2016 Recruit/Commitment Thread

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:51 pm

I get it but this goes back to who's evaluations do you trust? RR and staff won 10 games last year and may duplicate that this year. I think no matter what the criteria they are better then the guys at scout or rivals don't you think?

I agree that this might be a headscratcher but maybe those guys haven't evaluated him yet. Just a thought

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:53 pm

azcat49 wrote:I get it but this goes back to who's evaluations do you trust? RR and staff won 10 games last year and may duplicate that this year. I think no matter what the criteria they are better then the guys at scout or rivals don't you think?

I agree that this might be a headscratcher but maybe those guys haven't evaluated him yet. Just a thought

And this is just coach speak from Matty D: Stealing this one!!! People sleeping on those #OKGs...#TheStable got another workhorse! #OnToTheNextOne #OKG16 #BearDown

I trust this staff and especially when it comes to guys who run a 4.49 40.

azthrillhouse · Post by **azthrillhouse** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:50 pm

dmjcat wrote:
azcat49 wrote:Did you see his film? Has great vision and decent speed. Plays at a high level in Georgia that has pretty good HS football. I think the only reason he doesn't have better
Offers yet is that he is a bit small. And yet the entire SEC passed on him

And what if Speights backs out?
What if a 4 star RB (or DL or OL) is available come January 2016 and we don't have any scholies left???

So be it. We'll have the guy we wanted (and that wanted to be here) and spend our time recruiting the 2017 guys rather than coddling a 2016 diva that can't make up his mind. Chances are a kid like that is just using us for leverage anyway. And, as has often been said on the Scout board....if there is a 4/5 star guy that truly wants to be here and we want him, I am 100% sure we will make the scholarship numbers work, just like they do in the SEC. Should such a unicorn present itself, we won't turn him down due to supposed lack of scholarships.

We get it, you don't agree with the RR approach. By all means, keep doubting the conference coach of the year that has had a level of success in his first 3 years that is at least equal to, if not greater than, any 3-year stretch in our history. I'm sure you'll be proven right eventually.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:52 am

dc4azcats wrote:
azcat49 wrote:I get it but this goes back to who's evaluations do you trust? RR and staff won 10 games last year and may duplicate that this year. I think no matter what the criteria they are better then the guys at scout or rivals don't you think?

I agree that this might be a headscratcher but maybe those guys haven't evaluated him yet. Just a thought
And this is just coach speak from Matty D: Stealing this one!!! People sleeping on those #OKGs...#TheStable got another workhorse! #OnToTheNextOne #OKG16 #BearDown

I trust this staff and especially when it comes to guys who run a 4.49 40.

Especially guys that run a 4.49 40 and haven't been through Arizona's S&C yet. It's great that they're going after the higher level prospects that they've been able to make inroads with, but you can't pass up on steals like this if they fit what you're trying to do.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:02 am

The class so far is a good reflection of the coaches' recruiting philosophy.

Lock down the local talent - Holt

Don't be afraid to fight the big schools for players we want - Modster, Tate.

Get in early, trust your own evaluations, and get OKGs regardless of the current stars (and the opinion of fans who only care about stars) - Halimon.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:23 am

Who has that list of the in state talent that we're recruiting? I was looking through the top 300 and noticed several AZ kids on there. It would be nice to think we could land a couple of them.

Any word on how we're doing with Calvin Bundage?

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:26 am

Normally I would agree with dmjcat for Haliman as he is a recruit from a state we barely recruit with no local offers or any decent offers to speak of. I would normally say we shouldn't waste our time recruiting a player like this because of a couple reasons

1. I personally think there is a reason they don't have better offers at this point. Its not like he is from Alaska where there are no major or mid major programs around. There has to be a reason why a program like Georgia Tech or NC State, etc haven't offered him as those schools have probably seen him play in person. It is easiest to evaluate the local talent especially when that local talent appears to play for a big program and has produced well. The guy that comes to mind is Jack Banda, who is also from Georgia, played for a strong program, didn't have many local offers, we took him, and I have never heard a peep about him on our team.

2. It is at a skill position, RB where we can get top level talent because of how well RB's do in our system. No reason we shouldn't be able to get stud 4 star players here ala look at Kadeem and Nick Wilson. You will get the ball and we will share it around. OL or DL I can see a little more but RB we shouldn't have to take flyers on.

3. I think with HUDL, rivals, scout, etc it is much harder to steal players and so easy to evaluate players as the recruiting elevation process is more streamlined nowadays.

