There may be a 4 star or two that LSU misses on after taking 3s early... but a position of need is a position of need.
Stars aren't the be all end all of recruiting. Finding kids that fit your system, then coaching them up is far more important. Plus, many times the high 4 and 5 stars don't pan. I trust O's evaluation. Sure, it's great to get the high profile recruits, but as we saw under Miles in recent years it doesn't mean everything.
I agree. I was a bit worried a month or two ago, but now realizing they built the foundation for the O-line and D-line this recruiting cycle, and will still finish with a top ten class, I’m elated. Oeaux is really thinking ahead and knows they need beef on the lines. They can then add 5-star lineman in future classes. Something’s going to give this year. With another 5 star WR (JChase), two 4-5 star DBs ( Surtain & Joseph), a 4 star RB (Joiner), and a few other considerations, but only 4 slots left, we’ll potentially not get a QB, or one of the DBs/WRs left. Still work to do, but I’m stoked so far.
Holding out for the headcases; probably don’t need more than a handful on your team. Take the guys who fill your needs AND want to be here. I like how this puts the hot dogs on an island. Those who are ready to make mature decisions will sign early. Those who want to play games and are about me will drag it out. Hope there is a stigma that grows with the latter.
As far as star ranking for linemen goes, I think they're harder to rank accurately than skill positions because they have fewer measurables...and things like 40 times don't mean as much. The evaluators really have to look at films. Seeing the linemen at camps means much more. A lot of linemen are under rated. Secondly, an accurately rated 3 star lineman can turn into a 4 or 5 star type prospect after a red shirt year or a backup year of nutrition, strength and conditioning training. Pure size and evaluation by coaches at camps where they perform against better competition is a lot better than star rankings based on highlight films.
4 spots left. Some highly rated recruits will not be able to attend their school of choice. Jamar Chase for example could have committed to LSU (or anyone else who was recruiting him) at any time this year. But many top teams who have lost out on NSD in the past by being played by top recruits who wanted to be shown the "love" all the time signed surer bets already. Many don't have much left and must go for need at other positions. I think a lot of top recruits in the nation will get shut out by their true favorite teams. Pooka Williams saw that coming and signed with Kansas because it was a sure bet. Other teams like LSU probably wouldn't have room later on.
You know, we all know we needed RBs in this class, and we did get 2 so far, Chris Curry and Tae Provens. I knew nothing about Curry other than he is a 4* from FLA. I looked into him more. He is most compared to Marshawn Lynch, and his nickname is beast mode. He's a big dude who can break tackles, but also is fast and can take it all the way. His film clip is impressive, although, much of the competition looked small compared to him. Like ML, he refuses to go down. Looks like we got a good one in him. Tae looks more like a scat back who can do a lot in space. A little worried about him against the big boy linemen in the SEC, but hopefully Canada will figure out how to use him. Both have good things written about their character, too. We used to have individual threads on players we were recruiting, and esp. once they commit, so that many of us could develop familiarity with them. Since no one is doing that this year, beyond the lineman, and LA products, some of our commits are a mystery, at least to me. Just wanted to share about Curry especially. Hopefully, we still pull in HJoiner. He's supposed to be a stud, but again, I don't know much about him or have seen any film on him. Just heard he'd be a good one.
