Recruiting 'Athletes'

[GoDucksTroll]

I like Judson at both WR or RB. He clearly doesn't have elite speed, but he has explosiveness through tight spaces and great body control. Can't quantify those things. Judson was a 5-star at one point in time, #17 ranked player in the composite. It could have been because he was the age of a high school senior as a sophomore and his ranking tumbled as he didn't develop more. In any case, he's built like a fire hydrant and was good enough to lead his team to a state title playing QB despite having an arm comparable to Ian Wheeler's leg.

As for Burch: he's a better prospect than Judson, in my opinion. He reminds me of a poor man's Denard Robinson. Very smooth athlete, and surprisingly good at knocking defenders down for a slender guy. There aren't many guys like him on the West Coast. If he was playing high school ball in Oregon he would be a 4-star prospect. If I had to pick one of the two between him and Judson I would take the lower rated Burch. He also loves Oregon and is hungry to be here. I interviewed him for an Addicted to Quack piece when Taggart was first hired and my impression was that he would move mountains to play football in Eugene, we need that type of desire on this team.

[srsmiley007]

I like Judson at both WR or RB. He clearly doesn't have elite speed, but he has explosiveness through tight spaces and great body control. Can't quantify those things. Judson was a 5-star at one point in time, #17 ranked player in the composite. It could have been because he was the age of a high school senior as a sophomore and his ranking tumbled as he didn't develop more. In any case, he's built like a fire hydrant and was good enough to lead his team to a state title playing QB despite having an arm comparable to Ian Wheeler's leg.

As for Burch: he's a better prospect than Judson, in my opinion. He reminds me of a poor man's Denard Robinson. Very smooth athlete, and surprisingly good at knocking defenders down for a slender guy. There aren't many guys like him on the West Coast. If he was playing high school ball in Oregon he would be a 4-star prospect. If I had to pick one of the two between him and Judson I would take the lower rated Burch. He also loves Oregon and is hungry to be here. I interviewed him for an Addicted to Quack piece when Taggart was first hired and my impression was that he would move mountains to play football in Eugene, we need that type of desire on this team.

You are not wrong there. The problem we're trying to get our minds around is how many slot receivers are we taking? Redd, McNeal, Judson are all slots. That doesn't factor in that Felix may also play the Slot, WR & RB. Burch can play wideout and so can the others but that's a lot of short receivers. He knows what he's doing but I think we're a touch confused with so many similar type players for essentially one role. Like you, I'm really not seeing Judson & McNeal as super fits here unless Redd is playing D or at risk for flipping.

Burch makes more sense to me at this juncture than either Judson or McNeal but I guess that's why WT gets paid 3+million a year.

[Phenom]

Judson is a RB, not a slot WR. Maybe Redd plays defense after all?

[srsmiley007]

Judson is a RB, not a slot WR. Maybe Redd plays defense after all?

Interesting isn't it. Is Judson a slot, RB or depth? Redd on defense would be a surprise. In WT we trust.

[Pontius]

So you're saying we should just take 4* and up? I would love that, but that's not realistic...yet. I think the coaches would love that too. Hell, not even all of Bama's starters (much less players) are NC contender caliber.

Huh? They just lost in the championship game, effectively destroying your argument. I mean, did they not just effectively prove they are NC contender caliber by playing on the field in a National Championship game? Isn't a challenger in a title game generally considered a contender?

[buckmarkduck]

Judson must be doing something right because I don't see how a 5'9 guy running a 4.7 really fits on the team.

That Bralon Addison sure sucked for us.

[buckmarkduck]

Gibson and Habibi-Likio are going to be the Safety's in this class.

[GoDucksTroll]

You are not wrong there. The problem we're trying to get our minds around is how many slot receivers are we taking? Redd, McNeal, Judson are all slots. That doesn't factor in that Felix may also play the Slot, WR & RB. Burch can play wideout and so can the others but that's a lot of short receivers. He knows what he's doing but I think we're a touch confused with so many similar type players for essentially one role. Like you, I'm really not seeing Judson & McNeal as super fits here unless Redd is playing D or at risk for flipping.

Burch makes more sense to me at this juncture than either Judson or McNeal but I guess that's why WT gets paid 3+million a year.

I do agree that we need a bigger receiver like a Lavasier Tuinei or a Dwayne Stanford, but I think if we don't get Bryan Thompson it won't be the end of the world. We're extremely thin at WR, just 3 scholarship underclassmen (Mitchell, Ofodile and Kane). We need a heavy WR class, but I can see people's disappointments since Oregon hasn't had an issue recruiting slot/RB types that are more acclaimed than what we're getting now. Redd is the one exception and I wouldn't discount the chance that he plays defense.

These pursuits probably have more to do with Taggart only having a month to recruit than what he wants. We're still winding up with a better recruiting class than what I would expect in this situation. If we land Lenoir, Falo, and Jeff Thomas I'll have no doubts that Willie can reel in the big fish as well.

[ttrag2418]

Bryan Thompson looks like he plays mean! Plus he has the frame to put on quite a bit more weight. When all is said and done...he could be a beast.

