New WR Recruit...will trust but still wish...

[IndyIUFan66]

2 star WR, with other offers from unmemorable, non-major D1 schools. He is 6'2, 190 from Tennessee and the coaches, specifically Coach Heard, saw him up close, so I'll trust their judgement until proven otherwise. But it is fair to ask: why no other major schools, especially his local SEC or other B10 schools were offering him?

I'm as "all in" for Coach Allen as one can be. I'm also bullish on what I think Coach Heard is going to do with the WR crew. Hence, going to trust these guys like what they see, that he's got athleticism and they can coach him up.

But perhaps in the not too distant future (and for sure if they upset OSU in week one!) IU will be choosing among more common 3-4 star candidates who do have offers from other major schools.

Keep it going - IUFB!

 

[td75]

I agree with your stance. I'll certainly trust their evaluations of these type of prospects, however, I don't think they can make a living off of these types.

I want IU football to challenge and occasionally knock off Michigan and Penn State and Ohio State. What type of recruit does it take to do that? I have my doubts about two star talent...We've seen that dog and pony show under past regimes.

 

[RBB89]

2 star WR, with other offers from unmemorable, non-major D1 schools. He is 6'2, 190 from Tennessee and the coaches, specifically Coach Heard, saw him up close, so I'll trust their judgement until proven otherwise. But it is fair to ask: why no other major schools, especially his local SEC or other B10 schools were offering him?

I'm as "all in" for Coach Allen as one can be. I'm also bullish on what I think Coach Heard is going to do with the WR crew. Hence, going to trust these guys like what they see, that he's got athleticism and they can coach him up.

But perhaps in the not too distant future (and for sure if they upset OSU in week one!) IU will be choosing among more common 3-4 star candidates who do have offers from other major schools.

Keep it going - IUFB!

We get guys with multiple power 5 offers all the time. Just look at our last 3 classes. Look at our previous 3 commits. I don't really understand why we have to have these threads anytime the coaches identify a lower key player who doesn't have a ton of offers, especially in June before his senior year.

If we start going back to the Lynch era where 90% of our class is made up of players where we were their only power 5 offer, then worry. But we aren't there. And we aren't Alabama. We are going to get some under the radar guys. I'd be willing to bet a substantial amount of money that this kid gets several other offers before signing day.

It is completely disingenuous to use one guy to act like IU hasn't upped their recruiting over the past few years. It's like me taking one of our 4 star recruits to show that we're now exclusively recruiting 4 and 5 star talent.

 

[RBB89]

I agree with your stance. I'll certainly trust their evaluations of these type of prospects, however, I don't think they can make a living off of these types.

I want IU football to challenge and occasionally knock off Michigan and Penn State and Ohio State. What type of recruit does it take to do that? I have my doubts about two star talent...We've seen that dog and pony show under past regimes.

Make a living?

He is one recruit, who hasn't even started his senior year. He is also a 3 star on at least one other site. In fact, he is a 3 star on the 247 composite. It is also June.

Good gracious, people.

Edit: Also, several of the players you have praised in the past on here were 2 star recruits.

 

[JohnsyRick]

2 star WR, with other offers from unmemorable, non-major D1 schools. He is 6'2, 190 from Tennessee and the coaches, specifically Coach Heard, saw him up close, so I'll trust their judgement until proven otherwise. But it is fair to ask: why no other major schools, especially his local SEC or other B10 schools were offering him?

I'm as "all in" for Coach Allen as one can be. I'm also bullish on what I think Coach Heard is going to do with the WR crew. Hence, going to trust these guys like what they see, that he's got athleticism and they can coach him up.

But perhaps in the not too distant future (and for sure if they upset OSU in week one!) IU will be choosing among more common 3-4 star candidates who do have offers from other major schools.

Keep it going - IUFB!

According to Scout he had a UK offer, and supposedly, he was timed in the 4.4's, more than happy to trust the coaches at this point.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

I agree with your stance. I'll certainly trust their evaluations of these type of prospects, however, I don't think they can make a living off of these types.

I want IU football to challenge and occasionally knock off Michigan and Penn State and Ohio State. What type of recruit does it take to do that? I have my doubts about two star talent...We've seen that dog and pony show under past regimes.

It's going to need to be better than the 8-10 rated BiG classes IU has been getting over the last few years. Good kids who have helped get the program to a couple of regular season overall .500 records, but better players will have to be recruited if IU is to remain in the 4-5 slot in the BiG East, let alone climb up to challenge the top guys. Hope Allen and crew can do it but they seem to be struggling.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

The best I can tell, IU got in early on this kid. I suspect he will rise this fall and hear from other major programs.

