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Message
The best part of LSU's penchant for siging unheralded recruits :-)
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:01 pm
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:01 pm
Edited to change the subject line from: "Why LSU needs a few unheralded recruits" to what it currently reads.
Watching Steven Ridley play for the Pats brought back memories of "Why are we wasting a scholarship on an overrated Mississippi private school running back who will never play in the SEC?" threads.
I know Ridley was a four star but Ole Miss was the only other SEC team that offered and plenty of people were questioning his talent.
The unheralded kids Les brings into the program don't always pan out but neither do the highly touted recruits.
I know we need more and more of the highly rated recruits but we also need kids that have a burning desire to succeed (what Les calls "a want").
The situation Florida is in right now proves that signing kids based on rankings alone doesn't always lead to success.
A program needs some kids with a chip on their shoulder too. Those kids can help the highly recruited guys from becoming complacent.
Five star kids practicing every day, competing for positions and sometimes losing ground to the less heralded kids can keep everybody on an even keel.
It can make the five stars more humble and it can build the confidence of the three stars.
Competing against the less heralded recruits can also keep the guys from taking what are perceived to be less talented teams lightly.
The contagious burning desire might be the difference in beating what are perceived to be highly ranked teams too.
Watching Steven Ridley play for the Pats brought back memories of "Why are we wasting a scholarship on an overrated Mississippi private school running back who will never play in the SEC?" threads.
I know Ridley was a four star but Ole Miss was the only other SEC team that offered and plenty of people were questioning his talent.
The unheralded kids Les brings into the program don't always pan out but neither do the highly touted recruits.
I know we need more and more of the highly rated recruits but we also need kids that have a burning desire to succeed (what Les calls "a want").
The situation Florida is in right now proves that signing kids based on rankings alone doesn't always lead to success.
A program needs some kids with a chip on their shoulder too. Those kids can help the highly recruited guys from becoming complacent.
Five star kids practicing every day, competing for positions and sometimes losing ground to the less heralded kids can keep everybody on an even keel.
It can make the five stars more humble and it can build the confidence of the three stars.
Competing against the less heralded recruits can also keep the guys from taking what are perceived to be less talented teams lightly.
The contagious burning desire might be the difference in beating what are perceived to be highly ranked teams too.
This post was edited on 12/23/11 at 11:52 am
12
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:02 pm to chinese58
We just need good LA/Deep South talent. Regardless of what the star gazers say. Keep it down home cuz, and we will be all good.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:11 pm to ThugginItandLovinIt
Ridley's lack of offers was for one reason. He wanted to play rb and everyone wanted him as a LB. Most recruiting sites had him as a LB early on until he made it clear he wanted to play rb. Worked out well for us and Stevan but that's the reason he wasn't more sought after.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:13 pm to chinese58
Good points--Mo Claiborne and Josh Williford are both great examples of this as well. Neither was rated above a 3-star, but both have been important contributors, with Williford's best football likely in front of him.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 6:29 pm to chinese58
quote:
The contagious burning
Damn cleat chasers.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 7:35 pm to chinese58
Ridley was a 3 star, I believe.
This is a first. We now have someone saying we need guys with LESS stars. I love it.
This is a first. We now have someone saying we need guys with LESS stars. I love it.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 7:56 pm to AlaTiger
quote:
Ridley was a 3 star, I believe.
4-star ATH on Rivals.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 8:17 pm to chinese58
It's less about stars than doing full evaluations. Part of the recruiting process is not just understanding whether or not they have the ability, but their attitudes, character and mindset as well.
Some players are takes regardless (Perrilloux, Ryan) obviously.
But the emphasis should be on evaluation, not how many stars they have.
Some players are takes regardless (Perrilloux, Ryan) obviously.
But the emphasis should be on evaluation, not how many stars they have.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 9:21 pm to OBUDan
We have two first team All-American corners that nobody wanted except us. Let us put our faith in the coaches evaluations and not the star system.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 9:36 pm to OBUDan
quote:
But the emphasis should be on evaluation, not how many stars they have.
The ability of the LSU coaches to judge a kid by more than what recruiting sites say and what we can see as fans is what I was touting.
I just think Les and the staff have the keen ability to read a kid's motivations and know if some of these kids will push themselves and their teammates.
In a situation where stars are equal, I think the staff does a good job of judging the way kids accept coaching and interacts with the other guys to form an opinion on whether they want that kid on the team.
I never said LSU needs more recruits with less stars.
At least a quarter of the people posting here argued that Ridley's was a wasted scholarship not because of the number of stars he had but because he played for a Mississippi private school.
