i gotcha friend....but I think this is more a testament to the caliber of atheletes being recruited than anything suspicious within the program. i get tired of the nega-tigers some times....sorry if I confused you for one of them.
No I'm generally a glass half full type of guy, but i'm also a realist. No doubt that junior class was special, to me there is several that would be better served comming back a year, but i know everyone of them have to do whats right for themselves. I guess it caught me off gaurd, I was fully expecting to loose about 6 of the underclassman, but the numbers that are declaring raised an imediate red flag.
Yep, wasn't soft, but a better chance on that side of the ball. Also at that time, he would have sat the bench, DT we had.
You know WHY you have never seen so many leave? Because we have NEVER had so many NFL caliber players on our team that had the ability to leave. Check Dandy Don this morning for some good insight on this. This isn't a negative thing...we have NFL talent leaving...and more coming in. It's great to be a Tiger fan!
I agree with that BUT the exception to that is 5 star rankings. The percentage of 5 star athletes who DO excel in college is overwhelming. I SWEAR this was the first thing to come up when I searched it and not "on purpose". I will fetch you another one. USC 5-STAR PROSPECTS 2002-2005 Class Pos Player NFL Draft 2003 DE Lawrence Jackson Round 1 2004 LB Keith Rivers Round 1 2005 LB Brian Cushing Round 1 2005 QB Mark Sanchez Round 1 2002 OL Winston Justice Round 2 2003 WR Steve Smith Round 2 2004 TE Fred Davis Round 2 2004 OL Deuce Lutui Round 2 2005 LB Rey Maualuga Round 2 2005 WR Patrick Turner Round 3 2002 S Darnell Bing Round 4 2003 CB Will Poole Round 4 2002 DT Manuel Wright Round 5* 2003 QB John David Booty Round 5 2004 DE Jeff Schweiger UDFA** 2004 S Scott Ware UDFA 2003 WR Whitney Lewis Undrafted/unsigned** 2004 LB Ryan Powdrell UDFA 2004 OL Jeff Byers N/A 2005 DE Averell Spicer N/A 2005 LB Luther Brown N/A *supplemental draft **transferred out of program N/A- currently on the 2009 roster From the period of 2002 to 2005, 21 five-star players committed to USC. Of the 21 selected, 18 entered the draft, and only three failed to be selected. Of the three players passed over by the NFL, two (Lewis, Schweiger) transferred out of the USC football program, being piped in for evaluation from another college source. Whitney Lewis also represents the only five-star player to go undrafted and unsigned.
I think he would have still been a backup. The best 5 OL I see is Porter, Turner, Collins, Alexander and maybe Williford. Backups look to have a bunch in the mix, even with a few of the EE for the Spring. Remember, Alexander came in early and got into the mix quickly. With the OL, you never know who will show up ready to play.
For years USC has sent a ton of players into the draft, they have something that many don't have, a big supply of JC players to pick from. An if star ratings were the best way to pick kids, Texas would have won a lot more than they have over the years, they get the pick of the litter in the state. Looking back at Sporting News and 24/7 contributors, on Jalen Mills, the quote was, "...rangy defender will likely play safety at the next level." Glad Les and the guys wanted him at CB.
