***Official National Signing Day thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Christo]

Class

OU football: Tight end Laith Harlow's football career is over

Back injury will keep the high school star from playing college football. OU will honor Harlow's scholarship.

It was expected on signing day that Laith Harlow would receive a medical hardship and never suit up for Oklahoma. Wednesday, though, it became official, when Sooners coaches told Harlow that his scholarship would be honored but the medical hardship would end his OU career before it began, ESPN.com reported.

Harlow, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end from Tallahassee, Fla., told the site he had talked to Sooners coach Bob Stoops and assistant Bruce Kittle. “There is no nice way of saying that your dream is being taken away,” he told the site.

Harlow suffered a back injury midway through his senior season that led to surgery. Harlow had hoped to return to playing, but nerve damage made that impossible.

More surgeries are possible for Harlow.

The Sooners signed three other tight ends in February, including Ohio product Sam Grant, whose late addition to the class signaled that their might be troubles with Harlow's health.

Junior college transfer Brannon Green and Taylor McNamara, who enrolled early, also signed with OU and recently completed spring practice with the team.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bgdNn?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=oklahoma-sooners-football

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

God im sick of schools with weak instate high school programs poaching Ohio talent. Not to say OSU doesn't recruit out of state but Michigan has made this a priority this recruiting season. They've taken a lot of talent from Ohio....

This year is bad, but honestly, if you took all the Ohio players out of Michigan's history, they would be a shell of what they are now.

What can you say, Hokie likes the Ohio talent.

I don't care where he gets the talent as long as he gets it. He's far exceeded my expectations thus far.

And the "robbing" will continue if Meyer really wants to mold OSU after Oregon.

Oregon is molded after Meyer.

The Oregon I've watched has never looked like anything Meyer put out on the field. I'd prefer they slide to what Oregon does actually. Take all the small, fast "athletes" you want. Will be easier for the other school in the conference. The system may be very similar but the application isn't close IMO. Kelly's taken a bona fide offense and reduced it to a gimmicky shell of itself. Not sure why Meyer would want to do that especially without the personnel to do that.

Well, I dont get the comparisons to Oregon at all. Meyer is recruiting the guys that fit his system. Now, after the RRod disaster, I can guarantee you he will not be completely moving towards the type of 'athlete' you are referring to. That just isn't going to fly here. So far, his recruiting is fitting in perfectly with what most tOSU fans would expect. He is definitely going to some of those type of 'athletes', but he is not ignoring the prototypical 'Ohio State athlete'.

When Meyer first came to Florida he tried to run an offense that from a formation and personnel standpoint looked more like Oregon's offense. It only took a few games against SEC defenses before he decided that guys like TEs and backs that can block were worth incorporating into the scheme. The TE, of course, became a huge part of what they did. My understanding is that he's going to change the offense a little more to match the type of players he has at OSU.

 

[wadegarrett]

Ohio State adds two more football recruits, including 4-star Florida defensive end Joey Bosa

Cleveland Plain Dealer

April 23, 2012

COLUMBUS - Ohio State continued to pick up recruits today, getting oral commitments from Florida defensive end Joey Bosa and North Carolina linebacker/defensive end Lewis Neal. Bosa announced his choice of the Buckeyes on his Twitter account, while Neal's pledge was first reported by Rivals.com.

The Buckeyes now have 13 oral commitments in their class for 2013. Eight are on defense and five are on offense. Six are from Ohio, while the other seven are from North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Missouri and New Jersey.

Pennsylvania linebacker Alex Anzalone announced his choice on Saturday, while Texas quarterback J.T. Barrett decided on the Buckeyes last Wednesday.

