2022 Recruiting - Football

Perhaps this will allow us to move Ja'Tavion Sanders to rush end…? We need LBs and DEs. Getting Mathis would be big, and I suspect that we will.
 
dukesteer said:
Perhaps this will allow us to move Ja'Tavion Sanders to rush end…? We need LBs and DEs. Getting Mathis would be big, and I suspect that we will.
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Sanders will not be playing defense. Any DE help will come from the portal. Would have preferred to have gotten the other Sanders.
 
Pomspoms said:
I know this is the usual banter against the Aggies but
I predict the Aggies to be very formidable, perhaps winning a natty in 2 or 3 years.
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Poms-There are stars that need to be aligned for any team to win a NC.
One #1 ranked recruiting class, especially now with the in vogue portal, will not make the Aggies a national champion.
The Aggies I know are super proud of last year? Huh…. Okay they beat Bama and I’ll give them that. But Bama wins 9 out of 10 times with last years team.
They win 8 games and three were against New Mexico, Prarie View and a 3 point victory over CU???
Miss St, Ole Miss and a bad LSU team beat these mighty Aggies.but to hear my Aggie friends, they were a top 10 school.
I hear they are gearing up for Sam Houston for game 1 next year.
We shall see.
 
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Ok we have TEs Sanders, Billingsly, Helm, Davis and others. But are we going to throw the ball to them? They can catch, i know this.
 
UT ended the season with very obvious, perhaps even desperate transfer portal need for a proven P5 OL or two, a proven P5 stud WR and a proven P5 LB. Just off from those desperate needs, they also needed proven P5 help at DE, CB, safety, and QB. There were other could of haves, might need, and nice to haves, but not at the same levels.

So far with class starting tomorrow, so we have zero proven OL, no WR period, much less a stud one, and no LBs. The next level faired a little better, as they, so far have received no help at DE, 1 proven P5 CB, no safeties and 1 not yet P5 proven, but uber talented QB.

While we still have a shot at DE with Mathis, and LB Moody is a very long shot who both would be summer arrivals with no spring adjustment, this is close to complete, abject failure for the coaching staff to solve their problems when there has been lots and lots of quality options in the portal. Between ignoring proven portal options who would like an invite to visit like Dunlap or Cowings, or not pursuing new entrants for weeks like Jared Verse, or just failing convert visits into commitments like Williams, Sanders, etc., getting portal help in by spring has been an unmitigated failure, approaching the level of Strong refusing to find a QB solution after atrocious spring practices by existing players and they then waffled on the USC grad xfer (the only xfer QB option they talked to).

Having a quality receiving TE is nice, but he cannot take the top off a defense across from Worthy like was needed, and a QB having time to process and throw is a necessity. We don't have a DL that can afford not having stud LBs. We have gone 0 for 3 with the desperate needs and so far, 1.5 for 4 on the also-needs.
 
OrangeClad said:
UT ended the season with very obvious, perhaps even desperate transfer portal need for a proven P5 OL or two, a proven P5 stud WR and a proven P5 LB. Just off from those desperate needs, they also needed proven P5 help at DE, CB, safety, and QB. There were other could of haves, might need, and nice to haves, but not at the same levels.

So far with class starting tomorrow, so we have zero proven OL, no WR period, much less a stud one, and no LBs. The next level faired a little better, as they, so far have received no help at DE, 1 proven P5 CB, no safeties and 1 not yet P5 proven, but uber talented QB.

While we still have a shot at DE with Mathis, and LB Moody is a very long shot who both would be summer arrivals with no spring adjustment, this is close to complete, abject failure for the coaching staff to solve their problems when there has been lots and lots of quality options in the portal. Between ignoring proven portal options who would like an invite to visit like Dunlap or Cowings, or not pursuing new entrants for weeks like Jared Verse, or just failing convert visits into commitments like Williams, Sanders, etc., getting portal help in by spring has been an unmitigated failure, approaching the level of Strong refusing to find a QB solution after atrocious spring practices by existing players and they then waffled on the USC grad xfer (the only xfer QB option they talked to).

Having a quality receiving TE is nice, but he cannot take the top off a defense across from Worthy like was needed, and a QB having time to process and throw is a necessity. We don't have a DL that can afford not having stud LBs. We have gone 0 for 3 with the desperate needs and so far, 1.5 for 4 on the also-needs.
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You may have just saved me some money on season tickets
 
OrangeClad said:
UT ended the season with very obvious, perhaps even desperate transfer portal need for a proven P5 OL or two, a proven P5 stud WR and a
So far with class starting tomorrow, so we have zero proven OL, no WR period, much less a stud one, and no LBs. The next level faired a little better, as they, so far have received no help at DE, 1 proven P5 CB, no safeties and 1 not yet P5 proven, but uber talented QB.
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There will be talented athletes on campus at every position. With a lot of youth there will be some errors. But there will be excitement and big plays. I'm enthused and not going to despair over the 2022 season in January.
 