This all being said, I watched the guys video and WOW, something has to be wrong. His grades must suck or something because the kid looks like a stud RB and shocked he didn't have more offers. Unlike some of the guys we took last year, this guy looks like a stud. Speed, moves, and the ability to play physical. His testing results were also strong unlike some of the guys from last years class...Antonio Parks ran like a 4.89 forty which for an undersized DB is beyond slow. Great video mixed with great testing results overcomes low offer lists in my opinion. There are guys like Scobby who still slip through the cracks but keep in mind scobby's videos were awesome and he tested very well at camps, just for some reason guys didn't like him.

I personally feel like we did Steal a stud with this commit, or at least there is enough evidence to prove that theory.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:41 am

His vision was very impressive. Several of those cutback moves were top level stuff. No idea at what level of Georgia football he plays at but I would think all levels are pretty good.

Seemed to possess pretty good speed and power. I am guessing his size is what did not allow him to get some power conference offers. SEC values size as we know

threenumberones · Post by **threenumberones** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:11 pm

azcat49 wrote:His vision was very impressive. Several of those cutback moves were top level stuff. No idea at what level of Georgia football he plays at but I would think all levels are pretty good.

Seemed to possess pretty good speed and power. I am guessing his size is what did not allow him to get some power conference offers. SEC values size as we know

5A, where tops is 6A. His team went undefeated in the regular season this past year and was ranked high at the end of the year. You would think he got plenty of looks by the big time programs that recruit Georgia.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:00 pm

Thx 3#1's. No doubt the SEC schools took a look as well as the ACC. Still wonder why no power conference offers.

Definitely a guy RR covets, a player with a huge chip on his shoulder

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:09 pm

This is where I think it's ok to take a chance early because potentially he continues to get evaluated and gets bigger offers. I am not a fan of taking a whole class of these type of players (kind of like last years class) but stealing a couple guys is something we as a program need to do since it's unrealistic we will get all four star players.

There is no way you can watch his video and not be impressed or think he is a bad recruit especially when you look at his measured forty time. I remember brooks reed way back on the day being a good recruit but not earth shattering but his testing results were very strong so you felt with proper conditioning the guy would have a chance to be special. That's one big thing that concerned me with last years class on the some of them had weak testing results.

So far so good with this class with me and hopefully we land some stud DLIneman and LB's as I think that's a big position of need in this class as well as a couple great WR's.

whatisee · Post by **whatisee** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:38 pm

Did we lose Speights?

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 5:43 pm

Yes, for the time being. RR as we know doesn't like recruits to take visits and he wanted to. As I hear it was a mutual parting. Bummer but it is hard to keep guys committed for that long.

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 6:10 pm

Now the Halliman commit makes more sense as I figured they would take 2 RB's with this class and was surprised at 3.

Honestly, the Speights commitment is another reason why I am not a big fan of going outside of California and Arizona much for players especially in Texas and the South. It seems to me if a local team gets involved we will typically lose that commit. Call it the Jermichael Finley rule. If local teams dont get involved, you feel like we might have missed something as they have probably seen those players live more then us. If there was a player in Tucson or Phoenix we didnt offer a scholie too, I would bet its not because our staff missed them. I have seen less of that through the years when we recruit California players. If Halliman recieved an offer from say Georgia or Georgia Tech or some other big SEC or ACC school, I could see it being problematic for us just like it looks like it could be with Speights.

Not sure Halliman for Speights was a good trade but such is life in recruiting

Gladiator Cat · Post by **Gladiator Cat** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:22 pm

I'm probably one of the few who feels this way but I am completely disappointed in this ridicules rule of no additional visits after committing.

I know Rich Rod is a god to some of you and he can do no wrong and any defiance of this moronic internal rule will only bring out the hatchets and knives to silence the opposing view on this, but to me at a school like Arizona this is a rule that has a self-damaging feedback loop effect that is not beneficial in the big scheme.

I find this stubborn approach, even if it is widely used in the football world to be stupid and self-defeating quit frankly.

These kids aren't stupid and have every right to put themselves in the best position they can find and no one should blame them for wanting to explore all options available.

Taking away a scholarship because you visited another school is shear idiocy as far as I'm concerned.

I understand that this is a well known policy of the staff and they don't give two shits what I think, but I say its bad policy. I also know that RR and the staff tell these kids to not commit if not sure. That's great and all in a superficial world of perfection but wholly unproductive and unrealistic IMO.

If as a staff you have done your job and done everything possible to show the football program as a top destination for that kids talent in all areas of concerns including academic importance then the facts and hard work should speak for itself and his true love for the school will override any momentary temptations if it was meant to be.

Withdrawing a scholarship from a very talented and nationally rated recruit like Speights who would have probably stuck with us in the end anyway, is like cutting off your own damn arm so you can have something to BBQ.

