The official WVU 2014 recruiting thread

[Anotherwvufan]

I want to say this as carefully as I can...Pat White and Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt were in the right place at the right time..playing in an offense that was just being introduced around the country..raw talents that got to play in a high octane offense...but I will re-enforce what I said...there is a reason Alabama won Back to Back NC..and are in contention every year...and it ain't because they have a bunch of 2 and 3 star recuits as the core of their roster....

I would gladly trade our recruiting class for Alabama. But since we are at this time unable to attract those recruits. My point is that we should put more emphasis on finding those raw talents that have not been discovered by the Alabama's of the world. Keep in mind that raw talent that was at the right place at the right time ended up with NFL contracts.

 

[Slaton10]

I would gladly trade our recruiting class for Alabama. But since we are at this time unable to attract those recruits. My point is that we should put more emphasis on finding those raw talents that have not been discovered by the Alabama's of the world. Keep in mind that raw talent that was at the right place at the right time ended up with NFL contracts.

Trust me I don't disagree...think that were our debate is off the rails a bit..and (I will take the blame)..is what a 2 and 3 star kid is...which basically is a kid that needs 2 or years of seasoning..a 5 star kid is a young man they think can step right in and play as a freshman.....

They need more of that kid that can step in right away...take this past year and the year prior...they put kids on the field not ready to play at that level...even the JUCO's had a hard time...I think the 2015 class is indicative of what they need going forward...8 kids with a 4 or 5 star rating..and the rest kids that could use a red shirt...

 

[GoldRusher]

We missed on a DL as Kenderius Whitehead went with GT after his visit last weekend.

Gonna be an exciting NSD IMO, I am hoping this staff has a surprise or two up their sleeve

 

[DCWV4life]

Do we have any other DL on the hook, I have lost track on how many we have missed out on, we need some help down there. I believe going into the spring we will only have 6 bodies in the DL rotation.

 

[bbwvfan]

Do we have any other DL on the hook, I have lost track on how many we have missed out on, we need some help down there. I believe going into the spring we will only have 6 bodies in the DL rotation.

At this point, I don't think there are any others... at least from what I've read.

Hope the kids can stay healthy.

 

[wvu_man]

Donte Thomas-Williams, RB, Durham (N.C.) Hillside

Announcement: 10:30 a.m. EST- National Signing Day

Current Thomas-Williams Crystal Ball: West Virginia (100 percent)
Expert Picks
Adams: West Virginia. "Quite honestly, this recruitment is basically over. Thomas-Williams is ready to select the Mountaineers on Wednesday."
Bartow: West Virginia. “That one has been done, he told the staff in in-home last week he was coming.”
Shurburtt: West Virginia. “The Mountaineers have been in the 'definitely getting category for Thomas-Williams for some time. He’s an excellent back- maybe a little undervalued- that will be a big get for WVU and could make an impact early.”
Simmons: West Virginia. “I don’t see this one going any way but West Virginia.”
Wiltfong: West Virginia, “The Mountaineers sealed this one up during a January official visit.”

According to the "experts", it appears that we have this young man locked down. Looks like we're going to have a ton of talented depth in the backfield for years to come with Smith,Shell,Smallwood,Thomas-Williams,Buie.

 

[wvu_man]

Pat White Steve Slaton, Owen Schmidt vs. Jeremy Johnson, Jason Gwaltney and Logan Heastie

When we get a 4-5 star, I wonder why are they here? is it bad grades, bad attitude, get away from drugs and violence etc.

You hit the nail on the "proverbial" head on one of these Anotherwvufan....I just came across this article on MSN.com. Top 10 biggest 5 star recruit disappointments. Guess who was #10?

Jason Gwaltney-RB 2005-West Virginia

Gwaltney was an explosive high school player in New York who caught the attention of several top college programs across the country, including USC and Ohio State. Gwaltney elected to go to West Virginia to play in then-coach Rich Rodriguez's high-octane offense. But he would appear in just six games with the Mountaineers as a true freshman in 2005, rushing for just 186 yards and three touchdowns. Injuries, academics and other off-the-field issues led to disappointment at WVU. He finished his college career at Division III Kean University. Gwaltney was arrested in January 2013 for his alleged role in a home invasion.

 

[DCWV4life]

I would have to see the whole list before I would agree, the Ohio St's FSU's of the world have 5 star bust all the time....I am pretty sure the last two highest ranked RB's that went to FSU both busted and i am talking the number one player in the country. Hard to live up to the 5 star hype and we see many kids that don't.