Nine of the Buckeyes' 13 are ranked among the top 250 players in their class by Rivals.com, with Bosa second among OSU pledges at No. 14. He is a 6-foot-5, 260-pounder who also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan and Wisconsin, among others. Here is the full list of Buckeyes in the Rivals 250:

No. 7 CB Cameron Burrows

No. 14 DE Joey Bosa

No. 28 CB Eli Woodard

No. 41 Ath Jalin Marshall

No. 83 OL Evan Lisle

No. 114 TE Marcus Baugh

No. 130 DT Billy Price

No. 134 QB J.T. Barrett

No. 146 S Jayme Thompson

Ohio State continues to build its defensive line, the place where Urban Meyer said he sees the greatest difference in speed between the SEC and Big Ten. Bosa, Elyria's Tracy Sprinkle and Youngstown's Billy Price are the defensive line recruits in 2013 and will join 2012 defensive line recruits Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington and Se'Von Pittman. And the defensive line was the big emphasis in 2011 as well, when Michael Bennett, Steve Miller, Chase Farris, Joel Hale and Kenny Hayes came in.

There are now 33 pledges to Big Ten schools among the Rivals top 250 players. Here is the breakdown, by recruit ranking:

Michigan (13): 16, 44, 46, 54, 60, 77, 96, 109, 160, 167, 183, 199, 224

Ohio State (9): 7, 14, 28, 41, 83, 114, 130, 134, 146

Penn State (6): 22, 50, 78, 153, 190, 242

Nebraska (3): 142, 185, 203

Northwestern (1): 210

Iowa (1): 238

 

[GDogg]

Thank the sweet Lord that Southern Cal only has 15-18 scholarships to give this year. They are recruiting at an unbelievable level for skill position talent.

Right now, they have four 5-star commitments. They have a commitment from Scout.com's #1 QB (Max Browne), #1 RB (Ty Isaac), #3 RB (Justin Davis) and #2 DT (Kenny Bigelow). Those are the 5-stars. They are going to land in a few weeks the #1 S (5 star Su'a Cravens) and heavily lead for the #3 OLB (5 star Michael Hutchings) and #6 S (4 star Max Redfield). And, they have commitments from three other 4 star recruits.

They can only take a max of 11 more.

It's a good thing this is a big year for RBs and DBs in the West.

 

[The Commish]

I really had hopes of Isaac coming east. It was a bummer, but wish him well.

 

[GDogg]

I really had hopes of Isaac coming east. It was a bummer, but wish him well.

I hope he stays completely healthy, works very hard in the classroom, does really well in the classroom, has a wonderful experience at Southern Cal, graduates in four years and is a complete and utter bust on the football field.

 

[gump]

Alabama lands a big, pro-style QB from Utah:

http://247sports.com/Player/Cooper-Bateman-14875

Also, Robert Nkemdiche is expected to announce this summer.

 

[The Commish]

Alabama lands a big, pro-style QB from Utah:http://247sports.com/Player/Cooper-Bateman-14875Also, Robert Nkemdiche is expected to announce this summer.

Why on earth would RR be interested in a pro style guy that big?

 

[GDogg]

Alabama lands a big, pro-style QB from Utah:http://247sports.com/Player/Cooper-Bateman-14875Also, Robert Nkemdiche is expected to announce this summer.

He's supposed to be really good. Great get.

 

[gump]

Alabama lands a big, pro-style QB from Utah:

http://247sports.com...r-Bateman-14875

Also, Robert Nkemdiche is expected to announce this summer.

He's supposed to be really good. Great get.

QB's always been a challenge...but McCarron's performance in the BCS game had to help...plus the OC we signed from UW, Nussmeier.

 

[gump]

UA today got a commit from the #10 player overall (at 247).....VA's top recruit in DE Jonathan Allen.

Allen makes 4 UA '13 commits currently ranked #1 in their state.

Nkemdiche would be 5....and the top player in PA, Robert Foster, is also a possibility.

 

[jb1020]

Alabama lands a big, pro-style QB from Utah:http://247sports.com/Player/Cooper-Bateman-14875Also, Robert Nkemdiche is expected to announce this summer.

Nice QB pickup. Things are slow over in Starkville. I thought Nkemdiche was waiting until after his season to announce now? Whatever that kid does it will be sure to be a circus until he signs his letter.

 

[Shrugs]

I really had hopes of Isaac coming east. It was a bummer, but wish him well.

I hope he stays completely healthy, works very hard in the classroom, does really well in the classroom, has a wonderful experience at Southern Cal, graduates in four years and is a complete and utter bust on the football field.

