Recruiting 2009 - The 20 Big
Questions
No. 13 to 16 - What's happening with LSU, Arizona State, TCU and Boston
College?
The 20 Big Questions of the Recruiting Season
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No. 1 to 4
| No. 5 to 8
| No. 9 to 12
| No. 17 to 20
16.
Q: How much has Florida’s success and the
emergence of Alabama hurt LSU’s recruiting efforts? What’s the biggest
area of need for LSU to hit this recruiting season?
A: From Sonny Shipp. Publisher-TigerSportsDigest.com
The recent success of Florida and Alabama hasn't had any effect on LSU's
class mainly because LSU has done such a good job in Texas. LSU has
only one commitment from Alabama and Florida combined but they've made
up for that by nabbing two of the top prospects in Georgia in Kevin
Minter and Drayton Calhoun. Safety and Defensive line is the biggest
area of need along with receiver.
15. Q: Did last year’s dip at Arizona State
hurt the recruiting for this year? What’s the focus for Dennis Erickson
going forward?
A: From Hod Rabino, Publisher, DevilsDigest.com
Almost every team that finishes 5-7 will take some kind of hit when it
comes to recruiting, and Arizona State is no exception. However, even
though it's a class that on paper doesn't have a lofty star ranking, it
still features several solid prospects at areas of need. It already got
a commitment from five-star prospect DT Corey Adams and is expected to
land another five-star prospect in LB Vontaze Burfict, so this class is
far from being a bust. This class added a lot of quality on defense, and
I expect next year's class to go heavy on offense, especially at OL and
RB.
14. Q: Because of the recent success, how many
players are coming to TCU who would normally look at a Big 12 school?
What's the biggest area of need for TCU to hit this recruiting season?
A: From Gordon Reese, Assistant Publisher, BigPurpleNation.com
The TCU
Horned Frogs are really starting to reap the benefits of head coach Gary
Patterson's labor. Five 10-win campaigns in the last seven years is
nothing to sneeze at. Neither is finishing the 2008 season ranked 7th
in the AP, despite two losses. But the biggest difference in the TCU
program may be the amount of talent making its way to Fort Worth for
2009 and beyond.
Many
Horned Frog fans and media in Fort Worth are calling the TCU recruiting
class for 2009 the best in the last 30 years, if not the greatest of all
time. Whichever it is, the Frogs are winning recruiting battles over
many Big 12 and SEC schools. With ex-Brownwood High School gunslinger
Casey Pachall, the Frogs have a future field general that comes to TCU
ranked as the highest quarterback in years. In deciding on the Frogs,
Pachall turned down Big 12 schools such as Baylor, Iowa State and
Nebraska. He also turned offers from Notre Dame and Florida.
Running
back is another position where the Frogs may have hit a homerun. Heck,
they might have gone back-to-back, to use a baseball term, at this
position. At 5'9,203 pounds, some scouts have called ex –Sherman
running back Waymon James too short. But when you have 4.4 speed and
score 30 touchdowns in a season like James did this past season, there
are going to be a lot of schools that will be willing to give a
scholarship to such a "short" back. Those that offered James include
Texas Tech, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. On Dec. 14, Chapel Hill
running back Matthew Tucker also gave his verbal commitment to the
Frogs. Tucker was named the 2008 3A Offensive Player of the Year and
held offers from Big 12 North programs Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas.
But
anybody who has followed TCU during the Patterson era knows that the
team's bread- and butter is slapping their opponent silly with a
tenacious defense. In order for the Frogs to continue to dominate on
defense, they needed to recruit great players for the linebacker
position. For the incoming class, TCU received commitments from
three-time all-state linebacker Tanner Brock from Copperas Cove, TX as
well as Justin Isadore, an all-state linebacker from Beaumont Ozen.
Brock, now enrolled at TCU, had offers from four Big 12 schools,
including Oklahoma.
With 18
verbal commitments for 2009 , the future is bright for TCU. The Frogs
are competing and winning recruiting battles for great Texas players
with the Big 12. 11 of the 18 players with verbal commitments to the
Frogs hold offers from a variety of Big 12 schools, with the exception
of the University of Texas.
The
Frogs have come a long way in the last 10 years, when many of their
recruits were not being sought after by any Big 12 programs.
13. Q: How much did the Jeff Jagodzinski
fiasco hurt Boston College’s recruiting?
A: From Bill Plaidman,
EagleInsider.com
The change in coaching has had little impact on recruiting. On the one
hand, the new coach had to scramble to shore-up the current commits. On
the other hand, his energy help close some kids who were wavering even
before the change. Overall, Frank Spaziani brought much needed energy to
the effort and is proving to be a very good closer. In the long run, he
will be an upgrade on the recruiting front over the previous coach.
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