2018 Recruits Updated

[ThreatMatrix]

Mac Jagger

 

[T REX]

We have 10 LBs on the roster. How many do you need?

Ten SEC caliber?

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I could be standing on a chair with a noose around my neck, my wrists slits, a bottle of sleeping pills in one hand and gun in the other and I still think I'd be a happier person than T.

 

[URGatorBait]

 

[Swamp Donkey]

We have 10 LBs on the roster. How many do you need?

We have like 8 lightweight outside LBs and two 240 lb or better guys to play inside. Just like on the DL, plenty of numbers and yet all fvkked up.

But to answer you question, the numbers should be around 12, w 4 being outside backers and 8 being inside backers (mikes and wills).

 

[Gator2222]

When you say incredible...I know about Corral. Are some other top 100 guys this year? Are you meaning incredible for Mac or incredible overall? If incredible overall, which classes are you comparing it too?

Edit: Petit-Frere is 99th on 247. Check.

I agree that it is important to sign the highest ranked players possible. However, each position only has a handful of these players. By the top 100 standard a team could sign the #2 TE in the nation, the #4 OG in the nation or the #5 DT in the nation and still fail. You have to sign OGs even though there are only 3 in the top 100. You have to sign DTs even though there are only 4 in the top 100. It's not a failure to sign the #4 OG or the #5 DT regardless of where they fall overall.


These are the numbers in the top 100 at each position according to Rivals:

7 Pro QBs - we got #2, 7 teams will sign a top 100 player at this position and 121 will not.
6 RBs - we are still in the running for #7, #12 and #14, by the top 100 standard only 6 teams in the nation will get a good RB this cycle
18 WRs - we are the favorite for #15, the best way to stock up on top 100 players is to sign as many WRs as possible, not necessarily a good strategy
1 TE - basically, if you sign a TE you are automatically failing by the top 100 standard, we have #7
3 OGs - we are the favorite for #3
9 OTs - we are the favorite for #9
4 DTs - we are in the running for #4
12 DEs - we are in the running for one top 100
9 LBs - we are in the running for a couple that are highly ranked at the position, but not top 100
11 CBs - we are in the running for #8
8 Safeties - we are in the running for #1 (admittedly a long shot)

We either have a top 100 player committed or we are in the running for a top 100 player at 8 of 11 positions.

 

[BMF]

I agree that it is important to sign the highest ranked players possible. However, each position only has a handful of these players. By the top 100 standard a team could sign the #2 TE in the nation, the #4 OG in the nation or the #5 DT in the nation and still fail. You have to sign OGs even though there are only 3 in the top 100. You have to sign DTs even though there are only 4 in the top 100. It's not a failure to sign the #4 OG or the #5 DT regardless of where they fall overall.


These are the numbers in the top 100 at each position according to Rivals:

7 Pro QBs - we got #2, 7 teams will sign a top 100 player at this position and 121 will not.
6 RBs - we are still in the running for #7, #12 and #14, by the top 100 standard only 6 teams in the nation will get a good RB this cycle
18 WRs - we are the favorite for #15, the best way to stock up on top 100 players is to sign as many WRs as possible, not necessarily a good strategy
1 TE - basically, if you sign a TE you are automatically failing by the top 100 standard, we have #7
3 OGs - we are the favorite for #3
9 OTs - we are the favorite for #9
4 DTs - we are in the running for #4
12 DEs - we are in the running for one top 100
9 LBs - we are in the running for a couple that are highly ranked at the position, but not top 100
11 CBs - we are in the running for #8
8 Safeties - we are in the running for #1 (admittedly a long shot)

We either have a top 100 player committed or we are in the running for a top 100 player at 8 of 11 positions.

Good breakdown, and realistic. Other than Bama, Ohio State, and possibly FSU not many teams are landing multiple kids inside the top 100. IMO, getting kids in the top 300 is important. Once these "top" kids outside of the #1 or #2 player at a certain position it's a toss-up on how much better #3 is vs. #7 or #8, for example. How many times does the #10 best WR outplay the #3? I'm sure it's often.

