Bear Down Wildcats

Newportcat wrote:Big time pick up in what is looking like a great potential top 25 class. Recruiting the west so well too especially SoCal. Makes me wonder why we couldn't do the same thing last year?
I know all you hate when I bitch about the 2015 class but this class just seems so much better and the type of class we should always strive for outside of wanting to get a couple more in state guys to prove we can attract top Phoenix area talent. We get Lucas and Harry then this class could be the best we have ever signed if all current commits stay in place.

This OL looks like a BEAST

I'm right with you on bitching about the last signing class - man was I peeved on losing out to so many solid guys. Like Deitrik Young to a coachless Nebraska.

This class is making up for it thus far.

A year late, but come on down, Arizona dominance!

Newportcat wrote:Big time pick up in what is looking like a great potential top 25 class. Recruiting the west so well too especially SoCal. Makes me wonder why we couldn't do the same thing last year?

We didn't come off a 10 win season/Pac-12 South championship last season.

ChooChooCat wrote:

Newportcat wrote:Big time pick up in what is looking like a great potential top 25 class. Recruiting the west so well too especially SoCal. Makes me wonder why we couldn't do the same thing last year?

We didn't come off a 10 win season/Pac-12 South championship last season.

Exactly. Things will only improve if we can show we can consistently compete for the P12 Championship.

One of the big differences I see is the recruits are actively out there trying to pull guys in. We really have a tight family persona to these guys and they are picking up on it. It all starts with the focus on the OKG. Starting to see how this is going to work..

Newportcat wrote:Big time pick up in what is looking like a great potential top 25 class. Recruiting the west so well too especially SoCal. Makes me wonder why we couldn't do the same thing last year?

I know all you hate when I bitch about the 2015 class but this class just seems so much better and the type of class we should always strive for outside of wanting to get a couple more in state guys to prove we can attract top Phoenix area talent. We get Lucas and Harry then this class could be the best we have ever signed if all current commits stay in place.

This OL looks like a BEAST

Have you looked at the 15 class closely? We didn't take a QB which is one of the reasons why it's not ranked so high. TY we've added 2 QB's and both are 4* guys in Modster and Tate. Tate is an athlete but the point remains the same. It makes a big difference how your class is filled up in regards to position especially where Arizona is concerned as reputation unfortunately plays a big part in the rankings.

Tate was moved to a 4* by Scout as an athlete and not dropped down to a 3 as usually is the case with an Arizona commit. Modster was a 4* and stayed as such after his commit and that has a lot to do with how RR and company are viewed by the so called experts in regards to finding talent and developing talent at the QB position. I think that has also carried over to all of the skill positions on offense. We brought in one RB LY and that's another area where we typically get a 4* guy. The RB's that we have in the 16 class are 3* guys but I'm guessing you catch my drift.

The other key part of recruiting is wins and losses and it typically takes the next season before you get the carryover of a 10 win season like we had LY. 16 and 17 are really the classes that you reap the benefits of last season.

azgreg wrote:

dc4azcats wrote:

Gladiator Cat wrote:Holy Cow what a pick-up,

This kid starts at OG from day one once he arrives.

It will be interesting to see which other OL drop off the board now that the big Poly is ours.

He's not an OL but he certainly doesn't mince words when talking about his buddy. UA wants him at LB while the Utes want him to play QB.

@KAHINEVES
S/O to my boy @MichaelEletise on his commitment to Arizona !!! One the best teammates I ever had. Big things happening #BearDown

Hasn't Kahi Neves already committed to Utah?

He's committed to play QB at Utah while Arizona wants him to play LB. Neves needs to decide what position is best for his future. My take is, if RR thought you could play QB then he would recruit you to play QB. I would also look at where Utah has been recently at the QB position and where Arizona has been at the position. Big difference. Scooby breaking out LY at the LB position also helps Arizona's chances here.

azpenguin wrote:I remember RR saying recruiting had changed after they beat Oregon in Autzen. Guess he wasn't kidding.

I keep thinking about the constant replays of Nick Wilson trucking Oregon's highly-touted cornerback on his way into the end zone, the Scooby strip of Mariota and of the skyvision camera shot of the wheel route to Jones-Grigsby.

