Ar-Kansas!

Would you honestly play the three on the left or the one on the right if you were the coach?

In part 3 of our series reviewing LSU’s opponents for 2007, we look at Arkansas, a team that became more schizophrenic than McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cukoos nest. So many fans get caught up in star power, but that’s not the name of the game in recruiting, which is to get talent in at positions where they are needed. We do our ratings here based on needs.

Ding dong the witch is dead! Which old witch? Mustain’s bitch!

Looking at the talent leaving this year and next, Arkansas needed Tight Ends, Wide Receivers, and Offensive Linemen on offense, and Defensive linemen, Linebackers, and Defensive backs on defense. Here’s how they shaped up.

Offensive Needs:

Offensive Line: With 10 offensive linemen on the depth chart departing this year and next, the O line was easily Arkansas’ biggest need. Keep in mind that Rivals gets really bored when rating o-lineman, so we are going to take the liberty of upgrading each star count for each recruit. Arkansas needed 4 commits on the offensive line to pass, and 4 commits they got. Here’s the hogs that signed with the hogs:

Grant Cook (4 Star)
Wade Greyson (4 Star)
Seth Oxner (4 Star)
Rhett Richardson (3 Star)

Score: B+. The good news is that the incoming talent was better in high school than the talent leaving.

Tight end: They graduated one this year, and are going to do it again next year. So Nutt needs another tight end:

Grant Freeman (4 Star) 6′7 and 243 lbs? This kid is going to be a pass catching monster.

Brandon Lampkin (3 star) He’s an added offensive lineman at 250 lbs, can catch passes at 6′5 – solid pickup by Nutt.

David Williams (4 Star) Faster than cleveland (by almost 1 1/10 of a second) stronger than Cleveland, and ranked in the nation’s top 10 tight end recruits. He’s so much better than Ben Cleveland we’re going to call him Cincinnati.

Tight Ends grade: A+. Much better talent is replacing mediochre talent. Arky fans can drink to another 4 years of solid running game.

Wide Reciever: Cedric Washington leaves this year, and Marcus “I’m the greatest receiver that ever lived” Monk leaves next year (For those of you that don’t follow Arkansas, Monk is awesome). This combined with Damian Williams departer means one thing: Nutt needs some more receivers.

Crosby Tuck (4 star) Tuck is faster, stronger, and bigger than Damian Williams.

Wide receivers grade: B+ It should be noted that some of the running backs Arkansas recruited this year are also tall, fast, and light enough to be converted into Wide Receivers.

Offensive GPA: 3.8 (A-) Yeah Nutt didn’t have a great recruiting class, but he got what he needed and upgraded in a few spots.

Defensive Needs:

Defensive Line: Jamaal Anderson left early, and Keith Jackson graduated. The rest of the D line on Arkansas’ depth chart is young, but still they need 2 D lineman to get a passing grade this year. They got 5, and here they are:

Patrick Jones (2 Star) Was recruited by b-list teams.
Kareem Crowell (4 Star) One large motherfucker. Looks kinda like Biggie Smalls.
Adrian Campbell (3 Star) Looks kind of like Tupac, hope this isn’t next year’s soap opera.
Jake Bequette (3 Star) Should be okay.
DeMario Ambrose (3 Star) Top 50 DE prospect.

Overall grade: B+. Star rating wasn’t high but they signed 5 when they needed to get 2. Competition should make these kids better.

Linebacker: Four words: Olijubutu. They also have another guy slated to graduate next year.

Jermaine Love (4 star): top 20 linebacker.
Tim dial (2 star): runs the 40 in 4.4 flat, and is 6′3? Smells like another wide receiver to me. Any guy that is offered a scholarship from Michigan, Oklahoma, and Arkansas is definately not a 2 star guy. Don’t know what Rivals knows that Bob Stoops doesn’t…..
Freddy Burton (3 star): Top 50 linebacker.

Overall grade: C+ could have gotten more talent.

Defensive Backs: Graduating a safety this year, and the rest of the starting d backfield next year.

Jerry Franklin (3 star) top 40 safety.
Gary Gatson (2 star) 4.4 40
Ben Harris (3 star) top 50 safety.
Walner Landre (3 star) Juco safety.
Isaac Madison (2 star) 4.4 40.

Grade: C+ They needed a safety, and got 2 top 40 safetys and a top Juco safety. Take that! They also got 2 DB’s that can run a 4.4 40 yard dash. The less talented DB’s won’t have to see the field until their JR year anyways.

