- Jun 11, 2014
- 16,754
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Founding Member
Wanted to take another look at ESD from a position by position perspective and start a discussion on where the class really stands. Currently, we have 20 signees and one commit (Diwan Black). We are ranked #17 on Rivals and 247.
QB - Jalon Jones 5.7 3* - He was ranked a 4* earlier in the process, but never really heard what happened that made him drop. He appears to have found a great landing spot for his skill set.
RB - Nay'Quan Wright 5.8 4* - Played in the big boy Miami area football. At one point was considered the #1 RB in the state, prior to an ankle? injury. Some coaches have told Gators Breakdown, they believe he could still be. Blend of power and speed. Another solid RB in the stable.
WR - Dionte Marks 5.5 3*
Ja'Markis Weston 5.7 3*
Neither of these guys appeared to have camped, so their ranking could be artificially lower than their peers. Marks refusal to compete at FNL is troubling. Both appear to have better than average size. Weston gained a sleeper tag during signing day. While I don't like the "trust the coaches" mentality, Mullen was giddy about Weston and obviously thinks he stole one.
TE - Keon Zipperer 5.8 4* - Very fluid runner, needs to work on blocking. Decent size. Should be a matchup problem in the passing game.
OL - Deyavie Hammond 5.8 4*
Michael Tarquin 5.8 4*
Kingsley Eguakun 5.6 3*
Will Harrod 5.8 4*
Riley Simonds 5.7 3*
Ethan White 5.6 3*
Wardrick Wilson 5.8 4*
Lot of guys with good size. Four of the seven are blue chippers, but all low end 4*s. Lot of numbers and potential, but it's the numbers and size of prospects that stands out.
DL - Lloyd Summerall 5.8 4*
Mohamoud Diabate 5.8 4*
Jaelin Humphries 5.8 4*
Need more numbers. Humphries appears legit, but WDE looks to have some projects at the position. Diabate was originally listed as a LB and Summerall is light.
LB - Tyron Hopper 5.9 4*
Jesiah Pierre 5.6 3*
Diwan Black may very well end up in this class and with this group, but right now, we have these two listed. Hopper is light, but is one of our highest rated guys. Not sure if Pierre camped at all (I hope not given his rating), but he certainly looks the part. Let's hope Pierre is not a looks like Tarzan plays like Jane situation. Hoping more for a looks like Tarzan plays like Kong.
DB - Chester Kimbrough 5.8 4*
Jaydon Hill 5.7 3*
This groups needs some work, and Mullen admitted as much. Steele is reported to be signed, but we have to wait and see. We have some other high end prospects we're looking at, with Elam being our best shot at an elite player (outside of Steele). Black and Whittemore could both end up in this group. Also, Dean could easily slip back into Safety or Nickel.
ATH - Diwan Black 5.9 4*
Trent Whittemore 5.6 3*
Black is likely our best prospect, if he can qualify. He may have to go to prep school, but it certainly appears as though he's close to qualifying. He'll either start his path at safety of LB, but most think the move to LB will happen at some point. No one has mentioned that Kearse was a safety in HS, and maybe that's a good comparison.
Whittemore is rumored to start off at WR. Not hearing a lot of positives in regard to his on field prospects. Is rumored to have good hands and a great utility player in terms of understanding the game. Hopefully, he can find a niche and be a contributor, which is more than a lot of higher ranked kids end up being.
Take aways
The book isn't closed on this class, but there is a lot of work to be done on the defensive side of the ball. We have a guy like Diwan Black, who should be a top 50 (maybe top 20), but is ranked 155. If we can fill the defensive spots remaining with 4* talent, I'm willing to say this is an underrated class, but not dramatically so. I'd say 2-4 spots based on Black and Jones being an optimal fit.
Also keep in mind, we are in line to potentially get two grad transfers: Jonathan Greenard and Stewart Reese. Greenard was injured this past year but had 7 sack and 15.5 TFL in 2017. Reese started all 13 games at RT for Mullen in 2017 and was the starter in 2018. Both of these guys would appear to be instant contributors. If this class somehow ends up top 10, these two proven quantities could push us to a talent bump close enough to consider the class a win.
QB - Jalon Jones 5.7 3* - He was ranked a 4* earlier in the process, but never really heard what happened that made him drop. He appears to have found a great landing spot for his skill set.
