Diamond In The Rough

IronJacket7

IronJacket7

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Going back to CPJ's first recruiting class we have had at least one if not more guys who have fit this bill.

Just for kicks... I used the rating system of Rivals. All of the players on this list were relative unknowns to Rivals and all their glory. The ratings don't always reflect the outcome. I quit putting stock in the Rivals stars. You never know who might be the next great unknown.

These were the names I selected from each individual class that I felt represented the phrase Diamond In The Rough most accurately.

2008 - Tevin Washington ** 5.2
2009 - Julian Burnett ** 5.4
2010 - Tony Zenon ** 5.4
2011 - Zach Laskey ** 5.4
2012 - Adam Gotsis ** 5.4
2013 - Paul "PJ" Davis ** 5.2
2014 - Clinton Lynch ** 5.4
2015 - Marcus Marshall / Brad Stewart *** 5.5

Who will be the next diamond from the 2016 Class???
 

takethepoints

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Well … the people who rate the high school seniors certainly don't. Coach, however, is another story. Take Laskey, for instance. We gave him an offer when he was a junior. Then he went on to be all-state and class player of the year as a senior. And - wait for it - got "two stars" for his trouble. Tech and - again, wait for it - Navy and Air Force were his main offers. All three schools saw what he brought to the table. Apparently, no one else did.

Like I said in an earlier post, we're playing Moneyball with our offensive recruiting.

As to the next diamond: if I had to choose only one - looks to me like there are several in the 2015 bunch - it'd be Quaid. When I saw his high school senior highlights, I said out loud, "Ah. Another Laskey." All the same characteristics, all the same talent, and a smidgen bigger. I think he'll start at BB one of these days, barring injury.
 
GaTech4ever

GaTech4ever

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Not sure this is the place for this question, but does anyone know if we recruited Jerrick McKinnon coming out of high school? Seems like a guy we normally bring on board - flew under the radar (likely due to size) despite much success in high school. I'm guessing his grades weren't good enough. I just watch him on Sundays and wonder how we missed on him in our backyard, and grades seem like the only reasoning.
 
swampsting

swampsting

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McKinnon was a three-star out of Cobb County (Sprayberry, maybe?). so he wasn't that under the radar. We maybe recruited him without offering. Byerly was only a two star recruit per Rivals but was the player of the year in his classification.

As for Laskey, didn't the coaches go to scout Jeff Greene and wound up asking who Laskey was?
 
GaTech4ever

GaTech4ever

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swampsting said:
McKinnon was a three-star out of Cobb County (Sprayberry, maybe?). so he wasn't that under the radar. We maybe recruited him without offering. Byerly was only a two star recruit per Rivals but was the player of the year in his classification.

As for Laskey, didn't the coaches go to scout Jeff Greene and wound up asking who Laskey was?
Click to expand...

I mean his only offers were from the service academies, Georgia Southern and Georgia State, and Austin Peay. I consider that pretty under-the-radar in terms of recruiting, and McKinnon was the 1st Team All-State QB. Seems like everyone missed on him.

I think that's how it happened with not only Laskey, but also with Deon Hill getting noticed by the GT coaches when they were scouting Orwin Smith at high-school practices.
 
swampsting

swampsting

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McKinnon committed to Southern right before signing day. He is a great, great kid. I've met him and talked to him. His size may have scared big time schools off.
 
chewybaka

chewybaka

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GaTech4ever said:
I mean his only offers were from the service academies, Georgia Southern and Georgia State, and Austin Peay. I consider that pretty under-the-radar in terms of recruiting, and McKinnon was the 1st Team All-State QB. Seems like everyone missed on him.

I think that's how it happened with not only Laskey, but also with Deon Hill getting noticed by the GT coaches when they were scouting Orwin Smith at high-school practices.
Click to expand...
Deon was one of my favorites...quite, relentless and productive!
 

RLR

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IronJacket7 said:
Going back to CPJ's first recruiting class we have had at least one if not more guys who have fit this bill.

Just for kicks... I used the rating system of Rivals. All of the players on this list were relative unknowns to Rivals and all their glory. The ratings don't always reflect the outcome. I quit putting stock in the Rivals stars. You never know who might be the next great unknown.

These were the names I selected from each individual class that I felt represented the phrase Diamond In The Rough most accurately.

2008 - Tevin Washington ** 5.2
2009 - Julian Burnett ** 5.4
2010 - Tony Zenon ** 5.4
2011 - Zach Laskey ** 5.4
2012 - Adam Gotsis ** 5.4
2013 - Paul "PJ" Davis ** 5.2
2014 - Clinton Lynch ** 5.4
2015 - Marcus Marshall / Brad Stewart *** 5.5

Who will be the next diamond from the 2016 Class???
Click to expand...

Kenny Cooper seems like a good choice.
 
dressedcheeseside

dressedcheeseside

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Imo, we've had more "cubic zirconia" and "iron pyrite" than "diamonds" and "gold," lately. For us to be successful, we need a pretty high success rate on our projects and gambles. For one reason or another, it's been a fairly dry mine as of late. I hope the latest class turns that trend on it's arse.
 
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