Recruit Notebook - Stacy Coley

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Great write-up. I appreciate all of the insight. Like others have mentioned, it is becoming abundantly clear to me that Stacy Coley is a program-changer. Can you imagine him and AJL combining with the rest of the WR's we already have? Fisch is going to have a field day!
 
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I think Coley and Alex Collins will be Gators, and Keith Bryant will be a Nole on signing day. :ohlord:
 
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Chad Johnson has really average long speed. It's almost below average, to be honest. What he had was world class explosion in and out of his breaks. Coley flashes something similar.
 
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Cam,

Here's pretty much the main thing I'd like to discuss:

I think the best comparison for Coley is Clemson Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins. Their games compare favorably, with Watkins being the faster player of the two. While I do not think that Coley will match Watkins’ Freshman Season statistics (National Freshman of the year, 1st team All-American, 82 catches, 1219 yards, 12 TDs, 231 yards rushing [reverses], and nearly 1,000 return yards and 2 return touchdowns), they are within the reach for a player of Coley’s caliber.

From what I've seen, I'd immediately disagree with this comparison. After re-reading your post, it seems like you mean more in terms of impact? Still, you say their games "compare favorably," which I don't really see. Sammy's main weapon is otherworldly acceleration. I think Coley is fantastic in and out of his breaks. He sinks his hips easily and pops out of his cuts, but it's not on the level of Sammy. I don't know if it's because he hasn't hit the weight room sufficiently. Nevertheless, I think Coley's a different kind of WR than what we see from Watkins: who can take a beating *out of the backfield* as well as he can do his damage outside of the hashes.

On another note, one thing I really found insightful from your post was that Coley had added routes to his game. Personally, that was what scared me the most from Amari Cooper last year. While many had him as the top player in the state, I thought he was closer to "Top 6" because I rarely saw versatility in his routes. In short, he ran 9 routes and post patterns. I guess it didn't really matter because that's where he did serious damage as a true Frosh. I'm glad to hear Coley is adding elements to his route running, because he'll run more digs here than he will post patterns.
 
Lu,

I can see where you are coming from with your thoughts about the Coley-Watkins comparison. I was going mainly on the impact of their games, but your argument about their different levels of acceleration (Coley: great, Watkins: elite) is right on.

From a game standpoint, Coley did for Northeast what Watkins did for Clemson his freshman year. I would still like to see what Coley could develop into after a few collegiate training sessions.

To your other point, I was glad to see Coley adding routes to his game as well. He can beat most defenders on sheer athleticism, but the addition of technique and route options to his game will serve him well.
 
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