RB - Nay'Quan Wright 5.8 4* - Played in the big boy Miami area football. At one point was considered the #1 RB in the state, prior to an ankle? injury. Some coaches have told Gators Breakdown, they believe he could still be. Blend of power and speed. Another solid RB in the stable.
WR - Dionte Marks 5.5 3*
Ja'Markis Weston 5.7 3*
Neither of these guys appeared to have camped, so their ranking could be artificially lower than their peers. Marks refusal to compete at FNL is troubling. Both appear to have better than average size. Weston gained a sleeper tag during signing day. While I don't like the "trust the coaches" mentality, Mullen was giddy about Weston and obviously thinks he stole one.
TE - Keon Zipperer 5.8 4* - Very fluid runner, needs to work on blocking. Decent size. Should be a matchup problem in the passing game.
OL - Deyavie Hammond 5.8 4*
Michael Tarquin 5.8 4*
Kingsley Eguakun 5.6 3*
Will Harrod 5.8 4*
Riley Simonds 5.7 3*
Ethan White 5.6 3*
Wardrick Wilson 5.8 4*
Lot of guys with good size. Four of the seven are blue chippers, but all low end 4*s. Lot of numbers and potential, but it's the numbers and size of prospects that stands out.
DL - Lloyd Summerall 5.8 4*
Mohamoud Diabate 5.8 4*
Jaelin Humphries 5.8 4*
Need more numbers. Humphries appears legit, but WDE looks to have some projects at the position. Diabate was originally listed as a LB and Summerall is light.
LB - Tyron Hopper 5.9 4*
Jesiah Pierre 5.6 3*
Diwan Black may very well end up in this class and with this group, but right now, we have these two listed. Hopper is light, but is one of our highest rated guys. Not sure if Pierre camped at all (I hope not given his rating), but he certainly looks the part. Let's hope Pierre is not a looks like Tarzan plays like Jane situation. Hoping more for a looks like Tarzan plays like Kong.
DB - Chester Kimbrough 5.8 4*
Jaydon Hill 5.7 3*
This groups needs some work, and Mullen admitted as much. Steele is reported to be signed, but we have to wait and see. We have some other high end prospects we're looking at, with Elam being our best shot at an elite player (outside of Steele). Black and Whittemore could both end up in this group. Also, Dean could easily slip back into Safety or Nickel.
ATH - Diwan Black 5.9 4*
Trent Whittemore 5.6 3*
Black is likely our best prospect, if he can qualify. He may have to go to prep school, but it certainly appears as though he's close to qualifying. He'll either start his path at safety of LB, but most think the move to LB will happen at some point. No one has mentioned that Kearse was a safety in HS, and maybe that's a good comparison.
Whittemore is rumored to start off at WR. Not hearing a lot of positives in regard to his on field prospects. Is rumored to have good hands and a great utility player in terms of understanding the game. Hopefully, he can find a niche and be a contributor, which is more than a lot of higher ranked kids end up being.
Take aways
- While we have several 4* kids, most are the lowest ranking (5.8)
- We have three kids (Marks, Pierre, Weston) that didn't appear to camp. Weston may be a sleeper....Pierre too.
- Hill is a question mark to me. He better be special, because Mullen could easily get a 3* from FL, which would have helped future recruiting in FL
- We do seem to have fits in the class. Jalon Jones should play much higher than his 3* rating. I think Weston is another that should play higher than his rating. Someone else can comment on the OL and if they see any good matches for the system.
- We've got to do work on the DL and DB classes, which Mullen has commented on. IF we finish strong in these areas, we would have addressed our needs.
The book isn't closed on this class, but there is a lot of work to be done on the defensive side of the ball. We have a guy like Diwan Black, who should be a top 50 (maybe top 20), but is ranked 155. If we can fill the defensive spots remaining with 4* talent, I'm willing to say this is an underrated class, but not dramatically so. I'd say 2-4 spots based on Black and Jones being an optimal fit.
Also keep in mind, we are in line to potentially get two grad transfers: Jonathan Greenard and Stewart Reese. Greenard was injured this past year but had 7 sack and 15.5 TFL in 2017. Reese started all 13 games at RT for Mullen in 2017 and was the starter in 2018. Both of these guys would appear to be instant contributors. If this class somehow ends up top 10, these two proven quantities could push us to a talent bump close enough to consider the class a win.