Defensive GPA: 2.8. Could have been better, but still a very solid class defensively.

Recruiting GPA: 3.3. Despite lacking superstar talent, and the exodus of the cancerous springdale crew, Nutt actually filled the holes he needed. This class doesn’t hurt them and considering the talent that was leaving was a mediochre at best (yes, I know the defensive kids were studs but you need to remember that they were all supposed to suck too when they came out of high school).

Recruiting Scores:

Les Miles 4.0
Houston Dale Nutt: 3.3
Nick Saban: 2.25

Ala-Fuckin’-Bama!

Every week we will be reviewing the recruiting classes for each SEC team. Coaches will be graded on filling the needs that are open this year, and for replacing seniors that will graduate next year. No partial credit will be given for recruiting a stud to fill a position that has a decent underclassman slated to start in the fall of 07.

I have no doubt that fuckin’ Alabama will be a formidable powerhouse in the SEC in the coming years. It just won’t be in 2007 or 2008. To be sure, Nick Saban did not have much time this year, but even considering this he should have done much better than he did, since he allegedly contacted Mal Moore about the job in September.  The Nicktator did almost everything to lure recruits to Tuscaloosa,  short of using a bear trap.  One of the things he did do was take credit for ALL of Les Miles’ success at LSU, which didn’t sit well with many recruits since Nick had about as much to do with the success of players like Joe Addai and Jamarcus Russell (refused to play either of them) as he did with the success of Vince Young: He recruited them but didn’t do much else.

Ma’am, if you send your son to Alabama, I’ll coach him just like I did Vince You………

Where was the all-star running back? Defensive ends? Linebackers? Did ‘Bama need another Quarterback? What the hell is going on here?

Areas that need improvement:

Running Back:

Alabama loses their #1 and #3 running back Kenneth Darby and Tim Castille, who accounted for 745 rushing yards last year, which is more than 53% of their running game. Running back is typically a year where a first year player can make an impact. Alabama recruited one four-star running back in Demetrius Goode, and two 3 star running backs that will compete for time with Jimmy Johns who is the only rusher to amass over 100 yards last season.

Grade: B It’s a wide open race next year.

Wide Receiver:

Alabama needs receivers. Their top 2 recievers will be seniors in 2008, and their 3rd and 4rth leading receivers will graduate in 2007. Alabama got commitments from Brandon Gibson, a 4 star recruit, and Darius Hanks, a 3 star recruit. I hope they can catch because these boys are slow. Still, not bad additions.

Grade: B Probably won’t contribute immediately, but it is possible.

Offensive Line:

Alabama has 2 starting offensive lineman that will graduate in 2007. They didn’t do as good a job here as with the other positions, but it’s hard to judge talent. They didn’t recruit an offensive tackle, but how hard can it be to teach a fat kid to get in the way? They got a center and an offensive gaurd, both 3 star recruits.

Grade: C- Need more talent than that to protect JPW.

Offensive GPA: 2.6 , C

Alabama didn’t recruit above their ability, nor did they recruit below it. Expect the same ‘ol thing next year. It’s really REALLY too bad Mike Ford didn’t qualify last year. We’ll never get to see how good he is since he decided to go to a big east school. I can’t figure out why he would want to play in Tampa instead of Tuscaloosa.

Defensive Line:

This is a tricky one to assess. Nick Saban will undoubtedly change the defense to a 4-3. With 2 seniors graduating at the DT spot, and 2 seniors for defensive end in 2007, they needed to pull in some serious talent here. Alabama got two ~300lb 4 star defensive tackles that should get immediate playing time, but they are just fucked at the DE position. They recruited 1 4 star recruit but he’s 225 lbs, the same size as most LB’s.

Grade: C, Decent job at the DT position; piss poor on the ends.

Linebacker

Alabama graduated 2 seniors at linebacker this year, and they got 2 linebacker commits. Great right? Well…..sort of. They got a commitment from the #2 linebacker in the nation in Rolando McClain, but Jennings Hester? Not even ranked at the position.

Grade: D, hopefully Alabama can convert some of their talent at running back that hasn’t panned out.

Defensive Backs:

All the starters this year at DB are either juniors or seniors. They would have needed to get 4 4 star recruits to earn as high as a B from me on this. They got 3 4 Star recruits. only one of them has 4.4 speed.

Grade: C+.

