LOI Day, how is your school going to fare?

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:14 am

Looks like USC may hold on to a top 15 class
In.
Matt Barkley QB
Devon Kennard DE
TJ McDonald DB
Hebron Fangupo DT
James Boyd DE
Simione Vehikite LB
Kevin Greene DE
John Martinez C
Jacob Harfman K
Torin Harris CB
Chris Metcalf S
Patrick Hall S
Kevin Graf OT
Marquis Simmons LB

Possibly in (as of the night before)
Manti Teo LB
Devon Flournoy WR
Randall Carroll WR (still verbaled but likely winds up at UCLA)
Frankie Telfort LB

ray of hope for Trojan Fans
Jarvis Jones LB
Orson Charles TE
Dre Kirkpatrick CB
Byron Moore S
Xavier Sua Filo OG (I think he will go to Utah)
Jawanza Starling S

No longer hope that they wind up at USC
Vontaze Burfict LB Academics
Cliff Harris CB Academics
Rolando Jefferson WR Academics

recruiting classes of 16-23 guys every year hurt in class rankings

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:25 am

I'm not nearly the recruitnik that many on this board are, but since Killian appears to be MIA, here's what Rivals is saying . . .

In
E.J. Banks S (already enrolled)
Alex Bullard G
Carlo Calabrese LB
Jordan Cowart C
Tyler Eifert TE
Shaquelle Evans WR
Dan Fox LB
Jake Golic TE
Zach Martin T
Zeke Motta LB (already enrolled)
Theo Riddick RB
Tyler Stockton DT (already enrolled)
Nick Tausch K
Ben Turk P
Chris Watt G
Cierre Wood RB

Possibly in
Jelani Jenkins LB
Manti Te'o LB
Xavier Su'a Filo OL
Byron Moore DB
Jawanza Starling S

Ray of hope for Irish fans
Rueben Randle WR
Marlon Brown WR
Frankie Telfort LB
Damien Thigpen RB

No longer hope
Barkevious Mingo LB appears to have all but committed to LSU

This is a down year based on the standards of recent ND recruiting classes, but Rivals still has this as the #23 class in the nation. Based on the point system Rivals uses, I doubt we'll move above that in any event, but it would make me feel a whole lot better about this class if we were able to land some of the higher-ranked prospects we still have a realistic shot at getting. Of the commits we have now, one is a kicker, one is a punter and one (Cowart) projects as strictly a long-snapper.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:00 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:I'm not nearly the recruitnik that many on this board are, but since Killian appears to be MIA, here's what Rivals is saying . . .

In
E.J. Banks ATH (already enrolled)
Alex Bullard OL
Carlo Calabrese LB
Jordan Cowart OL
Tyler Eifert TE
Shaquelle Evans WR
Dan Fox LB
Jake Golic TE
Zach Martin OL
Zeke Motta LB (already enrolled)
Theo Riddick RB
Tyler Stockton DT (already enrolled)
Nick Tausch K
Ben Turk K
Chris Watt OL
Cierre Wood RB

Possibly in
Jelani Jenkins LB
Manti Te'o LB
Xavier Su'a Filo OL
Byron Moore DB
Jawanza Starling S

Ray of hope for Irish fans
Rueben Randle WR
Marlon Brown WR
Frankie Telfort LB

No longer hope
Barkevious Mingo LB appears to have all but committed to LSU

This is a down year based on the standards of recent ND recruiting classes, but Rivals still has this as the #23 class in the nation. Based on the point system Rivals uses, I doubt we'll move above that in any event, but it would make me feel a whole lot better about this class if we were able to land some of the higher-ranked prospects we still have a realistic shot at getting. Of the commits we have now, two are kickers and one (Cowart) projects as strictly a long-snapper.

funny how USC and Notre Dame are competing head to head for a lot of the same guys.

Mant Te'o is down to Notre Dame, USC and UCLA, he visited USC last, has a HS team mate on the way to UCLA and the Irish have been camped out on his doorstep. What looks good for the Bruins and Trojans is that the kid has said that he loves to surf, not much of that going on in South Bend, Los Angeles is also an easier trip for his family and USC plays at Hawaii every 3 or 4 years so he will get to go home in a season or two to visit.