Crockett said:
There will be talented athletes on campus at every position. With a lot of youth there will be some errors. But there will be excitement and big plays. I'm enthused and not going to despair over the 2022 season in January.
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Agreed .. let's remind ourselves that Sark pretty much burned it to the ground and we are truly rebuilding with a youth movement. We drank the KoolAid when he got here and had high expectations. We went 5-7 and a shot of reality settled in. We just had a monster 2022 class with all things considered but I feel we are two seasons away from really beginning to flex. Stay positive and HOOK EM'
 
The other thing is that we have exceptional talent at running back. Our passing game coordinator has done some very creative things with formations featuring multiple ball carriers
 
OrangeClad said:
UT ended the season with very obvious, perhaps even desperate transfer portal need for a proven P5 OL or two, a proven P5 stud WR and a proven P5 LB. Just off from those desperate needs, they also needed proven P5 help at DE, CB, safety, and QB. There were other could of haves, might need, and nice to haves, but not at the same levels.

So far with class starting tomorrow, so we have zero proven OL, no WR period, much less a stud one, and no LBs. The next level faired a little better, as they, so far have received no help at DE, 1 proven P5 CB, no safeties and 1 not yet P5 proven, but uber talented QB.

While we still have a shot at DE with Mathis, and LB Moody is a very long shot who both would be summer arrivals with no spring adjustment, this is close to complete, abject failure for the coaching staff to solve their problems when there has been lots and lots of quality options in the portal. Between ignoring proven portal options who would like an invite to visit like Dunlap or Cowings, or not pursuing new entrants for weeks like Jared Verse, or just failing convert visits into commitments like Williams, Sanders, etc., getting portal help in by spring has been an unmitigated failure, approaching the level of Strong refusing to find a QB solution after atrocious spring practices by existing players and they then waffled on the USC grad xfer (the only xfer QB option they talked to).

Having a quality receiving TE is nice, but he cannot take the top off a defense across from Worthy like was needed, and a QB having time to process and throw is a necessity. We don't have a DL that can afford not having stud LBs. We have gone 0 for 3 with the desperate needs and so far, 1.5 for 4 on the also-needs.
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Well heck we are so terrible we shouldn't even show up next season. I believe we will finish much closer to 11-1 than we will 1-11.
 
Crockett said:
There will be talented athletes on campus at every position. With a lot of youth there will be some errors. But there will be excitement and big plays. I'm enthused and not going to despair over the 2022 season in January.
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Absolutely, we will have some terrific youth coming in. Herman had some terrific youth, as well and was very good as selling the 'dream'/future, which they all do in the beginning. Unfortunately for Herman (and many other HC coaches in the same position), a couple of mediocre seasons resulted in the tarnishing of that 'dream'/future and everyone stopped believing the con. Sark is not immune to this, just like almost every other coach. If he doesn't turn things around on the field, he very may not be around to enjoy the fruits of his new found 'terrific youth'

Before the portal, coaches had little they could do to solve their next year problems, save a few grad transfers or diamond in the rough lower division players. Now, they have been handed the key to city, so to speak as they can change next year's team by solving all the existing problems today, and not having to wait for recruits to mature or transfers to sit out a year. They can do it right NOW and make next year special (i.e. 2021 Michigan State).

This staff failed to do it as well as they could. Obviously, they can still bring in talent by the summer, but there will not be anywhere near as many options as we have just seen and it won't be as potent without going through spring practices. You can certainly choose to be a sunshine pumper and believe that true frosh will come into all the weak spots and dominate older, experienced opponents, but like with all the other situations that have come before this, it won't work out that way. Hoping for continued growth of the existing players is a much more reliable hope. "Some errors" by true frosh is sunshine pumping. As a general rule, absolute stud true frosh are inconsistent, at best. When you have multi year experience losing game after game by a score or less, you can't afford to be relying on true frosh, period, much less at multiple positions on both sides of the ball.

Now, they may pull it together and pull some portal options out of the proverbial hat in the summer, but they have failed badly so far and wasted the most fruitful period of chances to turn things around by this coming season.
 
IT and OB are expecting LB Harold Perkins of Cypress Park to visit Texas this week or next.

He just took an official visit to Florida this past weekend.

 
OrangeClad said:
Having a quality receiving TE is nice
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TE is the cornerstone. Everything else flows from there. Playing 2-3 good TE solves your OL and WR problem. I would like to see sets with 1 WR, 1 RB, and 1 receiving TE. That leaves 5 OL and 2 blocking TE.
 
cnb said:
IT and OB are expecting LB Harold Perkins of Cypress Park to visit Texas this week or next.

He just took an official visit to Florida this past weekend.

