📝 National Signing Day - 2018

[crimsoncorner]

That shirt Jaylen is wearing is badazz!

 

[rick4bama]

OK? what is with these kids saying one thing in the morning and going the other way when signing? I mean, if you don't want to come to Bama a winning School then say you are going to that other one, those that are going 4 times to the playoff championship! Has played in 3 of the 4 games that crowd the NC teams.

 

[crimsoncorner]

OK? what is with these kids saying one thing in the morning and going the other way when signing? I mean, if you don't want to come to Bama a winning School then say you are going to that other one, those that are going 4 times to the playoff championship! Has played in 3 of the 4 games that crowd the NC teams.

I like that Saban called them out on it.... opcorn2:

Saban: "I think we've all grown to understand that commitments don't mean much."

 

[TUSKtimes]

Terry and I have gone rounds about the non-offer offers that Alabama and other schools sometimes hand out like candy.

The way Alabama feels today, coming up short on commits, is how many players have felt either on the week of, or sometimes on NSD, in regards to their Alabama "offer".

The early signing period is just helping expose which schools are most serious about a particular recruit earlier in the process. I'll suspect quite a few "backup plans" knew they were backup plans much earlier than normal... Which naturally would make a kid see their offer for what it really is. A non committable offer until someone else slips through the cracks. Of course they're going to look elsewhere more seriously.

In regards to the actual commitments we had and lost... I'd just say it's bad luck. To me the surprise was that there weren't willing participants to fill those spots. IMO there's a clear connection between the first year of an early NSD and the first year Bama has slipped on the trail. Some protocol will change next year.

That's a tough get for me. I'm trying to imagine the best recruiter in maybe the history of college football struggling to figure out the early signing period. Look who we lost some of these recruits to. If Georgia was the only team to do some damage and make inroads we could be quick to put that one-year phenomenon in context. But it was to the Aggies and vols and Clemson and what about Florida and Dan Mullens of all coaches? So none of these guys struggled to fully grasp early signing period? To hear we ticked off Langham because we missed a visit sounds more like what perhaps was going on through the year in recruiting. If we got lazy and satisfied along with losing legitimate closers on staff, that's a lot more likely. To be fair, it seemed we were struggling more with the 2nd signing day than the 1st. I just think it was a lot of things already mentioned that created this result. Whatever the issues, I don't think coach Saban will waste a failing and gets it straightened out quickly.

 

[crimsoncorner]

I've followed recruiting for probably 30 years now (Forrest Davis days ) and I've called BS when it smelled like shit (Ole Miss, Baylor, USC) and I've praised coaches who I thought were genuinely good recruiters (Dabo, Urban, Muschamp, Jimbo).

Let's talk about Kirby and co. What in God's name is happening over there?

From 2005-2015, UGA pulled in some outstanding recruiting classes, from A.J. Green to Matt Stafford, they recruited like an SEC powerhouse should (during that time period, only their 2011 and 2013 class finished outside of the top 10). With that being said, UGA NEVER finished with a top 3 class, depite the fact that Mark Richt was not only a great recruiter, but he also knew the state of Georgia better than anybody.

Richt left, Kirby came in. What’s happened since?

*Kirby's 2016 class was absolutely unheard of for a transition class, which finished 6th in the country. In comparison to the best recruiters in college football, Saban's transition class finished 12th in 2007, Urban's finished 12th in 2005, Dabo's finished 36th in 2009. Harbaugh's first full class finished 8th in 2016, so yes, Kirby's transition class finished better than Harbaugh's first full class.

Now, let's take a look at Kirby's first 2 full classes. He was able to:

*Convince Fromm to commit when 5* Eason was a freshman. Although Fromm was at one point commited to Bama, he also had quite a bit of CB$ from Ole Miss.

*Convinced 5* Fields to commit the same year Fromm won SEC freshman of the year. There are already talks of him being paid.

*Convinced a kid from Brooklyn, New York (Isaiah Wilson) to come down south to the boonies.... beating out Michigan and Harbaugh in the process. I would expect maybe Urban to beat out Harbaugh for a Northeast O-lineman, but Georgia? What?

*Recruited 5* D'Andre Swift from Pennsylvania.
Wilson and Swift's recruitment is also uncommon for UGA. From 2008-2016 (it could go back even further) UGA had (0) top 100 recruits from the Northeast region, however Kirby was able to pull (3) in his first full class.....(2) 5* kids from the states of New York and Pennsylvania and 4* Mark Webb, who was also from the state of Pennsylvania. Hmmm. Ok, what else?

*Stole James Cook from FSU. While UGA fans claimed that FSU's backfield is too crowded, Cook will be at LEAST 3rd on the depth chart behind freshman Zamir White and sophomore D'Andre Swift.

*Appears to have stole longtime UM commit Tyson Campbell out of Fort Lauderdale. Campbell is also a position of need, so I have no doubt they would do anything to secure him.