If we replaced Speights with Haliman because Speights told the staff he's likely going elsewhere........then so be it, them's the breaks.

If it was because of a moronic visit equation that his full ride was withdrawn then my disappointment in the staff is palpable to say the least.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:33 pm

In many ways I agree GC but I think this is part of being an OKG guy and building a culture of pulling the rope in the same direction.

As you stated they tell the guys to not committ unless they are sure as it is pretty cut and dry on what they demand. I hate to potentially lose a guy like Speights but I have no doubt RR will have a stud at RR who will light it up for 1500 yards when we need it

Gladiator Cat · Post by **Gladiator Cat** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:14 pm

azcat49 wrote:In many ways I agree GC but I think this is part of being an OKG guy and building a culture of pulling the rope in the same direction.

As you stated they tell the guys to not committ unless they are sure as it is pretty cut and dry on what they demand. I hate to potentially lose a guy like Speights but I have no doubt RR will have a stud at RR who will light it up for 1500 yards when we need it

49,

I'm telling as sure as the sun come's up everyday that no matter how some folks will try and defend this policy it will be ignored at some point in the future, you mark my words.

If that monster of a national talent Khalil McKenzie would have committed to us early during the recruiting process last year, but later told the staff he wanted to take his visits, not you, not me and no one else on the planet would have ever heard a peep about this stupid policy because it wouldn't have been in effect for such a talented player. You know that and I know that.

I suspect this same situation will play out again in the future if we're lucky enough to attract such a talented player.

I going to be watching to see if the big-time football fans of the UofA world here will find it acceptable if and when the rubber meets the road when another talent like Khalil come's sniffing around in the future.

I'm pretty sure I know whats going to happen, that's why I do not like the policy. Selective enforcement is bad mojo in my book.

Just saying.

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:29 pm

Newportcat wrote:Now the Halliman commit makes more sense as I figured they would take 2 RB's with this class and was surprised at 3.

Honestly, the Speights commitment is another reason why I am not a big fan of going outside of California and Arizona much for players especially in Texas and the South. It seems to me if a local team gets involved we will typically lose that commit. Call it the Jermichael Finley rule. If local teams dont get involved, you feel like we might have missed something as they have probably seen those players live more then us. If there was a player in Tucson or Phoenix we didnt offer a scholie too, I would bet its not because our staff missed them. I have seen less of that through the years when we recruit California players. If Halliman recieved an offer from say Georgia or Georgia Tech or some other big SEC or ACC school, I could see it being problematic for us just like it looks like it could be with Speights.

Not sure Halliman for Speights was a good trade but such is life in recruiting

What? Jermichael Finley? Maybe you could talk about players that were brought in under this coaching staff and not a coaching staff from the Stoop that recruited Finley back in 2005. Curious but do you even bother to look at where some of our players come from? 7 kids from Florida including Trey Griffey, TJ Johnson, Levi Walton, Jerrod Randall and Paul Magloire who went to Yuma Western CC but is from Florida. That's just 5 guys out of seven that I scanned at first glance on our roster. That's a pretty good percentage of guys who are contributing to your team. Yet you would have us not recruit there? We have 5 guys from Louisiana and if I were a betting man I would say all 5 contribute in the next 2 to 3 years if not sooner.

That's 12 kids from 2 states who play HS football at a very high level and why would you not recruit them if they're willing to come play at Arizona? Your reasoning is that if the local schools didn't recruit them then why are we recruiting them? So our staff should let the local schools who may or may not run the same system we do - wait till they offer then we should offer? You think that RR and staff don't do their homework on a kid and thus should wait till the local schools do their scouting and then we should gravy train off that information?

I also like how you diss our incoming class that has yet to play. Keep in mind that we didn't bring in a QB for the '15 class which certainly would have improved our rankings considering that both QB's TY are ranked 4* by Scout. We also didn't bring in a lot of RB's and LB's which would have also made a difference in our rankings.

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:37 pm

Gladiator Cat wrote:I'm probably one of the few who feels this way but I am completely disappointed in this ridicules rule of no additional visits after committing.

I know Rich Rod is a god to some of you and he can do no wrong and any defiance of this moronic internal rule will only bring out the hatchets and knives to silence the opposing view on this, but to me at a school like Arizona this is a rule that has a self-damaging feedback loop effect that is not beneficial in the big scheme.

I find this stubborn approach, even if it is widely used in the football world to be stupid and self-defeating quit frankly.

These kids aren't stupid and have every right to put themselves in the best position they can find and no one should blame them for wanting to explore all options available.

Taking away a scholarship because you visited another school is shear idiocy as far as I'm concerned.