Xavier Su'a-Filo, I hadnt even seen him as a possible to Notre Dame, the Irish was not one of the 5 schools he visited and isnt one of the 6 to make his final cut. Most people thought he would play with his friend John Martinez but a lot of people are saying they think he will stay closer to home and play at Utah

Byron Moore commited to USC in June but has said that the log jam with the DBs has made him re-think that commitment, fellow decommit Shaq Evans and Cierre Wood have been trying to talk him in to playing for ND so there is a good shot the Irish land him but he has also come out the last week and say that USC has awlas been his dream school.

Jawanza Starling is keeping everything quiet, seems very much like TJ Bryants (who he is very close friends with) recruitment last year where he didnt tell anyone anything and just chose where to go on signing day, living int he shadow of Florida State and favoring schools other than the FSU may be why he has chosen to keep it hush.

Frankie Telfort is rumored to be down to Florida, Stanford and USC (only 3 he is listed to have interest in on Scout). Kind of a tweener that could play lb or db in college, Frankie says that small class sizes and great academics will be deciding factors as he hopes to go in to a pharmacy program at the school he goes to.

Insiders on the USC sites are saying that Telfort, Te'o, Jarvis Jones, Moore, Alshon Jeffrey and Starling are signing day pick ups for the Trojans while Su'a-Filo and Randall Carroll go to Utah and UCLA

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:59 am

SoCalTrjn, saying USC looks like a safe bet to have a Top 15 recruiting class is like saying water is wet.

If USC doesn't land a single other person they're already a Top 10 class, just because of the five star commitments already onboard. Most touts have USC in the top three already, with a strong chance of ending up #1.

They're still in the running for Burfict, Te'o, Carroll, Telfort, Jelani Jenkins and even Bryce Brown. If they land even half these guys they'll end up #1.

Then they might all end up busts, which is the biggest joke about all this recruiting nonsense. Even a good percentage of five stars never do much and boatloads of guys who weren't all that highly recruited end up being stars.

Clay Matthews, Jr much?

Wait a second. Let me recant one statement I made...

The biggest joke of recruiting season is having to deal with these increasingly ridiculous names...

Vontaze
Jawanza
Jelani
Barkevious (!!)
Shaquelle
Cierre

God must get really fucking tired of having to listen to all those prayers.

Hell, one obviously shitfaced set of parents even named their highly touted son Christine...

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:23 pm

SoCalTrjn wrote:Mant Te'o is down to Notre Dame, USC and UCLA, he visited USC last, has a HS team mate on the way to UCLA and the Irish have been camped out on his doorstep. What looks good for the Bruins and Trojans is that the kid has said that he loves to surf, not much of that going on in South Bend, Los Angeles is also an easier trip for his family and USC plays at Hawaii every 3 or 4 years so he will get to go home in a season or two to visit.

I'd say perhaps an even bigger issue would be his Mormon faith -- not much of an issue at USC or UCLA, but a significant difference with ND. ND also doubles up the distance from home as compared to USC or UCLA, but given that none of these schools is exactly in his backyard, and there's one non-stop per day in each direction between Honolulu and O'Hare, it's not that much more difficult for his family to get to ND.

Xavier Su'a-Filo, I hadnt even seen him as a possible to Notre Dame, the Irish was not one of the 5 schools he visited and isnt one of the 6 to make his final cut. Most people thought he would play with his friend John Martinez but a lot of people are saying they think he will stay closer to home and play at Utah

He's listed as medium interest in ND, along with several other schools, on Rivals. I based my projection on him strictly on that. But as you pointed out, he never made a visit to ND, and of the players in my "possibly in" category, he's probably the least likely.

Byron Moore commited to USC in June but has said that the log jam with the DBs has made him re-think that commitment, fellow decommit Shaq Evans and Cierre Wood have been trying to talk him in to playing for ND so there is a good shot the Irish land him but he has also come out the last week and say that USC has awlas been his dream school.