 

[InHepWeTrust]

Just gonna leave this here...

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/marcelino-ball-4605

 

[boiler1987]

Just gonna leave this here...

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/marcelino-ball-4605

There will always be guys that end up being significantly better than their rivals ranking but I'm guessing most of the time those rankings are fairly accurate.

 

[InHepWeTrust]

There will always be guys that end up being significantly better than their rivals ranking but I'm guessing most of the time those rankings are fairly accurate.

I don't disagree with that at all. I just posted it because sprinkling in a few under the radar guys the staff likes is in no way a bad thing, and some of those 2 stars can turn out to be impact guys even as a freshman. Heck, Ball had a pretty poor offer set as well, much like Hewitt currently does.

Now if the majority of our recruits were 2 star players there is plenty of reason for concern.

 

[boiler1987]

I don't disagree with that at all. I just posted it because sprinkling in a few under the radar guys the staff likes is in no way a bad thing, and some of those 2 stars can turn out to be impact guys even as a freshman. Heck, Ball had a pretty poor offer set as well, much like Hewitt currently does.

Now if the majority of our recruits were 2 star players there is plenty of reason for concern.

I definitely agree with you. It's always interesting when a 2* without big time offers does well and a high 3*/4* with several offers fizzles out.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

Just gonna leave this here...

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/marcelino-ball-4605

Exceptions always exist, but successful programs are never built on them.

 

[InHepWeTrust]

Exceptions always exist, but successful programs are never built on them.

We have 3 commits so far, 2-3* and 1-2*. It is way to early to be having these type of convo's about the new regime. And nothing implies we are being built on 2* prospects. But, my point of bringing up Ball is that just last year, arguably our best freshman was a 2*, so we should probably just wait and see how the class plays out. A 2* rating doesn't mean they aren't any good, until we start seeing a bunch of 2* player in the class, we should probably withhold concerns on recruiting.

 

[IndyIUFan66]

I said I trust Coach Allen, Heard and the others, but Austin Peay is not a normal FB powerhouse, so it can raise an eyebrow. In light of the decommit today of Pechak, a "mini-low" for recruiting. But time is funny how fast it can change things.

For ex: should IU pull off a tremendous OSU upset, how many of the offers to 3 & 4 star guys might strongly reconsider IU at that point.

Key is have to simply stay steady, focused on being best one can be and go from there.

I do hope this kid is a sleeper 2*, that he is running a 4.4, and if all true, I would bet other D-1 offers will start rolling in. Hope he remembers his commitment in June and who wanted him if/when the big boys are being Johnny Come Lately's but want him.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

We have 3 commits so far, 2-3* and 1-2*. It is way to early to be having these type of convo's about the new regime. And nothing implies we are being built on 2* prospects. But, my point of bringing up Ball is that just last year, arguably our best freshman was a 2*, so we should probably just wait and see how the class plays out. A 2* rating doesn't mean they aren't any good, until we start seeing a bunch of 2* player in the class, we should probably withhold concerns on recruiting.

I agree that it's way too early for you to discuss recruiting, though I strongly suspect that you would be more than happy to discuss it if things were going better than they are currently.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

I said I trust Coach Allen, Heard and the others, but Austin Peay is not a normal FB powerhouse, so it can raise an eyebrow. In light of the decommit today of Pechak, a "mini-low" for recruiting. But time is funny how fast it can change things.

For ex: should IU pull off a tremendous OSU upset, how many of the offers to 3 & 4 star guys might strongly reconsider IU at that point.

Key is have to simply stay steady, focused on being best one can be and go from there.

I do hope this kid is a sleeper 2*, that he is running a 4.4, and if all true, I would bet other D-1 offers will start rolling in. Hope he remembers his commitment in June and who wanted him if/when the big boys are being Johnny Come Lately's but want him.

The other kid from Cordova, Jones, decommitted from us and may have led to this one. Jones had a higher Rivals rating BUT he plays at a small school and their football team is bad.
This guy plays at a higher classification against some of the best teams in the state. Maybe it's a wash?

 

[Bowlmania]

We have 3 commits so far, 2-3* and 1-2*. It is way to early to be having these type of convo's about the new regime. And nothing implies we are being built on 2* prospects. But, my point of bringing up Ball is that just last year, arguably our best freshman was a 2*, so we should probably just wait and see how the class plays out. A 2* rating doesn't mean they aren't any good, until we start seeing a bunch of 2* player in the class, we should probably withhold concerns on recruiting.