I understand that this is a well known policy of the staff and they don't give two shits what I think, but I say its bad policy. I also know that RR and the staff tell these kids to not commit if not sure. That's great and all in a superficial world of perfection but wholly unproductive and unrealistic IMO.

If as a staff you have done your job and done everything possible to show the football program as a top destination for that kids talent in all areas of concerns including academic importance then the facts and hard work should speak for itself and his true love for the school will override any momentary temptations if it was meant to be.

Withdrawing a scholarship from a very talented and nationally rated recruit like Speights who would have probably stuck with us in the end anyway, is like cutting off your own damn arm so you can have something to BBQ.

If we replaced Speights with Haliman because Speights told the staff he's likely going elsewhere........then so be it, them's the breaks.

If it was because of a moronic visit equation that his full ride was withdrawn then my disappointment in the staff is palpable to say the least.

Disagree and RR has let guys take visits as long as they have a good reason and they clear it with the staff beforehand. His reasoning always has been that it's a 2 way street meaning if we stay committed to you then why shouldn't you stay committed to Arizona? Otherwise don't commit early and take all of your trips.

Surely you have to know that lots of kids like to make a commitment under the guise that they have it if the school they really want falls through or if they don't like anything better they have Arizona to fall back on? It goes right back to what RR and MattyD preach which is they want OKG. This isn't RR and company's first rodeo and the thing that is great is that they established this rule from the get go, so if you're a HS recruit, coach or a parent of said recruit, what part of it don't you understand?

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:47 pm

Gladiator Cat wrote:
azcat49 wrote:In many ways I agree GC but I think this is part of being an OKG guy and building a culture of pulling the rope in the same direction.

As you stated they tell the guys to not committ unless they are sure as it is pretty cut and dry on what they demand. I hate to potentially lose a guy like Speights but I have no doubt RR will have a stud at RR who will light it up for 1500 yards when we need it
49,

I'm telling as sure as the sun come's up everyday that no matter how some folks will try and defend this policy it will be ignored at some point in the future, you mark my words.

If that monster of a national talent Khalil McKenzie would have committed to us early during the recruiting process last year, but later told the staff he wanted to take his visits, not you, not me and no one else on the planet would have ever heard a peep about this stupid policy because it wouldn't have been in effect for such a talented player. You know that and I know that.

I suspect this same situation will play out again in the future if we're lucky enough to attract such a talented player.

I going to be watching to see if the big-time football fans of the UofA world here will find it acceptable if and when the rubber meets the road when another talent like Khalil come's sniffing around in the future.

I'm pretty sure I know whats going to happen, that's why I do not like the policy. Selective enforcement is bad mojo in my book.

Just saying.

So the same RR who made his best player KaDeem Carey pick up trash on campus and miss a game and a half as punishment is going to let a high end recruit take a visit that wasn't cleared with the coaching staff first - and look the other way? No chance because if that's how you're going to do things then why have the rule in the first place? The same RR who if you miss ONE tutoring session you have to roll the length of the football field and back is going to let a recruit slide because he wants to take other visits? Good one. The same RR that if you miss a 2nd tutoring session makes you carry a player of his choosing the length of the football field - up and back - is going to let a highly sought after recruit make the rules instead of him? You're nuts. Once RR does that then how does he discipline him when he gets to campus - if he even makes it to campus? RR passes on more highly ranked guys because of that crap then you can probably imagine.

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:50 pm

Wanna end this discussion about whether or not guys take visits? Allow players to sign LOIs during the recruiting cycle for that year instead of making them wait until February. Then there's no verbal commits or anything like that, just signed recruits. The verbal commits are taking the place of that and unlike LOIs commits aren't binding.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:25 am

Did I read somewhere that we would not allow Speights back in if he wanted to? I'm okay with RR's policy overall, but if it's a policy, then it needs to be enforced as such. No exceptions based on star ratings.

Anyway, I've never understood why kids take visits after they commit. Did the definition of the word 'commit' change when I wasn't looking? If you're not sure where you want to go, then don't commit. Finish up your visits. Make your mind up for real. Then commit and mean it.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:16 am

Often times they are ready at the time, but once they commit, interest dies off or other people are enjoying their visits (which are free) so the kid wants to be part of that too. The coaches usually allow kids to do it, but some don't. Generally it's a worry that they'll fall in love somewhere else. Oregon has a policy where they also won't trip in kids who are committed to other schools. If you want to visit, you can't be committed. At least they are consistent with their policy. They'll even tell kids to hold off committing if they know the kid wants to visit other schools

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 7:04 am

Gladiator Cat wrote:I know Rich Rod is a god to some of you and he can do no wrong and any defiance of this moronic internal rule will only bring out the hatchets and knives to silence the opposing view on this, but to me at a school like Arizona this is a rule that has a self-damaging feedback loop effect that is not beneficial in the big scheme.

