Gerald Bowman S JUCO

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Los Angeles (Calif.) Pierce College four-star safety Gerald Bowman has seen a lot of USC this year.

However, 10 games into the season, Saturday was Bowman's first full game day experience at USC. But as with his previous trips to the Coliseum, Saturday's visit was cut short.

NCAA rules restrict colleges from having contact with recruits on competition days. With Pierce College playing Saturday, Bowman had to attend the Trojans 40-17 win over Washington as a fan.

"That was actually my first game experience," said Bowman. "I've been to numerous practices, but that was my first time seeing the fans and the intensity level of the players and coaches.

"I got their late, so I didn't really get to see the coaches or players in warm ups. I actually didn't get to talk to the coaches afterward either. Because I had a game that day, it's a no-contact period for them.

"I couldn't even call them and talk to them. So really, I just went down to see the fans and how the team performed. The fans, they are wild. That's for sure."

Bowman has seen USC from the first day of fall camp to the Trojans' last game. With that frame of reference, junior college's No. 2 ranked players nationally has been impressed with the progression of this year's defense.

"I've definitely been watching the safeties like T.J. McDonald, as well as the corners," said Bowman. "They have been impressive. They play with a lot of passion and I think that's important.

"It's good to know your teammates are into it with you and that you're going t do whatever it takes to get that win. You can tell their DBs love to make plays. When they have an opportunity to make a play and don't, it's obvious that they're disappointed.

"But they forget about it and move on to the next play - as every DB should. I enjoyed seeing that. It was cool to see how they play and interact as a group."

To this point, Bowman has officially visited Cal and Oklahoma. Both schools remain among under consideration, with the Sooners becoming one of his top two college choices.

"Right now, [my leaders] would be between Oklahoma and SC," said Bowman. "It's never over until you actually sign your letter of intent, but it's a short period of time and I'm just praying about it. I still have to talk it over with my family to see which situation is best for me."

Bowman is weighing his decision heavily on his relationship with his future teammates and coaches. At Oklahoma, he met up with former USC recruit and San Diego (Calif.) native Tony Jefferson.

"Yeah, I met Tony and Aaron Colvin," said Bowman. "Tony was telling me about how he was committed to SC and stuff. He's a cool dude.

"The preparation those guys put into game day is crazy. I can't really compare it to USC because I haven't seen USC like that yet, but it was different than what I saw at Cal.

"I haven't see the walk-throughs or pregame rituals at USC yet, but at Oklahoma, the players and the coaches relationships are tight. That stood out to me. The way everything was handled was really cool."

Oregon was also a school under consideration, but the Ducks and Bowman recently parted ways.

"Coach [John] Neal called me up and let me know that they were going to just go with one of their high school safeties," said Bowman. "We had talked before, but I didn't even know they had a commitment from another safety.

"They were recruiting me, but now they feel like their young guys are stepping up big and it wouldn't be fair to me to come in a compete with that. Those guys have actually played a good amount of snaps this season, and they're happy with what they have.

"Really, they were up front with me and did it in a respectful manner, so I'm very appreciative of that. It was cool."

Bowman has three official visit spots left, with two dates already set for trips to USC and Miami.

"I visit Miami on Dec. 9, I believe and then I have USC Dec. 2," said Bowman. "I'm still trying to get out early, so Miami is probably my last scheduled trip."
 
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Never hurts to get them in for a visit. We need help at S.

I agree with this. Even if the kid is considered a lock to go somewhere else, a great visit can always change things. I like that we are after USC. Hopefully being the last visit will push us to the front.
 
Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.
 
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Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.

From what I know, Bowman is a huge priority for the USC coaches, because they are operating under the assumption that T J McDonald will leave for the NFL after this season. So we need someone who can come in early, go through Spring Ball and then start come September.

And we actually didn't over-sign this year. There are still three or four rides left for Early Entries, so the plan right now is to bring in 18 or 19.