In spite of ESPN and the Uncle Phil hype machine, those plays had huge legs over the course of the season and therefore had resonance--particularly due to an early-season Thursday night matchup.

I can't tell you on what level that win may have ultimately put Arizona football. Ultimately, it put this fan on a level I can never recall being since the end of the '94 or '98 seasons--but even those were different feelings than this great, great promise.

All eyes this season will be on how the team finishes. Missing Oregon and Cal helps, but this program has to shake the Oregon State monkey off its back, prove it can handle the L.A. schools and assert superiority in the rivalry game, when all bets are off.

Finish strong and the program will have ascended to a point on the success curve it's never been before.

Maybe oversight...Dudek hasn't sent out his normal OnTOTHENEXTONE tweet at this point. He did tweet something after Utsey tweeted he committed. probably nothing

RazorsEdgeAZ wrote:Maybe oversight...Dudek hasn't sent out his normal OnTOTHENEXTONE tweet at this point. He did tweet something after Utsey tweeted he committed. probably nothing

or maybe his just busy getting lei'd.

UALoco wrote:

6'4 290lbs.

Yes, keep the size coming.

FightWildcatsFight wrote:

UALoco wrote:

6'4 290lbs.

Yes, keep the size coming.

Imagine the damage Scooby can do with 3 guys that size in front of him.

As far as I can tell the utsey guy is a completely unevaluated unranked guy with no interest from any other schools. Lets hope he's Scooby 2.0

Markell looks like he could easily put on another 30lbs. Look at the frame on that kid

When you add these guys to Sani, Sharif, Marcus Griffin......man oh man. We might actually have a D-Line soon that actually resembles what big time college football teams D-Line's 'look like'. Time will tell whether they can 'play' like it, but it's very encouraging.

Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

ASUHATER! wrote:As far as I can tell the utsey guy is a completely unevaluated unranked guy with no interest from any other schools. Lets hope he's Scooby 2.0

Seems like a stretch but you can't coach size and I always think if you take a flyer, take one on a kid with this type of size because if it does work out you have a potential monster because big strong d lineman can be so important to success and are hard to find.

If the guys craps out, well you took a chance on a 6'4 290lbs DT. I take that bet all day long at a place like Arizona

HaCats wrote:When you add these guys to Sani, Sharif, Marcus Griffin......man oh man. We might actually have a D-Line soon that actually resembles what big time college football teams D-Line's 'look like'. Time will tell whether they can 'play' like it, but it's very encouraging.

Agree. When you have 5 guys coming in that average 6'3" 274 before their senior year of high school...it bodes well for some serious size in 1-2 years when they actually start playing in college.

Can someone who follows this stuff closely, CatinFl perhaps....shed some light on the two Chandler guys for me. Do we have a realistic shot with Lucas or Harry? A better shot with one than the other? Are they both considering us equally as much as asu or is it pretty much assumed they'd go to asu before they'd ever go to Tucson? Or do you see them going the route of the other Phx area studs recently and heading out of state?

Good free story at GoAZCats on Utsey's commitment. Usual stuff, family program, great coaches, early offer, blah, blah, blah.

Utsey could be a late bloomer. My nephew is one of those. He'll be a starting DE for Horizon this yer. Kid is adding weight like crazy, and picking up skills. He's 6'4" 250 and growing. Nintendo kid who found football late is the best way to describe him. Granddad, father, and uncle all played college ball. I think he has a monster year and a couple more inches to grow

Newportcat wrote:Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

And you know this how? The season hasn't even started yet and once again you prove how little you know. You're pathetic in trying to prove a point that is impossible to prove at this point. But by all means keep trying. If only we had that indoor practice field, we would be killing it in recruiting right now. Maybe even have a top 25 class??

Newportcat wrote:

ASUHATER! wrote:As far as I can tell the utsey guy is a completely unevaluated unranked guy with no interest from any other schools. Lets hope he's Scooby 2.0

Seems like a stretch but you can't coach size and I always think if you take a flyer, take one on a kid with this type of size because if it does work out you have a potential monster because big strong d lineman can be so important to success and are hard to find.

