tOfficial 2008 Football Recruiting Thread

[AASpartan]

Originally Posted by calispartan

Lets say we only get 18-20 commitments. Do we fill the class w/ some kids that should be walkons and waste the scholarship or do we bank the extras and hope we have some kids that want to be Spartans next year?

I think the odds are high that we sign at least 3-4 more kids. You're suggesting that we get 0-2 more. If you can't fill your class with quality, I wouldn't burn the schollies.

[green night]

Originally Posted by Natron the Spartan

Michigan State Spartans Football: SpartanMag.com

Thanks!!

[Bruce Banner Ad]

This would be a good weekend to steal some umer recruits!

[SpartanRocky]

Originally Posted by green night

Can anyone break down the verbals to this point by position / strengths? Strengths of the class, etc. Very much appreciated!!

Disclaimer: I'm going to use Rivals as a basis, albeit a crappy, imperfect basis, for some of this analysis. I'll supplement that with anythign else I know about the recruits (like Jamiihr Williams being a 2-star on rivals but a preseason top 30 recruit in ohio)


Biggest Strengths: DB and WR

DB: Johnny Adams and Charles Burrell are both nationally ranked at CB and Safety respectively. For the star-gazers out there, they are both 3-stars on Rivals, with Rival Rankings (RR) of 5.7, which is the highest ranking that can be given to 3-stars. (For clarification: 5 star = 6.1 RR, 4 star =6.0-5.8, 3 star = 5.5-5.7, 2-star 5.4-5.2). Adams is a case of Ohio State not having enough scholarships to give, he's a great pickup. Burrell was MSU's first commitment and will be very good at the next level. Add in Brynden Trawick who is a 5.5 3-star recruit and burner Trenton Robinson (RR 5.4, making him a 2-star, but with 4.4 speed) and we have a very nice secondary class coming in. Summary: 2 CBs, Adams and Robinson, 2 Safeties, Burrell and Trawick. 3 3-stars and 1 2-sar

WR: The star of our class is the 6'2 207lb Fred Smith. Ranked the #24 WR on Rivals, he's a 4 star with a RR of 5.9. Keyshawn Martin is rated the #80 WR on Rivals and has a RR of 5.6, making him a mid-ranged 3-star. Supposedly came on late and is a great talent. Since our O doesn't require a ton of WRs, taking 1-2 a year is all we need. We have 2 good ones in this class Summary: 3 WRs total, 1 4-star, 1 3-star 1 2 star, Myles White, who might end up being a PR/KR.

We're doing pretty well in 3 other areas: OL, DL and RB

OL: We have 4 OL prospects committed thus far, which is pretty good considering we lose 3 starters (Gyvetai, Masters and Shane). Our best OL is Ethan Ruhland, one of our early recruits and a 5.7 3-star rivals, he's 6'4 270ish already, he'll grow into an OG. Another likely OG is Anthony Woods, at 6'4 305. Long story short about him, evidently he transferred to a really small HS this year which hurt his ranking, he's a 3-star 5.5 RR guy. Our two tackle prospects are 6'6 270 lbs John Deyo and 6'5 260 lb Chirs McDonald. McDonald is another 5.5 RR guy and Deyo could grow into a nice tackle. Summary: 4 OL, 2 OG both 3-stars, 2 OT, 1 3-star and 1 2-star.

DL: We only have 2 guys on the DL so far, Tyler Hoover at DE ( and a 6'7 265lb DE already) and Jerel Worthy at DT (6'2 288). Both are 3-star recruits, with Hoover being a 5.7 RR guy and Worthy being a 5.6 guy. Hoover was a 4-star and currently sits as the highest rated 3-star Strongside DE in the country. Worthy is another OH guy who tOSU just didn't have room for. This could be our best group if Nick Perry joins. Summary: We have a ton of young DL, so we just need a few nice players which we seem to have. Perry would obviously put this group over the top (as has been discussed ad nauseum on this board)

RB: Caulton Ray is in the mold of Ringer at 5'9 185. Not as talented as ringer, but with decent speed (4.47) and seems to be strong. He's a 3-star, with a RR at 5.6. Glenn Winston, a 6'1 213 lb athlete from Detroit may play some of the role that Jehuu played this year, though he's likely to be a LB. Overall: It would be huge to get Ingram, but we have a lot of RBs already so Ray will be fine if he's the only RB we end up with.