I suppose when you're a fan of UCLA, rooting against USC is the only possibility for enjoying college football.

 

[GDogg]

I really had hopes of Isaac coming east. It was a bummer, but wish him well.

I hope he stays completely healthy, works very hard in the classroom, does really well in the classroom, has a wonderful experience at Southern Cal, graduates in four years and is a complete and utter bust on the football field.

I suppose when you're a fan of UCLA, rooting against USC is the only possibility for enjoying college football.

You should quit supposing.

 

[jb1020]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter.

I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

 

[gump]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter. I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

Looks like a verbal, after his two good hs friends signing there. Loooooong way to go....really thought he'd stay in the SEC. His hs coach has a great relationship with Dabo....played with him at UA.We'll be basically done a month before NSD....so this will be all anyone will be talking about after the season. He could make a major impact at a place like Clemson.ETA: Apparently his father is not on board with CU.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter. I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

ACC yes, Clemson no. (says the Gamecock fan)

 

[jb1020]

He's proven to be a bit of a drama queen already in the process...given teams a little nibble here and there. Gumps right, looooooooooooong way to go.

Mullen and crew have finally picked up their recruiting.

Cord Sandberg, top 10 dual threat qb. The Tebow comparisons are a given.

Kalio Moore, 4star RB.

A few big WR's (6'4" guys).

I think Mullen finally has his foot in the door as far as recruiting goes.

 

[gump]

I think Mullen finally has his foot in the door as far as recruiting goes.

Please put a nail in Oxford.

 

[jb1020]

I think Mullen finally has his foot in the door as far as recruiting goes.

Please put a nail in Oxford.

Things look pretty bad there at the moment, and I think they are. MSU had a camp last weekend and South Panola brought their team over. It was the first time since 1989 South Panola (I assume you know who they are) had camped anywhere besides Oxford. We signed a 4 star OL from there over the weekend.If Freeze shows no signs of improvement I could see him getting axed after one year. They have a brutal schedule too. I'd like to see MSU be better than Auburn this year, and about equal to Arkansas. We have to pick off AUburn on the SEC W ladder to feel like we've improved.

 

[gump]

I think Mullen finally has his foot in the door as far as recruiting goes.

Please put a nail in Oxford.

Things look pretty bad there at the moment, and I think they are. MSU had a camp last weekend and South Panola brought their team over. It was the first time since 1989 South Panola (I assume you know who they are) had camped anywhere besides Oxford. We signed a 4 star OL from there over the weekend.If Freeze shows no signs of improvement I could see him getting axed after one year. They have a brutal schedule too. I'd like to see MSU be better than Auburn this year, and about equal to Arkansas. We have to pick off AUburn on the SEC W ladder to feel like we've improved.

Definitely familiar with the University of South Panola. We pulled Dwayne Rudd and Deshea Townsend from there.I think Auburn is ripe for the picking this year.

 

[jb1020]

I think Mullen finally has his foot in the door as far as recruiting goes.

Please put a nail in Oxford.

Things look pretty bad there at the moment, and I think they are. MSU had a camp last weekend and South Panola brought their team over. It was the first time since 1989 South Panola (I assume you know who they are) had camped anywhere besides Oxford. We signed a 4 star OL from there over the weekend.If Freeze shows no signs of improvement I could see him getting axed after one year. They have a brutal schedule too. I'd like to see MSU be better than Auburn this year, and about equal to Arkansas. We have to pick off AUburn on the SEC W ladder to feel like we've improved.

Definitely familiar with the University of South Panola. We pulled Dwayne Rudd and Deshea Townsend from there.I think Auburn is ripe for the picking this year.

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[gump]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

 

[jb1020]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter.

I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

Has everyone accepted this yet or is Doctor D. and Capella still claiming they are a done deal to the Big 12?

 

[GDogg]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

 

[gump]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter.

I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

Has everyone accepted this yet or is Doctor D. and Capella still claiming they are a done deal to the Big 12?

You can bet the conference instability is something the others trying to ink RN will bring up...although if it's likely CU ends up in the Big 12 after the fallout....why does RN care?Dabo can recruit btw.