If the guys craps out, well you took a chance on a 6'4 290lbs DT. I take that bet all day long at a place like Arizona

Guys who are natural DT's at 6'4 290 in HS are hard to come by. Guys that have been injured so nobody has really had a chance to see him because he didn't go to a bunch of camps and combines shows how good this staff is at evaluating based on film. Have you watched the kids film? I know you've already claimed the '15 class sucks before they've played a down but are you also saying this kid sucks as well and you've never seen him play?

This staff only had film on Scooby and had not seen him in person when they offered, which should tell you all you need to know about their ability to evaluate talent. Stay with me on this, but our coaches actually watch film and thus have an idea on what this kid can do. They don't view him as a "stretch", kind of like they didn't view Scooby as a "stretch" either. Other than that you were spot on as usual.

The big Utsey kid is the real first one of our commits that just kinda shouts "project" to me. Thats OK because 6-4/290 is bigtime DL size if he makes it on the field in a consistant manner.

There's no way to really know how he will pan out in the end. The coaches must have really saw something with him and they may view him as a project worth taking a chance on.

Two years in the S&C program should do him wonders. No doubt about a RS with him. He'll need some time to get stronger.

dc4azcats wrote:
This staff only had film on Scooby and had not seen him in person when they offered, which should tell you all you need to know about their ability to evaluate talent. Stay with me on this, but our coaches actually watch film and thus have an idea on what this kid can do. They don't view him as a "stretch", kind of like they didn't view Scooby as a "stretch" either. Other than that you were spot on as usual.

Isn't this a little dangerous to say though? For every Scooby, there are about a dozen Bush-Loo's that were scouted.

Newport doesn't like us recruiting any place hard other than SoCal or the homies in AZ. He is also a star junkie.

No doubt we simply got beat on kids last year and got a class that hardly impressed anyone but did fill needs. No one knows how these guys will pan out. For every Scooby there is a Jordan Poland.

For me I just trust RR and staff and if he gets a 2 star kid from Arkansas that the Hogs are still evaluating or waiting on as a filler, I am fine on that.

RR just needs to fit some great players into his system surrounded by good players. We will always be in the middle of the. PAC recruiting wise but that is why AZ and RR are a perfect fit

dc4azcats wrote: Have you looked at the 15 class closely? We didn't take a QB which is one of the reasons why it's not ranked so high. TY we've added 2 QB's and both are 4* guys in Modster and Tate. Tate is an athlete but the point remains the same. It makes a big difference how your class is filled up in regards to position especially where Arizona is concerned as reputation unfortunately plays a big part in the rankings.

Tate was moved to a 4* by Scout as an athlete and not dropped down to a 3 as usually is the case with an Arizona commit. Modster was a 4* and stayed as such after his commit and that has a lot to do with how RR and company are viewed by the so called experts in regards to finding talent and developing talent at the QB position. I think that has also carried over to all of the skill positions on offense. We brought in one RB LY and that's another area where we typically get a 4* guy. The RB's that we have in the 16 class are 3* guys but I'm guessing you catch my drift.

The other key part of recruiting is wins and losses and it typically takes the next season before you get the carryover of a 10 win season like we had LY. 16 and 17 are really the classes that you reap the benefits of last season.

Your last point is matter of factly untrue as it pertains to the disappointment of the last signing class. For whatever reason the ball was dropped on a number of worthwhile recruits that the coaches were within reach of. Those reasons do not include winning 8 games instead of 10 the year before.

MrBug708 wrote:

dc4azcats wrote:
This staff only had film on Scooby and had not seen him in person when they offered, which should tell you all you need to know about their ability to evaluate talent. Stay with me on this, but our coaches actually watch film and thus have an idea on what this kid can do. They don't view him as a "stretch", kind of like they didn't view Scooby as a "stretch" either. Other than that you were spot on as usual.

Isn't this a little dangerous to say though? For every Scooby, there are about a dozen Bush-Loo's that were scouted.