Your position is reasonable and logical. Ewerz's response, in his typical fashion, is antagonistic and inflammatory. FYI, he frequently tries to reinvent himself with a new user name after a banning and/or after most posters place him on "ignore." He's always easy to identify, though. His posts would be much better received on a Purdue board.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

Your position is reasonable and logical. Ewerz's response, in his typical fashion, is antagonistic and inflammatory. FYI, he frequently tries to reinvent himself with a new user name after a banning and/or after most posters place him on "ignore." He's always easy to identify, though. His posts would be much better received on a Purdue board.

Too bad you can't talk football like you can throw out the insults. Of course, if you could talk football, you wouldn't need to resort to your typically childish garbage.

 

[RBB89]

Make a living?

He is one recruit, who hasn't even started his senior year. He is also a 3 star on at least one other site. In fact, he is a 3 star on the 247 composite. It is also June.

Good gracious, people.

Edit: Also, several of the players you have praised in the past on here were 2 star recruits.

To follow up, I know how much you love Marcelino Ball. He was a two star. I'm not saying to rely on them as a recruiting strategy, I'm just mostly saying that to dismiss a player because of it is silly.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

We have 3 commits so far, 2-3* and 1-2*. It is way to early to be having these type of convo's about the new regime. And nothing implies we are being built on 2* prospects. But, my point of bringing up Ball is that just last year, arguably our best freshman was a 2*, so we should probably just wait and see how the class plays out. A 2* rating doesn't mean they aren't any good, until we start seeing a bunch of 2* player in the class, we should probably withhold concerns on recruiting.

Nah...lets trash the guy. It's never too early to ignorantly shred the program (dws)

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Your position is reasonable and logical. Ewerz's response, in his typical fashion, is antagonistic and inflammatory. FYI, he frequently tries to reinvent himself with a new user name after a banning and/or after most posters place him on "ignore." He's always easy to identify, though. His posts would be much better received on a Purdue board.

If the mods are going to allow his cancerous attacks it is best to do as I have, and stop responding to him. He is not here to talk sports and never has been. His presence here is based on a foundation of laughably obvious lies. He is not an IU grad or fan and has never set foot on campus. He is what I call a "google Fraud" meaning he looks things up before each post in order to feign knowledge.

He is simply here to fight, it is all he has. Kind of sad really.

 

[bang63]

Common sense tells us that FG can't plug in an unproven head coach and recruiting will stay the same or improve in the short term. CTA is going to have to win with Wilson's recruits in order to get in demand players to come to IU.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

Common sense tells us that FG can't plug in an unproven head coach and recruiting will stay the same or improve in the short term. CTA is going to have to win with Wilson's recruits in order to get in demand players to come to IU.

Exactly right, especially the part about common sense. Some newer fans to the program obviously can't see that. It will take time for Allen to establish recruiting momentum and, in the interim, he'll need to win now with Wilson's players if they're to get this turned in the right direction. Right now, recruiting is a struggle for them, as the Pechac de-commitment confirmed. Will be interesting to see if the camps generate any new commits or if they go into the Fall with relatively few pledges.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

Exactly right, especially the part about common sense. Some newer fans to the program obviously can't see that. It will take time for Allen to establish recruiting momentum and, in the interim, he'll need to win now with Wilson's players if they're to get this turned in the right direction. Right now, recruiting is a struggle for them, as the Pechac de-commitment confirmed. Will be interesting to see if the camps generate any new commits or if they go into the Fall with relatively few pledges.

Without the near instant defensive turnaround last season,
Wilson was looking at a 4 win season. Last year really belonged to Allen as much as anything. As much as I liked Wilson, let's not forget that his highlight reel offense failed to attract a prime time QB. Recruiting is hindsight with the Wilson era. His recruits didn't look a whole lot different on paper than this small sample under Allen. Also, think about this:. Wilson lost close to 30 players over 6 seasons, averaged 5 departures per year due to transfer, kicked off or quit. So, what good is this hand wringing over stars on paper if they don't stay? Arguably our best rated guy last season never made it to campus.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

Without the near instant defensive turnaround last season,
Wilson was looking at a 4 win season. Last year really belonged to Allen as much as anything. As much as I liked Wilson, let's not forget that his highlight reel offense failed to attract a prime time QB. Recruiting is hindsight with the Wilson era. His recruits didn't look a whole lot different on paper than this small sample under Allen. Also, think about this:. Wilson lost close to 30 players over 6 seasons, averaged 5 departures per year due to transfer, kicked off or quit. So, what good is this hand wringing over stars on paper if they don't stay? Arguably our best rated guy last season never made it to campus.