 

[gump]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Nkemdiche to Clemson...at least thats all the rave on twitter.

I'd be fine with him being in the ACC.

Has everyone accepted this yet or is Doctor D. and Capella still claiming they are a done deal to the Big 12?

You can bet the conference instability is something the others trying to ink RN will bring up...although if it's likely CU ends up in the Big 12 after the fallout....why does RN care?Dabo can recruit btw.

Because his family wants to see him play. Several recruits have already said they won't consider Clemson if they move. Why do you think Dabo is all of a sudden telling everyone how committed Clemson is to the ACC instead of just letting the suits take care of it?By the way, there is no fallout. FSU and Clemson aren't going to the Big 12. They never were going. There isn't and never was a pot of gold waiting for them compared to the ACC. Fans never educated themselves on what Tier3 rights were but were convinced the Big12's are worth gazillions and the ACC stole it from their members. As we've learned over the last several weeks the Big 12 payout includes all money such as Television, bowl money, NCAA tournament money, and even exit fees from Mizzou and A&M which are one time fees and not yearly income. The ACC number that was thrown around was just the television money. Add in all that other stuff and subtract the exit fees from the Big 12 and the numbers were pretty similar.

 

[GDogg]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

9-3 (5-3 in SEC).Here are the others: Alabama (11-1, 8-0), LSU (11-1, 7-1), Arkansas (7-5, 3-5), A&M (7-5, 3-5), Miss. St. (6-6, 3-5), and Mississippi (4-8, 1-7).

 

[madhatter]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

9-3, losses to LSU & UA, and a 3rd loss to an unidentified team. I'd assume, Arkansas, UGA, or Clemson.

 

[gump]

Robert Nkemdiche's highschool QB is transferring from Miss St to Clemson. He's the 3rd HS teammate of RN's to sign with Clemson.

RN is sticking with Clemson. He won't get these package deals with Alabama, LSU, or UGA.

 

[Mark Davis]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

9-3, losses to LSU & UA, and a 3rd loss to an unidentified team. I'd assume, Arkansas, UGA, or Clemson.

To me, Arkansas is the real wild card in the West. You just don't know what you're gonna get out of them. They have the talent to win it and have Alabama and LSU in Fayetteville. But honestly I can't see them finishing higher than 3rd given all the turmoil they have gone through. MSU may do well to start, but I'm not convinced they'll win the Auburn game at home yet. Much of it may depend on the Auburn/Clemson game and the status of Sammy Watkins. If Auburn can get by Clemson they'd likely come in as the favorite in Starkville. I actually like the Ole Miss coach but they have a long way to go.

 

[The Commish]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

9-3, losses to LSU & UA, and a 3rd loss to an unidentified team. I'd assume, Arkansas, UGA, or Clemson.

To me, Arkansas is the real wild card in the West. You just don't know what you're gonna get out of them. They have the talent to win it and have Alabama and LSU in Fayetteville. But honestly I can't see them finishing higher than 3rd given all the turmoil they have gone through. MSU may do well to start, but I'm not convinced they'll win the Auburn game at home yet. Much of it may depend on the Auburn/Clemson game and the status of Sammy Watkins. If Auburn can get by Clemson they'd likely come in as the favorite in Starkville. I actually like the Ole Miss coach but they have a long way to go.

John L Smith is their coach now right?

 

[Mark Davis]

We'll be 7-0 heading into T-Town on Oct 27. Thats right baby, 7 and oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Wow....that looks really attainable. Only Auburn and UT at home? Of course, November is hellacious.

We finally got the LSU/Auburn gauntlet off the beginning of our schedule. 7-0 is certainly attainable. 5-2 would be disappointing. We'll see how it all shakes out. I'm cautiously optimistic as usual.

College football matrix has the SEC West shaking out like this:1. Alabama2. LSU3. Auburn4. Arkansas4. Texas A&M4. Mississippi St. (6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC)7. MississippiIt's an interesting site with content still being added. But, he says that no team has won the SEC West in the last 9 years with a "matrix adjusted" recruiting rank worse than #10. Alabama (1), Auburn (10), and LSU (12) are the best bets. Mississippi St. (23) comes in after Texas A&M (17). Arkansas is below them both at 27. He's predicting a 7-5 record for Arkansas, which would be surprising, but he's saying anything over 7-5 would be a very solid season.

