position, making those throws and playing in those games. There's definitely special things he's done and they're showing me the highlights, but he was really special in a lot of things. Being able to get an in-depth look at his season and what he was able to do and then realize and understand the method behind that has been interesting and I look forward to continuing to do that.
ALABAMA
In terms of Alabama, obviously Coach (Nick) Saban speaks for himself. I've been talking with Coach Saban about every other week on FaceTime. He doesn't give his phone number out so I have to FaceTime another number [laughing], which has been interesting. The only way you can get his phone number is if you win a national award, so if you win the Maxwell or one of those you can. Tua (Tagovailoa) won the Maxwell, (Jerry) Jeudy won the Biletnikoff, so they had it. I don't believe anyone on the current team has it...when you're Nick Saban, you get to do those kind of things.
The most interesting thing about speaking with Nick Saban is just how psychologically adept he is. You're talking to him and it's unlike talking to any other coach because you feel like you're being tested and analyzed in how you answer every single question. It's honestly intellectually stimulating to have a conversation with him and I think that's something you don't get with any other coach.
The flip side of that, the other main part of my recruitment at Alabama is Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian). Similar to what I've been able to do with Coach Ensminger, me and Coach Sark are able to get on Zoom, where he can share his screen with me and we've been able to talk ball. Obviously watching Tua, who is so special, and watching those four potential first round wide receivers the past two years has been phenomenal. I think, like I said before, it's a really unique experience. Not only do you get to see these guys work and these guys play at an in-depth level, you get to see how you feel your game stacks up against them. And you get to see what goes into and what is behind the success that they have.
USC
I've been talking with Coach (Clay) Helton on FaceTime pretty much on a weekly basis. Every Wednesday we get on the phone and just talk about different stuff, life, stuff like that. I've been getting on group FaceTimes with the whole staff. Obviously Gavin (Morris) and Coach Donte (Williams), who is actually the DB coach but we get along really, really well. He's a big L.A. guy so we can bond in that sense. They've done a great job. They have one of the most in-depth coaching staffs and continue to reach out to me. They've been really really good in that respect.
UCLA
They gave me the opportunity to get on the phone with Troy Aikman this morning.
He was such a down-to-earth guy, you would never know that he's accomplished what he has accomplished. He's been so successful, one of the most notable quarterbacks in NFL history. We got into the UCLA recruitment and why he felt like UCLA would be a good spot for me. He was able to tell me things about his relationship with Coach (Chip) Kelly and why he felt like that would be a great person for me to learn the game from and how that translates into the NFL. We were able to bond on a bunch of different levels. Obviously the love of playing quarterback, but just a lot of geographical things and love for the game, stuff like that.
He definitely gave me a perspective on UCLA that I hadn't had before. I wouldn't say changed my mind, in terms of my recruitment, but he definitely added what I would say is more complication to an already-tough decision. It's weird that I have Troy Aikman's number in my phone. He was a really cool dude, actually. He moved out to Oklahoma later on. He was born and raised in L.A., his name was Troy and he grew up a USC fan and ended up being one of the best UCLA quarterbacks ever, which was kind of ironic. I asked him what it was like going to UCLA growing up a USC fan, which is a hypothetical situation for me. It's not really a secret, I grew up rooting for Pete Carroll's teams. It was kind of hard not to, being an L.A. kid. That was another unique perspective he could provide.
