2016 Football Recruiting Thread - Notes from NSD Press Conference and Reception
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With Colon and Ellison Jordan committing to Penn State this week along with Dwumfour, it appears that they are no longer actively recruiting Kamara.
Thoughts on a variety of recruiting-related subjects:
I thought RSF did a great job on the scholarship charts. The original post in this thread has been updated for all of the charts.
The SPC
For me, the biggest recruiting-related news of the week came in the most recent issue of Gold Rush when I read that Wake has already raised $9.5 million of the $37 million needed for the Sports Performance Center. I posted earlier this week my own realization that the business school is having an impact. My personal opinion is that the primary reason for that is the impressive facility that the business school has. I am fairly sure that our standard tour for recruits heads over to the business school when most other schools tours are taking kids to the weight room, meeting areas, nutrition center, and player lounges. If having impressive business school facilities is having an impact, then you can imagine the impact that having more impressive athletic facilities will have on recruits.
The Next 2 Weeks
With the staff apparently on vacation, the dead period beginning, and the absence of much recent activity, I would be surprised to see anyone commit to Wake over the next 2 weeks. I think the only way it happens would be if a top target (highlighted in red on my Big Board chart in the OP) decides to pull the trigger. I don’t think Wake is the favorite for any of those recruits though. By my estimate, the chances of landing those recruits probably range from 10% (Mbem-Bosse) to 40% (Traveon Redd).
Recent Commits
I consider the last two commits to be “camp commits” – players with no P5 offers that used strong camp performances to get offers from Wake. At Wake, players offered from camps are generally recruits that were tracking non-P5 level. If they were already a P5 level recruit, they probably wouldn’t haven’t come to Wake’s camp. I think the camp process is an important part of this staff’s overall recruiting strategy and we will continue to see similar commits in future years. Last year there were 7 camp commits with zero P5 offers: Nate Mays, Christian Matthew, Alex Bachman, Andrew Rector, Jake Benzinger, Tyler Bell and Phil Haynes. It’s possible that we end up with only 2 this year, reflecting both the smaller class and the fact that the staff had more commits this year before camp season even started.
Wake obviously isn’t the only program to take a few lower rated guys based on strong camp performances. Alabama took 2-star Riley Cole. Duke recently took a commitment from 2-star (5.3) DE Tre Hornbuckle. When Duke offered Hornbuckle at their camp his biggest offers were Miami (OH), Ohio and Murray State.
Williams
When I researched Jacquez Williams after he was first offered my first thought was that he could be a backup plan for Alexander Gagnon. It’s possible that Wake took the Williams commitment after being informed that Gagnon was going to commit to Duke. If that is the case, then maybe Williams is indeed a Rover commit and not a safety. In that scenario, Wake would still be looking for a safety in the 2016 class.
Tweeting Commitments
Personally I think Wake should develop a standard tweet to inform fans that a commitment has been accepted. At UNC, Fedora tweets “Heel Yeah!”. At Duke, Cutcliffe tweets “Bang Bang Duke Gang!!”. At N.C. State, Doeren tweets “REDLIGHT is on!” or just “REDLIGHT!”. Even schools like Georgia Southern do it (Head Coach Willie Fritz tweets “Hail Southern!!”). Just something fun for the fans that are watching this stuff. I still think that it is notable that the staff didn’t bother to breakaway from their vacations to acknowledge the last commit at all. That leaves me assuming that they weren’t that enthusiastic about it.
Kamara
There have been a few questions on this thread about Sulaiman Kamara. He is a recruit that I don’t have a good feel for because there hasn’t been much recent info about him. He went to UNC’s Freak Show camp and might be planning a visit to Alabama (no offer). I agree that Penn State may be full now at DT. If that is the case then UNC, Duke and Wake Forest would seem like the most likely landing places. The only reason that I haven’t marked him as a Top Target is because I haven’t read anywhere that he has visited Wake since Junior Day. If he has visited recently, then I would assume Wake is in the mix.
Private Schools
I read yesterday that 11 of Duke’s 16 commits have been from private schools. In contrast only 4 of Wake’s 14 commits have been from private schools (including punter Dom Maggio). I am not sure what the significance of that info is, but I thought I would share it anyways. Wake has certainly offered a ton of kids from private schools this cycle.
I thought RSF did a great job on the scholarship charts. The original post in this thread has been updated for all of the charts.
The SPC
For me, the biggest recruiting-related news of the week came in the most recent issue of Gold Rush when I read that Wake has already raised $9.5 million of the $37 million needed for the Sports Performance Center. I posted earlier this week my own realization that the business school is having an impact. My personal opinion is that the primary reason for that is the impressive facility that the business school has. I am fairly sure that our standard tour for recruits heads over to the business school when most other schools tours are taking kids to the weight room, meeting areas, nutrition center, and player lounges. If having impressive business school facilities is having an impact, then you can imagine the impact that having more impressive athletic facilities will have on recruits.