What's their prediction for Auburn's record?

9-3, losses to LSU & UA, and a 3rd loss to an unidentified team. I'd assume, Arkansas, UGA, or Clemson.

To me, Arkansas is the real wild card in the West. You just don't know what you're gonna get out of them. They have the talent to win it and have Alabama and LSU in Fayetteville. But honestly I can't see them finishing higher than 3rd given all the turmoil they have gone through. MSU may do well to start, but I'm not convinced they'll win the Auburn game at home yet. Much of it may depend on the Auburn/Clemson game and the status of Sammy Watkins. If Auburn can get by Clemson they'd likely come in as the favorite in Starkville. I actually like the Ole Miss coach but they have a long way to go.

John L Smith is their coach now right?

Yep he is the interim coach.

 

[gump]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

 

[The Commish]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

 

[gump]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

Yea....but did he have the potential #1 QB and RB on his roster there? And a staff that exerienced the success this staff has the last 3 years?Maybe I'm overestimating the overall talent level based on their studs....as good as Petrino was, he didn't recruit that well as a whole. Maybe an Arky fan can chime in. Seems like a reach to me.

 

[The Commish]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

Yea....but did he have the potential #1 QB and RB on his roster there? And a staff that exerienced the success this staff has the last 3 years?Maybe I'm overestimating the overall talent level based on their studs....as good as Petrino was, he didn't recruit that well as a whole. Maybe an Arky fan can chime in. Seems like a reach to me.

Drew Stanton was his QB during that time. Not sure who the WRs were. His problem wasn't talent. It was being out coached. Maybe the staff will tell him to piss off and continue down their own path. We'll see.

 

[Clayton Gray]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

Yea....but did he have the potential #1 QB and RB on his roster there? And a staff that exerienced the success this staff has the last 3 years?Maybe I'm overestimating the overall talent level based on their studs....as good as Petrino was, he didn't recruit that well as a whole.

Maybe an Arky fan can chime in. Seems like a reach to me.

Week 1 - Jacksonville State - Lock.Week 2 - Louisiana-Monroe - Lock.

Week 3 - Alabama - With the departures on defense and Trent Richardson, I like Arkansas' chances here. Still an extremely tough game and would have to favor the Tide due to their recent ownership of the series.

Week 4 - Rutgers - Should win.

Week 5 - at Texas A&M - Not easy, but this should be a win for Arkansas. A&M is generally overrated, and they will be breaking in a new quarterback. I like the Hogs here.

Week 6 - at Auburn - Without Gus Malzahn and Michael Dyer, this offense has big questions. Auburn faces LSU the week before this, so the Razorbacks should face a tired bunch. I like the Hogs here too.

Week 7 - Kentucky - Should win.

Week 8 - off

Week 9 - Ole Miss - Should win.

Week 10 - Tulsa - Should win.

Week 11 - at South Carolina - Arkansas has smashed them lately, but this should be very tough. I would favor South Carolina.

Week 12 - at Mississippi State - Always tough to play in Starkville, but Arkansas usually wins there. This is another team that will be coming off their LSU game which should help the Hogs.

Week 13 - LSU - A remarkably even series lately, but you have to favor the Tigers.

That gives the Hogs:

[*]2 locks

[*]4 should wins

[*]3 Hogs favored

[*]3 Hogs not favored

Losing 5 would be a big collapse.

 

[GDogg]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

A big part of the formula is aggregate recruit rankings (and it's apparently been extremely successful in picking order of finish and records, especially for the SEC). From a rankings perspective, Arkansas doesn't have top talent, particularly compared with their SEC brethren (#27 overall in the country).

 

[GDogg]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

Yea....but did he have the potential #1 QB and RB on his roster there? And a staff that exerienced the success this staff has the last 3 years?Maybe I'm overestimating the overall talent level based on their studs....as good as Petrino was, he didn't recruit that well as a whole.

Maybe an Arky fan can chime in. Seems like a reach to me.