But the point many of us have been making, especially this last class that was a "top 10 class" - which is great....but when your class is ranked 10th and 5 of your rivals have a higher ranked class, well it doesn't look so good. It's like saying, "hey, we scored 50 points!! But yeah, they scored 55...."

The breakdown that 247 does of talent level per team is a great indicator, as McElwain is 17-1 vs. teams he's had more talent than (losing to Arkansas), but 3-7 vs teams w/ better talent. I'd like to see us get "better talent" and have the other teams worry about beating us than us worrying about beating them!

We need to be concerned w/ our class ranking, sure...but we also need to beat our rivals class rankings.

 

[BMF]

Speaking of links. Do you have the one to the table that showed each player by year and tabulated how many at each position and "needs"? I never can remember the source for that.

Found this breakdown on another board:

Here's what I've got.

* I do not count one year scholarships awarded to walk ons which we sometimes do if we have extra scholarships available.

sorry about the formatting.

C.J. Henderson CB FR
Adarius Lemons RB FR
Brian Edwards DB FR
Lacedrick Brunson LB FR
Tedarrell Slaton DT FR
James Robinson WR FR
Elijah Conliffe DT FR
Donovan Stiner DB FR
Brad Stewart CB FR
Nick Smith LB FR
TJ Moore OL FR
Kyree Campbell DT FR
Malik Davis RB FR
Shawn Davis DB FR
Marco Wilson CB FR
James Houston LB FR
Ventrell Miller LB FR
Zach Carter DE FR
Kadarius Toney Ath FR
Kemore Gamble TE FR
Daquan Green WR FR
Kadeem Telfort OT FR
Jake Allen QB FR 23

Christopher McWilliams CB R-Fr.
Jeremiah Moon LB R-Fr.
Brett Heggie OL R-Fr.
Rick Wells WR R-Fr.
Quincey Lenton S R-Fr.
11 Kyle Trask QB R-Fr.
13 Feleipe Franks QB R-Fr.
21 McArthur Burnett DB R-Fr.
42 Jordan Smith DL R-Fr.
72 Stone Forsythe OL R-Fr. 10

Jeawon Taylor S So.
Antonneus Clayton DE So.
Lamicael Perine RB So.
Jawaan Taylor OL So.
Tyrie Cleveland WR So.
Jachal Polite DT So.
Vosean Joseph LB So.
23 Chauncey Gardner DB So.
33 David Reese LB So.
16 Freddie Swain WR So.
10 Josh Hammond WR So.
28 Kylan Johnson LB R-So.
44 Rayshad Jackson LB R-So.
59 T.J. McCoy OL R-So.
66 Nick Buchanan OL R-So.
68 Richerd Desir-Jones DT R-So.
87 Kalif Jackson TE R-So.
92 Jabari Zuniga DE R-So.
98 Luke Ancrum DT R-So. 19

Luke Del Rio QB R-Jr.
53 Kavaris Harkless OL R-Jr.
54 Khairi Clark DT R-Jr.
77 Andrew Mike OL R-Jr.
80 C'yontai Lewis TE R-Jr.
82 Moral Stephens TE R-Jr.
9 Dre Massey WR R-Jr.
93 Taven Bryan DT R-Jr.
25 Jordan Scarlett RB Jr.
64 Tyler Jordan OL Jr.
Eddy Piniero K Jr.
73 Martez Ivey OL Jr.
74 Fred Johnson OL Jr.
81 Antonio Callaway WR Jr.
95 Keivonnis Davis DE Jr.
96 Cece Jefferson DE Jr. 16

Malik Zaire QB Sr
8 Nick Washington DB R-Sr.
17 Jordan Sherit DL R-Sr.
19 Johnny Townsend P R-Sr.
24 Mark Thompson RB R-Sr.
26 Marcell Harris DB R-Sr.
51 Antonio Riles OL R-Sr.
Joseph Putu DB Sr
4 Brandon Powell WR Sr
7 Duke Dawson DB Sr
30 DeAndre Goolsby TE Sr 11

Total 79

In the count, let's hold one scholly open for the possibility that Harris gets a 6th year.