We have work to do in the following areas: TE and LB

LB: While we have 3-4 LB prospects (depending if you count Winston as an LB), but people on here aren't that excited about it. Our best two are Jamiihr Williams, a 6'2 224 lb guy with 4.65 speed who should be our next MLB. He was highly regarded going into this season, but is only a 2-star guy on Rivals. Somewhere I read he was a top 10 preseason recruit in Ohio, which would make him a 4-star kind of player, not really sure what happened. The other guy that should be a a held is David Rolf, a 6'3 220 lb LB with 4.49 speed. He'll probably play OLB, but could move to the middle. He's a 3-star on rivals with a RR of 5.5. The other LB is Drew Stevens our 2nd lowest rated recruit. He's 6'4 203 and runs a 4.53 40. If he can keep that speed and put on 35 lbs, then watch out. Also considered to be the favorite whipping boy of poster kgbmsu when complaining about LB recruitng. Summary: No really highly regarded prospects, though Rolf and Williams may suprise. The inability to get a highly regarded LB at MSU (and stay at MSU) has been the biggest gripe on this board regarding recruiting.

TE: Ummm, we have no TE prospects (or QB, but we're not taking one this year). Maybe Drew Stevens is going to grow into one? I have no idea. But we have 2 RS frosh and 1 RS Soph (class standing as if next season has already started) so we'll see. Not much else to say here.


Overall: A solid class with a ton of 3-star guys who should add quality depth and produce quite a few starters in the next few years. Don't expect immediate help out of this class though, as most of these guys are going to take a few years to develop.

IMHO, you'll see Smith, Burrell and Adams next year and maybe Miles White/Trenton Robinson in and a KR/PR. Other than that, expect most of the class to RS and see them again in 2009.

Hope that helps

[truspart]

Solid rundown, Rocky. Thanks.

Is there a good chance that Johnny Adams is the future PR/KR for our Spartans? I've read that he's a dynamic athlete, and that his coach (albeit biased) even mentioned the words "The Next Ted Ginn."

[calispartan]

Originally Posted by AASpartan

I think the odds are high that we sign at least 3-4 more kids. You're suggesting that we get 0-2 more. If you can't fill your class with quality, I wouldn't burn the schollies.

I would assume we will more than likely pick up another 2-4 kids. At the same time quality obviously matters. If its just not there this year than I would rather bank them as well. We obviously still have a chance w/ guys like Ingram, Yourhighness, and Scruggs. I would be pretty happy with them

[Bruce Banner Ad]

I just don't see Caulton Ray being a major contributor. Rather, just a nice insurance policy. We need Ingram. Okay, not need, but want badly.

[AASpartan]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

I just don't see Caulton Ray being a major contributor.

Why do you not see that?

[SpartanRocky]

Originally Posted by truspart

Solid rundown, Rocky. Thanks.

Is there a good chance that Johnny Adams is the future PR/KR for our Spartans? I've read that he's a dynamic athlete, and that his coach (albeit biased) even mentioned the words "The Next Ted Ginn."

Thanks, I needed a break from Corporate and Partnership Tax law

Yea, I read that stuff about JA being the next Ginn Jr. I didn't include it because I think it's a tad delusional, Ginn Jr. was a back-up for the US Olympic Track team and the #1 recruit in the country. Adams will be good, but not that good.

Oh hell, what the F do we know? Adams could make DeAndre Cobb look like Zeihl Kavanaught for all we know Either way, he's a GREAT recruit and I'm proud to have him in the G & W.

[Bruce Banner Ad]

Originally Posted by AASpartan

Why do you not see that?

