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McCray got a LSU offer

figs, johnson, and terry you can look at film and wonder why they didnt have better offers. him i dont ........ simple
 
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Back when I watched McCray's film, he struck as a good who could be a player once he bulked up. Looked like he had the frame to be a good-sized OLB.
 
WhatTheHell said:
I don't even look at Scout, Rivals, ESPN, or 247's rankings anymore; I go by Al's.
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I've been saying for years that you should more or less ignore star rankings. Still, as someone who has been following recruiting far longer than we had the internet recruiting services, back to the mid-80's when we only had the old guy, Joe Terranova, Parade A-A, and a few guys like Emfinger, Lemming, and G+W, I've known that the lists are often useful just in indentifying names. The ratings are not always right, but they were often just the database available to the general public of the numerous players throughout the country who might deserve recruiting attention. One thing became very obvious, that there were good players identified by coaching staffs, particularly Miami's, who did not appear on any list. I remember looking through all the recruiting newsletters for information on guys like Leon Searcy, Russ Maryland, Steve McGuire, and others. Even Ray Lewis was only a fairly highly rated safety, not somebody who one would have thought would become a modern-day legend, and perhaps the greatest of all time at his position.

I do have to say, one recruiting guy who seemed to have an insight into local talent--and many on this board will not like my saying this--was Mike Bakas, the year I think he identified Frank Gore, Sean Taylor, and Roscoe Parrish. I might be mistaken, but I think all came out the same year. I remember he kept on talking about these kids on whatever board he was associated with--maybe the original Rivals, before it blew up--and he was giving these kids the kind of attention and kudos that I was not seeing on the national recruiting lists. There might have been another local kid who was underappreciated nationally--I don't remember.

Sorry if this is not a popular statement on this board, it might or might not be, but I do think Mike was spot on in identifying top local talent that did not receive the appropriate regard nationally.

I do think that the national services might be somewhat better than they used to be, with the proliferation of all the camps and the fact some of the recruiting reporters actually get out and see the kids. I'm not sure how much of that was done by the recruiting gurus of the '80's and early '90's.

Still, the coaches are able to identify talent that they scout because they know what they're looking for, they have very trained eyes, and they thoroughly research the kids with coaches, discuss and analyze the film and other information, and try to get the kids in camps. They are better able to to do that than most of the recruiting reporters.

For example, why is Coley so hot on the kid from Alabama he is only a three star on lists? He must see something he really likes and thinks he can work with. What's his name, Malik Rozier? Doesn't he go to a small school? Maybe that's why he's somewhat under the radar.
 
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bolivar said:
Hstokes1447 said:
A perfect example of Al's evaluation ability is 0 star Thurston Armbrister. We have watched that "jag" do nothing but make playes so far this season!!

http://rivals.yahoo.com/miami/football/recruiting/player-Thurston-Armbrister-128629
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Player development...........what a great concept..
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This has happened so many times over the past twenty-five years at the U. Especially with Jimmy Johnson. He would take a no-star that got better with every practice, rather than a five star who plateaued. He said as much. And he had the ability to look at a kid and discern whether the kid had the potential to be a good football player. Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, daughter of Dan Jenkins, and one of my favorite college football writers back in the '80's, told me about how Johnson had the uncanny nack.
 
A friend of mine goes to Ely games and said he's been beasting. Had 3 sacks against Deerfield. Said he's counted at least 5 for the season to go with alot of TFLs. Is a Tyriq McCord type OLB. So he sees why LSU jumped on the bandwagon. FWIW.
 
More and more schools chasing Al rear for recruits. Seems like just about everyone the staff offers ends up blowing up shortly thereafter. Let's hope these kids realize that this staff is shaping up to be Cane old school type. With that eventually comes NFL money and fame. Watching Bama this weekend, I could not help but think that Saban has peaked and the decline is starting. Fear of Bama is startng to end; they look beatable. Al and THE U are nicely positioned to replace him and Bama. Think about how suddenly the defense went from worse ever to crushing the gator dreams of NC. We might not be there yet but it will come in a flash when we are. The process will reach that certain point of critical mass and bam THE U will be on the Throne again.
 
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Gatorhater said:
More and more schools chasing Al rear for recruits. Seems like just about everyone the staff offers ends up blowing up shortly thereafter. Let's hope these kids realize that this staff is shaping up to be Cane old school type. With that eventually comes NFL money and fame. Watching Bama this weekend, I could not help but think that Saban has peaked and the decline is starting. Fear of Bama is startng to end; they look beatable. Al and THE U are nicely positioned to replace him and Bama. Think about how suddenly the defense went from worse ever to crushing the gator dreams of NC. We might not be there yet but it will come in a flash when we are. The process will reach that certain point of critical mass and bam THE U will be on the Throne again.
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Yes. College football success runs in cycles, or at least has since the early '80's. Teams like Oklahoma, Nebraska would dominate, then us, then it was USC, back to Bama and UF, with FSU sliding in during years we were down. We're starting the upcycle again. Challenge is to be dominant and in contention almost every year. Very, very hard to do.
 
Gatorhater said:
More and more schools chasing Al rear for recruits. Seems like just about everyone the staff offers ends up blowing up shortly thereafter. Let's hope these kids realize that this staff is shaping up to be Cane old school type. With that eventually comes NFL money and fame. Watching Bama this weekend, I could not help but think that Saban has peaked and the decline is starting. Fear of Bama is startng to end; they look beatable. Al and THE U are nicely positioned to replace him and Bama. Think about how suddenly the defense went from worse ever to crushing the gator dreams of NC. We might not be there yet but it will come in a flash when we are. The process will reach that certain point of critical mass and bam THE U will be on the Throne again.
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I expect to see many many posts on opposing message boards in the future saying "Golden offered him, that's good enough for me"
 
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When I look at Figs and I remember the goal line stop that Eddie Johnson did last year
I stop second guessing any evaluations this staff does

They constantly do their homework and they stay at eat if not 2 years ahead of schedule
And they can develop talent as long as we acquire depth which we are getting there
This team is positioning itself to be great for years to come

I just like watching the maturation process of these young boys as they become young men
 
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a lot of yall were saying that you didnt "want" McCray, but now that he got an LSU offer, the jimmies are no longer rustled.
 
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