The 2013 Graveyard Thread

[jcook84]

I agree that recruiting classes consistently in the top 10-20 is our realistic ceiling, with the abnormal top 5 or so class on occasion when I n state talent is high.

I really think our coaches do a great job. USC is honestly a middle tier SEC team that stellar coaching has taken to its current level.

We're a 8+ win team that has overachieved in the recent past. If we can make this success a long term trend, then we can expect more. Until then we will be regularly out recruited by the likes of Bama, UF, UGA, and A&M. We just need to continue developing talent, executing our scheme, and motivating our young men...It takes a ton of time to get where the guys ahead of us are...remember we're new to this success thing. If we'd won our 9th national title Monday night, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It might take a little while, but we'll get there eventually.

[qcgamecock]

To show you how recruiting rankings are overrated, the wost ranked class in this decade had the following players.... Jonothan Joseph, Sidney Rice, Ko Simpson, Jamon Meredith, Stoney Woodson, Jeremy Burgess, Marquee Hall.....the highest rated players in the class were CJ Barber and Dorian Capers.

[CCtiger91]

I know Scout updated 2 Clemson commits today FWIW

[Ace Dilcock]

I am amazed by our recruiting - not how poorly we are doing, but how well. In past years, our recruiting classes would have fallen out of the Top 25 if we had the type of sparse in-state talent that we have had the last two years. Just look at how few four stars we have in our state, and how few schollies we have given to in-state kids. But we are still going to be around a Top Fifteen team for 2012 and 2013. Why? Because our program is successful, which allows us to get talented prospects from neighboring states. We are getting NC kids that the NC schools want. We might be losing out to UGA for the top-tier talent in the Peach State, but we are getting the best of the rest. We have gotten good players from NJ/PA the last two years, and are making noise in the MD area this year.

Next year is shaping up to be one of the best years ever in SC, and we are set up nicely with most of the top guys. So we will be able to not only meet our needs, but upgrade the overall talent.

Plus, there is this: I realistically think that we will have a better team next year than this year, so we must be doing something right with the talent that we are bringing in.

[Reload]

I think 247 has their final rankings out

[dreammachine]

Originally Posted by Evilchicken2

I remember my "A-HA!" moment came years ago when I asked myself how Carolina was able to pull so many recruits from Georgia and Florida. I was like, "WOW! We're outrecruiting UGA and UF!" Then it dawned on me (and this was not yesterday btw) that we're never going to outrecruit UGA or UF because out of the 300 elite prospects those states produce, UGA and UF get their pick of the cream. Those players grew up UGA and UF fans, or at the very minimum, their families did. What we get are the leftovers, but because those states produce sooooo much talent, we often get 4-star, or high 3-star leftovers! It is what it is.

South Carolina will always be demographically challenged in comparison to UGA and UF....that will NOT change. EVER. So just roll with it and enjoy what we have accomplished in recruiting since Holtz has been here.

Great points made here! South Carolina will always have to go outside the state and recruit and with the abundance of talent in NC, GA, and FL we will get our share if our recruiters do their job well enough to sell them on South Carolina. Atlanta, GA is a hotbed for us and other schools and North Carolina is also becoming a very good state for us. Our coaching staff can take these good players and mold them into a unit that can become solid - year in and year out. Will it be good enough to challenge for the SEC Crown, we will have to see, but we are getting very close.

[scfanohio]

Great thread, and to emphasize a couple of points...

Florida, FSU, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, and Texas A&M have tremendous home state high school talent and thus a big recruiting advantage right off the bat. Same is true up here with Ohio State. Ohio has great high school talent and OSU gets their pick of the recruits with very little competition. We have good in state talent, but not the numbers like those states, plus we have to fight Clemson for each one.

I've always thought that while the five star talent is certainly elite, when you get to the three and four stars there is not a great deal of difference and coaching and player development is the key.

When we say we're not getting elite talent, think Lattimore and Clowney. They could have gone anywhere, and they chose us. That's as elite as it gets.

Last, my favorite SOS quote of all time sums up recruiting. During the years he was at Florida and beat UGA I think 11 out of 12 times, he would still get ripped by some in the media because UGA usually "outrecruited" him. After one of these wins he came into the press conference and asked the reporters why it is "that Georgia has the best players on national signing day, but I've got the best players on game day? Can any of ya'll explain that to me?"

[Glamcock]

Originally Posted by Factorynew

If we ever want to win the SEC ( one of the last remaining goal for SOS) then we have to recruit like those that win year in and out. I think it's pretty simple... to beat Bama or aTm, you got to recruit like them. Yes I know we beat them 2010, but we then got crushed in the title game. Arkansas ( with Petrino) was a good example. They recruited fairly well (not as well as Bama or Lsu) and they got the most out of their recruits. Every one knew they were a very good team..... and everybody knew they would never win the west.


How is it that we still recruit the same as we did five years ago? I just don't get it. Seriously, how hard could it be to convince a few elite recruits that we could win the SEC/NC every year with the help of their services? Yes, I know that we are doing well to recruit top 20 every year, but doing good isn't going to take us to the next level. Why is everyone so impressed by the idea that stars don't matter??? Look at our best players over the last three years (our years of prominence); Latty, Clowney, Alshon, Gilmore. All of those players were top recruits. We simply would not have had the success over the last three years without these highly touted players. Yes I know that we have players that weren't top recruits that have contributed greatly.....but it's the top shelf guys that have taken us to the next level. I don't see how it it so hard to understand that we need more top shelf guys to take us one step further.

There is so much wrong with this post that I don't know where to begin. For starters, Petrino was a horrible recruiter at Arkansas. You would be having a heart attack if we were recruiting like he did at Arky. Secondly, if we ever start pulling 5* guys away from Bama, you can expect NCAA sanctions shortly after. For every Clowney we get to back up your point of view, there is a DJ Swearinger, or Antonio Allen, who were both every bit as good as Lattimore and Alshon, and both were unheralded recruits.

