Recruiting, 2015

[EastHallApp]

I probably can't add much to what Moose said, but I have some thoughts, so here goes, read or ignore at your leisure :

- First off, I'm not just going to totally dismiss rankings. All things being equal, I'd rather have the top class in the Sun Belt than the #8 class.

-With that said, there's no doubt the recruiting sites spend way more time and resources evaluating the P5 prospects than those in the Sun Belt. Many of those high-end guys are ranked before or during their junior years, whereas many Sun Belt commits haven't been rated until they actually commit somewhere. So you wonder how thorough an evaluation they're really getting - probably just a few video clips and maybe a phone call or two.

- Part of what I think may be holding down our ranking is the positional makeup of our class. If you look at last year's class, who were the highest-rated players? Mostly WRs and RBs, and we loaded up on those - which made sense because we needed everything. This year, we've only taken a couple WRs and no RBs, because that's not where most of the need was.

- In some cases, we're just going to have to hope our staff is right and the recruiting sites are wrong. For example, 247 doesn't rank Mondo Williams very highly, and hasn't rated Anthony Flory at all. My understanding is that App's coaches are very high on both. Hopefully they are in the same vein as Boggs, Stringer and Gibbs (In 247's class calculator, they actually gave App zero points for signing Gibbs.)

- As far as Southern goes, they had a great first FBS season and are putting together a very good class. As long as App keeps handling our business, I'm not worried if other Sun Belt teams recruit well. If anything, maybe it will result in the league improving overall.

[SpeedkingATL]

First post guys...had to set the record straight. GS does not over sign players. Total signees for the past four recruiting classes:

2011 - 25
2012- 25
2013 - 21
2014 - 20

Good classes for GS and App State. The Sunbelt title should always run between Statesboro and Boone. Nice job showing those "big names" the way the last half of '14. Looking forward to the trip to Boone this year.

Question for you:

Can GaSo use hope scholarships to bring players in rather than offering "athletic scholarships" if they qualify coming from GA high schools?? If so, that could give them a lot more scholarships to work with than schools outside of GA.

[moonshine]

Petrino (UL) pulled Mr. Football of SC, Matt Colburn's, scholarship. He's a 3 star RB who won the shrine bowl offensive MVP award. Do we need more depth?

http://www.wltx.com/story/sports/high-s ... /22782735/

[philbert91]

I say offer Matt a scholie

[MDaniels84]

Just another perspective on our recruiting class. I think that we will be in very good shape with this recruiting class complementing our last recruiting class toward building depth. The one ace that I feel we have up our sleeve is our ability to "coach up players" along with our renewed commitment to our strength and conditioning program. I know that we had some really good players during the "Armanti era" but how much of our success was directly related to our ability to dominate in the fourth quarter ? I like what I see in our blue collar mentality work ethic players that we are recruiting.

[str8shooter]

I think that GS does have the option for a player to receive the HOPE Scholarship if he is academically qualified, but they don't get extra scholarship players because of it. What the HOPE Scholarship does to is reduce the amount of cost to the athletic department for the scholarship they would be giving the player. They allot the amount that the HOPE gives toward the total cost of the athletic ride so that it reduces the amount of athletic scholarship money being used. Louisiana has a similar program. The 25 sxholarship number still applies.

[proasu89]

I say offer Matt a scholie

Rest assured that if we know his story then our coaches do as well.

[str8shooter]

I say offer Matt a scholie

Rest assured that if we know his story then our coaches do as well.

GS has two of his team mates committed, so you can bet that they know...

[App91]

I say offer Matt a scholie

Rest assured that if we know his story then our coaches do as well.

DOn't look know but according to Scout, GS had offered. One look at his offers page and it seems clear that Louisville over reached on the recruit, based on other offers he has gotten.

[tyhollowayconvert4]

Honestly, I think disregarding the stars for this class would be a wise idea. Dynasties are built from the trenches and I think we really nailed that. We got four massive and talented offensive linemen, a true nose guard and a two defensive ends, one of whom can play right away the other who is criminally underrated and will likely be a star someday. Around that we have a crazy amount of speed with guys like Hayes, Franklin, Easter, Miller, and Williams. Then on the edges we have big receivers in Letman and Adams, and backing the defensive line we have four solid linebackers. To finish it off we have a good group of linemen walking on and more players possibly to commit. I think Moose is generally right about addressing needs and I think that this class is a lot better than the "experts" or the people who don't actually follow App State football think it is.