We all know that Sam Pittman is a good recruiter, but he’s not even the best on that staff. Who is? A man named Dell Mcgee....who prior to the 2016 season had never recruited at the D-1 level before (he was an analyst at Auburn, but correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he ever recruited for Auburn).

Dell Mcgee, UGA's RB coach, has secured a commitment from the following players:
-5* Justin Fields
-5* Zamir White
-5* Jamaree Salyer
-5* Dominick Blaylock
-5*Brenton Cox
-5*D’Andrew Swift
-Top 50 recruit Andrew Thomas
-Top 50 recruit James Cook

Mcgee had a stellar career at Carver High School, so it’s safe to say that he’s pretty well “connected” in the state (what a coincidence that Georgia kids are staying in Georgia). Nonetheless, he’s one of the best recruiters in the country, despite not coaching at the D1 level until 2016. If you were to pay a player, why not do so via a coach who's well connected in the state?

Maybe Kirby is the GOAT recruiters or, maybe Kirby just surrounded himself with great recruiters?

Time will tell.

 

[UAgrad93]

I'm no conspiracy theorist and I'm not going to call anyone a cheater unless it is blatant like Ole Pi$$ either. This class missed on those targets due to a combination of things. Large staff turnover in consecutive years. While CNS didn't get complacent, I feel that he sensed that some of his staff had so changes were made. These kids make their decisions based on the relationships that they build with the coaches recruiting them. It isn't the HC, academics, or facilities, or even the school itself. Losing Pruitt likely a year earlier than expected cost us JJ and Quay. We had limited spots and it was known in the beginning that we wouldn't or couldn't sign 25. Slow playing some kids in order to see where top priority were leaning or heading turned some kids off. They didn't want to be treated like a back up plan.
@Birdman37, you called "bullshit" on Brown and Ross telling the staff one thing and then doing another and that CNS would've have called them out on it. I think he did. Saban: "I think we've all grown to understand that commitments don't mean much." He just didn't call them out by name. I think Quay Walker fell in that category as well.
Recruiting is ALWAYS going to be like this!!! I've been in education 24 years and spent 15 of those coaching HS ball. You simply NEVER know what is going on in the minds of these 17-18 year old kids!! You don't know if it is home life, a girlfriend, a teacher, a test, or a job that has set them off from day to day and minute to minute.
While we didn't get a full class, I'm pleased with what we got and I believe CNS is as well. We will probably go the grad transfer route or JUCO route to pick up a couple of DL and a QB to provide some depth in those areas. CNS always makes adjustments and he will continue. I see the ESD causing him to adjust and he will and BAMA will reap the rewards in '19.

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

QB - Tualia will be Bama and so will DL - Faatui Tuitele 6'3 285 , both play at Thompson HS

Have we jumped on that wagon yet?

I'm seeing Bone retweet him getting offers from other SEC schools, but I haven't seen him mention Bama yet...

 

[Tidestalker]

That's a tough get for me. I'm trying to imagine the best recruiter in maybe the history of college football struggling to figure out the early signing period. Look who we lost some of these recruits to. If Georgia was the only team to do some damage and make inroads we could be quick to put that one-year phenomenon in context. But it was to the Aggies and vols and Clemson and what about Florida and Dan Mullens of all coaches? So none of these guys struggled to fully grasp early signing period? To hear we ticked off Langham because we missed a visit sounds more like what perhaps was going on through the year in recruiting. If we got lazy and satisfied along with losing legitimate closers on staff, that's a lot more likely. To be fair, it seemed we were struggling more with the 2nd signing day than the 1st. I just think it was a lot of things already mentioned that created this result. Whatever the issues, I don't think coach Saban will waste a failing and gets it straightened out quickly.

The second signing day is directly related to the first... Obviously. And as mentioned, flips happen most years... Maybe not this many... But this is the first time there weren't good backup options. Why do you think that is?

 

[colbyjacks]

I know it has been said how down the talent in Alabama was this year and how good it was in Georgia. Bama signed 2 players from this state and Georgia signed 14 from their state. Home picking.

 

[TUSKtimes]

The second signing day is directly related to the first... Obviously. And as mentioned, flips happen most years... Maybe not this many... But this is the first time there weren't good backup options. Why do you think that is?

The 2nd signing period is worth looking at and studying a little. You would think we were on time and had put in the necessary man-hours to properly woo our recruits in the second half of this dance. You said, "maybe not this many" misses and that's for damn sure. And not this many different teams that in some cases didn't put in near the man-hours with these flips. Like Langham and Copeland to the fighting Mullens, who otherwise, wasn't having an Urban Meyer kind of day. How do you explain that?

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

Speaking of Dunbar...

Could possibly go in the coaching changes thread, but since he's been mentioned in here a few times as essentially a lazy or outright non-recruiter, it's just as apropos here.

 

[crimsoncorner]

Have we jumped on that wagon yet?

I'm seeing Bone retweet him getting offers from other SEC schools, but I haven't seen him mention Bama yet...