Defensive Recruiting GPA: 2.3 . Alabama graduated a lot of talent this year, and will graduate a lot of talent next year. Nick Saban should have recruited more JUCO kids that could step in right away. A good defense at Alabama is about 2-3 years away.

Overall Recruiting GPA: 2.25. The reality is that Nick Saban didn’t recruit any better than Mike Shula did. In fact, he didn’t do nearly as good as Mike Shula’s class last year. This year’s class doesn’t improve last year’s team, but won’t necessarily make them worse. The key is on offense, and how JPW matures, and if anyone can step up in Darby’s absence.

LSU Recruiting…..How did we do?

Recruiting is an odd game. It’s like asking a woman to commit years before you want to go steady. Coaches inflate an 18-year old’s ego through blowing smoke up his ass until it nearly explodes, and then treat the same player (in most cases) like a redheaded stepchild when they actually set foot on campus during the first week of practice. That being said, it is an essential part of the game. It’s tough to win without talent – just ask Sly Croom.

Every week I will profile a different SEC team’s recruiting class, and how well they did, relative to the needs of the team (assuming each kid works out) We’ll start with LSU this year.

Larry Porter tries to figure out how to replace 2560 lbs of starters for next year. 

LSU’s recruiting class:

Last season’s weakness: running game, offensive line.
Holes that need to be filled: 3rd string QB, 2 WR, 2OL, K, P, 1 DL, 3 DB.

Quarterback: There’s no hole that needs to be filled here, however Jarret Lee will look fantastic holding a clipboard for the next 3 years. Grade: N/A (no hole needed to be filled).

Running Back: Say it ain’t so Joe! You’re going to redshirt for another team that doesn’t need a running back? Better get some punting practice in (note: not punt-return. The only way this kid is going to see the field at USC this year is if he learns how to punt).

That being said, did anyone else notice that Steven Ridley rushed for over 3,000 yards during his senior year in high school?

Grade: N/A (no hole but would have been a B based on Ridley).

Wide Receiver: There is a huge void left with LSU’s 2nd and 3rd best receivers leaving this year. Yeah, I know Bowe and Davis are #1 and #2, but talent wise, it’s hard to argue against Early Doucet. He catches the damn ball. That being said, the only other Wide Receivers with any game experience returning are Early Doucet and Brandon Lafell. With Ricky Dixon and the Mitchells (sounds like a 50’s swing band) not having any proven experience, LSU needed to fill in some holes, which they did with:

Terrence Tolliver: Arguably the #1 receiver in the nation.
Demetrius Byrd: Speed. I mean, blazing speed.
DeAngelo Benton: #7 receiver in the nation.

Other atheletes that can play WR:

Ron Brooks: Speedy. Played some WR in high school.
Phelon Jones: Probably will be a DB.

WR Grade: A+. Any time you land the #1 prospect in any position and get five players to fill two spots you’ve done everything you can.

Tight End: I know that Keith Zinger is rated as the starting TE, but he didn’t start half the games, and both Mit Cole and Richard Dickson looked pretty good during the year. That being said, one TE would be nice. We got 3, including the #12 tight end in the country, Josh Corbin.

Grade: B+ Depth, and talent.

Offensive Line: With Dyakowski and Brian Johnson leaving, there is a hole to fill here. Not necessarily because they left, but because it takes a while for these guys to develop, and they will need to be ready to go in two years when Carnell Stewart (assuming he cracks the lineup) and Will Arnold are no longer here. Here are the incoming O lineman.

Josh Dworaczyk: O Tackle. 4 stars, 263 lbs. Someone get this man a stack of ribs.
T-Bob Hebert: #2 Center, 4 stars. Should start just based on his name alone.
Jarvis Jones: O Tackle, 4 stars, #12 O Tackle.
Ernest McCoy: Gaurd, 4 stars, #13 offensive guard. 33o lbs. Maybe we can get Ernest some Liposucktion and then stuff Dworacyk with it.

Offensive Line Grade: B+ It will take a few years, but luckily Miles got some depth.

Offensive Recruiting GPA: 4.0

Defensive Line: Three things here: 1) Chase Pittman is gone. 2) Glenn Dorsey is graduating next year, 3) There are 5 sophmores on the 2.5 deep depth chart this year. We needed some D Lineman, because they can take a while to develop. Filling in the holes in the next few years are 5 D Linemen, all of them are 4 stars. The only one that is not in the top 20 in his position is Kentravis Aubrey, who is the 21st best defensive end in high school football.

