Kendall Randolph

[alcoholica]

Bama OL commit. Scheduled to visit in January. Any chance he decommits now that Leatherwood has reconfirmed his commitment. Not that he'd come here, but does he decommit?

 

[Gator98MD]

I wouldn't assume anyone will commit to us until they do

 

[MidwestChomp]

Another Bama commit?

 

[GatorJ]

Bama OL commit. Scheduled to visit in January. Any chance he decommits now that Leatherwood has reconfirmed his commitment. Not that he'd come here, but does he decommit?

I haven't heard anything regarding him. But I don't see us flipping anyone from Bama TBH. Or from anybody else for that matter. These guys don't know how to sell. They keep trying to sell on early playing time. Everybody can sell on early playing time to a certain extent. They have to find out what makes these recruits tick and ask the right questions and then form their selling strategy around what's important to them. You cannot cookie cutter your sales pitch. It's not Walmart. Leatherwood saw right through that and that's the reason he reaffirmed his commitment to Bama immediately after his visit to our campus.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Another Bama commit?

Ohhhhh, Ive seen this one before. I love this episode.

 

[gatormandan]

Leatherwood saw right through that and that's the reason he reaffirmed his commitment to Bama immediately after his visit to our campus.

Well, I dont believe he ever had any intent of coming here but I agree with the failed sales pitch..

 

[GatorJ]

Well, I dont believe he ever had any intent of coming here but I agree with the failed sales pitch..

If you go to the thread on him, and his interview he says that the Florida coaches kept selling early playing time. And that is not what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear how they could develop him better than Bama. But they wouldn't talk about that. They kept talking about early playing time. He'll play early wherever he goes.

 

[gatormandan]

If you go to the thread on him, and his interview he says that the Florida coaches kept selling early playing time. And that is not what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear how they could develop him better than Bama. But they wouldn't talk about that. They kept talking about early playing time. He'll play early wherever he goes.

Again, I agree with the failed sales pitch. But he was never coming here anyhow.

 

[alcoholica]

You guys can't read for shyt. I said I don't expect him to come here. Are you all so sour on everything that you just make up shyt as you read it. The question was do you think he'll decommit? Not flip here. JFC

 

[GatorJ]

No. He does not decommit.

 

[gatormandan]

You guys can't read for shyt. I said I don't expect him to come here. Are you all so sour on everything that you just make up shyt as you read it. The question was do you think he'll decommit? Not flip here. JFC

I was only referring to Leatherhead.

 

[gardnerwebbgator]

Mac takes sales pitch advice from Junior Samples on old Hee Haw episodes, so why should we be shocked?

 

[LighthouseGator]

If you go to the thread on him, and his interview he says that the Florida coaches kept selling early playing time. And that is not what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear how they could develop him better than Bama. But they wouldn't talk about that. They kept talking about early playing time. He'll play early wherever he goes.

This is a bit unfair I think. First, why can't early playing time be the answer to how they will develop him? Summers can point to DJ Humphries as a recent 1st round draft pick at tackle that he was responsible for developing (but was underwhelming while here), and no doubt a ton of other NFL Olineman that he coached up while at USC and elsewhere during his long career. Let's not pretend these guys don't come in with a wealth of knowledge on technique, concepts, off-field stuff, history of success in putting lineman into the league, etc. etc.

When Leatherwood says "develop", I believe he means "get me drafted in the first round." Guess what? No matter what the coaches said, they weren't convincing this kid that they could "develop" him better than Bammer, who year in and year out gets the best offensive lineman in the country to commit and year in and year out gets its lineman drafted in the first or high rounds.

 

[GatorJ]

This is a bit unfair I think. First, why can't early playing time be the answer to how they will develop him? Summers can point to DJ Humphries as a recent 1st round draft pick at tackle that he was responsible for developing (but was underwhelming while here), and no doubt a ton of other NFL Olineman that he coached up while at USC and elsewhere during his long career. Let's not pretend these guys don't come in with a wealth of knowledge on technique, concepts, off-field stuff, history of success in putting lineman into the league, etc. etc.

When Leatherwood says "develop", I believe he means "get me drafted in the first round." Guess what? No matter what the coaches said, they weren't convincing this kid that they could "develop" him better than Bammer, who year in and year out gets the best offensive lineman in the country to commit and year in and year out gets its lineman drafted in the first or high rounds.

Of course they can't.

 

[NCOGator]

Here is the deal. If we get a Bama commit to come to the Gators, he will lose a star in the process. This way Satan and Bama Nation can say, "we didn't want him anyway."

 

[LighthouseGator]

Of course they can't.

So do you just not go after these kids? I think you still do. Yes you waste time and resources going after Leather, etc. when they likely knew he wasn't decommiting from Bammer, but when you're in the conversation to get the number 1 OT in the land it at least shows other top end/near elite recruits that there is interest in the program from the elite players. True, we've mostly been the bridesmaid for all of these elite players the last 2 years, but if the offense shows any signs of life, that may not the case next year and beyond.

 

[stephenPE]

You guys can't read for shyt. I said I don't expect him to come here. Are you all so sour on everything that you just make up shyt as you read it. The question was do you think he'll decommit? Not flip here. JFC

Damn Alch. you even pretend something positive in here and you are one of the darkside (brightside?)

 

[GatorJ]

So do you just not go after these kids? I think you still do. Yes you waste time and resources going after Leather, etc. when they likely knew he wasn't decommiting from Bammer, but when you're in the conversation to get the number 1 OT in the land it at least shows other top end/near elite recruits that there is interest in the program from the elite players. True, we've mostly been the bridesmaid for all of these elite players the last 2 years, but if the offense shows any signs of life, that may not the case next year and beyond.

Of course you continue to. But you have coaches that can develop and recruit. Problem solved.

 

[Alagator]

So do you just not go after these kids? I think you still do. Yes you waste time and resources going after Leather, etc. when they likely knew he wasn't decommiting from Bammer, but when you're in the conversation to get the number 1 OT in the land...

The kids was willing to talk to us. He didn't shut the door. As long as that's the case, you have to try. Right?
I mean, if the kid is open to being recruited, you try to recruit him and up until yesterday, he hadn't shut down his recruitment.

I know this... I know if our coaches said, "Ah, screw it... he's not coming here...why bother?" Everybody on here would be screaming bloody murder that the number one OT is an in-state kid and we're not even trying to get him. They'd be screaming how lazy and incompetent the staff is.

Look, our situation is bleak right now and it sucks! But some of the b!tching is beyond ridiculous. The same people who b!tch that we never had a chance and what a waist of time are the SAME ones who'd b!tch if they weren't trying to get the guy. It's beyond ridiculous...

 

[Yankeetown]

Sounds like Leatherwood was looking for something that nobody would have been able to provide: a credible story to believe that another school would be able to better prepare him for the NFL than Alabama could.

There's not a lot of "solid evidence" one could present along those lines, except "here's the number and list of OL who came from here and have gone on to the NFL. (Or have been developed by the same coaches at other places.)"

Florida has actually put a surprising number of OL into the league in recent years, or at least it's been a surprise to me.

From his comments, I think the right way to look at Leatherwood is that he played it smart as a NFL-quality prospect. He made a "due diligence" tour just to be absolutely sure, and then went with a conservative safe pick on the place to serve his apprenticeship at the beginning of his career. In his mind, he's already a professional, and he made a logical business choice.