I actually somewhat agree with you, but could you drama queen this up a little more? Maybe some visuals of pitchforks and torches? Or a Thought Gestapo reference?

It's a policy better suited to the Alabama and USC's of the college football world, and I understand that's where Rich Rod wants to take us, but we'll never get there unless we're the fallback option for talented kids who don't get offers at the schools they covet.

Personally I am really disappointed because I thought Speights was going to be a monster in RR's offense. Seems dumb to throw that possibility away because he wants to visit some schools.

azthrillhouse · Post by **azthrillhouse** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:02 am

Chicat wrote:
Gladiator Cat wrote:I know Rich Rod is a god to some of you and he can do no wrong and any defiance of this moronic internal rule will only bring out the hatchets and knives to silence the opposing view on this, but to me at a school like Arizona this is a rule that has a self-damaging feedback loop effect that is not beneficial in the big scheme.
I actually somewhat agree with you, but could you drama queen this up a little more? Maybe some visuals of pitchforks and torches? Or a Thought Gestapo reference?

It's a policy better suited to the Alabama and USC's of the college football world, and I understand that's where Rich Rod wants to take us, but we'll never get there unless we're the fallback option for talented kids who don't get offers at the schools they covet.

Personally I am really disappointed because I thought Speights was going to be a monster in RR's offense. Seems dumb to throw that possibility away because he wants to visit some schools.

As a card-carrying member of the hatchet and knife club, I would like to add some context to my apparently slavish devotion to RR & Co.

I think the thing that strikes me about this staff is that they seem to have a cohesive philosophy. Do they make exceptions and contradict themselves occasionally? Sure. But overall, it's clear that they generally adhere to their strategy (push for early commits etc.) and philosophies.

The recruiting strategy ties into the way the program is structured - we are built to out-run people, so if you don't love football enough to run until you puke, you probably won't make it here (see: Maka and others).

Everything about this program is a little bit different, down to the 3-3-5 that so many hate. But those differences are all part as a cohesive whole.

My point here is, it's virtually impossible to look at one aspect of the philosophy and judge it in isolation using the same criteria applied to a program like USC. In my eyes, you have to judge it holistically on the results that the philosophy achieves - and unfortunately, that's something you can only do over the course of years. As others have pointed out, what some may interpret as cutting of your nose to spite your face can also be interpreted as ensuring consistent results by sticking to principles. We won't know who is right based on what happens w/ Speights, we'll only know based on how the 25 guys a year contribute to the program.

There are plenty of things I don't like about RR & Co. I don't like getting our doors blown off when we lose in big games. I don't like the fact that we seem slow to adjust in-game to the opposition (last 2 UCLA losses in particular). I don't like that we are 2-7 against USC, UCLA, and ASU. I didn't like the fact that we blew opportunities to build program-changing momentum multiple times last year.

However, when it comes to the recruiting micro-decisions on whether to offer a certain guy or whether to yank a guy's offer if he de-commits - for me, I'm going to reserve judgement until I see the end results on the field. And so far, the trend line for this program is clearly going up.

p.s. losing Speights is definitely disappointing.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:34 am

College football recruiting is full of double standards. Stating the obvious. I assume there are examples RR and staff have not yanked an offer on a commit after taking official/unofficial visit. Assume will be selective applications of this rule in the future.

RR and staff make offers to recruits that already committed elsewhere. Certain that AZ staff encourages them to visit Arizona. Us AZ fans like it when they do flip to AZ.

This board (including me) have posted about whether Speights would stay committed to Arizona for awhile now. He had a monster last season. Speights has been taking visits for a long-time now. One Main reason for his commit at the time to AZ was his QB friend Shea Patterson's verbal to AZ. Why some of us wondered if he would stay committed to AZ (or get offer "yanked"). He's a kid. NCAA allows for verbal "decommit". NCAA allows for programs to yank a a verbal commits' scholarship offer.

2016 four star AZ commit Devon Modster is on record saying he still wants to take his official visits to take advantage of the experience and for the free trips. Also stated IF AZ coaches asked him not to he would respect that. Will that be tested? We'll see.

#OnToTheNextOne

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:43 am

Puerco wrote:t. Did the definition of the word 'commit' change when I wasn't looking? If you're not sure where you want to go, then don't commit.

No kidding. I'm still pissed about punkass Tabor.