What's not true about it? 86 kids on scholarship at anyone time and only 22 starting positions. Most kids at this level were the best at their HS or even the best in their region etc. They come to a school like Arizona and everybody was the best on their respective team and everybody was all-region - that's when reality steps in and you realize everybody is good. It's why RR says you have to really love football at this level because you have to work your ass off and even then it might not be enough to get you a starting spot.

Point being that you can be evaluated correctly by the coaches, but if you don't have the desire to be the best you can be then that's on you as a player. Do you think that any of the schools (Ucla being one of them) feels any different in how they viewed Scooby? I doubt that they do as they certainly couldn't measure the heart and determination the kid has. I think this staff, more than other staffs tries to look at other factors besides 40 times and how much they can bench and the other measurables. RR has said often that he's more interested in football speed then he is straight line speed in shorts with no worries about somebody chasing you.

Getting back to the player mentioned. Most really good DT's are born that way and not converted from a TE spot or HBack or from the OL. They've played the position for a long time and they're blessed with the size and ability to play the position early on. I'm not a recruiter or evaluator and would never claim to be, but if our coaching staff likes a kid and with the success of this class thus far, goes ahead and takes the commitment right now and not a wait and see approach that something better might come along - then I'm fine with that. Nobody is ever 100% perfect and no where in my post did I claim that it was.

I have no doubts that Bush-Loo was scouted correctly for what RR and company wanted. What I don't know is how much he wanted to start once he got here? It's not like he didn't have the opportunity as we had next to zero depth at the LB position when he got here.

CatsbyAZ wrote:

dc4azcats wrote: Have you looked at the 15 class closely? We didn't take a QB which is one of the reasons why it's not ranked so high. TY we've added 2 QB's and both are 4* guys in Modster and Tate. Tate is an athlete but the point remains the same. It makes a big difference how your class is filled up in regards to position especially where Arizona is concerned as reputation unfortunately plays a big part in the rankings.

Tate was moved to a 4* by Scout as an athlete and not dropped down to a 3 as usually is the case with an Arizona commit. Modster was a 4* and stayed as such after his commit and that has a lot to do with how RR and company are viewed by the so called experts in regards to finding talent and developing talent at the QB position. I think that has also carried over to all of the skill positions on offense. We brought in one RB LY and that's another area where we typically get a 4* guy. The RB's that we have in the 16 class are 3* guys but I'm guessing you catch my drift.

The other key part of recruiting is wins and losses and it typically takes the next season before you get the carryover of a 10 win season like we had LY. 16 and 17 are really the classes that you reap the benefits of last season.

Your last point is matter of factly untrue as it pertains to the disappointment of the last signing class. For whatever reason the ball was dropped on a number of worthwhile recruits that the coaches were within reach of. Those reasons do not include winning 8 games instead of 10 the year before.

You say "matter of factly untrue" then you say for "whatever reason"? So it's a fact, but you don't know the reason why
the ball was allegedly dropped? And you know this how? I would add that RR himself said they wouldn't get the benefit of LY till down the road.

Get premium on Scout and follow Scheer and he will tell you that there were a number of kids that Arizona passed on for a variety of reasons from the '15 class. How many guys has Assu lost from it's '15 class that didn't make it because of grades and or the law? Are we up to 4 or 5 now? Didn't they lose their highest ranked player recently from the '15 class? Arizona? Exactly. Again, to judge a class before it's even hit the field for one practice makes no sense at all.

MrBug708 wrote:

dc4azcats wrote:
This staff only had film on Scooby and had not seen him in person when they offered, which should tell you all you need to know about their ability to evaluate talent. Stay with me on this, but our coaches actually watch film and thus have an idea on what this kid can do. They don't view him as a "stretch", kind of like they didn't view Scooby as a "stretch" either. Other than that you were spot on as usual.

Isn't this a little dangerous to say though? For every Scooby, there are about a dozen Bush-Loo's that were scouted.

Thats why you dont take a bunch of them. You can rationalize a two star recruit to.every team but when your class starts to get full of them then you wont be able to sustain success imo but a few of them a year doesnt hurt to bad. You get Ippolittos and Parks for every bush loo and rj morgan too

dc4azcats wrote: I would add that RR himself said they wouldn't get the benefit of LY till down the road.