Here's the writeup on Arkansas: Link.Basically, Petrino was the best + coach in the SEC and was top 5 in the country. He won more games that he shouldn't have won (based on the talent of Arkansas vs. their opponent) than any other coach in the conference. So, the matrix believes Arkansas has greatly overachieved due to coaching. That element is now gone.

The quick and dirty is simple. Using the exact same Matrix formula for coaching Petrino was +9 games won over predictions and Smith was -4 games. Both accomplished these numbers over 4 years. BP was in the a much tougher SEC versus the Big Ten for Coach Smith. +2.5 games a year vs. -1 game in a 12 game schedule? That is HUGE!

There is the potential for coaching residue from BP to be in the current roster, but what about focus and discipline? Returning starters, except on defense, mean little in the SEC. So what was once a 9+ win season in front if Hog fans is now in the rear view mirror and the note says “objects are farther than they appear.”

And, Petrino didn't increase the talent (again, based on recruit rankings) while he was there. It's remained largely unchanged. He just coached it up.

 

[GDogg]

College Football Matrix must be predicting that John L is going to forget how football works altogether....losing 5 games with that talent.

His best season at MSU was his first (not his players) and he went 8 - 5.

Yea....but did he have the potential #1 QB and RB on his roster there? And a staff that exerienced the success this staff has the last 3 years?Maybe I'm overestimating the overall talent level based on their studs....as good as Petrino was, he didn't recruit that well as a whole.

Maybe an Arky fan can chime in. Seems like a reach to me.

Week 1 - Jacksonville State - Lock.Week 2 - Louisiana-Monroe - Lock.

Week 3 - Alabama - With the departures on defense and Trent Richardson, I like Arkansas' chances here. Still an extremely tough game and would have to favor the Tide due to their recent ownership of the series.

Week 4 - Rutgers - Should win.

Week 5 - at Texas A&M - Not easy, but this should be a win for Arkansas. A&M is generally overrated, and they will be breaking in a new quarterback. I like the Hogs here.

Week 6 - at Auburn - Without Gus Malzahn and Michael Dyer, this offense has big questions. Auburn faces LSU the week before this, so the Razorbacks should face a tired bunch. I like the Hogs here too.

Week 7 - Kentucky - Should win.

Week 8 - off

Week 9 - Ole Miss - Should win.

Week 10 - Tulsa - Should win.

Week 11 - at South Carolina - Arkansas has smashed them lately, but this should be very tough. I would favor South Carolina.

Week 12 - at Mississippi State - Always tough to play in Starkville, but Arkansas usually wins there. This is another team that will be coming off their LSU game which should help the Hogs.

Week 13 - LSU - A remarkably even series lately, but you have to favor the Tigers.

That gives the Hogs:

[*]2 locks

[*]4 should wins

[*]3 Hogs favored

[*]3 Hogs not favored

Losing 5 would be a big collapse.

This is how the matrix sees it:

The first half of the season is really tough for the Hogs. Two cupcakes OOCs to tune it up and then BAM! 4 straight tough games with Rutgers (not a gimme & a trap game) being the easiest of the four. A loss to Rutgers and this team is toast mentally and sub .500 is in serious play. Anything above 3-3 in the first 6 is a solid start for Coach Smith.

The 2nd half of the season is manageable and should start 3-0. Cats, Rebels and Tulsa should be 1,2,3 wins with a nice bye to get healthy for the last 3 games. It is in these 3 that I see the Petrino factor really being missed. The Matrix could see this going 2-1 with BP but without, the prediction is 0-3 under Smith. Based on the same measuring stick at Michigan State, any win total above 7 games is the best head coaching job by Smith in his last 5 FBS seasons.

The Razorbacks have a very tough schedule. #3 SOS overall in the SEC, #6 OOC schedule and #3 inter-conference. Their schedule power gap (SPG) is in the top half of the toughest for SEC teams as well. With average talent and below average coaching, those are metrics that net around .500 for a season.

Week 1 - Jacksonville State - Win (Lock)Week 2 - Louisiana-Monroe - Win (Lock)

Week 3 - Alabama - Loss

Week 4 - Rutgers - Win, but not a gimme and this is a huge game for them and their psyche.

