Clanton up to a 4*

[woundedknees]

Teamwork, the student support group that assists the coaching staff with recruiting, spends many hours editing film and researching player info for the coaches to sift through in their never ending search to find the next Dennis Dixon, Demetrius Williams, Jonathon Stewart, or whoever else the coaches may believe the Ducks need.

It is a very intensive effort, of which the recruiting service rankings play a small part.

That's the real way to find a true diamond in the rough, whether it be a Jeremiah Masoli, or LaMichael James, or even Kenny Rowe.

There is no easy substitute for effective analysis through grunt work and elbow grease.

[VinnyKnuckles]

Its funny to me that whenever we get a three/two star guy there are alwasy a bunch of duck fans that say trust the coaches, which makes it seem like the coaches are intentional chosing two and three star guys over four and five stars guys because they see hidden talent that makes them valuable. Sure the coaches may see talent, but they are not chosing those guys intentionally, but rather because they are forced to settle.

It is true for the most part that the coaches are forced to settle to a certain degree. The vast majority of the time the Ducks don't get the #1 player on their board at a given position, assuming the coaches actually had their choice out of every recruit in the country. However, you seem to be implying that there are never cases where the coaches actually would rather have a 2 or 3 star rated prospect over a 4 or 5 star rated prospect, which is a completely inaccurate conclusion to jump to. I know for a fact there have been several instances in recent years where a lower rated recruit was higher on the coaches recruiting board than higher rated recruits at the same position.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Here's the way I've learned to look at the star ratings: The top level 4-5* guys are the most talented players in the country. If you happen to land one, you are getting a player that has overflowing talent & potential that will automatically be one of the most talented kids on your roster. Obviously talent doesn't equal a good football player but it sure as hell helps. Just look at the few 5*s we got. All of them started or played a ton as freshman. Colvin & Haloti started and JStew obviously played a ton. Those guys were just on another level.

The 3-4* players are usually a mix of potential filled guys that haven't really developed or guys who are aren't the most talented but are very very skilled at what they do (guys like nick reed).

As long as we get a mix of those types of players I am always happy. We have tremendous coaches that can develop those underdeveloped guys & make them stars (Chung, Byrd, WT3, Unger, etc) but its also nice when you get guys that don't need 2-3 years to develop & become big contributers. I guess you could say the 4-5* guys just make our coaches jobs a little easier.

Its funny to me that whenever we get a three/two star guy there are alwasy a bunch of duck fans that say trust the coaches, which makes it seem like the coaches are intentional chosing two and three star guys over four and five stars guys because they see hidden talent that makes them valuable. Sure the coaches may see talent, but they are not chosing those guys intentionally, but rather because they are forced to settle.

Well yeah, technically they are always "settling". To not be "settling" they'd have to getting the #1 player at every position, right? So if you wanna look at it that way then yeah, the coaches aren't getting the guys they want. There's always a player they'd rather have. Would Chip rather have had Pryor or find some JC kid in Masoli? Obviously his first choice was to get Pryor.

But thats not reality. The coaches get guys they really like & see potential in. Look at Bryan Bennet for example. A "lowly 3*" but he was Chip's top QB. Did he "settle" for Bennet? I think not.

[uo2010]

I point was that some fans make it seem like Chip is choosing lower ranked people on purpose because he sees hidden talent, rather than the reality being is that we cannot consistently recruit top talent like top 10 programs can.

[gregspechtismyhero]

[Tray Dub]

I point was that some fans make it seem like Chip is choosing lower ranked people on purpose because he sees hidden talent, rather than the reality being is that we cannot consistently recruit top talent like top 10 programs can.

That's usually true. But I'd bet a lot of money that there are times when he'd rather get a kid who has less stars because the coaches like him more. Sometimes it's settling, but it's not every time.

[ncduck]

Rivals now shows that Clanton got his LOI signed. Gotta love the early signing period.

http://oregon.rivals.com/default.asp?type=2