[srsmiley007]

You are not wrong there. The problem we're trying to get our minds around is how many slot receivers are we taking? Redd, McNeal, Judson are all slots. That doesn't factor in that Felix may also play the Slot, WR & RB. Burch can play wideout and so can the others but that's a lot of short receivers. He knows what he's doing but I think we're a touch confused with so many similar type players for essentially one role. Like you, I'm really not seeing Judson & McNeal as super fits here unless Redd is playing D or at risk for flipping.

Burch makes more sense to me at this juncture than either Judson or McNeal but I guess that's why WT gets paid 3+million a year.

I do agree that we need a bigger receiver like a Lavasier Tuinei or a Dwayne Stanford, but I think if we don't get Bryan Thompson it won't be the end of the world. We're extremely thin at WR, just 3 scholarship underclassmen (Mitchell, Ofodile and Kane). We need a heavy WR class, but I can see people's disappointments since Oregon hasn't had an issue recruiting slot/RB types that are more acclaimed than what we're getting now. Redd is the one exception and I wouldn't discount the chance that he plays defense.

These pursuits probably have more to do with Taggart only having a month to recruit than what he wants. We're still winding up with a better recruiting class than what I would expect in this situation. If we land Lenoir, Falo, and Jeff Thomas I'll have no doubts that Willie can reel in the big fish as well.

There's no doubt the mad scramble certainly limits the options. I'm hopeful for Bryan Thompson and Jeff Thomas. Thomas is plain wicked!
If he thinks Judson fits as an RB, slot, etc. than so be it. Seems odd that we wouldn't hold off or pass and save some of these for next year when this all-star group of recruiters have a year to reel in recruits with a greater probability of making an impact. Makes me think that he foresees a bit more attrition next year. Hopeful that these guys all bring a positive "grit" mentality.
Don't know about you but my gravest concern is TE. I seriously hope that they grab more than Falo, our depth is extremely light here. I thought Chase Rogers was going to trip this weekend but he just verballed to the Rajun Cajuns so doesn't look like he'll be joining us. I wonder if we have a few more surprises here.

[Groundswell]

Something to think about: Watching the USF games, I saw at least four players take snaps directly from center, wildcat, run the zone read, and occasionally throw the ball at one time or another. I am of the opinion that Taggart, if he has the personnel he wants, would like to have, essentially, 3-4 quarterbacks on the field at any given time. Meaning he likes athletes who can slot, play running back, or take the snap. Obviously, he wants the #1 quarterback taking most the throws and running most the handoffs, but he also wants his #1 qb to occasionally split out. McNeal, Redd, Judson, Burch, and Felix all did this in high school. Burch and Judson played qb as a main position. McNeal occasionally threw the ball. Felix ran the wildcat. There is a theme. That's why he want DTR as his #1 qb choice next year. I understand that wildcat, zone read, jett sweep, are all play packages as part of what every school does. But I believe not knowing which player is going to do what on any given play is something Taggart wants to put his stamp on. I think they just started exploring it at USF and have only scratched the surface.

[srsmiley007]

Something to think about: Watching the USF games, I saw at least four players take snaps directly from center, wildcat, run the zone read, and occasionally throw the ball at one time or another. I am of the opinion that Taggart, if he has the personnel he wants, would like to have, essentially, 3-4 quarterbacks on the field at any given time. Meaning he likes athletes who can slot, play running back, or take the snap. Obviously, he wants the #1 quarterback taking most the throws and running most the handoffs, but he also wants his #1 qb to occasionally split out. McNeal, Redd, Judson, Burch, and Felix all did this in high school. Burch and Judson played qb as a main position. McNeal occasionally threw the ball. Felix ran the wildcat. There is a theme. That's why he want DTR as his #1 qb choice next year. I understand that wildcat, zone read, jett sweep, are all play packages as part of what every school does. But I believe not knowing which player is going to do what on any given play is something Taggart wants to put his stamp on. I think they just started exploring it at USF and have only scratched the surface.

Thanks. Haven't seen more then 1 or 2 USF games so certainly substantiates the approach. Makes sense.

I was thinking it was more of a depth play grabbing the best athletes he could since he had limited time to put this class together. Guys who could play 1-3 different skill positions due to future depth challenges at wr,rb, slot. This however, is a bit more interesting strategy.

[micah6vs8]

On 247 they say Judson's speed is 4.41

[srsmiley007]

On 247 they say Judson's speed is 4.41

Yeah, this is a bit odd. His last Sparq test showed 4.7 but he's got good wheels and supposedly ran in the 4.5's the year before. He won a state title in FL though played some real competition and against great athletes. Kids got grit. Could certainly play slot and RB. Interested to see where he ends up. Gonna be an interesting run.

[Phenom]

So you're saying we should just take 4* and up? I would love that, but that's not realistic...yet. I think the coaches would love that too. Hell, not even all of Bama's starters (much less players) are NC contender caliber.

Huh? They just lost in the championship game, effectively destroying your argument. I mean, did they not just effectively prove they are NC contender caliber by playing on the field in a National Championship game? Isn't a challenger in a title game generally considered a contender?

I'm not going to get into a stupid argument because I feel that ultimately we're arguing about something we agree on.

I believe all of the players being offered are Oregon level players, with maybe Burch as the exception.