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2016 Football Recruiting Thread - Notes from NSD Press Conference and Reception

Word is that the staff sealed the deal with Dortch this weekend and he cancelled his Maryland visit. I'll be watching this week to see if that info is good, but right now it certainly looks VERY positive.
 
Deac94 said:
Word is that the staff sealed the deal with Dortch this weekend and he cancelled his Maryland visit. I'll be watching this week to see if that info is good, but right now it certainly looks VERY positive.
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We need help with kick and punt returns. Is this where he is expected to get his first looks? He could be dynamic in these areas.
 
94 I know you posted earlier about Larry Collins no longer visiting. Sounds like an academic issue not just with Wake but with other schools.
 
For what it's worth, Dortch following his OV liked a lot of tweets on Twitter about loyalty, sticking with coaches that loved you first, and WF Class of 2020. I'd say he's pretty much set.
 
Tre Jackson decommitted from SC. A WR, maybe SC offers Collins.
 
DeacsOrDie said:
94 I know you posted earlier about Larry Collins no longer visiting. Sounds like an academic issue not just with Wake but with other schools.
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I did speculate that there had to be a factor at play other than his on field performance. But that was purely my own speculation. I still haven't found anything connecting him to any other school. Odd considering it is January 25. Did you find info or hear a rumor that it was related to academics?
 
DeacFan03 said:
For what it's worth, Dortch following his OV liked a lot of tweets on Twitter about loyalty, sticking with coaches that loved you first, and WF Class of 2020. I'd say he's pretty much set.
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I agree. He seems solid now. Resolves one of the last outstanding questions with this class. Only real question now is whether there will be any last minutes surprises - either positive or negative - that aren't on the radar now .

I did see that Wake got a walk-on WR commit yesterday. From the same high school as Tyler Watson and 2017 target CB Troy Simon.
 
Deac94 said:
I did speculate that there had to be a factor at play other than his on field performance. But that was purely my own speculation. I still haven't found anything connecting him to any other school. Odd considering it is January 25. Did you find info or hear a rumor that it was related to academics?
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I have no news. But the more I think about it, the more I think it's academics. Too good of a player for people to back off with his academics being in line.
 
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Here is the latest on Arkeem Byrd. I’m sticking with my own “Crystal Ball” that he will go with Georgia Tech, and that he will commit this week, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a lock. He’s kept things pretty close to the vest. There has been some conflicting info about Wake’s chances, but personally I think Wake might have the best chance out of anyone other than GT. If Byrd decides he wants to play RB, or that GT just isn’t a fit, I could definitely see him choosing Wake.

A look at the other contenders:

Minnesota will make their closing argument during an in-home on Wednesday (if Byrd remains uncommitted by tomorrow evening). Remember the Gophers are the P5 team that has been on him the longest and they are also recruiting him as a RB. He visited there this fall. The Gophers will send two assistant coaches to Savannah (notably not the OC or the head coach).

Clemson pulled out of the race without extending an offer. They are focused on other DBs. From the “it’s a small world” department, Clemson may have decided to pursue Greg Dortch’s teammate K’Von Wallace instead of Byrd.

Georgia added Byrd to their board as an RB and have reportedly made contact with him, but chances of that turning into an offer are slim.

There is a lot of discussion of Byrd on the Louisville message boards, but my sense is that their fans want him more than their staff does. Apparently their staff likes their RBs a little bigger than Byrd. One of many reasons why Louisville shouldn’t be an attractive option for him.

No update on where Mizzou stands.

I think that Wake would be such a great fit for Byrd. RB offer. Closer to home. I know a lot of you are eager to get a RB with some real burst. That seems to be Byrd’s calling card and could lead directly to early PT.
 
With things mostly quiet on the 2016 front, I thought I would take a look back at the recruits that held our interest (at least my interest!) last spring but didn’t ultimately commit to Wake. Sort of a “Where Are They Now” feature.


LB Elysee Mbem-Bosse (Ellenwood, GA)
Wake Connection: Wake was his second P5 offer. Mbem-Bosse visited for Junior Day and returned to Wake for (if I recall correctly) two more unofficial visits including an overnight stay.
What’s Happened Since: No Wake recruit this cycle blew up more than Mbem-Bosse. He ended up ranked as the #33 overall recruit in the country on RankByOffers.com. Once considered a near-lock to commit to Auburn, Mbem-Bosse kept everyone guessing until recently committing to Michigan.