He's got a commit-able offer

Rivals Profile

 

[crimsoncorner]

2018 RECRUITER RANKINGS For Assistants Coaches

Post NSD

Name Team

1 Dell McGee Georgia 8 recruits

2 Greg Schiano Ohio State

3 Jason Washington Texas

4 Sam Pittman Georgia

5 Tony Alford Ohio State

6 Johnny Nansen USC

7 Jeff Scott Clemson

8 Tosh Lupoi Alabama 4 recruits.

9 Glenn Schumann Georgia

10 Mike Elko Texas A&M

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

He's got a commit-able offer

Rivals Profile

Word.

I guess I must've missed the tweet.

 

[musso]

So none of these guys struggled to fully grasp early signing period?

Hard for Titanic to be nimble and quickly turn. Could be an organizational issue: the larger and more entrenched any network is, the less agile and responsive it is to environmental changes. Maybe our rivals were better positioned to adjust to the change? Other than that, maybe there's concern about Saban nearing retirement, I don't know how else to explain it. :doh2:

 

[PhillyGirl]

An old colleague of mine is a UGA grad, asked me how I liked looking at UGA at #1.

Special breed. I could have responded the Refs gave them.... let them have their day in the sun, we know how they perform in the rain.

Ask him how it went the last time UGA football was ranked #1 in something.

 

[PhillyGirl]

All sorts of confused by this video. No one in his party had Florida gear on. Gotta respect him being his own man atleast. Can't be said for a lot of these guys. Momma didn't act very supportive, even though I get the frustration. The interviewer was a clueless asswad the way he took Copeland's moment away from him like that. Good for Jacob to keep his composure.

Some Vols fan posted online that she was pissed because of alleged gang ties to UF and something about how she did not want her son involved in that again. Who knows. Could be totally bogus story from a pissed off Vols fan.

We've seen better reaction videos (see: Landon Collins' mom!)

 

[TUSKtimes]

Hard for Titanic to be nimble and quickly turn. Could be an organizational issue: the larger and more entrenched any network is, the less agile and responsive it is to environmental changes. Maybe our rivals were better positioned to adjust to the change? Other than that, maybe there's concern about Saban nearing retirement, I don't know how else to explain it. :doh2:

My guess too, multiple things. If I had to guess where we lost the most traction it was relationships. From the cradle to the grave we need that bond, that love. These kids are looking for relationships and much like my grandkids, they truly believe they are the center of the universe. That said, we just got our best DB, maybe ever, on a rebound. LSU was in on this kid for 3 years and what are these coaches thinking about Surtain? You don't have to wonder what the fans are feeling today.

Patrick Surtain =Zero Dignity

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

Mcgee had a stellar career at Carver High School

I can tell you that McGee will do whatever it takes to win. Crowell's problems didn't start when he got to UGA and he wasn't the only one McGee basically allowed to do whatever as long as they won.

As far as recruiting, it is against the ruyles to recruit kids to your high school in Columbus but it was obvious he was doing so.

 

[JoshB]

I'm no conspiracy theorist and I'm not going to call anyone a cheater unless it is blatant like Ole Pi$$ either. This class missed on those targets due to a combination of things. Large staff turnover in consecutive years. While CNS didn't get complacent, I feel that he sensed that some of his staff had so changes were made. These kids make their decisions based on the relationships that they build with the coaches recruiting them. It isn't the HC, academics, or facilities, or even the school itself. Losing Pruitt likely a year earlier than expected cost us JJ and Quay. We had limited spots and it was known in the beginning that we wouldn't or couldn't sign 25. Slow playing some kids in order to see where top priority were leaning or heading turned some kids off. They didn't want to be treated like a back up plan.
@Birdman37, you called "bullshit" on Brown and Ross telling the staff one thing and then doing another and that CNS would've have called them out on it. I think he did. Saban: "I think we've all grown to understand that commitments don't mean much." He just didn't call them out by name. I think Quay Walker fell in that category as well.
Recruiting is ALWAYS going to be like this!!! I've been in education 24 years and spent 15 of those coaching HS ball. You simply NEVER know what is going on in the minds of these 17-18 year old kids!! You don't know if it is home life, a girlfriend, a teacher, a test, or a job that has set them off from day to day and minute to minute.
While we didn't get a full class, I'm pleased with what we got and I believe CNS is as well. We will probably go the grad transfer route or JUCO route to pick up a couple of DL and a QB to provide some depth in those areas. CNS always makes adjustments and he will continue. I see the ESD causing him to adjust and he will and BAMA will reap the rewards in '19.

He was pretty clearly talking about the guys that committed and then flipped on signing day. I know a certain person is trying to spin it as something else but context matters. The sentence right after...

"So, those coaching changes were much more aggressive in the late signing period because they got their staffs together and, in some cases, created new opportunities for players. But maybe next year it won't be that way."

And he was answering a question about what they've learned from the early signing period.