Unexpected Recruiting Observation

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
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CPJ is offering the same 4/5 star guys most factories are offering.

Cam Akers...5 star athlete that ended up at FSU as a RB? We offered early.
DeShaun Watson...5 Star DT QB, went to Clemson, 1st Round NFL pick. We offered early.
Justin Fields...5 star DT QB, this recruiting class. We offered last year.
Michael Barrett...4 Star QB/Ath, this recruiting class. We offered last year.

I could go on and on. All these guys, and others, were offered early...but I think the staff knew they weren't getting them so they moved on. So do you say the guys that we actually signed after we offered those type of players listed above are really our 1st choices or top choices? Our staff offers the same elite guys (not all but a good portion of them) that everyone else does. Obviously, more times than not they do not end up at GT. I think we kid ourselves if we think our staff is getting our top choices. Now, if you said top "realistic" choices? Probably....but I think given a choice between a guy like Deshaun Watson/Jameis Winston (GT was his first offer)/Justin Fields or the guys we ended up with in those classes, I think the staff would have picked the higher rated guys.
This is a good point. I think we do get some of our top early picks, but not many. So, perhaps it should be nuanced further to say that when we're past that first level of upper-echelon talent, then a higher hit rate is found among the group of players offered later (after senior year).
 

vamosjackets

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It would be interesting to see whole different system with regard to recruiting - a college football draft. 25 rounds of 120'ish picks. The national champion from the year before goes last, the winless programs go first and fill out the rest by a computer poll of some sort. The parity would be awesome, and I think overall GREAT for the sport, not to mention eliminating all of the dirty shenanigans of recruiting.

Somebody get Trump on the phone.
 

Sideways

Helluva Engineer
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1,589
So to add
A kid playing in high school playing against 95% of kids who will never play College ball, how do you rate that.
A kid who plays say like here in Colorado, where football ends in mid November because of snow, is no comparison to a kid who plays in Georgia. FYI, there is no football here in Colorado. My son plays high school, trust me.
An 18 year old kid, or 19 as most Seniors in High School are these days, may be done growing or was full grown in the 9th grade. Another may come to college, grow 3 more inches and 35 lbs.
A kid, who is told they are headed for the pro's when they are 16 and the kid who just wants the chance and puts in 150% of the effort. That is why there are lots of 2 stars that play in the super bowl.
A kid who runs a 4.4 40 may look good, but he doesn't have football skills.

I could go on and on.

Well, its like Coach Johnson says: "They all came highly recommended." Its funny but Tech gets about as much out of its players as any program in the country when you consider the recruiting rankings. I think we do a good job of being selective in who we go after and developing players once they get here. Lynch is a good example. Certainly not highly recruited but that son of a gun gets loose on a big play running or catching the ball just about every game. In other words, he just makes plays.

Our A backs are often good football players in high school but not what conventional offenses are looking for (especially the smaller ones). We do have a smattering of former big time high school backs like JJ Greene, and Qua but often they are like Godhigh or Tony Zenon from here in Albany. He was a star at our local private school powerhouse but most big schools didn't want him because he was small and did not have truly blazing speed. Well, we saw how that turned out. He was a fine player for us and never gave a moment's trouble. "Diamonds in the rough" as Boomer would say.
 

Blumpkin Souffle

Bidly Biddington III
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1,367
It would be interesting to see whole different system with regard to recruiting - a college football draft. 25 rounds of 120'ish picks. The national champion from the year before goes last, the winless programs go first and fill out the rest by a computer poll of some sort. The parity would be awesome, and I think overall GREAT for the sport, not to mention eliminating all of the dirty shenanigans of recruiting.

Somebody get Trump on the phone.
I think I found your reddit account

 

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
Featured Member
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2,150
I think I found your reddit account


I can't see anything in your post linked to reddit here at work. I've never been on reddit (I think I visited the site once when linked there from this forum).

If your post was just for humor, I can't tell it, because I can't see the content. Perhaps I'll feel silly when I get home and see what you actually linked.
 

Blumpkin Souffle

Bidly Biddington III
Messages
1,367
I can't see anything in your post linked to reddit here at work. I've never been on reddit (I think I visited the site once when linked there from this forum).

If your post was just for humor, I can't tell it, because I can't see the content. Perhaps I'll feel silly when I get home and see what you actually linked.
A GT fan posted a thread two days ago on the College Football subreddit about if P5 teams drafted players instead of recruiting. What a funny coincidence.
 

vamosjackets

GT Athlete
Featured Member
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2,150
A GT fan posted a thread two days ago on the College Football subreddit about if P5 teams drafted players instead of recruiting. What a funny coincidence.
Ha. That is a pretty crazy coincidence. Maybe we're Newton and Leibniz discovering the future of college football simultaneously and independently. Or, maybe one of us stole it from the other either consciously or subconsciously (debatably perhaps also like Newton/Leibniz).

Can you tell I just finished a math history class?
 

presjacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
678
Here's the real original.
367bfdf04925024ffe4e22252b33e533a4b77ede146dbcfb985e332d0bcfd8c8.jpg
 

dressedcheeseside

Helluva Engineer
Messages
14,220
CPJ is offering the same 4/5 star guys most factories are offering.

Cam Akers...5 star athlete that ended up at FSU as a RB? We offered early.
DeShaun Watson...5 Star DT QB, went to Clemson, 1st Round NFL pick. We offered early.
Justin Fields...5 star DT QB, this recruiting class. We offered last year.
Michael Barrett...4 Star QB/Ath, this recruiting class. We offered last year.

I could go on and on. All these guys, and others, were offered early...but I think the staff knew they weren't getting them so they moved on. So do you say the guys that we actually signed after we offered those type of players listed above are really our 1st choices or top choices? Our staff offers the same elite guys (not all but a good portion of them) that everyone else does. Obviously, more times than not they do not end up at GT. I think we kid ourselves if we think our staff is getting our top choices. Now, if you said top "realistic" choices? Probably....but I think given a choice between a guy like Deshaun Watson/Jameis Winston (GT was his first offer)/Justin Fields or the guys we ended up with in those classes, I think the staff would have picked the higher rated guys.
Offering those guys makes sense because it doesn't cost you anything. It's like buying a lottery ticket for a buck. Eventually the lottery has a winner.
 

jayparr

Helluva Engineer
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newnan
This is a good point. I think we do get some of our top early picks, but not many. So, perhaps it should be nuanced further to say that when we're past that first level of upper-echelon talent, then a higher hit rate is found among the group of players offered later (after senior year).
Trent Thompson also and we thought we had a very good chance!
 
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