We will have some tough decisions to make, because our biggest challenge is abiding by the 75 limit. Looks like some dead weight is going to have to be encouraged to transfer. Sucks.
 
Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.

From what I know, Bowman is a huge priority for the USC coaches, because they are operating under the assumption that T J McDonald will leave for the NFL after this season. So we need someone who can come in early, go through Spring Ball and then start come September.

And we actually didn't over-sign this year. There are still three or four rides left for Early Entries, so the plan right now is to bring in 18 or 19.

We will have some tough decisions to make, because our biggest challenge is abiding by the 75 limit. Looks like some dead weight is going to have to be encouraged to transfer. Sucks.

Amazing how years after their sanctions come down and you are just now feeling the pinch of the scholarship restrictions and can still sign a class of 18 or 19.
 
Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.

From what I know, Bowman is a huge priority for the USC coaches, because they are operating under the assumption that T J McDonald will leave for the NFL after this season. So we need someone who can come in early, go through Spring Ball and then start come September.

And we actually didn't over-sign this year. There are still three or four rides left for Early Entries, so the plan right now is to bring in 18 or 19.

We will have some tough decisions to make, because our biggest challenge is abiding by the 75 limit. Looks like some dead weight is going to have to be encouraged to transfer. Sucks.

Always the case in situations like USC is going through. No room on the roster for scholarships to go to dead weight or guys that will take 4 years to develop into so-so players.
 
Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.

From what I know, Bowman is a huge priority for the USC coaches, because they are operating under the assumption that T J McDonald will leave for the NFL after this season. So we need someone who can come in early, go through Spring Ball and then start come September.

And we actually didn't over-sign this year. There are still three or four rides left for Early Entries, so the plan right now is to bring in 18 or 19.

We will have some tough decisions to make, because our biggest challenge is abiding by the 75 limit. Looks like some dead weight is going to have to be encouraged to transfer. Sucks.

Amazing how years after their sanctions come down and you are just now feeling the pinch of the scholarship restrictions and can still sign a class of 18 or 19.

Uhm YEARS? It was LAST year. June of 2010.

Pay attention. We appealed, which is standard procedure. We undersigned the year before, so we had a LOT of rides available.

This is the last year we will be able to take more than 15.

15 in 2013

15 in 2014

8 Billion in 2015.
 
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Doesn't USC's scholarship restrictions kick in next year? I know they oversigned this year to help with that. I would think a JUCO would not be the way they want to go if so limited.

I haven't seen him but I sure know it's a big position of need for us.

From what I know, Bowman is a huge priority for the USC coaches, because they are operating under the assumption that T J McDonald will leave for the NFL after this season. So we need someone who can come in early, go through Spring Ball and then start come September.

And we actually didn't over-sign this year. There are still three or four rides left for Early Entries, so the plan right now is to bring in 18 or 19.

We will have some tough decisions to make, because our biggest challenge is abiding by the 75 limit. Looks like some dead weight is going to have to be encouraged to transfer. Sucks.

Always the case in situations like USC is going through. No room on the roster for scholarships to go to dead weight or guys that will take 4 years to develop into so-so players.

Sad but true. I hope they can get creative and move some kids out with Medical Red Shirts so they can at least get a USC degree.

USC also has a program where ANY former player can come back and finish his education, up to PHD for free.

I hope they will let the kids who go elsewhere to take advantage of that.

They gonna be juggling, no doubt.
 
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Even though I don't think Kiffen is that great of a head coach, I do think his approach to recruiting was smart while it was in the appeals process. He signed a large class. With schollie restrictions coming up, you can trim the fat from that class (and any upperclassmen who aren't contributing). Go lean for the next couple years, and as soon as probation is done, get another monster class. You might have a down year or two due to depth chart issues, but nothing they can't handle. I know that sounds callous to "urge" kids to leave, but college football is a business.
 