Week 5 - at Texas A&M - Loss

Week 6 - at Auburn - Loss

Week 7 - Kentucky - Win

Week 8 - off

Week 9 - Ole Miss - Win

Week 10 - Tulsa - Win

Week 11 - at South Carolina - Loss

Week 12 - at Mississippi State - Loss

Week 13 - LSU - Loss

 

[gump]

Interesting debate....it's basically an Auburn team that has recruited well but has changed over their staff, including losing the guy some claim was the biggest reason for their recent success....vs a team that has recruited mediocrely, although has some of the best skill players in the country...but has lost their very good head coach.

College Matrix leans on recruiting....despite Auburn losing by an average of 4 TDs to the big 3 in the SEC West last year and a turnover in offensive and defensive schemes.

I'll take Arkansas.

 

[Clayton Gray]

So, the matrix believes Arkansas has greatly overachieved due to coaching. That element is now gone.

Hard to argue against that, except that only the head coach is gone. Arkansas' situation is unique in that the entire rest of the staff remains intact. There is zero history available to use as a base here.

Returning starters, except on defense, mean little in the SEC.

Impossible to agree with that.

And, Petrino didn't increase the talent (again, based on recruit rankings) while he was there. It's remained largely unchanged.

Simply incorrect. Before Petrino, the Arkansas roster was sprinkled with studs but probably half the players had no business being in the SEC. Now, almost the entire roster is worthy of being on the field. Quarterback play was often a question mark beyond the hand-off. The defensive line (long a weakness) is now a strength of the team. Excepting the backfield (where McFadden, Jones, and Hillis were a once-in-a-lifetime trio), this team is better than it was when Petrino arrived.Do these people even watch football?

 

[GDogg]

So, the matrix believes Arkansas has greatly overachieved due to coaching. That element is now gone.

Hard to argue against that, except that only the head coach is gone. Arkansas' situation is unique in that the entire rest of the staff remains intact. There is zero history available to use as a base here.

I can agree with that. While I do believe that head coaches are extremely important, I think the staff is close to as important (and as a UCLA follower, I know all too well what bad coaching does).

Returning starters, except on defense, mean little in the SEC.

Impossible to agree with that.

Did you check out the site? The numbers back it up.

And, Petrino didn't increase the talent (again, based on recruit rankings) while he was there. It's remained largely unchanged.

Simply incorrect. Before Petrino, the Arkansas roster was sprinkled with studs but probably half the players had no business being in the SEC. Now, almost the entire roster is worthy of being on the field. Quarterback play was often a question mark beyond the hand-off. The defensive line (long a weakness) is now a strength of the team. Excepting the backfield (where McFadden, Jones, and Hillis were a once-in-a-lifetime trio), this team is better than it was when Petrino arrived.Do these people even watch football?

I realize this will sound crazy, but with regard to the bold, as far as I can tell, he agrees with that, but that doesn't really matter (and I somewhat agree with it). The team is better, but that could be due to coaching (or recruiting players better suited to the scheme). The talent may not be better, but their development and the schemes could be and that will make them a better team. For example, did Carson Palmer suddenly become more talented under Pete Carroll and Norm Chow than he was under Paul Hackett? I don't think so. He had an extremely strong arm before and after, and had all the same measurables (maybe slightly less physically mature?), but he developed under Carroll/Chow.With regard to the talent level, here are some snippets (not really as I quoted most of the article):

An extra win a year is a big deal in college football and in the SEC. It goes back to the quality of Coach Petrino and his staff pulling out wins because the talent has not improved since his arrival. Prior to the 2008 season, and going back to 2002, the average national recruiting rank (FARR) for the Hogs was 27.71. The last 4 years 27.75. Some fans would like to argue that player development is a huge factor, but over the last 8 years the total national recruiting rank was #21, while in the same period players to the NFL via the draft was ranked at #29. That is nothing more than really good coaching.

