2023 Marcellius Pulliam - LB (Commits to UM)

The number of three stars is a legitimate critique...are the three-stars in this class more surgical in the evaluation or are they just next-man-up on the board and we got a quota to fill? In the past, it was the latter, and there was a lot of slop in our classes. Just unusable players and many of them were out the door before they could develop into anything. Are these guys at least future contributors? Some starters? Special teams contributors?

There is a lot of culture building that needs to be done on the roster, too. Are they hard workers, are they built different, are they players that raise the floor of the program, do they offer something we don't have on the roster right now...these are questions that we don't quite have answers to about these players, but we will find out.

Getting players who don't dedicate an inordinate amount of their non-football time smoking weed and playing Call of Duty would be a nice logical first step to helping the program get back in the right direction.
This is one of the weirder classes I’ve ever seen.

Rank 1 - 175: 10 total commits
Rank 176 - 450: 1 total commit
Rank 450 - Not Ranked: 10 total commits
 
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This is one of the weirder classes I’ve ever seen.

Rank 1 - 175: 10 total commits
Rank 176 - 450: 1 total commit
Rank 450 - Not Ranked: 10 total commits
It’s extremely top and bottom heavy, which I pointed out yesterday to significant whaling and gnashing of teeth. Most top recruiting teams are at least 2 to 1 4* to 3* and have handful of guys outside of the top 500 (mostly OL and DL guys). This class is rated higher because of the guys at the very top, but we are bringing in a significant amount of lower rated kids, which will make up our depth one day
 
It’s extremely top and bottom heavy, which I pointed out yesterday to significant whaling and gnashing of teeth. Most top recruiting teams are at least 2 to 1 4* to 3* and have handful of guys outside of the top 500 (mostly OL and DL guys). This class is rated higher because of the guys at the very top, but we are bringing in a significant amount of lower rated kids, which will make up our depth.

This is the proper argument and discussion. As a point of reference, jimbo’s best classes at fsu had, out of 20, 3-5 5 stars and about 7 3 stars. And the bulk were 4 stars. That has been the recipe of success to most classes. That IMHO is the analysis that deserves deep discussion having a number of years of comparison from diff teams. The 2023 class so far is very 3 star heavy. The big variable here, as has been mentioned, and unlike in previous years: you have a number of experienced opinions green lighting these offers. We will have to see.
 
It’s extremely top and bottom heavy, which I pointed out yesterday to significant whaling and gnashing of teeth. Most top recruiting teams are at least 2 to 1 4* to 3* and have handful of guys outside of the top 500 (mostly OL and DL guys). This class is rated higher because of the guys at the very top, but we are bringing in a significant amount of lower rated kids, which will make up our depth one day
Yeah the thing you can say is that the bottom of the class all have fantastic measurables and seem to pair that with the type of character Mario’s looking for.

Tripp and Lew as IOL have good size.
Reid and Carver all have great size at TE. No more 6’2 H-Backs.
Bobby, Kaleb (at Star) and Marcellus have elite size at LB. No more 5’11 LBs or converted DBs.
Kinsler and Tinilau have elite size at OT. No more 6’4 OTs or 6’7 OTs that weight 280. Bringing in another Poly kid which are known for their toughness.

There’s also only one kid (Bobby) from South Florida. It seems like Mario would rather build the bottom of the class with out of state kids instead of taking local 3 star kids. Interesting all the way around.
 
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Ok..watched the film and gonna throw out a comp(s)..hear me out. I see Zac McCloud with some Pinkney instincts. I see a VERY GOOD high school linebacker. The long arms help A LOT when he's in the vicinity. Looks a step(s) slow, but he's long so hard to tell how fast he actually is. Appears to lumber a bit, or at least look unorthodox. Kinda like a poor man's miniature Jadaveon Clowney running around playing LB. Obviously physical. Don't see MIKE, more SAM who could grow into DE. Has MIKE quality with the instinctiveness. Seems to find the right gap. Mostly see McCloud (with length)..sorry. I'll watch his playoff game and hope for more. (probly on TV here in GA.).
 
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This is one of the weirder classes I’ve ever seen.

Rank 1 - 175: 10 total commits
Rank 176 - 450: 1 total commit
Rank 450 - Not Ranked: 10 total commits

Yeah we can spin this as Zo evals all we want but this isn’t the recipe to fix the roster. The recipe is that 5 of those commits are replaced with those in the 200-300 range.
 
I’m not mad, he might turn out solid…but I think Stanquan is better, and now probably doesn’t have a spot in this class.

Just some facts here and take it how you want: As it stands, we’re the only team in the top 10 of the recruiting rankings to have their class predominately made up of three stars. We have 21 commits, and Horton potentially coming would now equate to 22 commits, 11 of which are 3-stars. For comparison:

1. Bama: 24 commits, 4 3-stars
2. UGA: 21 commits, 2 3-stars
3. ND: 26 commits, 5 3-stars
4. Texas: 21 commits, 6 3-stars
5. LSU: 23 commits, 6 3-stars
6. OSU: 19 commits, 1 3-star
7. OU: 21 commits, 8 3-stars
8. Miami: 21 commits, 10 3-stars
9. UF: 22 commits, 4 3-stars
10. Clemson: 23 commits, 5 3-stars
11. Tennessee: 23 commits, 10 3-stars
12. Oregon: 23 commits, 9 3-stars
13. Penn St: 19 commits, 4 3-stars
14. USC: 19 commits, 9 3-stars
15. South Carolina: 20 commits, 9 3-stars


Now not all three-stars are created equal, and we Have to trust the evals. Don’t get me wrong, this class is elite right now…but I do expect some more big fish hunting aside from Horton. Would be disappointing if not.