[MWard]

after the Alfy Hill news...forget about getting 4+ star players, I'm more concerned about keeping the ones we got! lol

[Glamcock]

Originally Posted by Ace Dilcock

I am amazed by our recruiting - not how poorly we are doing, but how well. In past years, our recruiting classes would have fallen out of the Top 25 if we had the type of sparse in-state talent that we have had the last two years. Just look at how few four stars we have in our state, and how few schollies we have given to in-state kids. But we are still going to be around a Top Fifteen team for 2012 and 2013. Why? Because our program is successful, which allows us to get talented prospects from neighboring states. We are getting NC kids that the NC schools want. We might be losing out to UGA for the top-tier talent in the Peach State, but we are getting the best of the rest. We have gotten good players from NJ/PA the last two years, and are making noise in the MD area this year.

Next year is shaping up to be one of the best years ever in SC, and we are set up nicely with most of the top guys. So we will be able to not only meet our needs, but upgrade the overall talent.

Plus, there is this: I realistically think that we will have a better team next year than this year, so we must be doing something right with the talent that we are bringing in.

Good post, and I agree. We are doing very well. Some people think we should be recruiting better, because they want us to be recruiting better. They love USC, so they think that the only reason all the best players aren't coming here is because our coaches are lazy. They fret and complain that we aren't giving all the 5* kids the chance to come where they dream of coming(USC) because the coaches are just too lazy to call them, or go to their school and tell them they can come here.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

We have a Top 15 class on Rivals at the moment and are #16 on 247. That ranking will improve if the staff finishes like they expect.

If you are finishing in the Top 15-20 every year, you are doing a very good job.

I wish I had a dollar for every time he has said it. Some people just think we should be in the top 5 recruiting and it just isn't going to happen.

And the comment on Vandy, I'll start worrying about their recruiting when they start beating us.

[mike1520]

Apparently we can only sign 22 this year because of sanctions. I always assumed it affected next year class. I actually went back and read the officially press release
LINK. The one positive aspect is since this is in place for the 2013 class and 2014 class, that means the 2015 class should be sanction free. However the 2014 class is one of the most talent rich we've seen instate in a while.

So that means if we place Vickers we only have three spots left. We have a ton of penitential candidates and only three spots. The only position I know is a definite take is LB.


Who would you sign:
----------------------------------
Na'Ty Rodgers (OL)
Reuben Foster (LB)
Keith Bryant (DL)
Shaquille Wiggins (CB)
Quinton Powell (LB)
Yannick Ngakoue (LB)
Earnest Robinson (WR)
Jonathan Walton (LB)
Deadrin Senat (DL)
Skai Moore (LB)

[b381l]

We can only have 82 on scholarship for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. There was a detailed thread about this yesterday. As of today, we have 58, so we can sign 24 this class.

[mike1520]

Originally Posted by mike1520

Apparently we can only sign 22 this year because of sanctions. I always assumed it affected next year class. I actually went back and read the officially press release
LINK. The one positive aspect is since this is in place for the 2013 class and 2014 class, that means the 2015 class should be sanction free. However the 2014 class is one of the most talent rich we've seen instate in a while.

So that means if we place Vickers we only have three spots left. We have a ton of penitential candidates and only three spots. The only position I know is a definite take is LB.


Who would you sign:
----------------------------------
Na'Ty Rodgers (OL)
Reuben Foster (LB)
Keith Bryant (DL)
Shaquille Wiggins (CB)
Quinton Powell (LB)
Yannick Ngakoue (LB)
Earnest Robinson (WR)
Jonathan Walton (LB)
Deadrin Senat (DL)
Skai Moore (LB)

LB: 1. Foster 2. Powell 3. Ngakoue 4. Walton 5. Moore
DL: 1. Bryant 2. Senat
OL: 1. Rodgers
CB: 1. Wiggins
WR: 1. Robinson

I think if we can flip Wiggins he's a take, and I think Rodgers is a take.

[JDRAY^#]

We are also talking to LB Devarus Brunson now that his academic progress is where it needs to be.

[mike1520]

Originally Posted by b381l

We can only have 82 on scholarship for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. There was a detailed thread about this yesterday. As of today, we have 58, so we can sign 24 this class.

We did but the new wrinkle is we are limited by sanctions to 22 in this class.

[mike1520]

Reduction of initial football scholarships by three (from the 25 maximum) during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years (self-imposed by the university).

[Goofyboy]

For every Clowney we get to back up your point of view, there is a DJ Swearinger, or Antonio Allen, who were both every bit as good as Lattimore and Alshon, and both were unheralded recruits.

Probably a little hyperbole here, but a good point overall. AA and DJ were neither rated as high as their abilities merited - and both had that opportunistic ball sense the recruiting gurus often miss.

[JDRAY^#]

DL Deadrin Senat of Immokalee, FL has set his official visit with USC for the Gamecocks' primary recruiting weekend of January 18th. Senat talked with his recruiter GA Mangus earlier this week and plans to contact him again Thursday. "I'm really interested," he said. "I haven't surprised them yet and told them that's where I want to go. But I am very interested. I would commit on the visit if they are willing to take my commitment." Senat, who once was committed to Florida State, said he's also talking to Tennessee, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Senat added that his teammate, All American DB Mackensie Alexander, might join him on the visit to USC though he said that's not a definite. Senat said in his opinion, at this point, he thinks Alexander will choose Clemson.
http://www.goupstate.com/article/201...-date-with-USC

[b381l]

With Hill now out of the picture, I'm assuming he's a take for us. Very nice offer list.