BearDown89 · Post by **BearDown89** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:07 am

I don't put any stock in the way too early commit, e.g., Patterson, Speights, etc. Seems foolish to me to rely on the word of a teenager early in high school who has yet to be wooed and wowed by free trips, colorful uniforms and other shiny things on big college campuses. I've only been following recruiting for a couple of years, but my immediate gut reaction when Patterson committed was "well, that's not gonna last." And I didn't even know anything about his brother and all that.

As to this new kid Halimon, word is that he was under the radar but he would've blown up if he started going to all of the camps and such.

I agree with azthrillhouse in that I trust in the longstanding cohesiveness of the staff and the way they run the program. They clearly have a plan, know what they're doing and are executing that plan. Execution is ongoing and evolving. Indefinitely. I also think 99% of us don't have a freaking clue what goes on behind the scenes so I'm not going to sit here and declare with scathing self-righteousness what I will or will not tolerate.

Just score lots of points and make a few stops. I shall be entertained.

Fishclamps · Post by **Fishclamps** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:11 am

jimson wrote:
Puerco wrote:t. Did the definition of the word 'commit' change when I wasn't looking? If you're not sure where you want to go, then don't commit.
No kidding. I'm still pissed about punkass Tabor.

I thought the general thinking with Tabor was that he actually did wanna come here to play with his buddy Haden but his mom forced him to go to Florida, a school he wasn't even deciding on?

If you wanna use someone as an example, just look at Hale ending up at Washington.

azthrillhouse · Post by **azthrillhouse** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:32 am

BearDown89 wrote:
Just score lots of points and make a few stops. I shall be entertained.

And please God get us to a Rose Bowl before I die. It's not too much to ask.

BearDown89 · Post by **BearDown89** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:12 pm

azthrillhouse wrote:
BearDown89 wrote:
Just score lots of points and make a few stops. I shall be entertained.
And please God get us to a Rose Bowl before I die. It's not too much to ask.

Indeed azthrill, we are on the same page.

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:12 pm

Fishclamps wrote:
jimson wrote:
Puerco wrote:t. Did the definition of the word 'commit' change when I wasn't looking? If you're not sure where you want to go, then don't commit.
No kidding. I'm still pissed about punkass Tabor.
I thought the general thinking with Tabor was that he actually did wanna come here to play with his buddy Haden but his mom forced him to go to Florida, a school he wasn't even deciding on?

If you wanna use someone as an example, just look at Hale ending up at Washington.

That was the thinking, but we did have a Maryland fan warn us that Tabor would pull this crap, so he is still a punkass bitch in my book. Hale too.

TuiTouchdown · Post by **TuiTouchdown** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 1:57 pm

jimson wrote:
Fishclamps wrote:
jimson wrote:
Puerco wrote:t. Did the definition of the word 'commit' change when I wasn't looking? If you're not sure where you want to go, then don't commit.
No kidding. I'm still pissed about punkass Tabor.
I thought the general thinking with Tabor was that he actually did wanna come here to play with his buddy Haden but his mom forced him to go to Florida, a school he wasn't even deciding on?

If you wanna use someone as an example, just look at Hale ending up at Washington.

That was the thinking, but we did have a Maryland fan warn us that Tabor would pull this crap, so he is still a punkass bitch in my book. Hale too.

I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I'll just speak my mind. Remember MTV's True Life? They did one on college recruiting. I watched it because I loved the idea of getting any insight into the minds of these athletes. Tabor was actually one of the athletes featured on the show. It was, to say the least, very interesting. And Tabor came across very well. He looked like he was genuinely pushing for UA the whole way. Yes his family pushed him to Florida and yes he should have been able to make his own decisions. But he really looked like a good kid trying to do the right thing for him and his family. He also had great things to say about RR.

Check it out if you have a sec.

Footballjunkie · Post by **Footballjunkie** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 3:19 pm

BearDown89 wrote:As to this new kid Halimon, word is that he was under the radar but he would've blown up if he started going to all of the camps and such.

I did some digging because Russell Halimon (5’10”, 185 lbs) not having any stars or major offers on a 14-1 team that he lead to the Georgia Playoffs in the Georgia Dome, with 2,217 yards and 24 td’s, bothered me to the point of keeping me up at night.
He is a true steal.

http://popist.com/s/aa5aae9/

It seems that during the Georgia HS playoffs Mr. Halimon, “fractured”, NOT BROKE, the tibia in one of his legs. He said that Power schools such as Florida, Auburn, Michigan, Miami, and, USC came to look at him. They seemed to back off or take a wait and see attitude knowing about the tibia fracture last Fall. Georgia State did offer him, when he appeared at an Adidas camp in Georgia and ran drills.