Obviously, we don't know anything until the kid hits the field, but he looks like another Jimmerson to me. Kind of a 'tweener in both size and speed. I guess time will tell. I'd love to be wrong, but I doubt I am. Who's the last star RB we had who came out of nowhere? Usually, they're big-time recruits.

[SpartanRocky]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

Obviously, we don't know anything until the kid hits the field, but he looks like another Jimmerson to me. Kind of a 'tweener in both size and speed. I guess time will tell. I'd love to be wrong, but I doubt I am. Who's the last star RB we had who came out of nowhere? Usually, they're big-time recruits.

He's the same size as Ringer was out of HS

[AASpartan]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

Obviously, we don't know anything until the kid hits the field, but he looks like another Jimmerson to me. Kind of a 'tweener in both size and speed. I guess time will tell. I'd love to be wrong, but I doubt I am. Who's the last star RB we had who came out of nowhere? Usually, they're big-time recruits.

That seems to be an awful big leap from contributor to star. We've had plenty of contributors that weren't big-time recruits. Hell even Caulcrick wasn't a big-time recruit. Just not really a fan of people throwing recruits out because they aren't highly rated. I guess with that mindset we can assume that Leggett and Anderson won't be contributors either. Ray definitely didn't come out of nowhere.

[DantonIzzo]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

Obviously, we don't know anything until the kid hits the field, but he looks like another Jimmerson to me. Kind of a 'tweener in both size and speed. I guess time will tell. I'd love to be wrong, but I doubt I am. Who's the last star RB we had who came out of nowhere? Usually, they're big-time recruits.

Well at least you're giving a 17-18 year old kid the benefit of the doubt.

[The Big Lebowksi]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

I just don't see Caulton Ray being a major contributor. Rather, just a nice insurance policy. We need Ingram. Okay, not need, but want badly.

ya i agree. i saw him play multiple times his soph, jr, and sr seasons, and although he was a good high school player he didnt seem to dominate games like some of are other recruits. hopefully im wrong, but i dont see him doing to much for us. even if we dont land ingram, we will hopefully get one of the 09 backs (baker, jackson, caper, jones, mason) and they would probally jump him on the depth chart.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

all i can say is that i was impressed with Ray's video. i dont watch many recruiting videos, but he has decent breakaway speed, but seemed very strong and very elusive

[truspart]

Originally Posted by fw190bvi

all i can say is that i was impressed with Ray's video. i dont watch many recruiting videos, but he has decent breakaway speed, but seemed very strong and very elusive

What was that vicious, alleged "rumor" that was swirling around a few weeks back?

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by truspart

What was that vicious, alleged "rumor" that was swirling around a few weeks back?

i have no idea. occasionally i skim the UB just to see what kind of things they may be talking about, and i saw a few things about Ray.........the guys with the subscription said it was just some BS and he is solid

[Bruce Banner Ad]

Originally Posted by SpartanRocky

He's the same size as Ringer was out of HS

Yeah, and Ringer is fast and has moves.

Listen, I'm not a huge fan of rankings, but if a kid's a 4-star, there's usually a reason. I think where there's a lot of subjectivity is in the 2-to-3 star range. It was pretty evident that both Ringer and Caulcrick were studs coming out of HS. I don't get that feeling about any of our current RB recruits. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong, and I'll certainly be pulling for them to succeed. But I also agree that if we don't get Ingram and land one of the RBs from the 2009 class, they'll leap-frog this year's recruits on the depth chart.