In the four years that Petrino was the head coach, he lost just twice, two times, to a team that he outrecruited! Conversely, he won 11 times to teams that outrecruited him. That +9 game difference is by far the highest in the SEC and was an average of just over 2 games per year. That’s two extra wins a year that the program just fired. Don’t be deceived by the hype other SEC coaches receive. Spurrier is +3 games over 4 years, Mullen +2 in 3 years and Dooley has never beat a team that outrecruited him. But talking about his coaching effect is now all in the past.

I was looking forward to the Hogs in 2012. Due to the coaching effect, this was one of a couple teams that I thought could break the CFBMatrix model for the BCS NCG game. The system did not identify them again in 2012 as a national title contender as they do not hold all 3 of the rankings that every BCS national title game winner and loser has had going into the season for the last 8 years. That notion of hope for a surprise team is gone. Recruiting has not improved under Petrino and so the Hogs are as talented now as when he arrived. In the SEC, no team with a 4 year composite recruiting ranking (adjusted for non-quals & early departures) less than #10 nationally has won the SEC West in the last 7 years, and no team under #19 has won the East. Arkansas, at #26, was still on the outside looking in.

...

However, over 80% of teams in the top 25 of recruiting rankings on September 1 finish in the top 25. It is more critical for the Hogs to maintain aggressive recruiting strategies in the period of the interim coach and getting a quality hire in January. A failure to recruit well puts the program back even further. A 2013 class in the 30s or worse is a .500 team in the SEC.

Only 30% of teams in the last 10 years go back to back 10+ regular season wins. The returning starter numbers in the SEC are favorable to Arkansas but when you look at the schedule through the FARR rankings of each team, there are 7 wins on the schedule in 2012. Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State and South Carolina are all predicted losses. That 7-5 record would have been a predicted 9 to 10 wins with the Petrino coach effect numbers. The national average of a new head coach in year one is -1 game effect so 6 wins this year is not out of the question.

The common reaction that you will hear from most Hog fans, and fans in general when they lose a valuable piece of the puzzle, is to downplay the loss by raising up what was kept. In this case the players. You will hear how the current group is so much better than when Nutt left town and that the returning starters and experience will carry us. It wasn’t due to scheduling, it wasn’t under ranking the recruits and it wasn’t excessive lucky bounces. The Hogs lost, on the field, a great game coach and those can be very hard to replace.

I will stick with 7 wins for the Hogs in 2012. But take heed fans, until recruiting significantly improves or the University finds another great game coach you are deceiving yourselves to believe that the odds of another 10 win or better season this year or the near future is on your side.

Link.I don't know how well he predicted games in previous seasons, but in 2011, using his four year average recruiting rankings, adjusted for the field, it correctly predicted 81% of the SEC games 6 months before the season. I think that's pretty good, but maybe not.

By the way, he spends a lot of time on Arkansas on his site (more so than any other team I've seen). I think he realizes that his Arkansas predictions based on his model are raising a lot of questions and eyebrows from everyone.

 

[jb1020]

Robert Nkemdiche's highschool QB is transferring from Miss St to Clemson. He's the 3rd HS teammate of RN's to sign with Clemson.RN is sticking with Clemson. He won't get these package deals with Alabama, LSU, or UGA.

Supposedly he "quit.". Rumor is he quit cause he realized how fast he fell on the depth chart. He was a desperation pick for us just because we were down the 2 qb's on the rooster and might as well get an extra edge with Nkenckie. A lot of our players ridiculed him a good bit after he quit. Before he quit we also had a walk on join the team, Jamil Golden. He's supposed to be pretty good, Petrino had an offer out to him, but he sat on it too long. Schuessler will never see the field for an FBS team.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

J.L. Smith to declare backruptcy:

LINK

 

[ATC1]

So, Isaiah Crowell gets kicked off the team for gun possession and the same week they loose 5 star RB Derek Henery's commitment. What is going on. I would think that would mean more opportunity for an incoming Freshman.

 

[gump]

So, Isaiah Crowell gets kicked off the team for gun possession and the same week they loose 5 star RB Derek Henery's commitment. What is going on. I would think that would mean more opportunity for an incoming Freshman.

Henry loves Alabama now...but that could change back. Saban already has 2 4-star backs signed...rumor is he'd want to move Henry to defense.