If Moore is out of the running at USC, as you said earlier, then I think we have a good shot to get him. But I'm also hearing people on the ND boards saying that he's the least likely pickup of the three remaining on which we're going head-to-head with USC.

Jawanza Starling is keeping everything quiet, seems very much like TJ Bryants (who he is very close friends with) recruitment last year where he didnt tell anyone anything and just chose where to go on signing day, living int he shadow of Florida State and favoring schools other than the FSU may be why he has chosen to keep it hush.

I'm hearing that Starling is down to ND or USC, and you're right, either choice would be unpopular with FSU in his backyard. We'll see what he does.

Frankie Telfort is rumored to be down to Florida, Stanford and USC (only 3 he is listed to have interest in on Scout). Kind of a tweener that could play lb or db in college, Frankie says that small class sizes and great academics will be deciding factors as he hopes to go in to a pharmacy program at the school he goes to.

Telfort isn't much of a possibility for ND either.

I had pretty high hopes for Jenkins, considering that he's a product of a Catholic high school and a (at least relatively) cold-weather environment. Both ND and USC are in his final four, along with Florida and Penn State. However, he made official visits to Florida and Penn State, but not to ND or USC. That would seem to indicate that he'll probably pick either Florida or Penn State, although I suppose bigger surprises than that have happened in the past on LOI day.

SEC Ballsucking Homer · Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:18 pm

We have 8 of the top 25, fuckers

Another glass trophy for SECuntry.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:27 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:
Van wrote:
Hell, one obviously shitfaced set of parents even named their highly touted son Christine...
I saw that the other day. I think he's a Texas A&M probable. His parents are imbeciles.

Can you imagine the life that kid's had? He oughta be one tough son of a bitch.

I don't care if his name is Christine Michael, Dixon Butz, or Harry Balsagna. He's a highly touted RB (#3 RB in nation) which we need. A&M loaded up on 3 stars to get a top 20 ranking thus far. That ain't gonna get it done. No one gets 10 5 stars, but those who can get 10 4 stars typically fare well.

In any case, like Van said, these rankings are just shit. A&M has a top 25, sometimes top 10, ranking every year it seems and have ended up in the shitter the last 6 years. I put my stock in the season ending rankings.

Harvdog · Post by **Harvdog** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:26 pm

Texas is putting together another Top 5 class. We have addressed a ton of needs:

This class is lineman heavy. Mack went out and loaded up on the o-line and d-line. He also got the Best QB in the state. The only thing we are lacking is a breakaway threat at RB. Whaley is a load but I think he will end up being a LB.

Garrett Gilbert QB
Alex Okafor DE
Mason Walters OL
Calvin Howell DT
Garrett Porter OL
Marcus Davis DB
Greg Timmons WR
Chris Whaley ATH
Tariq Allen LB
Thomas Ashcraft OL
Dominique Jones DE
Kyle Kriegel DE
Tevin Mims DE
Kenny Vaccaro DB
Eryon Barnett DB
Derek Johnson DT
Paden Kelley OL
Barrett Matthews TE
Patrick Nkwopara LB
Trey Graham TE

We are still in the mix or 'Dre Kirkpatrick and Jarvis Jones. I doubt either comes to the 40 acres.

All in all, this is a solid class. Next year we will go after more skill position and interior linemen on the defense. The state is loaded with RB's and Dline.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:12 pm

Byron Moore just re-commited to USC

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:30 pm

SoCalTrjn wrote:Byron Moore just re-commited to USC

Yeah, I saw that.

The good news for ND is that we got LOI's from all of our verbals, although that's not really a huge surprise. I don't have a good feeling about any of the last-minute decisions breaking our way, though.

MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan · Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:53 pm

SoCalTrjn wrote:Byron Moore just re-commited to USC

Ouch. So much for CU's class climbing out of the 40s. :?

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:07 pm

Rivals' 2009 rankings:
http://rivals100.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?SID=0

Michigan's commitments:
http://rivals100.rivals.com/commitlist. ... &School=44

Will Campbell is the jewel of the class thus far. He waivered of his prior commitment to Michigan but it appears that he is signed and sealed.

