Loving this class...

[RebelDuck]

I have a lot of trouble believing a 4.24. That time is absolutely positively ridiculous. It would make him one of the fastest players in the NFL, and he was, what, 17 when he ran that? If that time is legit, we could just send him on go routes and let him outrun the DB by a few steps a dozen times a game.[/quote]
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The only NFL players who come to mind with that kind of speed, and could back it up, were Deion Sanders and Darrell Green. I might have left off one or two players but that type of speed in football is very rare.

[glazeduck]

I have a lot of trouble believing a 4.24. That time is absolutely positively ridiculous. It would make him one of the fastest players in the NFL, and he was, what, 17 when he ran that? If that time is legit, we could just send him on go routes and let him outrun the DB by a few steps a dozen times a game.

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The only NFL players who come to mind with that kind of speed, and could back it up, were Deion Sanders and Darrell Green. I might have left off one or two players but that type of speed in football is very rare.[/quote]

Ahman Green ran a 4.1 something at the combine I believe, and I would say that it wouldn't be hard to believe that, at least in terms of game speed, Devin Hester, Jamaal Charles and Desean Jackson have that type of speed as well.

[bellsduck]

I have a lot of trouble believing a 4.24. That time is absolutely positively ridiculous. It would make him one of the fastest players in the NFL, and he was, what, 17 when he ran that? If that time is legit, we could just send him on go routes and let him outrun the DB by a few steps a dozen times a game.

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The fastest NFL combine guys were these:
Bo Jackson 4.12
DeAngelo Hall 4.15
Laveranues Coles 4.16
Michael Bennett 4.17
Deion Sanders 4.17
Ike Taylor 4.18
Ahman Green 4.19

You can't just line up and run by guys that are 10 yards ahead of you in the 3 seconds that a QB has to decide where he's going to throw the ball. Plus, note that 3 of the quickest NFL combine results were by cb's.

[MacDuck]

I'm trying to keep myself distracted from the buildup to the championship game and figured I would write down my thoughts on our current recruiting class. What stands out the most to me is the balance of the class. We have grabbed some outstanding players across the board. Every position has been filled with some serious talent.

While we still have a few spots left to round out the class, it is extremely encouraging to see what we already have on board.

Fast, hard hitting Safety, CHECK:
(Tyson Coleman - Our first commit for this class. I am not sure if he ends up at Safety or at LB. If we need him for Safety though, he looks like he will be a great fit. I hope he can put on some weight if he is wanting to play LB though: 4*. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa0ybMaZWYs)
(Carlyle Garrick - All reports are that he was a fairly sought after recruit prior to his injury. His highlight tape shows him to be a decent pickup: 2* due to injury, grey shirt candidate and could be a sleeper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkAS3BfT ... re=related)

Fast, Athletic Corner, CHECK:
(Ifo Ekpre-Olomu - Very athletic. Really impressive highlight film and he seems like a natural football player. I'm very excited to see him in our secondary: 4*. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOL6Jx6iLwM)

Fast, Athletic LB's, CHECK:
(Anthony Wallace- Without any footage it is difficult to get much of a feel for him. Deep down, I just have to assume that he was a 5* MLB for a reason. He has a great build and a tremendous offer sheet.: 4-5* MLB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Yyf7IT ... re=related (can't find any good footage on him))
(Colt Lyerla - It sounds like he was a standout at LB at the AA practices. He plays all over the field and would be absolutely a beast in our defense. I understand that we are recruiting him for offense, but I will leave him here since that is what he is rated at and where he last played: 4* OLB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQy9yfvl ... re=related)
(Rahim Cassell- Offers from Nebraska and Arizona amongst others. A solid LB who may not have the star power as Wallace but really looks like he will be a good contributor for the ducks while he is here: 3* OLB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s1yzuenUlQ)

Big Athlete's for the D-Line.... Not quite yet:
We do have Jared Ebert (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmYnRuU0kN0) on board and he should provide immediate help.
And we have landed 3* Sam Kamp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJFzyxrCCuc) who looks to be an athletic DE that has played both ways.
We are also still in the running for several big name D-Linemen including; Christian Heyward, Delvon Simmons, Kevin McReynolds, Mo Latu, with an outside shot at a few others. While we are still desperately in need of some quality D-Linemen, I am extremely confident that we close out this position strong with probably 2 our main targets. (pointless guess on my part would be Simmons and McReynolds)

Big Athletic beef for the O-Line, CHECK:
We have the All Americans;
(Andre Yruretagoyena - 4* UA All American. Really excited about having Andre on the line. His highlight video should be an advertisement for the International House of Pancakes... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2d9g0lTaFc)
(Tyler Johnstone - 4* Army All American. It sounds like he missed that allstar game due to injury but I am hearing good things. The more talent on our O-Line the better. It also looks like he is a long snapper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArSTS4nJey4)
(James Euscher - Under the radar? Project? Sleeper? I don't know, but I do know that he is huge at 6'7 and almost 300lbs and I am sure that Greatwood is excited to see what he can do with him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3vv9zDoiTI)
(Jamal Prater - Another big body. 6'5 285# 3* OG from California. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yilP56Ex2NA)