Partly true I guess. But I do know RR said he thought last years class filled up too fast and that that was on him. Told staff he wanted more open sports at the end for increased interests from recruits (successful season). And that didn't happen.

RR said he told staff PREVIOUS year he wanted to save more spots for HS Seniors who developed late or for seniors who showed late interest - season success.

That 2015 class it did not happen again. Wanted more spots saved for later. RR essentially took responsibility to make sure that happens in saving the numbers. He said in his 2015 commit presser thought he could have added 5-6 talented guys if they could have. Honored the early commits they had, so couldn't.

Point: RR sounding like LY's success could have possibly been recognized with LY's class. At least in part.

The Utsey kid is pretty athletic for his size. I think his injury had some of the bigger schools backing off some. He uses his hands well, stays low and just looks like a natural at the nose or tackle spot.

Lets just see how these classes pan out and how many wins each class gets and starters we get out of them. I think DC's
example of ASSU's very heralded class of last year is a great point. You just don't know do you

Get premium on Scout and follow Scheer and he will tell you that there were a number of kids that Arizona passed on for a variety of reasons from the '15 class. How many guys has Assu lost from it's '15 class that didn't make it because of grades and or the law? Are we up to 4 or 5 now? Didn't they lose their highest ranked player recently from the '15 class? Arizona? Exactly. Again, to judge a class before it's even hit the field for one practice makes no sense at all.

ASU's '15 class after signing day:

Lost:
3* RB Morie Evans - grades (greyshirt or possible JUCO)
5* LB Davon Durant - legal (expelled)
4* CB Stanley Norman - injury (blew out knee for second time playing 7v7, will now greyshirt)

Added:
4* LB Bo Wallace - was a '15 commit to ND but did not qualify academically, and was able transfer to ASU with immediate eligibility.
4* WR Terrel Chatman - waited until well after signing day to decide, chose ASU over TCU and others
NR WR Tim White - JUCO kid that also signed well after signing day
WR Devin Lucien - graduate transfer from UCLA

The loss of Durant is absolutely huge, but overall the numbers are not at all what you inferred.
(star ratings were taken from Scout)

Newportcat wrote:Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

With the exception of the board members who seem compelled to defend the infallibility of the staff at every turn, I think most would agree that last year's class was pretty disappointing on paper (why not signing a QB hurt our class ranking went over my head, but whatever). That said, we won't know for a while how good it actually is.

But it is done... And why you feel the need to continue harping on it is beyond me. They are in school, the class is not changing, and all we can do is hope for the best - and look ahead.

This class is shaping up nicely - I like getting the 4 star studs with impressive offer lists; it not only speaks to the talent entering the program, but also the stature of the program in recruits' eyes. It seems like the "stars don't matter crowd" likes getting those guys, too - although they never admit it when we don't.

I like last year's class quite a bit honestly. Sure no big star guys, but it's full of a lot of future contributors. Also historically the 4 stars Arizona has landed haven't ended up being much. Hell out of that heralded 2014 class only 2 of those 4 star recruits are expected to seriously contribute next year (Nick Wilson & Cam Denson).

Scummy Dick Douglas wrote:

Get premium on Scout and follow Scheer and he will tell you that there were a number of kids that Arizona passed on for a variety of reasons from the '15 class. How many guys has Assu lost from it's '15 class that didn't make it because of grades and or the law? Are we up to 4 or 5 now? Didn't they lose their highest ranked player recently from the '15 class? Arizona? Exactly. Again, to judge a class before it's even hit the field for one practice makes no sense at all.