The Next 2 Weeks
With the staff apparently on vacation, the dead period beginning, and the absence of much recent activity, I would be surprised to see anyone commit to Wake over the next 2 weeks. I think the only way it happens would be if a top target (highlighted in red on my Big Board chart in the OP) decides to pull the trigger. I don’t think Wake is the favorite for any of those recruits though. By my estimate, the chances of landing those recruits probably range from 10% (Mbem-Bosse) to 40% (Traveon Redd).
Recent Commits
I consider the last two commits to be “camp commits” – players with no P5 offers that used strong camp performances to get offers from Wake. At Wake, players offered from camps are generally recruits that were tracking non-P5 level. If they were already a P5 level recruit, they probably wouldn’t haven’t come to Wake’s camp. I think the camp process is an important part of this staff’s overall recruiting strategy and we will continue to see similar commits in future years. Last year there were 7 camp commits with zero P5 offers: Nate Mays, Christian Matthew, Alex Bachman, Andrew Rector, Jake Benzinger, Tyler Bell and Phil Haynes. It’s possible that we end up with only 2 this year, reflecting both the smaller class and the fact that the staff had more commits this year before camp season even started.
Wake obviously isn’t the only program to take a few lower rated guys based on strong camp performances. Alabama took 2-star Riley Cole. Duke recently took a commitment from 2-star (5.3) DE Tre Hornbuckle. When Duke offered Hornbuckle at their camp his biggest offers were Miami (OH), Ohio and Murray State.
Williams
When I researched Jacquez Williams after he was first offered my first thought was that he could be a backup plan for Alexander Gagnon. It’s possible that Wake took the Williams commitment after being informed that Gagnon was going to commit to Duke. If that is the case, then maybe Williams is indeed a Rover commit and not a safety. In that scenario, Wake would still be looking for a safety in the 2016 class.
Tweeting Commitments
Personally I think Wake should develop a standard tweet to inform fans that a commitment has been accepted. At UNC, Fedora tweets “Heel Yeah!”. At Duke, Cutcliffe tweets “Bang Bang Duke Gang!!”. At N.C. State, Doeren tweets “REDLIGHT is on!” or just “REDLIGHT!”. Even schools like Georgia Southern do it (Head Coach Willie Fritz tweets “Hail Southern!!”). Just something fun for the fans that are watching this stuff. I still think that it is notable that the staff didn’t bother to breakaway from their vacations to acknowledge the last commit at all. That leaves me assuming that they weren’t that enthusiastic about it.
Kamara
There have been a few questions on this thread about Sulaiman Kamara. He is a recruit that I don’t have a good feel for because there hasn’t been much recent info about him. He went to UNC’s Freak Show camp and might be planning a visit to Alabama (no offer). I agree that Penn State may be full now at DT. If that is the case then UNC, Duke and Wake Forest would seem like the most likely landing places. The only reason that I haven’t marked him as a Top Target is because I haven’t read anywhere that he has visited Wake since Junior Day. If he has visited recently, then I would assume Wake is in the mix.
Private Schools
I read yesterday that 11 of Duke’s 16 commits have been from private schools. In contrast only 4 of Wake’s 14 commits have been from private schools (including punter Dom Maggio). I am not sure what the significance of that info is, but I thought I would share it anyways. Wake has certainly offered a ton of kids from private schools this cycle.
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I am eager to see the depth chart to confirm it but I think the rovers will be Hunter Williams, Zack Wary and Justin Strnad. Wary is the only one that is not clear.
I think the Rover is the biggest key to making the 4-2-5 tick. If you get a guy that can effectively blitz, stand up against the run and cover WRs from time to time, then you give Coach Elko a real opportunity to disguise blitzes and coverages.
Strnad seems like the prototype recruit for the position. A high school LB that was potentially too small to play OLB at the college level. Has experience as a blitzer. Sound against the run. There is video from last summer of him playing corner in a camp setting against Tampa-area WRs and he held his own.
I am confused myself about whether our defense is really a 4-2-5 when Hunter Williams is in the lineup. It really just looks like a 4-3.
A few notes this morning:
I found a recent newspaper article on S Jarett Cole. It says that Wake Forest has been his only visit this summer and he does not have any other visits planned. He also confirms that he will make a decision in late-July or early August. His top 5 is Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Kansas State and Iowa (all have offered). He hasn’t visited Nebraska or Kansas State, so I can’t see him committing there. I’m not sure whether he is a priority at Georgia Tech or not, but it is interesting that he lives in Georgia and doesn’t have plans to visit GT this summer. Bottom line for Wake? I think Cole is definitely one to watch. (The free article is here: http://recruiting.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/24/3-star-safety-has-georgia-tech-among-leaders/)
Two players on my Board committed elsewhere in the past few days: TE Jake Hescock (Salisbury, CT) to Wisconsin and OL Michael Wiggs (Lakeland, FL) to South Florida. While both had offers from Wake, I don’t think either was a priority for the Deacs.
