It might not have hurt that the UW has some crazy good freshman TE -- the sports talk guys here in Seattle have been drooling all over him. Whatever the case, I'm glad he'll be in orange and black.
He was the #1 recruit at his position in the NW. Great get! We have 10 commits already and they are all quality players. I can't remember a time when we had this many early commits.
Really? Because last year you had ten verbals by early Sept - including six three stars and one four star. 2009 you had nine verbals by early Sept. Your '06 class (which w/ a RS year would be key players on your 5 win season) you had 11 verbals w/ 6 three stars and one four star. Somewhat lacking in field success. Currently you have ten verbals (not all will sign LOI, start camp or be eligible) with one four star and all others being three or two star. What's so good? Historically, OSU starts strong because four and five star recruits wait until LOI day to announce. Oregon currently has more four star and the same amount of three star recruits.
Bad ASS. Credit to Mike Riley and the amazing atmosphere he creates down there. Best Coach in the Pac12.
I really like your TE verbal. He played QB and is very athletic. His national ranking is 40's to 50's (based on source). Hopefully he breaks the pattern of underachieving OSU TE's. OSU recent TE recruits: Kellen Clute, Connor Hamlett, Tyler Perry, Colby Prince, Geoff Garner, Uani Unga, John Reese, Howard Croom, Jason Vandiver. Oregon has a verbal from Baylis, ranked 10th nationally. The kid led his HS team in rec yards and tackles, is quick with good instinct and has the frame to develop into an NFL player. Recent Duck TE's: Paulson (ESPN best TE in nation watch list), Dickson (NFL), Bair (NFL), Peelle (NFL), Wrighster (NFL), Rosario (NFL), Day (NFL). Check out "TE U at UO". Great read: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/07/oregon_football_all-decade_tea_3.html
Yup, I know the date. Sept is less than two weeks away. Are you expecting the verbals to roll in within the next ten days? If they do, it will be a better than average year to date. If not, you're right where you have been historically. Stay on task, Beav. Focus.
If we're staying on task, why did the UO recruit come up? I don't think any of us give a rip, but if we did, we'd scoot on over to the Duck board.
Two ways to measure where early recruiting classes might measure up are by comparing them to past classes and comparing to the classes of rival teams you play and recruit against. Hence the need for recruiting rankings. You commented on your verbals local rankings and I stated he's 40-50 nationally, and Oregon has a verbal for the 10th best TE in the nation and has historically, recruited more productive TE's. The comment via a poster was that he couldn't remember a time when OSU had so many early commits. My point was that he must not remember the last five years, let alone last year. LOL.
OSU has managed to put out some fairly decent TE's in recent years as well, including Joe Kuykendal, Marty Mauer, Tim Euhus and Joe Newton - all NFL draft picks if memory serves.
Props to University of Oregon for shedding the spotlight on the state. Turned out to be really great for the Beav's NFL styled system, recruits realize its the place to be.
BB: Good point. I forgot about Euhus. I liked that kid, a lot. T/HB: Hehehe. Yes. Yes they are rated higher. Put a 'lil giddyup in that step, cowboy. Enjoy it. LOI Day/Feb comes soon. If so many NFL caliber players land at OSU, why doesn't it equate to success on the field? I often hear people say Riley does more with less, but if what you're saying is true, he's actually doing less with more!!? You have to go back to pre-Riley, to 2000 for a shared Pac10 Champ and any top 10 rating at season end. Prior to that great year (under Erickson) one has to go back to the 60's for any other top 10 ranking for the season.