[green night]

Originally Posted by SpartanRocky

Disclaimer: I'm going to use Rivals as a basis, albeit a crappy, imperfect basis, for some of this analysis. I'll supplement that with anythign else I know about the recruits (like Jamiihr Williams being a 2-star on rivals but a preseason top 30 recruit in ohio)


Biggest Strengths: DB and WR

DB: Johnny Adams and Charles Burrell are both nationally ranked at CB and Safety respectively. For the star-gazers out there, they are both 3-stars on Rivals, with Rival Rankings (RR) of 5.7, which is the highest ranking that can be given to 3-stars. (For clarification: 5 star = 6.1 RR, 4 star =6.0-5.8, 3 star = 5.5-5.7, 2-star 5.4-5.2). Adams is a case of Ohio State not having enough scholarships to give, he's a great pickup. Burrell was MSU's first commitment and will be very good at the next level. Add in Brynden Trawick who is a 5.5 3-star recruit and burner Trenton Robinson (RR 5.4, making him a 2-star, but with 4.4 speed) and we have a very nice secondary class coming in. Summary: 2 CBs, Adams and Robinson, 2 Safeties, Burrell and Trawick. 3 3-stars and 1 2-sar

WR: The star of our class is the 6'2 207lb Fred Smith. Ranked the #24 WR on Rivals, he's a 4 star with a RR of 5.9. Keyshawn Martin is rated the #80 WR on Rivals and has a RR of 5.6, making him a mid-ranged 3-star. Supposedly came on late and is a great talent. Since our O doesn't require a ton of WRs, taking 1-2 a year is all we need. We have 2 good ones in this class Summary: 3 WRs total, 1 4-star, 1 3-star 1 2 star, Myles White, who might end up being a PR/KR.

We're doing pretty well in 3 other areas: OL, DL and RB

OL: We have 4 OL prospects committed thus far, which is pretty good considering we lose 3 starters (Gyvetai, Masters and Shane). Our best OL is Ethan Ruhland, one of our early recruits and a 5.7 3-star rivals, he's 6'4 270ish already, he'll grow into an OG. Another likely OG is Anthony Woods, at 6'4 305. Long story short about him, evidently he transferred to a really small HS this year which hurt his ranking, he's a 3-star 5.5 RR guy. Our two tackle prospects are 6'6 270 lbs John Deyo and 6'5 260 lb Chirs McDonald. McDonald is another 5.5 RR guy and Deyo could grow into a nice tackle. Summary: 4 OL, 2 OG both 3-stars, 2 OT, 1 3-star and 1 2-star.

DL: We only have 2 guys on the DL so far, Tyler Hoover at DE ( and a 6'7 265lb DE already) and Jerel Worthy at DT (6'2 288). Both are 3-star recruits, with Hoover being a 5.7 RR guy and Worthy being a 5.6 guy. Hoover was a 4-star and currently sits as the highest rated 3-star Strongside DE in the country. Worthy is another OH guy who tOSU just didn't have room for. This could be our best group if Nick Perry joins. Summary: We have a ton of young DL, so we just need a few nice players which we seem to have. Perry would obviously put this group over the top (as has been discussed ad nauseum on this board)

RB: Caulton Ray is in the mold of Ringer at 5'9 185. Not as talented as ringer, but with decent speed (4.47) and seems to be strong. He's a 3-star, with a RR at 5.6. Glenn Winston, a 6'1 213 lb athlete from Detroit may play some of the role that Jehuu played this year, though he's likely to be a LB. Overall: It would be huge to get Ingram, but we have a lot of RBs already so Ray will be fine if he's the only RB we end up with.

We have work to do in the following areas: TE and LB

LB: While we have 3-4 LB prospects (depending if you count Winston as an LB), but people on here aren't that excited about it. Our best two are Jamiihr Williams, a 6'2 224 lb guy with 4.65 speed who should be our next MLB. He was highly regarded going into this season, but is only a 2-star guy on Rivals. Somewhere I read he was a top 10 preseason recruit in Ohio, which would make him a 4-star kind of player, not really sure what happened. The other guy that should be a a held is David Rolf, a 6'3 220 lb LB with 4.49 speed. He'll probably play OLB, but could move to the middle. He's a 3-star on rivals with a RR of 5.5. The other LB is Drew Stevens our 2nd lowest rated recruit. He's 6'4 203 and runs a 4.53 40. If he can keep that speed and put on 35 lbs, then watch out. Also considered to be the favorite whipping boy of poster kgbmsu when complaining about LB recruitng. Summary: No really highly regarded prospects, though Rolf and Williams may suprise. The inability to get a highly regarded LB at MSU (and stay at MSU) has been the biggest gripe on this board regarding recruiting.

