How many commits do we have for 2016? I watched the Under Armor game today and most P5 schools already has 18-20 commits and I think we have about 6-7 maybe. I know we had two JUCO’s and then a few high school guys with signing period in a month. I hope we are making a big push for a big year this year. We have to pick up our level of player to play in CUSA as we saw this year against Marshall, MTSU, USM, etc.
I agree with what you’re saying and it appears we are standing still. Has me very concerned.
Have we hired a recruiting coordinator?
I thought our “nice” little stadium would have recruits lined up and knocking at our door.
How many scholarships do we have available? I think we only have 10-12 seniors. I know next years class will need to be big. I think I counted over 40 Jrs. on the team at one point. I’m sure some of those are walk-ons, but that is still a big number.
I thought I heard that we need to fill about 20 spots this year, but I am not sure if that is correct.
I haven’t checked in on some of these guys, so their status may have changed, but here are the guys we have coming in:
Benjamin Lemay RB Matthews, NC (Butler HS)
- Jordan Carswell WR/DB North Charleston, SC
Joe Thompson QB/ ATH Ashburn, VA (Stonebridge HS)
Ryan Carriere TE/ OLB Loganville, GA (Grayson HS)
Robert Cheatham WR/CB Orlando, FL (Bishop Moore)
Aaron McCallister ATH Live Oak, FL (Suwannee HS) - Kevin Olsen QB Miami/Towson/ Riverside CC
Ernest Kenty DB Birmingham, AL
Anthony Butler OLB Charlotte, NC (Vance HS)
Timmy Horne DL Wadesboro, NC (Anson HS)
Ben Deluca S Orlando, FL (Bishop Moore)
Johnny Ray DE Mount Pleasant, SC (Wando HS) - Jamar Winston DE Irmo, SC (Dutch Fork) Hutchinson CC
Chris Heiner K Ona, WV (Cabell Midland HS)
Olsen and Winston are supposed to be enrolling this Spring.
Ernest Kenty decomitted but I believe we are still pursuing him.
Need some big uglies on both sides of the line and some speed at LB.
We need some LBs in a bad bad way. Especially some young ones.
I think we will still need 17 or so guys in this class, and we will have room for them.
We have 4 or so solid recruits (80+ rating). If we can get that number up to 9 or so, with some more size/linemen, we will be fine.
In my opinion, this should be our barometer: http://olddominion.247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/Commits
Darius Irvin, Jeff Gemmel, Tyriq Harris, Christian Asher, Jordan Starnes…all young guys on the roster for LB. As long as they feel confident in this group, I don’t see any reason to add maybe one or two more guys.
I’m personally more concerned about getting more speed at the DB positions.
What a weird list of LBs to post.
I dont think Irvin is even an LB. At 6’0 184, I hope not. He’s better suited to DB like his brother. He wont sniff the field at LB at that weight. FWIW, EJ Rinehart is also listed at LB, and Im pretty certain he is a WR.
The LBs of the immediate future are Cook, King, Lucas, and I suspect AD Cunningham. I also though JBT would be getting some snaps based on how the staff used to talk about him. Starnes - I think he saw some action this year too. We need to add some more bodies here - Cook is done after this season.
We have more new faces in the secondary - Lyon, and I expected Tucker to show some as well. Covington has the raw ability - just have to keep him under control and focused on coverage. They can help Winchester, who had a nice, almost breakout season. Bigger issue is safety. We lost both Dozier and Ardy Holmes. Prince Mayela is now our #1 saftey. I dunno who our #2 is.
We need bigger, more athletic lines on both sides of the ball, including some DEs that can apply QB pressure so we arent reliant on Larry up the middle for that. Oh, and we have to replace Larry, who is either the best player or the 2nd best player on the team. You dont just find all-conference caliber DTs in the late signing period. That one will hurt. Fain may step up and fill the hole, but his understudy will either be from the scrap heap or forced to play as a frosh, since we wont chase JUCOs or transfers.
WKU added a solid DT and breakout LB transfer from the UAB refugee class. Made a huge impact on their defense. The LB still has a couple more seasons of eligibity left too. Great get for them.
[quote=“NinerAdvocate, post:13, topic:30085”]What a weird list of LBs to post.
I dont think Irvin is even an LB. At 6’0 184, I hope not. He’s better suited to DB like his brother. He wont sniff the field at LB at that weight. FWIW, EJ Rinehart is also listed at LB, and Im pretty certain he is a WR.
The LBs of the immediate future are Cook, King, Lucas, and I suspect AD Cunningham. I also though JBT would be getting some snaps based on how the staff used to talk about him. Starnes - I think he saw some action this year too. We need to add some more bodies here - Cook is done after this season.[/quote]
How is that a weird list? Those are all guys we recruited for the LB position that are freshmen or sophomores and are actual FBS talent.
Irvin definitely didn’t look that small when I saw him on the sideline this year. He may end up as a hybrid DB/LB. I’m not sure how many LBs we want using scholarships when we have more pressing needs IMO.
[quote=“NinerAdvocate, post:13, topic:30085”]What a weird list of LBs to post.