I agree about the relative level of recruiting under Wilson. It was decent but far from the spectacular levels some people thought it was. That's why there are so many holes to fill this season. As for the departures, IU's numbers aren't out of the norm in college football. Attrition hits every program every year.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

I agree about the relative level of recruiting under Wilson. It was decent but far from the spectacular levels some people thought it was. That's why there are so many holes to fill this season. As for the departures, IU's numbers aren't out of the norm in college football. Attrition hits every program every year.

True....but I'd argue that attrition hurts IU more than most programs because we don't have a plethora of solid backups. One recruiting class, we saw nearly 12 guys fall off the roster in a 2-year span. One of those guys was a 4-star guy who never saw the field and left campus. One guy was a high level 3-star QB that could have salvaged some potential wins had he not left. When you lose that, it's not like OSU where you simply turn to the next 4-star kid on the bench.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

True....but I'd argue that attrition hurts IU more than most programs because we don't have a plethora of solid backups. One recruiting class, we saw nearly 12 guys fall off the roster in a 2-year span. One of those guys was a 4-star guy who never saw the field and left campus. One guy was a high level 3-star QB that could have salvaged some potential wins had he not left. When you lose that, it's not like OSU where you simply turn to the next 4-star kid on the bench.

Agree completely, which is why greatly improved recruiting has to occur if IU is ever going to build a winning program. Excuses about why isn't happening are meaningless.

 

[RBB89]

Common sense tells us that FG can't plug in an unproven head coach and recruiting will stay the same or improve in the short term. CTA is going to have to win with Wilson's recruits in order to get in demand players to come to IU.

Actually recruiting has been pretty much exactly the same. We never get a ton of early commits, and it's starting off pretty much exactly how the last few classes started. Wilson had a couple early decommits last year too. And hell, Allen flipped a kid from USC after being the HC for 2 months.

But again, I have no idea why anyone cares this much in June.

 

[jsglenn4]

But again, I have no idea why anyone cares this much in June.

While I agree completely that it's only June and too early to be worrying about this stuff, the silver lining is most of the posts are from people who care deeply about IU football and want the program to succeed. Someone posted a question on the Purdue board asking what Clemson offered that Purdue did not. I live in Greenville SC and was able to provide some feedback on that front. One thing being the Clemson board had 54 active posts at that time yesterday compared to 4 on the Purdue board. While much of it is griping and whining about one thing or another, the fan engagement down here is very obvious to recruits and they get excited about playing in front of a fanbase that cares that much.

I try to remember that when reading posts expressing these concerns in June.

 

[Ewezrfan1]

While I agree completely that it's only June and too early to be worrying about this stuff, the silver lining is most of the posts are from people who care deeply about IU football and want the program to succeed. Someone posted a question on the Purdue board asking what Clemson offered that Purdue did not. I live in Greenville SC and was able to provide some feedback on that front. One thing being the Clemson board had 54 active posts at that time yesterday compared to 4 on the Purdue board. While much of it is griping and whining about one thing or another, the fan engagement down here is very obvious to recruits and they get excited about playing in front of a fanbase that cares that much.

I try to remember that when reading posts expressing these concerns in June.

This is a great point. The apathy that surrounds the program and this board is all over the "it doesn't matter" and "it's still summer" posts. People who care are interested in progress on even the smallest level, though I can understand why the more casual fans who mostly make up this site don't have money ch concern for this stuff.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

While I agree completely that it's only June and too early to be worrying about this stuff, the silver lining is most of the posts are from people who care deeply about IU football and want the program to succeed. Someone posted a question on the Purdue board asking what Clemson offered that Purdue did not. I live in Greenville SC and was able to provide some feedback on that front. One thing being the Clemson board had 54 active posts at that time yesterday compared to 4 on the Purdue board. While much of it is griping and whining about one thing or another, the fan engagement down here is very obvious to recruits and they get excited about playing in front of a fanbase that cares that much.

I try to remember that when reading posts expressing these concerns in June.

The difference, besides the fact IU FB isn't Clemson FB at this point, is that IU has a new coaching staff and nothing is going to be established from a recruiting standpoint until they have a full season of demonstrated competence behind them. Next year at this time we can a make some meaningful judgements...until then it is empty chatter. Nothing wrong with empty chatter as long as we recognize it.