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LULZ. HE picked the Aggie hat on television
 
OrangeClad said:
Absolutely, we will have some terrific youth coming in. Herman had some terrific youth, as well and was very good as selling the 'dream'/future, which they all do in the beginning. Unfortunately for Herman (and many other HC coaches in the same position), a couple of mediocre seasons resulted in the tarnishing of that 'dream'/future and everyone stopped believing the con. Sark is not immune to this, just like almost every other coach. If he doesn't turn things around on the field, he very may not be around to enjoy the fruits of his new found 'terrific youth'

Before the portal, coaches had little they could do to solve their next year problems, save a few grad transfers or diamond in the rough lower division players. Now, they have been handed the key to city, so to speak as they can change next year's team by solving all the existing problems today, and not having to wait for recruits to mature or transfers to sit out a year. They can do it right NOW and make next year special (i.e. 2021 Michigan State).

This staff failed to do it as well as they could. Obviously, they can still bring in talent by the summer, but there will not be anywhere near as many options as we have just seen and it won't be as potent without going through spring practices. You can certainly choose to be a sunshine pumper and believe that true frosh will come into all the weak spots and dominate older, experienced opponents, but like with all the other situations that have come before this, it won't work out that way. Hoping for continued growth of the existing players is a much more reliable hope. "Some errors" by true frosh is sunshine pumping. As a general rule, absolute stud true frosh are inconsistent, at best. When you have multi year experience losing game after game by a score or less, you can't afford to be relying on true frosh, period, much less at multiple positions on both sides of the ball.

Now, they may pull it together and pull some portal options out of the proverbial hat in the summer, but they have failed badly so far and wasted the most fruitful period of chances to turn things around by this coming season.
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I tend to agree with this assessment. However, what we don’t know for sure is who the staff aggressively pursued, and why or why not.

For example, last year we added Ben Davis who portaled from Alabama. Davis was the # 1 ranked ILB in the 2016 class, and ranked # 5 nationally per Rivals. Who, you ask? Fair question. Davis was a non-factor on the field last year. Go figure. (Perhaps he will break out in 2022.) This makes me wonder about Drew Sanders, the # 3 OLB from the 2020 class, and # 37 nationally.

This raises two questions for me: If these players didn’t break through at Alabama, why? And secondly, there is no guarantee that a 5-Star ranking on Rivals will translate.

Mathis is a “proven performer” on the field and I hope we get him. Williams was a can’t miss WR that we couldn’t close.

My point is that on the surface, we have failed to capitalize on the portal, of course, excluding Ewers. But does that tell the whole story? I’m not sure.
 
Crockett said:
I choose to be happy and optimistic.. Sunshine pumper? Label and dismiss is a part of political and internet discussion..
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I hear ya. Nothing wrong with that, so long as you are not shocked, dismayed or depressed in the future when lack of change generates the same results. With the loaded transfer portal this year, I was optimistic that, at least the serious problems would be addressed so next year would not be a repeat of this one. My optimism hasn't worked out for me with this, at least so far.
 
mchammer said:
TE is the cornerstone. Everything else flows from there. Playing 2-3 good TE solves your OL and WR problem. I would like to see sets with 1 WR, 1 RB, and 1 receiving TE. That leaves 5 OL and 2 blocking TE.
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I will assume this is sarcasm or humor, since we all know that a good TE doesn't stop multiple DL from running through the OL like water, doesn't suddenly solve the problem of 5 OL not being able to block 3 DL, doesn't back up the safeties from run support because they are afraid of deep routes by speedy receivers. Dedicating 7 players (5 OL and 2 TE's) to block 3 or 4 DL leaves the offense playing 4 against 7 or 8 defenders. How many completions is the QB going to get from his one fast receiver and one slow receiver against those odds?
 
dukesteer said:
I tend to agree with this assessment. However, what we don’t know for sure is who the staff aggressively pursued, and why or why not.

For example, last year we added Ben Davis who portaled from Alabama. Davis was the # 1 ranked ILB in the 2016 class, and ranked # 5 nationally per Rivals. Who, you ask? Fair question. Davis was a non-factor on the field last year. Go figure. (Perhaps he will break out in 2022.) This makes me wonder about Drew Sanders, the # 3 OLB from the 2020 class, and # 37 nationally.

This raises two questions for me: If these players didn’t break through at Alabama, why? And secondly, there is no guarantee that a 5-Star ranking on Rivals will translate.

Mathis is a “proven performer” on the field and I hope we get him. Williams was a can’t miss WR that we couldn’t close.

My point is that on the surface, we have failed to capitalize on the portal, of course, excluding Ewers. But does that tell the whole story? I’m not sure.
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Don't disagree with anything you wrote, Duke. I do think that Sanders was more proven at the college level than Davis, but I also expected more from Davis. Is he coming back in 2022? I thought he was a one year deal, but perhaps I am incorrect on that. Sanders was starting and looked pretty good until he got hurt, and was replaced by a younger guy who unexpectedly turned to be 'all-world'.

I am hoping Ewers is an exception. He should be, but he has yet to prove anything in college. And of course, OL, WR and LB. Complete whiff to this point.
 
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