I like the sites that go back 4 years and rate the classes, like WVU's 2005 class most think it probably was not that good since Gwantney busted....but we had Steve Slaton, Reed Williams, Selvish Capers, Pat McCafee, Quinton Andrews...so a pretty good class. Steve Slaton was not a three star, niether was Reed..that is why the star system sucks..lol

Also notice how many of our 2 and 3 star guys from that class bombed, it does not matter how many stars you have, it is the drive inside that coaches need to find.

 

[wvu_man]

I would have to see the whole list before I would agree

Here's the list DC. It was titled, "5 Star Recruits who were never stars in College". You mentioned the RB's from FSU being number one overall 5 stars...I'm not sure but pretty certain that the guys on this list were not all number one overall guys...maybe not any of them. Like you were saying, it would be hard to live up to the 5 star hype but you could still have decent college careers.

1. Garrett Gilbert---QB---Texas 2009
2. Ryan Perrilloux—QB—LSU 2005
3. Rhett Bomar-------QB---Oklahoma 2004
4. Mitch Mustain-----QB---Arkansas 2006
5. Xavier Lee----------QB---Florida State 2005
6. Bryce Brown-------RB---Tennessee 2009
7. Marc Tyler----------RB---USC 2007
8. Dayne Crist----------QB---Notre Dame 2008
9. Demetrice Morley-CB---Tennessee 2005
10. Jason Gwaltney-----RB---WVU 2005

 

[DCWV4life]

Here's the list DC. It was titled, "5 Star Recruits who were never stars in College". You mentioned the RB's from FSU being number one overall 5 stars...I'm not sure but pretty certain that the guys on this list were not all number one overall guys...maybe not any of them. Like you were saying, it would be hard to live up to the 5 star hype but you could still have decent college careers.

1. Garrett Gilbert---QB---Texas 2009
2. Ryan Perrilloux—QB—LSU 2005
3. Rhett Bomar-------QB---Oklahoma 2004
4. Mitch Mustain-----QB---Arkansas 2006
5. Xavier Lee----------QB---Florida State 2005
6. Bryce Brown-------RB---Tennessee 2009
7. Marc Tyler----------RB---USC 2007
8. Dayne Crist----------QB---Notre Dame 2008
9. Demetrice Morley-CB---Tennessee 2005
10. Jason Gwaltney-----RB---WVU 2005

Curious how out of all the colege kids who ever went to school and bombed how the heck did they pick these 10 out...there must be 1000's who have done the same. Oh well, hope no one from this class ends up on a list like this.

 

[GoldRusher]

At this point, I don't think there are any others... at least from what I've read.

Hope the kids can stay healthy.

Same here, I am hoping this is one of the surprises we can get tomorrow( maybe we flip one or maybe we pull one from the "transfer wire" like Sims)we need another DL if at all possible without just filling a spot.

 

[bbwvfan]

Same here, I am hoping this is one of the surprises we can get tomorrow( maybe we flip one or maybe we pull one from the "transfer wire" like Sims)we need another DL if at all possible without just filling a spot.

I was hoping they might get Ward to pick WVU over Illinois... but, it looks like the Illini got him. Supposedly, it has been difficult for Ward to tell WVU no. The Illini suck worse than WVU, so he should have picked the good guys.

 

[bbwvfan]

Ranking the rankers: Revisiting past Rivals and Scout college football recruiting rankings | AL.com


This article is appropriate to the conversation between Slaton and Another...


"On the one hand, nine of the past 12 teams to finish No. 1 in Rivals.com's rankings played for the national title within three years, and seven won the title."


And, this..


"College football's 2013 Associated Press All-American team had nearly as many five-star recruits (four) as two-star recruits (three), based on recruiting rankings at the time by Rivals. Among the 25 first-team All-Americans, 13 were not ranked among the top 20 players at their position coming out of high school."

 

[bbwvfan]

Reading that some still believe Worton is 50/50. Dixon has still not decided between WVU and Whisky.

 

[GoldRusher]

Reading that some still believe Worton is 50/50. Dixon has still not decided between WVU and Whisky.

Worton was supposed to let coaches know last night but he is still struggling with his choice (cant blame him). We pull that trio of him DTW and Dixon and Ill be very happy, that's a strong finish.

There is another article about the correlation between recruiting and winning big that Ive been half heartedly looking for from a few months ago that was similar to that one. Im ok with getting 2 star guys with heart and the right attitude, I think every team needs some of those guys but at the end of the day talent will win you more games than heart at this level. That pains me a little to say that, we have had our share of big wins with lesser talent but then again it also pains me to think "what if" had we had MORE talent on this or that years team that lost a few close ones where we were simply out talented .