How would you grade the recruiting class?

[Silent Commit]

I'd give it an A minus - the minus is for the last minute defections of Ross and Lewis. I just felt that we solidified so many of our "weakest" positions - DB and DL. Even got a some decent OL recruits at the end. Niles paired up with Purify...wow....what a tandem. You also have to love the Jucos coming in - Asante, Lee and Murillo. Ross and Lewis would have been nice - but still a top-notched class.

GBR!!

 

[Alex 4.0]

B+

That is my overall score.... Like you said, filled some major needs with some pretty good looking prospects. Zac Lee was a huge get.

There is stilll some room for improvement in recruiting. Solidify the two last minute deflections and we have an A- Class. Still missing out on a lot of the top notch talent, only 1 rivals100 player.... which is all speculation at this point so ratings are pretty much useless. But there has been some correlation with top recruiting classes an a programs success.

Lets get an A+ next year, already have two of the 100 best in the nation.... 3 or 4 more would be nice.

In 4 years from now we can truely evaluate this class.....

 

[melscott62]

I'd give it a b. to me an A class is going to put you over the top. not that this class couldn't but, I think it falls just short of that. the 3 recruits we lost hurt. I cant think of the last kids name, the dl that went to miami

 

[Washusker]

B.

It could have been an A-, but losing the two most important recruits never helps.

 

[gamecocks]

I give it an A- because we got some guys that can come in and contribute right away in key areas next year (Asante, Murrilo, and DL) as well as set ourselves up pretty good for the future (Lee and Witt at QB, Paul at reciever, Stafford and Lawrence at LB, and three guys at RB).

 

[NevadaHusker27]

I would give this class a B+. They did a great job of getting talented JUCO players to fill in at positions that don't have a lot of depth and they also brought in some great high school players who can develop in the weight room and be ready to play in few years.

 

[DJR313]

B.

It could have been an A-, but losing the two most important recruits never helps.

How are Lewis and Ross the two most important? The most important because they defected? They looked like good players, but I think there were others that were better.

I'd say Asante and Paul were the 2 most important. We had a huge need for an impact player at safety and we got that in Asante. Nabbing Paul was important because he is quite possibly the best player to come out of Nebraska in the last 10 years or so. Keeps the pipeline to NU going and shows that skill position players for the WCO can be developed right here in the state.

With that said, I think this class earned a grade of A-. Some of these guys are going to be studs, some will provide a steady back up and depth. Zac Lee is going to give Patrick Witt someone to push him to get better for the QB spot(and vice versa). I think those were 2 good pick ups. Marcel Jones is raw but could be pretty good in a few years, he certainly has the frame. Burkes is going to be a beast. At WR, Paul and Gilleylen are going to be studs. Helu, Castille and Mendoza are solid prospects at RB. Helu could even be slid over to S or LB if RB doesn't work out. Mendoza is a speedy guy that will add versatility and Castille is going to be a bruiser.

What can you really say about the defense? Murillo, Asante, Dixon, Townsend, Barfield, Lawrence, Crick, Stafford and the list goes on and on. There were some major needs filled, a few that got away, but all in all, this is class that we should be proud of. Coach Callahan and staff put together a pretty good one.

 

[chuckd]

Asante was the most important recruit and it really isn't close. Safety was far and away the biggest need in this class and we hit a home run with Asante. Paul was big in a couple of respects. First we have to keep the top player in state, in state. Second, he is a phenominal athlete and we need guys like him. I think if you want to take the work "importance" literaly, Adi is up there as well. Both Lewis and Ross were big losses, but I think Stafford will be just as good a linebacker (not as good of overall athlete, but just as good at olb) and I think Ross would be a bigger loss if we didnt focus as much on the secondary as we did. I realize Blue and Sullivan weren't rated as high and neither look as good at this point, but either one/both may turn out to be just as good as Ross, we will find out in a few years.

Oh, and the emphasis on DT was great to see, Terrence Moore is going to be a good one in a couple years. Townsend may get moved to base end, but he has 3 years to play. And come to think of it, Eric Hagg may have been the most important recruit, as he really opened the door to get the other 4 Arizona players.