TE: Ummm, we have no TE prospects (or QB, but we're not taking one this year). Maybe Drew Stevens is going to grow into one? I have no idea. But we have 2 RS frosh and 1 RS Soph (class standing as if next season has already started) so we'll see. Not much else to say here.


Overall: A solid class with a ton of 3-star guys who should add quality depth and produce quite a few starters in the next few years. Don't expect immediate help out of this class though, as most of these guys are going to take a few years to develop.

IMHO, you'll see Smith, Burrell and Adams next year and maybe Miles White/Trenton Robinson in and a KR/PR. Other than that, expect most of the class to RS and see them again in 2009.

Hope that helps

Fricken fantastic Rocky!!! Thanks a bunch!

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

Yeah, and Ringer is fast and has moves.

Listen, I'm not a huge fan of rankings, but if a kid's a 4-star, there's usually a reason. I think where there's a lot of subjectivity is in the 2-to-3 star range. It was pretty evident that both Ringer and Caulcrick were studs coming out of HS. I don't get that feeling about any of our current RB recruits. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong, and I'll certainly be pulling for them to succeed. But I also agree that if we don't get Ingram and land one of the RBs from the 2009 class, they'll leap-frog this year's recruits on the depth chart.

caulcrick was a huge recruit?

i know he was a big get for that AWFUL class.....but he was a 3*.......and you have made it clear that 3*'s arent good enough for you

Jehuu Caulcrick - Football Recruiting

lets not forget ringer was a 3* too

[Bruce Banner Ad]

Originally Posted by fw190bvi

caulcrick was a huge recruit?

i know he was a big get for that AWFUL class.....but he was a 3*.......and you have made it clear that 3*'s arent good enough for you

Jehuu Caulcrick - Football Recruiting

lets not forget ringer was a 3* too

That is NOT what I said.

First of all, if you weren't excited to get Caulcrick, you know dick about football. His numbers in HS were very impressive, and his physical stats were eye-popping. He should have had a stellar career at MSU, not just a senior season. We can thank Slappy the clown for that.

My point about 3-stars is that some are good, some aren't, whereas 4-stars, like Ingram, are usually something special.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by Bruce Banner Ad

That is NOT what I said.

First of all, if you weren't excited to get Caulcrick, you know dick about football. His numbers in HS were very impressive, and his physical stats were eye-popping. He should have had a stellar career at MSU, not just a senior season. We can thank Slappy the clown for that.

My point about 3-stars is that some are good, some aren't, whereas 4-stars, like Ingram, are usually something special.

i know you didnt mean that about 3*

however if you look at our recent history, id rather have a class full of nothing but 3*'s and a few 4* jucos. imnot really sure the last 4* kid we had out of hs not named Drew Stanton that stayed on the team for 4 years as a major star/contributor

[SpartanGA]

I heard another confirmation that Rocko is on campus. Hear yes, then no. More yes than no at this time. We shall see.

[Bruce Banner Ad]

Originally Posted by fw190bvi

i know you didnt mean that about 3*

however if you look at our recent history, id rather have a class full of nothing but 3*'s and a few 4* jucos. imnot really sure the last 4* kid we had out of hs not named Drew Stanton that stayed on the team for 4 years as a major star/contributor

I tend to agree, but if we're going to have 4-stars anywhere, it'd be nice to have them at the skill positions. This won't be a heralded class even if we do get Ingram, but it'll be the second really solid class in a row by . We're buidling depth, with solid citizens we can rely on. That's what we need more than stars.

But I'll take stars if we can get 'em.

[Island of misfit toys]

What kind of season has Drew Stevens had? We picked him up before the season began and at that time he had little experience at LB, IIRC. Have any of you read anything? Was it a blown offer or did he show something this year? Anybody know?