There will be a few big announcements coming in the next hour or so...

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:22 pm

ATH Denard Robinson out of Florida has committed to Michigan along with high school teammate DB Adrian Witty. When Beaver dropped off, the door opened for RichRod to bring in another dual-threat QB to come in to compete against Tate Forcier.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:27 pm

Frankie Telfort just commited to USC

Alshon Jeffrey decommits from USC and commits to South Carolina

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:04 pm

All MSU LOI's are signed. Rivals has this as the #14 class.

Andrew Maxwell QB
Edwin Baker RB
Larry Caper RB
Bennie Fowler WR
Donald Spencer WR
Patrick White WR
Derek Hoebing TE
Dion Sims TE
David Barrent OL
Henry Conway OL
Nate Klatt OL
Micajah Reynolds OL
Blake Treadwell OL
Dan France DE
Corey Freeman DE
Denicos Allen LB
Denzel Drone LB
Jeremy Gainer LB
TyQuan Hammock LB
Chris Norman LB
Dana Dixon DB
Jairus Jones ATH
Kevin Muma K

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:18 pm

Manti Te'o to Notre Dame

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:18 pm

Wow! Manti Te'o to ND!

The guy sounded like he was going to cry as he was being interviewed, prior to his pick. Dude sounded like a total wreck...

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:22 pm

Ummmm, ESPN, ND beating Hawaii was not a "huuuuuuuge bowl win."

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:29 pm

Denzel Drone LB

"Here comes another unmanned blitz!!"

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:33 pm

Shoalzie wrote: Will Campbell is the jewel of the class thus far. He waivered of his prior commitment to Michigan but it appears that he is signed and sealed.

as in, he's been living in south quad for nearly a month now. dood enrolled early.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:47 pm

Michigan's having a great day except for DT. We had three verbals, but two signed elsewhere. Campbell was the best of that bunch, though. Shoalzie already mentioned we pulled Robinson from Florida, so he'll be a CB if QB doesn't work out. And apparently there's a good chance we poach a highly-rated WR from Tenn.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:04 pm

That sucks about Jones choosing Arkansas over Michigan...

Still a very good class...13 Four-star guys along with North Carolina. The Buckeyes and South Carolina only the ones with more.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:18 pm

Jsc810 wrote:Welcome Russell Shepard, the newest LSU Tiger, who happens to be the #1 player listed by ESPN. Or something like that. :)

he is the #1 Athlete, the #1 QB and overall player is Matt Barkley
Manti Te'o is the #2 player overall
Sheppard is the #3 player overall

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:18 pm

Very happy about Te'o. Kind of a kick in the nuts with Moore and Starling, but I'll take Te'o. I think this kid will be starting by midseason, and I don't think he will take his mission.

This class was a underwhelming, but expected after a 3-9 and 7-6 year. The top end appears to be very good (Te'o, Wood, Rddick, Evans, Motta, Watt, etc.) but they took 3 special teams players and came up short at DB and along the Dline.

Weis needs to revamp his recruiting approach and start to offer more guys.

If he can throw together a 9-3 type season next year (honestly, that should get him fired with that schedule) ND will have one of the top 2 classes in the country.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:22 pm

Holy fuck, I didn't realize we signed PSUFAN to be our kicker:

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:23 pm

Jsc810 wrote:Welcome Russell Shepard, the newest LSU Tiger, who happens to be the #1 player listed by ESPN. Or something like that. :)

Something "like that."

Matt Barkley of USC is ESPN's #1 rated player in the country. Better still, unlike LSU with their "athlete" QB, USC actually knows which position their QB recruit Barkley will play.

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:26 pm

Manti Te'o is the #2 player overall

By ESPN, yes. Rivals doesn't even list him #1 at LB (they have Burfict as their #1 LB) and he's not in their Top 10 overall.

If Te'o does bail after his freshman year to go on a two year mission, wow, that'll leave a mark.