[TheMackAttack]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a .7975 is a composite three star at 247 right? That would make Thomas, Taylor, D. Reed, A. Davis, Easter, and Johnson all within one point of being a three star recruit. I think it's safe to say that we'll see a double digit number of incoming freshman redshirt as well, so I expect them to develop into a hugely productive class for us. I'm particularly excited about the offensive linemen. We have brought in eleven in this and the two previous classes. I think we're well on our way to turning a weakness into a strength there.

[AppSt94]

I think that these ratings are nothing but fodder for the talking heads. In my opinion, ranking a group of 20 and 21 year olds in the system is a better gauge than a bunch of high school kids transferring into a faster game.

[AppSt94]

Quick question. I know that Fortune has de-committed but has he committed to another school? I haven't seen that he has committed elsewhere.

[AppStateNews]

Quick question. I know that Fortune has de-committed but has he committed to another school? I haven't seen that he has committed elsewhere.

He hasn't officially committed anywhere else, but all signs are pointing to jawjaw suthin..

[AppSt94]

Quick question. I know that Fortune has de-committed but has he committed to another school? I haven't seen that he has committed elsewhere.

He hasn't officially committed anywhere else, but all signs are pointing to jawjaw suthin..

It would be nice if he recommitted to us just to watch those gum roots choke on their tobacco juice.

[wdhsbcsasu]

Can we get a list of whom we've signed?

[wdhsbcsasu]

Will it be on here as we receive their LOI?

[Blackangold4]

Yes. Moose said that as soon as LOI'S come in he'll be posting them. If not someone else will also but not as quickly.

[App1990]

The stars are the best metric available and they certainly offer relevant information, but they are far from perfect. For individual players, a player with a bad rating can turn out to be great. For a group, a low average rating is like having the deck stacked against you. It can work out, but I wouldn't want to make that bet year after year.

I do notice that people loved the ratings last year, while this year many people are dismissing them. mmm. Last year, we were 4th in the Sun Belt on the average rating, and we had 9 3-star recruits. This year, we are 8th in the conference, and we have 3 3-star recruits. I suspect (hope) we will finish strong and move up a bit, but as it stands now, this year's class appears to be a step back..ON PAPER which is all we have at this point. Of course, there are reasons outside of quality that may make the ratings relatively low, such as targeting specific positions (though it seems we were all over). And of course, it will ultimately be revealed on the field, which is what matters in the end. However, as mentioned above, one year doesn't make a trend, but the odds ensures that making a habit of getting the 8th best recruiting class will lead to bad outcomes on the field.

Lastly to Moose's comments about admission standards. The admission standards for athletes at App are quite a bit lower than those of the general student population. And this is not only for football. Strings are pulled to get someone in. App is not alone of course, but App is not above the fray either. Admission is general based on NCAA regs, which is the same for everyone. Coaches make a call after balancing character, prospects of remaining eligible, etc. Some coaches take more risks, but that usually doesn't get them far in the long run. And a few will not lower admission standards much, but that will not get them far on the field (or their coaching career). The point is that we are not as different as we may want to think. Different yes, but not dramatically so. GeoSou is simply doing a good job on the recruiting trail. Oh yea, I would argue that the differences in graduation rates are as much about the quality of the education experience (support, professors, etc.) than the type of recruit. I'll also throw out a point of pride for us. The general admission standards are quite a bit higher at App than ALL the other Sun Belt schools. It's a weak bunch.

[str8shooter]

I say offer Matt a scholie

Rest assured that if we know his story then our coaches do as well.

DOn't look know but according to Scout, GS had offered. One look at his offers page and it seems clear that Louisville over reached on the recruit, based on other offers he has gotten.

He committed to Louisville eight months ago and as a result, he fell off the radar. Kid is very fast and runs north/south. He was Mr. Football in the state of SC in '14, so there's some talent there. Now deciding between offers from GS, Wake Forest, Marshall and FURMAN!