I am also removing DL Patrick Jones (Chesapeake, VA) and CB K.J. Sails (Tampa, FL) from my list. Wake isn’t in the picture for either one right now. It seems certain that Jones will end up at either Virginia Tech, Duke or N.C. State. Sails is less clear, if he is a “take” at Wisconsin he probably ends up there. If not, he probably ends up at Rutgers.
When I posted yesterday that the only potential commitments in the next 2 weeks would come from the players highlighted in red on my Board I had forgotten that Wake still has a camp offer out to DL Carlos Basham (Roanoke, VA). Keep in the mind that the other two camp offers (Bassey and Williams) turned into commits. The difference with Basham is that Pitt and Maryland both immediately followed Wake’s lead and made offers of their own. Basham has also been recruited by Cincinnati for a while. Basham is targeting a decision this week and will choose from those 4 schools (Wake, MD, PITT and UC). Where he ends up may come down to which schools actually have him as a “take”.
Wake made the top 6 for WR Phil Patterson (Virginia Beach, VA). He is the #86 WR in the country according to Rivals. Patterson was offered by Wake in 2014 and attended Junior Day. I had removed him from my Board because he was offered by Penn State and had consistently showed a high-level of interest in Duke. However, I have taken a renewed interest in Patterson because LaRonde’ Liverpool has made it clear (via Twitter) that he is actively recruiting Patterson to Wake. Landing Patterson seems like it would be a tough task though. Even if you assume that he is a victim of the numbers game at Penn State, he is still in the mix at Virginia Tech, Duke and UNC. In addition to that, Tennessee offered him shortly after he released his top 6.
I found a recent newspaper article on S Jarett Cole. It says that Wake Forest has been his only visit this summer and he does not have any other visits planned. He also confirms that he will make a decision in late-July or early August. His top 5 is Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Kansas State and Iowa (all have offered). He hasn’t visited Nebraska or Kansas State, so I can’t see him committing there. I’m not sure whether he is a priority at Georgia Tech or not, but it is interesting that he lives in Georgia and doesn’t have plans to visit GT this summer. Bottom line for Wake? I think Cole is definitely one to watch. (The free article is here: http://recruiting.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/24/3-star-safety-has-georgia-tech-among-leaders/)
Two players on my Board committed elsewhere in the past few days: TE Jake Hescock (Salisbury, CT) to Wisconsin and OL Michael Wiggs (Lakeland, FL) to South Florida. While both had offers from Wake, I don’t think either was a priority for the Deacs.
I am also removing DL Patrick Jones (Chesapeake, VA) and CB K.J. Sails (Tampa, FL) from my list. Wake isn’t in the picture for either one right now. It seems certain that Jones will end up at either Virginia Tech, Duke or N.C. State. Sails is less clear, if he is a “take” at Wisconsin he probably ends up there. If not, he probably ends up at Rutgers.
When I posted yesterday that the only potential commitments in the next 2 weeks would come from the players highlighted in red on my Board I had forgotten that Wake still has a camp offer out to DL Carlos Basham (Roanoke, VA). Keep in the mind that the other two camp offers (Bassey and Williams) turned into commits. The difference with Basham is that Pitt and Maryland both immediately followed Wake’s lead and made offers of their own. Basham has also been recruited by Cincinnati for a while. Basham is targeting a decision this week and will choose from those 4 schools (Wake, MD, PITT and UC). Where he ends up may come down to which schools actually have him as a “take”.
Wake made the top 6 for WR Phil Patterson (Virginia Beach, VA). He is the #86 WR in the country according to Rivals. Patterson was offered by Wake in 2014 and attended Junior Day. I had removed him from my Board because he was offered by Penn State and had consistently showed a high-level of interest in Duke. However, I have taken a renewed interest in Patterson because LaRonde’ Liverpool has made it clear (via Twitter) that he is actively recruiting Patterson to Wake. Landing Patterson seems like it would be a tough task though. Even if you assume that he is a victim of the numbers game at Penn State, he is still in the mix at Virginia Tech, Duke and UNC. In addition to that, Tennessee offered him shortly after he released his top 6.
I we look at the depth chart numbers, the position of needed depth is S and C/G. After '16, we have 3 safeties (Kemp, Glen, Bates) and 5 C/Gs (Anderson, Terry ,Osterhage, Gilliam, Nash). They could be filled in an emergency by other position players. Bachman and Ward to safety is a possibility, but it is always better for the player to get reps in summer camp for his new position. So hearing that Jarrett Cole is back in play is great news.
HugeDeacFan
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Strange to report offers from other places if you are solid with your current school, no?
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Not at all. I'm happily married but I'd report it if a hot chick hit on me.
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To your wife?
suck my deac
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Wouldn't really call BC a hot chick. 2/10 would not bang.
Fuck. Them.
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