re: LSU baseball update from Coaches Committee meeting Tuesday night

93 days!

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a monkey could recruit LSU. that's a cop out.

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That's what I'm saying, lots of recruits find him awkward. LSU recruits itself for baseball

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2nd - Katz/

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and people called me crazy

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That's what I'm saying, lots of recruits find him awkward.

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In college baseball you don't recruit players first. You recruit the players' coaches. At least, that is how Will Davis explained it to me last night.

He said Sanchez has a network of coaches, both high school and JC coaches, who tell him who he needs to go see, even for players who don't play for that coach. He gave me several specific examples in the recruiting class described last night.

Anybody on here who thinks a typical player in Florida grows up wanting to play in Louisiana, well, you're just not living in the real world.

But I'm sure posters on this board know more about recruiting than the LSU coaches do.

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He said Sanchez has a network of coaches, both high school and JC coaches, who tell him who he needs to go see, even for players who don't play for that coach. He gave me several specific examples in the recruiting class described last night.

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Sanchez is the only coach in the nation with connections!!!

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C-Ross
3rd- Ibarra
SS - Bregman
2nd - Katz/Jones
1st/DH - Moore/Edward/Katz
LF - Rhymes
CF - Laird
RF - Sciambra / McMullen

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So they would bench Jones possibly? Hard to believe that

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One thing I've noticed and maybe ya'll could chime in is our overall team size has been down the last 2-3 years. You look at our roster and we have 2-3 position players that are 200 lbs.+ You look at Florida's roster and they have 11-12 200+ position players. Is this recruiting philosophy, weight program, what? I want 220 lb. 1st and 3rd basemen. I would like to avoid 2-3 everyday players weighing in at 170 lbs. and barely 5'7".

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It's just the way things play out on a year to year basis. Look at the teams Smoke had...BIG guys who could smash but hardly ANY speed. Since Mainieri he has been with LSU he has always first looked for the all-around athlete over a 1-2 tool player. What this does is allows him to move people around in the field if necessary while not losing anything defensively.

We should also take a look at the new bats and how college baseball has slowly transformed from the HR derby's of the 90's to the small ball feel we have today. Granted we'll still see big bashers make their way into the SEC and hit for power but the trend is shifting to more athletic players who can do more things as whole...(whether that be speed, glove, etc...) Florida's had their luck with the draft while LSU has seen their share of misfortune in those respects. Deep pitching staffs and line drive hitters are what's winning championships these days. Don't believe me? Take a look at Arizona

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Sanchez is the only coach in the nation with connections!!!

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I don't agree. I'm pretty sure other coaches have connections, too.

Davis says Sanchez is just better at it than most other recruiters.

I have no reason to doubt Davis.

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Will Davis is like 25 and has been coaching like 2 years

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He's 28 and this coming season will be his sixth season as an assistant coach at LSU.

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And what other coaches do you think he has been around to compare Javi to?

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His dad was head baseball coach at La. Tech after serving as an assistant coach at South Carolina and an assistant coach at LSU. It's safe to assume his dad shared some recruiting insights with his baseball playing son but maybe not.

He also worked with David Grewe when Grewe was the recruiting coordinator at LSU. He said some things last night comparing Sanchez's recruiting methods very favorably to Grewe's methods.

And, of course, Davis was himself recruited by LSU during the Laval years when he played for Lee High School in Baton Rouge.

So, I'd say he's had some pretty good exposure to various recruiting methods and results.

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Seriously, what do you expect him to say?

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He didn't have to say anything. I walked up to him after the meeting and thanked him for the recruit information. I said something like "It looks like another good recruiting class." He then deflected credit to Sanchez. It was just the two of us standing there. He could have just said thanks and let it go. But he went out of his way to explain how Sanchez has developed rapport with a network of HS and JC coaches across the country. He said it's to the point where coaches call Sanchez when their team plays against a good player who they think LSU should look at.

But I'm sure you're right, Davis doesn't know anything about the recruiting process or methods.

I just wish you were the LSU recruiting coordinator. Then I KNOW we'd have some good baseball players at LSU.

Javi's recruiting prowess is well known in the travel/ high school ball circuit. Many let their views of his coaching ability cloud their judgement on this.