Grade: A+ Les done gooooooooood on the D line. The amount of depth recruited over the last two years will make some of these guys into 5 star talent down the road (cross-reference, Glen Dorsey).

Linebackers: N/A not a need.

Defensive backs: Holy shit! Did anyone else notice that we graduated 5 DB’s this year? Okay, not that big a deal since we have 3 guys that have seen lots of action: Chevis, Craig Steltz, and Chris Hawkins. Still, it is an area of concern anytime you lose 5 veterans where there are only 4 positions on the normal defensive set.

Chad Jones: #1 ATH in the country. Probably would be the #1 Safety. Check.
Shomari Clemens: Signed with us last year. Pretty decent Safety as well. Check.
Stefoin Francois: #5 Safety in the country. Just in case Jones gets injured.

Delvin Breaux: #30 CB in the country. Probably should be higher. I am giving him a seperate line on his own. I expect a lot out of this kid, because it’s just the type of profile GameDay would love to profile as a star on a team three or four years from now. He had a severe neck injury this year, ending his season prematurely. Miles honored his scholarship offer. Get better D Bro!

John Williams: #19 ATH in the country.

So, 5 holes to fill, and 5 incoming DB’s. D Bro is a three star? Too many 4 stars? Just remember this:

Zenon was a 3 star.
Sammy Joseph was ranked #17th in the country when he came in.
Daniel Francis was ranked #30th, and was a 3 star.
Jessie Daniels was ranked #30th as a safety, another 3 star.
LaRon Landry, arguably the best safety in college football over the last three years, was #87 on the Rivals 100.

The point is, it’s hard to rank DB’s until they get to college.

Grade: B+

Defensive GPA: 4.2 (A+).

Special Teams: Chris Jackson is leaving. For those of you who think it’s not important to recruit good kickers, just ask an Auburn fan. We have commitments from two kickers, the #3 and #9 in the country. Grade: A.

Les Miles Recruiting overall GPA: 4.074, which is A student material. Would Joe McKnight have changed this grade? No. Wasn’t a need, but a nice to have.

Unless he can Kick.
1 QB, 3 WR, 3 TE, 2K, 4 DL, 8 DB.

Fight on Joe!

RJ Jackson is the happiest man in america right now.

I hope Joe McKnight can punt.

Pete Carroll needed another running back like Phil Fulmer needed to eat another doughnut. In order to see the field next year, Joe McKnight is going to have to fight his way through the other 8 4-5 star running backs USC recruited in the last two classes. This isn’t counting the juniors and seniors at the running back position. That’s what kills me about recruiting hype: with all the great talent USC signed this year, it won’t help them on the field very much because they didn’t fill many of the holes.

USC needed offensive linemen, a punter, and unfortunately, a kicker. They got the offensive linemen they wanted, but the prima donnas they recruited at other positions are going to have to wait to see the field, including McKnight.

One wonders if Pete Carroll (who I think is probably the best coach in college football) is going to have a Arkansas-like revolt on his hands by the end of the year.

I know this kid is supposedly “the next reggie bush”, but here’s the reality: four star running backs and five star running backs are extremely similar talent-wise. Look no further than Charles Scott vs. Keiland Williams last year. It’s hard for me to believe that Joe McKnight is THAT much better than the #2 running back last year, both of which are on USC’s roster for 2007. Anybody who says anything different is flat out lying.

So in response to JT Curtis’ comment about LSU being a hamburger and USC being a filet mignon, I have this to say: Joe will not get to eat the filet reserved for the top 2 USC runningbacks in the next 365 days, and may not ever get to eat it with the logjam of talent they have amassed at runningback.

Allright joeshowtime4, start practicing your kicking skills.

So if USC had loads of talent but can’t use it, how did LSU do you ask?

LSU’s recruiting class:

Last season’s weakness: running game, offensive line.
Holes that need to be filled: 3rd string QB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 2OL, K, P, 1 DL, 3 DB.

How did we do?

1 QB, 3 WR, 3 TE, 2K, 4 DL, 8 DB.

Out of all of the players mentioned in the statistic above, only 2 are 3 star atheletes: the kickers. I’d say that’s a solid class. I’m not going to name names right now on who is going to be a star, or who to look out for, because at one point or another I think all of the guys LSU signed this year will be stars.

A full review of the SEC to come next week.