Hopefully, Halimon can see how he would fit in the Arizona offense and how Arizona treats players with injuries and feels this would be a great place for him rather than an SEC football factory that might push him to play with any injury. The huge plus for him is the UofA Education.

If he’s interested in Business, Public Administration, or Medicine, in the future, this is the place to be.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 3:30 pm

What's to keep Halimon from bailing when the big boys do come calling? NLI isn't signed yet.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 3:51 pm

Speights said he was 70-85% committed still to the UofA and did not rule them out as his final destination. I would love to have him but me thinks RR is happy with the Georgia guy.

Have to like the way RR sticks to his gun like he is big timing it with a program that doesn't have the history to do so. But I also think if we were going to lose a guy like Speights (or Patterson) it is better now then at the 11th hour (see Tabor and Hale)and then not have any great options.

#OKG, I can live with this. 10 wins and south champions. #nextstepiscoming

jimson · Post by **jimson** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:22 pm

azcat49 wrote:Speights said he was 70-85% committed still to the UofA and did not rule them out as his final destination. I would love to have him but me thinks RR is happy with the Georgia guy.

Have to like the way RR sticks to his gun like he is big timing it with a program that doesn't have the history to do so. But I also think if we were going to lose a guy like Speights (or Patterson) it is better now then at the 11th hour (see Tabor and Hale)and then not have any great options.

#OKG, I can live with this. 10 wins and south champions. #nextstepiscoming

http://247sports.com/Bolt/Texas-RB-Spei ... a-36870222

He is decommitted and it looks like A&M. so he joins the list of punkass bitches. Screw him.

Gladiator Cat · Post by **Gladiator Cat** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:26 pm

There are a lot of great comments in the last few days. Really spices things up during the slow period.

The Halimon kid looks like he going to be a good football player, and that is what this Arizona football team needs more of to be sure.

I guess at the end of the day, in its most mundane form all I was saying was that I hate to see the UofA and top talent part ways over something so seemingly inconsequential as taking additional visits. Having said that I know that taking visits is not inconsequential to some folks here and clearly is not to Rich Rod.

Giving extreme ultimatums in a highly competitive sporting environment may work on some of the lower rated guys with fewer offers and opportunities, but with the high quality/highly rated guys that's not going to work near as well. That's why I hate to see us limit ourselves.

In the big scheme of things it will balance itself out in the end I suppose, but I just don't see any benefit whatsoever of just running kids off for something that's not related to what you would expect such as criminal activity, bad behavior, etc, or something significant that would justify such an extreme move.

Honestly I can fully appreciate everyone's position and most all of the positions are completely valid.

I will say this, there's not much to complain about with RR and the staff. These guys are on top of their game and overall they do a fantastic job.

dc4azcats · Post by **dc4azcats** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:31 pm

Gladiator Cat wrote:There are a lot of great comments in the last few days. Really spices things up during the slow period.

The Halimon kid looks like he going to be a good football player, and that is what this Arizona football team needs more of to be sure.

I guess at the end of the day, in its most mundane form all I was saying was that I hate to see the UofA and top talent part ways over something so seemingly inconsequential as taking additional visits. Having said that I know that taking visits is not inconsequential to some folks here and clearly is not to Rich Rod.

Giving extreme ultimatums in a highly competitive sporting environment may work on some of the lower rated guys with fewer offers and opportunities, but with the high quality/highly rated guys that's not going to work near as well. That's why I hate to see us limit ourselves.

In the big scheme of things it will balance itself out in the end I suppose, but I just don't see any benefit whatsoever of just running kids off for something that's not related to what you would expect such as criminal activity, bad behavior, etc, or something significant that would justify such an extreme move.

Honestly I can fully appreciate everyone's position and most all of the positions are completely valid.

I will say this, there's not much to complain about with RR and the staff. These guys are on top of their game and overall they do a fantastic job.

Agree GC and what I do find interesting and I certainly don't know the percentages, but it certainly seems like a lot of the highly ranked guys do rate till signing day to decide and they do take all of their visits. I don't know if that's because they want to take all of their visits or they want the spotlight on signing day?

Gladiator Cat · Post by **Gladiator Cat** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:46 pm

DC,

The recruiting world as you know well is crazy to be sure and I do understand that RR and the staff need to be hardcore on somethings at times and stick to their guns.

I think most of the highly rated guys deep down inside know where they want to go to school for the most part if you could get them to admit it.

I think most of them relish and want the extreme attention and spotlight that come's with the seedy underbelly of the recruiting game.