I dont think Irvin is even an LB. At 6’0 184, I hope not. He’s better suited to DB like his brother. He wont sniff the field at LB at that weight. FWIW, EJ Rinehart is also listed at LB, and Im pretty certain he is a WR.
The LBs of the immediate future are Cook, King, Lucas, and I suspect AD Cunningham. I also though JBT would be getting some snaps based on how the staff used to talk about him. Starnes - I think he saw some action this year too. We need to add some more bodies here - Cook is done after this season.
We have more new faces in the secondary - Lyon, and I expected Tucker to show some as well. Covington has the raw ability - just have to keep him under control and focused on coverage. They can help Winchester, who had a nice, almost breakout season. Bigger issue is safety. We lost both Dozier and Ardy Holmes. Prince Mayela is now our #1 saftey. I dunno who our #2 is.
We need bigger, more athletic lines on both sides of the ball, including some DEs that can apply QB pressure so we arent reliant on Larry up the middle for that. Oh, and we have to replace Larry, who is either the best player or the 2nd best player on the team. You dont just find all-conference caliber DTs in the late signing period. That one will hurt. Fain may step up and fill the hole, but his understudy will either be from the scrap heap or forced to play as a frosh, since we wont chase JUCOs or transfers.
WKU added a solid DT and breakout LB transfer from the UAB refugee class. Made a huge impact on their defense. The LB still has a couple more seasons of eligibity left too. Great get for them.[/quote]
Wow let me help you out some…because you need it.
That’s not a weird list. Jeff Gemmel and Tyriq Harris are our future Inside backers after King and Cook leave. Irvin is probably going to play the spur linebacker postion which is essentially a safety/linebacker hybrid. Daquan Lucas is the current spur and as you can see he’s not very big (like 5’10 215ish). Butler who’s a commit this year also will probably play the spur. Speed is the key for the spur position not neccesarily size. Lambert has said Lucas might be the fastest player on our entire team.
Rhinehart is in fact a LB not a WR. He actually played a couple snaps this year. He’s also a regular on special teams.
Mayela is not our #1 safety. Devin Pearson is now our best safety. Holmes was hurt all year and isn’t too much of a loss at safety, he’s actually more of a special teams loss as a returner and gunner. Najee Tucker will be Dozier’s replacement. He played some this year before he got hurt he has alot of upside as a strong safety.
You are right about Larry though, replacing him is our biggest issue. He’s a future pro and those don’t grow on trees. I doubt Fain will be his replacement so we need to find some big guys for the interior.
[quote="_BL_Niner, post:15, topic:30085"][quote=“NinerAdvocate, post:13, topic:30085”]What a weird list of LBs to post.
I dont think Irvin is even an LB. At 6’0 184, I hope not. He’s better suited to DB like his brother. He wont sniff the field at LB at that weight. FWIW, EJ Rinehart is also listed at LB, and Im pretty certain he is a WR.
The LBs of the immediate future are Cook, King, Lucas, and I suspect AD Cunningham. I also though JBT would be getting some snaps based on how the staff used to talk about him. Starnes - I think he saw some action this year too. We need to add some more bodies here - Cook is done after this season.
We have more new faces in the secondary - Lyon, and I expected Tucker to show some as well. Covington has the raw ability - just have to keep him under control and focused on coverage. They can help Winchester, who had a nice, almost breakout season. Bigger issue is safety. We lost both Dozier and Ardy Holmes. Prince Mayela is now our #1 saftey. I dunno who our #2 is.
We need bigger, more athletic lines on both sides of the ball, including some DEs that can apply QB pressure so we arent reliant on Larry up the middle for that. Oh, and we have to replace Larry, who is either the best player or the 2nd best player on the team. You dont just find all-conference caliber DTs in the late signing period. That one will hurt. Fain may step up and fill the hole, but his understudy will either be from the scrap heap or forced to play as a frosh, since we wont chase JUCOs or transfers.
WKU added a solid DT and breakout LB transfer from the UAB refugee class. Made a huge impact on their defense. The LB still has a couple more seasons of eligibity left too. Great get for them.[/quote]
Wow let me help you out some…because you need it.
That’s not a weird list. Jeff Gemmel and Tyriq Harris are our future Inside backers after King and Cook leave. Irvin is probably going to play the spur linebacker postion which is essentially a safety/linebacker hybrid. Daquan Lucas is the current spur and as you can see he’s not very big (like 5’10 215ish). Butler who’s a commit this year also will probably play the spur. Speed is the key for the spur position not neccesarily size. Lambert has said Lucas might be the fastest player on our entire team.
Rhinehart is in fact a LB not a WR. He actually played a couple snaps this year. He’s also a regular on special teams.
Mayela is not our #1 safety. Devin Pearson is now our best safety. Holmes was hurt all year and isn’t too much of a loss at safety, he’s actually more of a special teams loss as a returner and gunner. Najee Tucker will be Dozier’s replacement. He played some this year before he got hurt he has alot of upside as a strong safety.