So 6 under currently + 10 seniors = 16 scholarships open

Might go pro: Piniero, Scarlett, Ivey, Jefferson, Callaway. Of those five let's say 3 leave early. Now 19 scholarships open.

Luke Del Rio, Andrew Mike, Kavaris Harkless and Moral Stephens will be 4th year players this year and do not need to be renewed for a 5th year. Now 23 scholarships open.

So if we have attrition of just two more, we can take a full class. If we have attrition of three more, my understanding is that since Fruhmorgen did not enroll and was therefore not an initial counter, we could take 26 and count one back to last season.

I could easily see Richard Desir-Jones, Nick Buchanan, Kalif Jackson, Luke Ancrum, Rayshad Jackson and MaCarthur Burnett moving on.....

 

[T REX]

I agree that it is important to sign the highest ranked players possible. However, each position only has a handful of these players. By the top 100 standard a team could sign the #2 TE in the nation, the #4 OG in the nation or the #5 DT in the nation and still fail. You have to sign OGs even though there are only 3 in the top 100. You have to sign DTs even though there are only 4 in the top 100. It's not a failure to sign the #4 OG or the #5 DT regardless of where they fall overall.


These are the numbers in the top 100 at each position according to Rivals:

7 Pro QBs - we got #2, 7 teams will sign a top 100 player at this position and 121 will not.
6 RBs - we are still in the running for #7, #12 and #14, by the top 100 standard only 6 teams in the nation will get a good RB this cycle
18 WRs - we are the favorite for #15, the best way to stock up on top 100 players is to sign as many WRs as possible, not necessarily a good strategy
1 TE - basically, if you sign a TE you are automatically failing by the top 100 standard, we have #7
3 OGs - we are the favorite for #3
9 OTs - we are the favorite for #9
4 DTs - we are in the running for #4
12 DEs - we are in the running for one top 100
9 LBs - we are in the running for a couple that are highly ranked at the position, but not top 100
11 CBs - we are in the running for #8
8 Safeties - we are in the running for #1 (admittedly a long shot)

We either have a top 100 player committed or we are in the running for a top 100 player at 8 of 11 positions.

BMF explains it simply. It's not just about us but relative to our rivals. Are we narrowing the gap on FSU, UGA and Bama?

 

[Gator2222]

Good breakdown, and realistic. Other than Bama, Ohio State, and possibly FSU not many teams are landing multiple kids inside the top 100. IMO, getting kids in the top 300 is important. Once these "top" kids outside of the #1 or #2 player at a certain position it's a toss-up on how much better #3 is vs. #7 or #8, for example. How many times does the #10 best WR outplay the #3? I'm sure it's often.

But the point many of us have been making, especially this last class that was a "top 10 class" - which is great....but when your class is ranked 10th and 5 of your rivals have a higher ranked class, well it doesn't look so good. It's like saying, "hey, we scored 50 points!! But yeah, they scored 55...."

The breakdown that 247 does of talent level per team is a great indicator, as McElwain is 17-1 vs. teams he's had more talent than (losing to Arkansas), but 3-7 vs teams w/ better talent. I'd like to see us get "better talent" and have the other teams worry about beating us than us worrying about beating them!

We need to be concerned w/ our class ranking, sure...but we also need to beat our rivals class rankings.

We've discussed this before on this board, but I feel the same way about recruiting classes as you do about the #3 WR and #7 WR.

Last recruiting class Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia landed classes that were head and shoulders better than everyone else. They were elite classes. After that things are much less clear. Is the #5 Michigan class really better than the #8 Oklahoma class? Hard to tell until about 4 years from now. However, there are people on this board that swear a top 5 finish is all that matters.

I think there are usually a couple of elite classes at the top and then the rest of the top 10 is pretty hard to separate. If we finish 6th this year and FSU finishes 4th a lot of people on this board will have a meltdown. I honestly don't think the difference between 4th and 6th is measurable in real time.

 

[Thick&ThinG8r]

Harkless is the listed starter at left guard and only lineman with a passing grade in the sec championship, are you sure you want to kick him off the team for his senior year?

 

[BMF]

We've discussed this before on this board, but I feel the same way about recruiting classes as you do about the #3 WR and #7 WR.