If Horton jumps in and we have 22 slots filled, still looking to get Bain, Sampson, Etta, Ja’Keem, Fletcher, Inniss, etc…I mean they’re all big fish, but we have less room than I imagined.
Honest question why do we have less room than imagined?
 
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This is one of the weirder classes I’ve ever seen.

Rank 1 - 175: 10 total commits
Rank 176 - 450: 1 total commit
Rank 450 - Not Ranked: 10 total commits


I agree with your statistics.

But let's dig.

Connor Lew is the #1 center in the country, and is ranked #503. I'm not some Gaytor moron arguing for a long-snapper to be given 6 stars and.a Top 247 ranking, but it seems like we need a center (or two), and if we take THE BEST ONE, he is already and automatically considered a statistical "reach", just based on the composite.

Emory Williams is #638. Now, I'm not arguing for they "Gaytor Bumpz" just because we recruited him. But he made the Elite 11. And before anyone argues "grade inflation" (because the Elite 11 took more than 11 QBs), he was also one of the top performers at the Elite 11. So maybe, JUST MAYBE, when you get a kid from bumfvck rural Florida (and a tiny high school) who might have been underrated previously, it's NOT CRAZY to think that a good performance at Elite 11 is an OBJECTIVE and unbiased reason to maybe move the kid up in the rankings.

Carver and Tinilau have some interesting "moving-around" stories. They're just going to have to prove they belong, Rivals/247 will never ride to their rescue.

I think Kinsler and Pulliam are "small school" ratings overlooks.

We shall see.
 
Honest question why do we have less room than imagined?
maybe it’s not less room per say, but it could mean we snag less portal guys than I perceived.

I was under the impression that while we need quality above all, we also need some quantity regarding experienced, verifiably talented college players. Assuming Horton jumps in the boat and we have 22 commits with Bain, Sampson and an RB likely (25), plus probably 3-4 more guys…I mean I did expect a roster turnover of close to 40, but if we push over 30 high school recruits, that just means less portal guys. Not sure which route is the best.

But let’s say we add Bain, Sampson, an RB and Horton. That’s 25 commits. You know we’re in it for, and actively pushing for Etta, Ja’Keem, Demari, maybe Clark, Inniss, other WRs, supposed surprises…it’s going to add up. It just naturally means we have way more portal entries on our end, or we’re cutting back on the Portal and sniping our spots.
 
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I agree with your statistics.

But let's dig.

Connor Lew is the #1 center in the country, and is ranked #503. I'm not some Gaytor moron arguing for a long-snapper to be given 6 stars and.a Top 247 ranking, but it seems like we need a center (or two), and if we take THE BEST ONE, he is already and automatically considered a statistical "reach", just based on the composite.

Emory Williams is #638. Now, I'm not arguing for they "Gaytor Bumpz" just because we recruited him. But he made the Elite 11. And before anyone argues "grade inflation" (because the Elite 11 took more than 11 QBs), he was also one of the top performers at the Elite 11. So maybe, JUST MAYBE, when you get a kid from bumfvck rural Florida (and a tiny high school) who might have been underrated previously, it's NOT CRAZY to think that a good performance at Elite 11 is an OBJECTIVE and unbiased reason to maybe move the kid up in the rankings.

Carver and Tinilau have some interesting "moving-around" stories. They're just going to have to prove they belong, Rivals/247 will never ride to their rescue.

I think Kinsler and Pulliam are "small school" ratings overlooks.

We shall see.

Add Tripp in there as another OC 3* commit that's among the top rated centers with upside at OG. Horton potentially coming in as a space-eating NT (those guys tend to have fewer splash plays and it hurts their rating).

And most of the 3* guys we have are still in the top 800. I think it's everyone but Frankie (and Horton is on that boundary), who is around 1100 last I checked the 247 composite. Consider that there are about 2000 3* recruits. As far as 3* prospects go, most of ours are on the better end of the 3* scale. There is a difference between having a bunch of 3* guys ranked between 450-750, and having a bunch of 3* guys ranked between 1000-1500.
 
This is one of the weirder classes I’ve ever seen.

Rank 1 - 175: 10 total commits
Rank 176 - 450: 1 total commit
Rank 450 - Not Ranked: 10 total commits
With the portal, every kid is here for 1 year. It's a new world now.

So if those low ranked kids show no progress/ability to develop and get on the field, they'll be politely asked to move on. I dont see Mario carrying bad weight for 4 years if he made a bad eval. On the flip side, if these low ranked kids prove to be legit, we're in business. No chance coming off a 5 win season, you're getting all 5 and high ranked 4 stars. Plus Zo needs to earn his money.

So not worried here, it'll work itself out
 
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