You are right about Larry though, replacing him is our biggest issue. He’s a future pro and those don’t grow on trees. I doubt Fain will be his replacement so we need to find some big guys for the interior.[/quote]
I know KP/LO are the easy ones to say this about, but I honestly put Pearson right there as our best player. I enjoy watching him play and his impact on the game.
[quote="_BL_Niner, post:15, topic:30085"][quote=“NinerAdvocate, post:13, topic:30085”]What a weird list of LBs to post.
I dont think Irvin is even an LB. At 6’0 184, I hope not. He’s better suited to DB like his brother. He wont sniff the field at LB at that weight. FWIW, EJ Rinehart is also listed at LB, and Im pretty certain he is a WR.
The LBs of the immediate future are Cook, King, Lucas, and I suspect AD Cunningham. I also though JBT would be getting some snaps based on how the staff used to talk about him. Starnes - I think he saw some action this year too. We need to add some more bodies here - Cook is done after this season.
We have more new faces in the secondary - Lyon, and I expected Tucker to show some as well. Covington has the raw ability - just have to keep him under control and focused on coverage. They can help Winchester, who had a nice, almost breakout season. Bigger issue is safety. We lost both Dozier and Ardy Holmes. Prince Mayela is now our #1 saftey. I dunno who our #2 is.
We need bigger, more athletic lines on both sides of the ball, including some DEs that can apply QB pressure so we arent reliant on Larry up the middle for that. Oh, and we have to replace Larry, who is either the best player or the 2nd best player on the team. You dont just find all-conference caliber DTs in the late signing period. That one will hurt. Fain may step up and fill the hole, but his understudy will either be from the scrap heap or forced to play as a frosh, since we wont chase JUCOs or transfers.
WKU added a solid DT and breakout LB transfer from the UAB refugee class. Made a huge impact on their defense. The LB still has a couple more seasons of eligibity left too. Great get for them.[/quote]
Wow let me help you out some…because you need it.
That’s not a weird list. Jeff Gemmel and Tyriq Harris are our future Inside backers after King and Cook leave. Irvin is probably going to play the spur linebacker postion which is essentially a safety/linebacker hybrid. Daquan Lucas is the current spur and as you can see he’s not very big (like 5’10 215ish). Butler who’s a commit this year also will probably play the spur. Speed is the key for the spur position not neccesarily size. Lambert has said Lucas might be the fastest player on our entire team.
Rhinehart is in fact a LB not a WR. He actually played a couple snaps this year. He’s also a regular on special teams.
Mayela is not our #1 safety. Devin Pearson is now our best safety. Holmes was hurt all year and isn’t too much of a loss at safety, he’s actually more of a special teams loss as a returner and gunner. Najee Tucker will be Dozier’s replacement. He played some this year before he got hurt he has alot of upside as a strong safety.
You are right about Larry though, replacing him is our biggest issue. He’s a future pro and those don’t grow on trees. I doubt Fain will be his replacement so we need to find some big guys for the interior.[/quote]
If any of this is true, then Lambert has once again sent false signals. Last year it was JBT, and I can’t remember him getting any snaps. He was even more effusive of AD Cunningham at last year’s signing day. Believe he called him the best player or best potential in the class.
We agreed on Lucas then. Pearson, I mistakenly thought was a senior.
Rinehart was a washout at WR then, because that’s what he was recruited for, and he played there at least in the first spring game. Irvin is too small at 184 to play a hybrid position. He will need to bulk up.
In any case, none if that really changes our needs. We still need more speed in the secondary, and some better rush ends. We need a DT starter in this class (good luck this late - why I was pushing Jamil Dukes, but he is probably headed to USC, if he hasn’t committed already). We need 3 more as good as Covington on the OL, including his replacement.
I hope the staff is working hard, or we are gonna nosedive after this season, like UTSA did. Singing day us only a month away.
[quote=“NinerAdvocate, post:17, topic:30085”]If any of this is true, then Lambert has once again sent false signals. Last year it was JBT, and I can’t remember him getting any snaps. He was even more effusive of AD Cunningham at last year’s signing day. Believe he called him the best player or best potential in the class.
We agreed on Lucas then. Pearson, I mistakenly thought was a senior.
Rinehart was a washout at WR then, because that’s what he was recruited for, and he played there at least in the first spring game. Irvin is too small at 184 to play a hybrid position. He will need to bulk up.
In any case, none if that really changes our needs. We still need more speed in the secondary, and some better rush ends. We need a DT starter in this class (good luck this late - why I was pushing Jamil Dukes, but he is probably headed to USC, if he hasn’t committed already). We need 3 more as good as Covington on the OL, including his replacement.
I hope the staff is working hard, or we are gonna nosedive after this season, like UTSA did. Singing day us only a month away.[/quote]
I agree, right now 247 has us with 9 total commits putting us at 121 in the recruiting rankings. I would like to see us at least get into the 100 range.
This is going to be a small class. I think maybe 17 guys max and we have what 12 right now counting Olsen and Winston . 2017 is our most important class because it will be huge probably 30 guys plus another 8-10 Jucos.
We have 9 counting Olsen and Winston.