Fast Athletic TE, CHECK:
(Christian French - Currently rated as a TE but it sounds like he is a likely candidate to move to Defense. He is 6'6 230# and runs a 4.4. That should be illegal. I don't care where he ends up as long as he gets utilized. Unfortunately, I can't find any footage of him.)
(Colt is also projected as a possible TE)

Fast WR's, CHECK
(Tacoi Sumler - A UA All American that is heralded as the fastest recruit in the country and it sounds like it is a legitimate title. You have to love the sub 4.3 speed, especially on this team. Great hands, great routes and ridiculous speed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tu-KHzn55k)
(Devon Blackmon - Another UA All American that was able to showcase his skills at the game with a very nice TD. He is also a "confident" young man. Great size and speed for our offense. A recent move to WR has some thinking that the sky is the limit for him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-jHNKOL ... re=related)
(Rashaan Vaughn - 4* JC WR rated as the top JC receiver in this class. Another great mix of size and speed at 6' and 4.37. http://collegeofsanmateo.edu/football/v ... 202009.wmv)

Bruising RB, CHECK:
(Tra Carson - 3* RB from Texas. Tra definitely came in under the radar. A big bruiser with some fantastic agility. I am especially impressed with the fact that he broke LMJ's high school rushing record in 2 fewer games played. If you haven't seen his highlight video, you should really check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV_tuuvgTWs)

Solid QB's, CHECK:
(Marcus Mariota - Only a 3* QB but most people think he plays much better than his rating. He led his team to the state championships this year. As a senior, Mariota threw for 2500 yards and 32 touchdowns. He seems like a perfect fit for our offense. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoZ7faEppE0)

(Jerrard Randall - 4* QB out of Florida and one of our earliest to commit. He has all of the physical tools but it didn't seem to translate to wins on the field this year. Either way, he appears to be a tremendous athlete. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLn871q8 ... re=related)


So, we are already looking at a top 10 class with a lot of talent left on the board which still have a legitimate chance at. It is a great time to be a duck.

Final 5 wish list:
1. Delvon Simmons.
2. Kevin McReynolds.
3. Marquis Lee.
4. Lamar Dawson.
5. Koa Ka'ai

Great post Karl!!

If I had to pick 5 final guys I would have the exact same 5, in the exact same order:

Final 5 wish list:
1. Delvon Simmons. right now I think TT is the team to beat
2. Kevin McReynolds. close bet us & UCLA, but I think we win out
3. Marquis Lee. if he doesn't commit shortly after USC trip next weekend I think he's a Duck
4. Lamar Dawson. I think he stays in the south
5. Koa Ka'ai. rumors out there that he has tried to commit to NU, but they're stalling him. Probably ends up there

Though I have the same final 5, my "head" choices for the final 7 are: McReynolds, Lee, Simmons (TX LB), Peterson (DL TX), Latu (if qualified), Jackson, unknown player. Koa goes NU, Simmons TT, Heyward SDSU, Story UF, Kelley ASU, Dawson Tenn.

[vagusnerve]

Yeah we really need a couple of DTs and a DE to close out this class top 10 style....

if we get two of Heyward, McReynolds and Simmons, + one of Ka'ai and Jackson, we will be so sorted.

For me, that's all I'm askin' for.... Lee and Dawson would be super sweet but entirely gravy!

[Wildcat-Duck]

Cliff Branch 4.1 by NFL scouts...

[ljginger]

I think we can land SImmons, Heyward, and Lee if we win the Natty!

[karlhungis]

I have a lot of trouble believing a 4.24. That time is absolutely positively ridiculous. It would make him one of the fastest players in the NFL, and he was, what, 17 when he ran that? If that time is legit, we could just send him on go routes and let him outrun the DB by a few steps a dozen times a game.

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The fastest NFL combine guys were these:
Bo Jackson 4.12
DeAngelo Hall 4.15
Laveranues Coles 4.16
Michael Bennett 4.17
Deion Sanders 4.17
Ike Taylor 4.18
Ahman Green 4.19

You can't just line up and run by guys that are 10 yards ahead of you in the 3 seconds that a QB has to decide where he's going to throw the ball. Plus, note that 3 of the quickest NFL combine results were by cb's.

I honestly had no idea that these guys were all so fast. I knew about Deion and I am not surprised by DeAngelo but I was surprised to see that Bo was so fast. I remember he was a stud but I thought he was just a great all around back, I didn't realize he was one of the fastest backs ever. Shame on me for not paying attention to Tecmo Bowl.