Even though I don't think Kiffen is that great of a head coach, I do think his approach to recruiting was smart while it was in the appeals process. He signed a large class. With schollie restrictions coming up, you can trim the fat from that class (and any upperclassmen who aren't contributing). Go lean for the next couple years, and as soon as probation is done, get another monster class. You might have a down year or two due to depth chart issues, but nothing they can't handle. I know that sounds callous to "urge" kids to leave, but college football is a business.

He is playing the hand he was dealt, and we have a LOT of really good young players who will be coming of age the next two years.

Like I said, when all this went down, if any team could overcome this mess, it is USC for several reasons.\\One, we haven't played with a full 85 for a long time, unless you count the walkons that get rides in their 4th or 5th year.

We have a 15 Scholarship limit, but that is right around the number we have taken each year, if you count kids who didn't end up at USC for whatever reason.

The NCAA made a scholarship to USC a VERY valuable and desirable thing. So we should do pretty well with still getting high quality recruits.

We are still the big dog on the west coast. Always gonna be some kids who prefer costumes over uniforms, but kids still love USC.

What will kill us is if we have a lot of injuries, or give scholarships to bad kids or kids who won't do their classwork.
 
Add one more to the list of things that work against you:

- You miss on recruiting evals, therefore greatly affecting depth and talent

As it stands, recruiting is hit-or-miss. Unless your staff has proven Butch-like qualities in making sure each schollie truly counts, there will be a hit at some point in time. Couple that with limited schollies, and you really are working with one hand tied behind your back.

BUT that's why I said in my original scenario that USC should be okay given the monster class they recently signed. I don't think you can realistically expect top-10 rankings when your depth takes a hit, but you should be able to weather the storm (meaning you won't see 5-7 type seasons).
 
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So, is there actually any chance this kid picks Miami?

Based on what I have been told, NO.

I am new to this board, but I think people from the Miami Scout board will vouch that I have always been pretty accurate and fair when it comes to USC vs Miami in recruiting.

Maybe not 100%, but pretty accurate.
 
Add one more to the list of things that work against you:

- You miss on recruiting evals, therefore greatly affecting depth and talent

As it stands, recruiting is hit-or-miss. Unless your staff has proven Butch-like qualities in making sure each schollie truly counts, there will be a hit at some point in time. Couple that with limited schollies, and you really are working with one hand tied behind your back.

BUT that's why I said in my original scenario that USC should be okay given the monster class they recently signed. I don't think you can realistically expect top-10 rankings when your depth takes a hit, but you should be able to weather the storm (meaning you won't see 5-7 type seasons).

Oh, I couldn't agree more with you. That is the crucial element. We are going to get our high ranking players, but can they or will they contribute? That more than anyting will be the deciding factor in how we weather the next three, four years.

If you count last years class, and this one, I think the coaches have done very well in evaluating. Who saw Marqis Lee being this good on offense?



Lane Kiffin did.

Lots of freshmen doing it this year
 
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Who saw Marqis Lee being this good on offense?

We certainly didn't. If memory serves me correctly, us and just about every school recruiting him had him pegged at safety. Still think he could have been a great one at that position, though you certainly can't argue against the production he's put up as a freshman.
 
Who saw Marqis Lee being this good on offense?

We certainly didn't. If memory serves me correctly, us and just about every school recruiting him had him pegged at safety. Still think he could have been a great one at that position, though you certainly can't argue against the production he's put up as a freshman.

Still have to wonder what he woulda been like at safety
 
Who saw Marqis Lee being this good on offense?

We certainly didn't. If memory serves me correctly, us and just about every school recruiting him had him pegged at safety. Still think he could have been a great one at that position, though you certainly can't argue against the production he's put up as a freshman.

Still have to wonder what he woulda been like at safety

It is funny, because he won the starting job at WR after about 1 week in fall camp, and he probably would have Red Shirted had he played safety.

I can't wait to see him, Woods and George Farmer on the field at the same time next year. Farmer fell behind Marqis in fall camp because of some injuries and other problems, but he is bigger, stronger and faster than Lee and Woods.

Hard to believe they were all on the same HS team
 
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