I'm curious how it is you know this? You have never seen him perform in person and merely take the word of some rivals reporters, or some outside sources that have not evaluated our own rb's. I don't deny that the kid is good or even a great rb, but it has been well established that the film on him is poor production quality, and he has not camped at LSU. Why would you be happy about our coaches offering a scholarship to a kid they have not personally looked at? Now perhaps our coaches will get to see him this fall but he claims he will make up his mind before then. And as to the claim that he wants LSU so badly, why hasn't he hopped his butt over to the campus and worked out for the coaches? He found time to go to Florida and compete. How bad does he really want it? It amazes me that people put more stock in the recruiting services as opposed to a coaching staff that just won a NC. Geez, what the heck do they know? You can apply the exact same logic to Lacy if you like. Rivals ranks him so much higher than Ford or Pratt. Therefor he is a must have and the coaches are making a mistake by not offering him. I just don't understand this conclusion.
If we are holding out on Trent Richardson, its a bad mistake...If Christine wants to commit, we should take him, and tell TR, sorry. We already have Ford and Pratt, Christine will trive in Gary Crowton's offense.
IMO we dont really need Michael or Richardson for that matter. I dont see why some are so hard up for RBs. Im sure both are very talented and would be a great addition to LSU. Fact is though we have two very good RBs coming in. Also, we still have Williams and Scott for one more year after this and Murphy for two more seasons. RB is far from a real glaring need, even though RBs are tough to evaluate, plus injury prone. LSU has more needs IMO, like LB, DB, DE, and OL to sure up. I know WR isnt really a major need, but thats a position that I think despite not needing, Debose is a take no matter what. WR is even tougher to evaluate than RB. With the loss of Byrd after this year thats leaves LSU with only LaFell and Toliver having really proven themselves. With everyone else based SOLEY on potential. Williams, Scott, and Murphy are all proven guys that will contribute for the next few years. Big difference. Same for DB and LB. I think LB is the biggest need with unproven talent and OL, since we lose so many after this year.
Seems to me the answer to all this, as has been said a thousand times by others with more expertise than me, is that the coaches focus on filling needs, not chasing stars. If our needs are met, and CM or TR or some other 5-Star is still interested, then they probably grab him just for the depth. If the needs are greater elsewhere, then they resist star-gazing and do what professionals do - take care of the business. FWIW - the 2010 RB class looks like it will shape up nicely for us. So, I'm thinking that's in the back of their minds as well.
The fact that we would take Singleton and not Michaels only adds to the controversy among the faithful. Many question if we need to offer a fullback in the first place, or even another punter (off the track I know) for that matter. It is hard for the the average fan to stomach passing on a 5 star running back in light of the above.
So you think we should just not take a player at a position of need because a player rated highly by a service might want to come here? We should leave the FB position empty even though both Miles and Crowton use a FB extensively? What if 3 other 5 star RB's wanted to sign here as well, do we leave other positions unfilled and take them? Should the coaches not worry about positions of need and just take the highest rated players available? I don't think so.
Controversy? C'mon...seriously? CLM makes millions for a reason. This is his profession and he's at the top of it. I would argue that he might know a few things about how to recruit for the future of the program, what the true needs are on his team, and how to assess the talent he has or needs. I realize we're all fans and therefore fanatical. But perhaps we should give our national and SEC champion, 34 - 6 coach the benefit of the doubt - especially considering he's on his way to landing a top-5 (maybe top-3) recruiting class. Jeez.
Very good point. Another way to look at is Singleton is more of the prototypical FB while Ridley is more of a tweener. I dont think its a horrible more if we do pick up Michael or Richardson but I dont see the need. If we do I think its because of taking the best available player and other players of need maybe are less likely to sign with LSU. Miles and staff have been great at evaluating and bringing in the talent that fits LSU.