 

[FriscoTXHusker]

I wouldn't grade the class. I don't know what the staff's objectives were and I don't know how close they came to meeting those objectives. Without knowing those elements I think a grade is a fan satisfaction score.

I would be interested to know what the staff hoped to accomplish and how well they met to their goals.

 

[Washusker]

I've always contended that Ross and Lewis were the two most important recruits.

First of all, we needed a true lockdown corner and we haven't been able to get a HS corner who can man one side for three years. Ross could have been that guy. The only good corners we can get are JC guys, meaning we don't have a lot of continuity at that position. Ross could have been a cornerstone-type player.

As for Lewis, there is no question that our LB corps is lacking in athleticism and speed. Lewis is a guy you can mold into a pass-rushing Will LB who wreaks havoc from the weakside - something the Blackshirts have always had.

Those two would have been the foundation for the next generation of Blackshirts. Two excellent HS players with speed at two important spots on our defense.

There is no question these two were among the most important recruits.

Losing them hurts this class, and there's no getting around it.

 

[HANC]

At a first glance, I give the group a B...... it would have been nice to get the two that decom...but thats life...

Asante is huge, Paul is a super athlete, but IMO, how can anyone say that Murillo may not be the most important..... last I checked, everyone around the board, state, country thought our CB were the weakest area by far.....securing a CB who is said to be "farther along than Bowman was" is HUGE......

We landed many great athletes.......Does anyone know if any of these guys are in jeopardy of not qualifying academically, thus bringing the class down even farther?

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I would say that I give it a B+ because of losing the last two recruits. We need fill some much needed positions with some key guys and overall I am impressed with the class. An A+ class to me would be a class that could have multiple starting freshman and have that WOW factor.

 

[DJR313]

I've always contended that Ross and Lewis were the two most important recruits.

Yeah, but I don't agree.

First of all, we needed a true lockdown corner and we haven't been able to get a HS corner who can man one side for three years. Ross could have been that guy. The only good corners we can get are JC guys, meaning we don't have a lot of continuity at that position. Ross could have been a cornerstone-type player.

While I agree with you that we have a pressing need for freshman to come in, we had 4 such guys come in last year(Culbert, Thenarse, Young, West), I disagree that Ross was necessarily the answer to all that ails the Huskers. There is no way of knowing how he would pan out. In sheer athletic ability, I think Thenarse is more impressive than Ross. There is also no such thing as a "true lock down corner." If there is one that exists, his name is Champ Bailey and that is pretty much it in all of football.

As for Lewis, there is no question that our LB corps is lacking in athleticism and speed. Lewis is a guy you can mold into a pass-rushing Will LB who wreaks havoc from the weakside - something the Blackshirts have always had.

While I agree that Lewis is an impressive athlete, it seems as if his heart is in playing RB. Who's to say he would have been all that motivated to get on the field and play LB? I am glad we found this out now about him rather than a year from now and have him pull an L-Jack.

Those two would have been the foundation for the next generation of Blackshirts. Two excellent HS players with speed at two important spots on our defense.

COULD have been. COULD. There are some prospects on the defensive side that are equally if not more impressive that will provide a solid core to build around. Asante, Stafford, Lawrence, Yancy, Terrence Moore.

There is no question these two were among the most important recruits.
Losing them hurts this class, and there's no getting around it.

They were important, and it does sting losing them, but better to have them go now then leave after wasting a year on them in the system. If the heart isn't truly here, then it's best to let go. I still think there is enough talent in this class that will make an impact that will lessen that sting over time.

 

[Pedro Guerrero]

First of all, we needed a true lockdown corner and we haven't been able to get a HS corner who can man one side for three years. Ross could have been that guy. The only good corners we can get are JC guys, meaning we don't have a lot of continuity at that position. Ross could have been a cornerstone-type player.

Here's one for you. Grixby was the #4 and #5 rated CB coming out of High School. Ross was the #18 and #19 rated CB. My point is we got one of the highest rated CB in High School in 04 and some folks around here can't stand him. There was no guarantee that Ross would have been the man. It would have been nice to get him but he did not make or break this class.

I give the class an A-.