I believe what fanva is saying about everyone else recruiting him as a linebacker. He probably came and tried to explain that back then but many posts were started asking why LSU was wasting the scholly. It went on for a very long time.
Sorry for upsetting the cart.
Posted on 12/18/11 at 9:42 pm to chinese58
quote:
Sorry for upsetting the cart.
quote:
I never said LSU needs more recruits with less stars.
Perhaps I inferred wrong, but it seemed implied from what you said. Taking a kid with a "want" (implying his low recruiting gave him a motivation to prove something).
Anyhow, I was mostly agreeing with you. You have to have a class with balance. High-star kids are often entitled for a variety of reasons (but not always).
In some ways, it's luck. You can't always know how a kid will respond to coaching/college life/adulthood. Their job is to both evaluate them to the best of their ability and then put them in the best possible position to succeed. But like everything involving human effort, it's flawed. Even "flawless" prospects fail and sometimes the 5'7 kid that runs the 4.6 turns and comes from a bad background into a superstar.
This post was edited on 12/18/11 at 9:43 pm
Posted on 12/18/11 at 10:09 pm to chinese58
Ridley was definitely unheralded as a running back. He was ****, but most teams only wanted him as a LB or FB. In fact, some of this board's esteemed experts with 5-digit post counts assured all of us that he would ultimately switch positions, and that Ridley would never make it as a RB in the SEC.
FWIW, I still think Ridley would have been a better LB than RB. Since he's doing well in the NFL, I certainly can't say that he made the wrong choice, but I think he would have been something really special at LB for us. Any of you who saw him on special teams as a freshman remember the vicious tackles his made in kick coverage.
FWIW, I still think Ridley would have been a better LB than RB. Since he's doing well in the NFL, I certainly can't say that he made the wrong choice, but I think he would have been something really special at LB for us. Any of you who saw him on special teams as a freshman remember the vicious tackles his made in kick coverage.
Posted on 12/19/11 at 9:07 am to ThugginItandLovinIt
quote:
We just need good LA/Deep South talent. Regardless of what the star gazers say. Keep it down home cuz, and we will be all good.
Sam Montgomery, Joseph Barksdale and Spencer Ware say Hi.
And yes, Ridley was a 4*.
Posted on 12/19/11 at 9:11 am to TigerAlum93
quote:
We have two first team All-American corners that nobody wanted except us.
this is not true about TM7
Posted on 12/19/11 at 9:19 am to chinese58
quote:
The ability of the LSU coaches to judge a kid by more than what recruiting sites say and what we can see as fans is what I was touting.
very few schools use rivals evaluations to evaluate kids
quote:
I just think Les and the staff have the keen ability to read a kid's motivations and know if some of these kids will push themselves and their teammates.
i think that we have an abundance of talent in the state, SETX, and MS. les and company do a good job evaluating this talent. we recruit so much talent that those without motivation fall by the wayside.
quote:
At least a quarter of the people posting here argued that Ridley's was a wasted scholarship
naw. most people thought that if he failed at RB we'd get him at LB. i don't remember anybody being upset...it was just that some thought of him much more highly as a RB than others
Posted on 12/19/11 at 9:34 am to SlowFlowPro
Who else offered Mathieu? He committed early and a lot of teams just didn't put in the effort, so the story the announcers always tell on TV is a bit of a stretch. But even at the time he committed over the Summer I don't remember him holding very many significant offers. He performed well at Tennessee's camp but they didn't offer at the time. Maybe they did later?
This post was edited on 12/19/11 at 9:35 am
Posted on 12/19/11 at 10:11 am to MOT
quote:
Who else offered Mathieu?
pretty sure UTenn offered on the spot at camp, and then lots of other teams showed interest. he basically committed early to LSU and nobody went too hard on him after that. after that UTenn camp he blew up regionally and most schools around here wanted him
This post was edited on 12/19/11 at 10:12 am
Posted on 12/19/11 at 10:17 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
pretty sure UTenn offered on the spot at camp
this is just wrong. There's a 12 page thread on Volfans bitching about never offering him and Kiffin was too busy "star gazing" despite TM7's performance at camp. TM7 had no major offers outside of LSU.
Posted on 12/19/11 at 10:19 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
pretty sure UTenn offered on the spot at camp,
they didnt.
TM won mvp of the UT camp and didnt they didnt offer. UT fans were pissed when he camped at LSU then LSU offered and he committed.
Posted on 12/19/11 at 10:24 am to LSUzealot
Tennessee was Mathieu's only major offer outside of LSU because he destroyed their camp.
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