Still, great get for ND.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:31 pm

Losing Burfict and missing Te'o makes gettign Jarvis Jones paramount to saving USCs class

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:34 pm

At this point, it's about perception. ND hasn't had a defensive player of this caliber sign with them since the late 90's. They haven't gotten a signing day commit from a kid of this caliber since Holtz, if ever.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:35 pm

Compelling shit, guys. When you get done beating your dicks over guys who haven't done a god damn thing on the collegiate level and many who will likely end up changing my oil, stocking groceries at my local g-store or serving time in a penitentiary, let me know.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:40 pm

Screw_Michigan wrote:When you get done beating your dicks...

...you'll be there to clean it up.

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:50 pm

SoCalTrjn wrote:Losing Burfict and missing Te'o makes gettign Jarvis Jones paramount to saving USCs class

"Saving"?

Saving it from what? For all anybody knows Telfort will end up being better than Burfict or Te'o.

We won't know for another four to five years how this recruiting class panned out...for anybody.

I'll take my chances though on Matt Barkley. I don't think too many other teams signed a guy who will immediately enter the Heisman spotlight just as soon as he puts in one full season of starting. A lot of these five star guys won't ever appear on a collective radar again.

Barkley? Unless he gets hurt you can almost pencil him in as a future NFL 1st round draft choice. Can't say that about too many other people signing today. Moreover, QB is a rather important position in CF and USC landed the #1 QB in the country. He'll be a definite "difference maker."

They landed a few other decent prospects too.

Yeah, I think they're probably going to be okay, regardless of what happens with Jarvis Jones.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:56 pm

They lost the #1 TE, they lost most of the WR's... Barkley cant throw the ball to himself. This class is dropping like a rock on Scout and Rivals, they need Jarvis jones to save the defensive side of the class and orson Charles to help the Offense. Right now the best defensive recruit USC has was injured almost all of last season.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:02 pm

It says on rivals.com that Jarvis Jones has signed his LOI with USC.

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:07 pm

"Dropping like a rock"? You mean from #2 or #3 to, oh, #5?

Pretty sure they'll remain in the....Top 15!

USC got the top QB, the top DE and two top safeties. They got Telfort. They've gotten two top O linemen so far, and Filo is still in the mix.

Hell, ESPN just moved USC up to #2 in their recruiting rankings, because of the Jawanza Starling signing. (Christ, "Jawanza." That's just embarrassing. I wish dude was at least named Clarissa. That would've been cool...)

USC is loaded at WR anyway. They return everyone on offense except Patrick Turner. On top of that, hell, USC's best receivers usually aren't their most highly touted guys. Five stars Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton didn't exactly set the world on fire. USC's most effective receiver last year was a transfer from Arkansas.

They'll be fine.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:14 pm

Dameon Williams was a 5 star before going to Arkansas and transferring to USC. Ronald Johnson was also a 5 star

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:19 pm

So were Hazelton and Turner. Moreover, Williams and RoJo are returning. USC isn't hurting at WR.

Btw, USC is now #2 on Rivals and ESPN. That stone isn't exactly falling.

Keep in mind also that USC already has the #1 ranked LB from a year ago, Chris Gallipo, set to start at MLB this season. These other LBs might not've even seen the field for USC.

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:23 pm

yeah, they jumped to #2 by signing Jones and Starling... saved the class
Galipo was from 2 years ago

SoCalTrjn · Post by **SoCalTrjn** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:36 pm

Su'a-Filo to UCLA

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:36 pm

Those signings didn't "save the class." They bumped the class from Top 5 to Top 2.

Top 5 isn't a class that needs saving.

The biggest "get" USC received during this entire recruiting season was the news that Taylor Mays inexplicably decided to return for his senior season.

The biggest loss? It wasn't Burfict, Pressley or Te'o. It was Mark Sanchez. Winning begets killer recruiting classes. Had Sanchez returned USC would've likely ended the season playing in the title game and there's your biggest recruiting tool for Pete Carroll.

Wow, good pick up for UCLA, nabbing Filo.

Hell, hearing Filo say that he's definitely planning on going on his two year mission following his freshman season I'm almost glad USC didn't get these two huge Mormon recruits.