ASU's '15 class after signing day:

Lost:
3* RB Morie Evans - grades (greyshirt or possible JUCO)
5* LB Davon Durant - legal (expelled)
4* CB Stanley Norman - injury (blew out knee for second time playing 7v7, will now greyshirt)

Added:
4* LB Bo Wallace - was a '15 commit to ND but did not qualify academically, and was able transfer to ASU with immediate eligibility.
4* WR Terrel Chatman - waited until well after signing day to decide, chose ASU over TCU and others
NR WR Tim White - JUCO kid that also signed well after signing day
WR Devin Lucien - graduate transfer from UCLA

The loss of Durant is absolutely huge, but overall the numbers are not at all what you inferred.
(star ratings were taken from Scout)

We're not even to the first day of Fall Camp? I'll wait till Fall Camp and see how many don't clear the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Harvey Specter wrote:

Newportcat wrote:Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

With the exception of the board members who seem compelled to defend the infallibility of the staff at every turn, I think most would agree that last year's class was pretty disappointing on paper (why not signing a QB hurt our class ranking went over my head, but whatever). That said, we won't know for a while how good it actually is.

But it is done... And why you feel the need to continue harping on it is beyond me. They are in school, the class is not changing, and all we can do is hope for the best - and look ahead.

This class is shaping up nicely - I like getting the 4 star studs with impressive offer lists; it not only speaks to the talent entering the program, but also the stature of the program in recruits' eyes. It seems like the "stars don't matter crowd" likes getting those guys, too - although they never admit it when we don't.

Please, one of you tell me how you know this class sucks when not a one has played a snap as yet? I'm not defending the coaching staff, I'm saying how idiotic it is to declare a class a failure when not a one has stepped on the field. And, most of this class won't see the field for at the very least 2 years. In 2 years time if you want to say this class sucked and here's why? I'm all ears. But to say this class sucks at the end of July is pure ignorance since you have nothing to base it on. But on paper? And we all know how many games are played on paper.

Michael Eletise on ESPN Maui today. Talks about his recruitment process, why AZ and how he looked for the best fit for him and going to a "brand" name school wasn't a priority for him.

Eletise

This is a solid commitment. I'm not going to de-commit

Here's the podcast http://www.espnmaui.com/page.php?page_id=331

dc4azcats wrote:

Harvey Specter wrote:

Newportcat wrote:Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

With the exception of the board members who seem compelled to defend the infallibility of the staff at every turn, I think most would agree that last year's class was pretty disappointing on paper (why not signing a QB hurt our class ranking went over my head, but whatever). That said, we won't know for a while how good it actually is.

But it is done... And why you feel the need to continue harping on it is beyond me. They are in school, the class is not changing, and all we can do is hope for the best - and look ahead.

This class is shaping up nicely - I like getting the 4 star studs with impressive offer lists; it not only speaks to the talent entering the program, but also the stature of the program in recruits' eyes. It seems like the "stars don't matter crowd" likes getting those guys, too - although they never admit it when we don't.

Please, one of you tell me how you know this class sucks when not a one has played a snap as yet? I'm not defending the coaching staff, I'm saying how idiotic it is to declare a class a failure when not a one has stepped on the field. And, most of this class won't see the field for at the very least 2 years. In 2 years time if you want to say this class sucked and here's why? I'm all ears. But to say this class sucks at the end of July is pure ignorance since you have nothing to base it on. But on paper? And we all know how many games are played on paper.

Does the same logic apply to the '16 class? Are you tempering your excitement for the 4* kids because "not a one has played a snap as yet"?

I for one am quite pleased with the recruiting results achieved thus far this year.

That being said nobody can deny that we have had a number of misses in the past several classes. We will start the year with undersized walk-ons at both the Center and the Nose tackle positions. We will be the smallest team in the PAC12 "down the middle". The center position, in particular, is my single biggest concern (along with the CB's) going into the season. Woods performance in the Fiesta Bowl did not inspire confidence.

Honestly as long as Rich Rod is our football coach I'm excited for every season regardless of landing recruits with lots of stars or not. This guy turned a team with multiple gash wounds into an 8 win team his first season and has only improved since.

dmjcat wrote:I for one am quite pleased with the recruiting results achieved thus far this year.

That being said nobody can deny that we have had a number of misses in the past several classes. We will start the year with undersized walk-ons at both the Center and the Nose tackle positions. We will be the smallest team in the PAC12 "down the middle". The center position, in particular, is my single biggest concern (along with the CB's) going into the season. Woods performance in the Fiesta Bowl did not inspire confidence.