Last recruiting class Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia landed classes that were head and shoulders better than everyone else. They were elite classes. After that things are much less clear. Is the #5 Michigan class really better than the #8 Oklahoma class? Hard to tell until about 4 years from now. However, there are people on this board that swear a top 5 finish is all that matters.

I think there are usually a couple of elite classes at the top and then the rest of the top 10 is pretty hard to separate. If we finish 6th this year and FSU finishes 4th a lot of people on this board will have a meltdown. I honestly don't think the difference between 4th and 6th is measurable in real time.

I agree w/ practically everything you say here. I think the biggest difference in a class can be either a QB and/or a All-American type skill player or two (say Percy Harvin or Amari Cooper or Derek Henry type)....or a combination of two or three of those type players. A class like that can be ranked 10th, w/ 3 "star" players (not a 3-star recruiting, but 3 4/5-star "star" players)....along w/ a solid supporting cast. Sure. Honestly, if we land 4 solid OL's and a couple of DT's, I'll be happy no matter where this class ends up ranked because we - finally, after 3 recruiting class - landed a 5-star blue-chip QB.

But here's the problem w/ your post and the complacency to say; "Oh, there's not much difference in the 6th ranked class vs. the 9th ranked class..." That type of comment is fine if it happens every two or three years. But when you are consistently out-recruited, year-in-and-year-out...well, that compounding effect adds up. Just take a look at our roster vs. FSU's, LSU's, Alabama's, UGA's, and even Tennessee's. We cannot consistently finish behind our rivals and then try to convince ourselves that it's not a big deal and that our superior talent evaluater coaches will out-scheme the better talented teams (see McElwain's 3-7 record vs. teams w/ better records).

Getting Corral is a great start, but there needs to be more consistency. Next year's class is off to a good start, but we all know that can change - as can this current class.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Updated scholarship chart:

 

[ThreatMatrix]

So here's the question. We now have 16 spots. How do we get to 23?
Who goes pro early?
Who transfers?

 

[Gator2222]

So here's the question. We now have 16 spots. How do we get to 23?
Who goes pro early?
Who transfers?

Mac has turned the corner on recruiting. In the previous 2 years he was forced to turn to projects to fill the classes out and keep the numbers up. Now that the kids are flocking to us, some of the filler is going to get Sabanized.

Not pretty, but that's the process.

 

[CGgater]

For those begging to get a DT... Just saw on 247 a crystal ball for Nesta Silvera to UF!

️️️️

 

[T REX]

We've discussed this before on this board, but I feel the same way about recruiting classes as you do about the #3 WR and #7 WR.

Last recruiting class Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia landed classes that were head and shoulders better than everyone else. They were elite classes. After that things are much less clear. Is the #5 Michigan class really better than the #8 Oklahoma class? Hard to tell until about 4 years from now. However, there are people on this board that swear a top 5 finish is all that matters.

I think there are usually a couple of elite classes at the top and then the rest of the top 10 is pretty hard to separate. If we finish 6th this year and FSU finishes 4th a lot of people on this board will have a meltdown. I honestly don't think the difference between 4th and 6th is measurable in real time.

Disagree. If they get Fields...they one upped us again. At some point, Mac has to OVERTAKE them. Not nip at their heels. Sorry for the high standards that have been in place since the beginning of time.

 

[Gator2222]

Disagree. If they get Fields...they one upped us again. At some point, Mac has to OVERTAKE them. Not nip at their heels. Sorry for the high standards that have been in place since the beginning of time.

After watching the film, I like Corral better. Maybe it's confirmation bias. Neither of us will know for sure until they start squaring off against each other.

 

[MertzJay26]

Disagree. If they get Fields...they one upped us again. At some point, Mac has to OVERTAKE them. Not nip at their heels. Sorry for the high standards that have been in place since the beginning of time.

It's 1a & 1b, and heck even rivals has Corral 1 spot ahead of Fields. They're both extremely talented and it's splitting hairs when it comes down to it.

No need to put a negative spin on this one IMO.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Mac gets two 5* QBs to FNL. Walks away with one of them. T-Rex still not happy.