OT Tremayne Anchrum (Powder Springs, GA)
Wake Connection: Wake was his second P5 offer. One of only two non-QBs to be offered at Wake’s second Junior Day last February (Mike Dwumfour was the other). He named Wake as his leader at one point.
What’s Happened Since: After going back and forth with Georgia for several months, Anchrum extended his recruitment deep into the fall and ultimately picked up a Clemson offer. He chose Clemson over Nebraska in November.

CB Sir Patrick Scott (Upper Marlsboro, MD)
Wake Connection: Junior Day visitor had Wake as his leader for a reasonably long period. Wake received some Crystal Ball predictions.
What’s Happened Since: Decommitted from Michigan. Some internet speculation that he was forced out because of issues with his grades. No clear landing spot has emerged.

DE/DT Mike Dwumfour (Wayne, NJ)
Wake Connection: The other non-QB offer at Wake’s second Junior Day last fall. Wake was his first P5 offer and second offer overall. Wake briefly led in his recruitment until he visited Pitt.
What’s Happened Since: Pitt was eventually topped by a Penn State offer. Dwumfour committed to the Nittany Lions late-spring or early summer, but then flipped to Michigan yesterday.

OT Stephen Spanellis (Baltimore, MD)
Wake Connection: Somewhat of a surprise visitor for Junior Day. Spanellis named Wake his leader afterwards. Then his recruitment went dark for a few months, so it was difficult to tell how much Wake was involved.
What’s Happened Since: Spanellis resurfaced on the recruiting scene last summer when he committed to Virginia. However he flipped from Virginia to Michigan last week.

WR Donald Stewart (Paramus, NJ)
Wake Connection: Wake was the first P5 school to get involved with Stewart and the staff reportedly remained in close contact with Stewart for well over a year. I believe Stewart made the trip to Wake for the Spring Game in April. There were reports that he tried to fit in an official visit to Wake in October, but I don’t think it happened.
What’s Happened Since: Still uncommitted, but Stewart is set to choose between Stanford and Michigan this week. Since Saturday, Michigan has received 12 consecutive Crystal Ball predictions for Stewart.

S JJ Givens (Mechanicsville, VA)
Wake Connection: Givens received his second P5 offer at Wake’s Junior Day. Givens would then return for another unofficial visit and had some really positive things to say about Wake.
What’s Happened Since: Wake didn’t stay in contention long. He received a number of offers and set out a very busy visit schedule. Surprisingly he committed to South Carolina on his first stop last summer. He would stay committed to the Gamecocks until December when he opened up his recruitment. He took official visits to Miami and N.C. State, and has Maryland on the schedule for next weekend. He reportedly wants Miami, but may have to settle for the Terps.

Three other names that committed elsewhere last spring/summer and stuck with their original commitments: RB Tre Harbison (Virginia), SLOT Moe Neal (Syracuse) and Xander Gagnon (Duke).
 
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Interesting that many of these guys eventually committed to Michigan
 
Based on the number of times Michigan pops up for those kids, it sounds like Clawson may need to start climbing some trees and spending the night with recruits. Maybe even one up Harbaugh by diving off of a recruit's roof into their pool?
 
Harbaugh obviously values Clawson's ability to assess talent.
 
I really wish we had got Harbison. Kid tore it up in his State Championship game. He had a ridiculous number of TDs.
 
Deac94, I have seen articles and predictions about next years depth charts and I have a question if you're willing to speculate. I see everyone assuming that our top running backs next year are going to be Matt Colburn and Tyler Bell. While not a terrible assumption by any means considering they were our top two this past season as freshman, what about Rocky Reid? He was the guy I was most excited about in our last recruiting class and I see him being significantly more talented than either Colburn or Bell. I went into the offseason expecting an improved O-line and an improved running back (because Rocky Reid would be our starter) and therefore, a massively improved run game. With the addition of Kendall Hinton as (hopefully) our starter, that is a deadly backfield. Just wondering your thoughts on where Rocky Reid is in comparison to the other guys and if you think he will ultimately end up being the starter.
 
CharlotteDeac1 said:
Deac94, I have seen articles and predictions about next years depth charts and I have a question if you're willing to speculate. I see everyone assuming that our top running backs next year are going to be Matt Colburn and Tyler Bell. While not a terrible assumption by any means considering they were our top two this past season as freshman, what about Rocky Reid? He was the guy I was most excited about in our last recruiting class and I see him being significantly more talented than either Colburn or Bell. I went into the offseason expecting an improved O-line and an improved running back (because Rocky Reid would be our starter) and therefore, a massively improved run game. With the addition of Kendall Hinton as (hopefully) our starter, that is a deadly backfield. Just wondering your thoughts on where Rocky Reid is in comparison to the other guys and if you think he will ultimately end up being the starter.
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I took a shot at answering this question in the offseason thread.
 
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