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:03 pm

I'm sure that RR and crew sell the commitment as one to each other. We will commit to you as well. I got a feeling RR's been burned on this before and that's why he asks that they get their visits out of the way before committing. I gotta trust RR and Co on this one. It's their livelihood on the line, not ours. If they are cool with it, so am I.

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:23 pm

Wonder if Matty D weeded out any potential recruits today?

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:43 pm

dc4azcats wrote:
Gladiator Cat wrote:There are a lot of great comments in the last few days. Really spices things up during the slow period.

The Halimon kid looks like he going to be a good football player, and that is what this Arizona football team needs more of to be sure.

I guess at the end of the day, in its most mundane form all I was saying was that I hate to see the UofA and top talent part ways over something so seemingly inconsequential as taking additional visits. Having said that I know that taking visits is not inconsequential to some folks here and clearly is not to Rich Rod.

Giving extreme ultimatums in a highly competitive sporting environment may work on some of the lower rated guys with fewer offers and opportunities, but with the high quality/highly rated guys that's not going to work near as well. That's why I hate to see us limit ourselves.

In the big scheme of things it will balance itself out in the end I suppose, but I just don't see any benefit whatsoever of just running kids off for something that's not related to what you would expect such as criminal activity, bad behavior, etc, or something significant that would justify such an extreme move.

Honestly I can fully appreciate everyone's position and most all of the positions are completely valid.

I will say this, there's not much to complain about with RR and the staff. These guys are on top of their game and overall they do a fantastic job.
Agree GC and what I do find interesting and I certainly don't know the percentages, but it certainly seems like a lot of the highly ranked guys do rate till signing day to decide and they do take all of their visits. I don't know if that's because they want to take all of their visits or they want the spotlight on signing day?

some kids aren't able to take officials until January

catinfl · Post by **catinfl** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:22 am

Bug who is UCLA going after now that Modster is off the board?

catinfl · Post by **catinfl** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:25 am

Watch out for DJ Davidson in-state DT at 6'5 300. I think he'll start getting some offers here soon.

MrBug708 · Post by **MrBug708** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 6:48 am

catinfl wrote:Bug who is UCLA going after now that Modster is off the board?

Patrick O'Brien seems to be the leading guy right now. He was the MVP at the Regional Opening in LA and his passing team won two 7v7 tournaments. More of a project kid as he's only been a QB for a year. Probably a good candidate in the sense that nobody is beating out Rosen for three years.

RazorsEdgeAZ · Post by **RazorsEdgeAZ** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:20 am

azcat49 wrote:Yes, for the time being. RR as we know doesn't like recruits to take visits and he wanted to. As I hear it was a mutual parting. Bummer but it is hard to keep guys committed for that long.

Here's just another version of the Trevor Speights decommitment. Speights spoke with local TX paper about it. Speights says he didn't even talked to Rich Rod about it until two days ago which is after Rivals reported it over weekend. Speights also makes it sound like he still has a committable offer from Arizona.

Just another side of the story. The one that offer yanked and one that maybe it wasn't. I don't think there's any chance he'll be playing at Arizona. Regardless of what went down, can't think of many situations where recruit ended up at school after a decommitment (rare?).

“I just wanted to weigh all of my options,” Speights said Tuesday. “I didn’t want to leave that decision that I made from freshman year. I wanted to reevaluate all of my options.”

“My lead is to Arizona, but I have several schools not too far behind,” Speights added.

“I didn’t think it was fair for me to be committed to Arizona and still taking visits, so I decided to open up my recruitment,” Speights said.

Speights said he came to the decision last Wednesday and talked it over with Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez on Monday.

“He was asking why I changed my mind, and I just let him know that I didn’t think it was fair, me taking visits with other schools,” Speights said. “I wanted to give everyone else a shot. A decision I make freshman year shouldn’t determine my decision as a senior. Of course, my decisions have changed because I grew as a person. As a freshman it’s cool, I don’t mind leaving out of state. But once you get closer to that date where you have to go to college, you start double thinking it.”

This summer, Speights plans to visit A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arizona and Missouri. He said those are the “main leaders” right now, but “it just depends on who offers me.”

http://rgvsports.com/news/35746/speight ... m-arizona/

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:32 am

I don’t mind leaving out of state. But once you get closer to that date where you have to go to college, you start double thinking it.

Reads like it's A&M then if he doesn't want to go out of state anymore.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:38 am

RazorsEdgeAZ wrote: Regardless of what went down, can't think of many situations where recruit ended up at school after a decommitment (rare?)

Not football but I believe it.happened with Jerryd Bayless.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Wed Apr 22, 2015 7:47 am

Decommitting because you want to take visits is a good way to do it, IMO. Being open and honest with the staff is a good thing.

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