If one of our recent heralded 4 star recruits stepped up we wouldn't have to start an undersized former walk on at the nose. Maybe if another nose recruit didn't almost snap his leg off his senior season it would be addressed too.

Agreed about the center spot, maybe Walton steps up.

Scummy Dick Douglas wrote:

dc4azcats wrote:

Harvey Specter wrote:

Newportcat wrote:Guys, our class last year was not good. We didn't recruit well after having three straight classes that improved on themselves. We missed out on almost all our big targets and did not recruit our key markets well like SoCal. It's not like we were coming off a bad season either, not as good as last year but still 8-5 and bowl won which for Arizona football is a damn good season and AND we were one year in to the Lowell Stevens facility which was supposed to by the savior for recruiting. Now I really like this class because we are doing all the things we should be doing, recruiting SoCal well, getting mostly strong three star recruits and some four stars, getting size along the lines, getting good JUCO mid year transfers, and recruiting speed. Love to see some more local recruits but this is a very good class for us.

Some of you should stop making excuses for our team as we should expect these type of classes every year especially with the new facility. We will never have top ten class like basketball, but we should be able to bring in top 20-30
Classes every year. Also this well the guy lost a star or didn't gain a star because he was recruited to Arizona is pathetic. None of these sites have a vendetta against Arizona.

With the exception of the board members who seem compelled to defend the infallibility of the staff at every turn, I think most would agree that last year's class was pretty disappointing on paper (why not signing a QB hurt our class ranking went over my head, but whatever). That said, we won't know for a while how good it actually is.

But it is done... And why you feel the need to continue harping on it is beyond me. They are in school, the class is not changing, and all we can do is hope for the best - and look ahead.

This class is shaping up nicely - I like getting the 4 star studs with impressive offer lists; it not only speaks to the talent entering the program, but also the stature of the program in recruits' eyes. It seems like the "stars don't matter crowd" likes getting those guys, too - although they never admit it when we don't.

Please, one of you tell me how you know this class sucks when not a one has played a snap as yet? I'm not defending the coaching staff, I'm saying how idiotic it is to declare a class a failure when not a one has stepped on the field. And, most of this class won't see the field for at the very least 2 years. In 2 years time if you want to say this class sucked and here's why? I'm all ears. But to say this class sucks at the end of July is pure ignorance since you have nothing to base it on. But on paper? And we all know how many games are played on paper.

Does the same logic apply to the '16 class? Are you tempering your excitement for the 4* kids because "not a one has played a snap as yet"?

Once a kid shows up on campus - how many stars he had out of HS means next to nothing. I've never been a big fan of the star system because it's a joke of a system. I trust the coaching staff way more than I do some recruiting expert who has no idea if the star ranking they just gave a kid will transfer to the system he was recruited to. USC and Ucla have top5 -15 classes each and every season and what has that got them the last 5 years?

The star system is a joke except when it comes to being an excellent indicator of who wins the most in college football.

ASUHATER! wrote:The star system is a joke except when it comes to being an excellent indicator of who wins the most in college football.

Ohio State still had great recruiting classes when Urban Meyer wasn't the coach. Florida had great recruiting classes when Ron Zook and Muschamp were coaching Florida. Bobby Bowden at FSU had great recruiting classes at the end of his tenure and they won what? Add Texas to that list as well which proves the point that getting star players doesn't guarantee success if you can't coach said talent. And or develop said talent.

And you know this how? The season hasn't even started yet and once again you prove how little you know. You're pathetic in trying to prove a point that is impossible to prove at this point. But by all means keep trying. If only we had that indoor practice field, we would be killing it in recruiting right now. Maybe even have a top 25 class??[/quote]

By rankings, the class was not great and history has proven at Arizona that recruiting classes do matter as since 1999 we have had 2 recruiting classes in the Top 25 I believe 2006 and 2014, and low and behold we have had one team finish in the top 25, 2014....coincidence, I think not.

And bringing up the indoor facility just proves how little you know about Arizona football. Rich Rod would love an indoor facility and thinks its the one major missing piece to our program. Well that and actually being able to sell out our stadium