Football recruiting
If you were looking for that Top 25 finish to translate into some 4-star and 5-star recruits signing with UC on Wednesday, well, it hasn't happened. Not yet, anyway. According to Rivals.com, UC has five 3-star recruits on its commitment list and none in the 4- and 5-star range. I talked to Brian Kelly this morning and he conceded that the program has not reached the point yet where it can compete for those higher level players, but he believes he's making progress and suggested that with another successful season, he might be able to move up and land a 4-star player next year. He also pointed out that UC finished with a No. 17 national ranking this year without those highly rated players, suggesting that he knows how to win with less talent by taking players who can develop into quality players with a year or two of seasoning.
posted by bill koch at 2:50 PM
63 Comments:
at 3:10 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:10 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:13 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:35 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:49 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:51 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:56 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 4:48 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 4:51 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 4:56 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:02 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:08 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:11 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:21 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:29 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 5:57 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:02 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:06 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:17 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:49 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:55 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 6:57 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:00 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:13 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:19 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:20 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:23 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:32 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:02 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:13 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:21 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:26 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:39 PM 
Unknown said...
-
-
at 8:42 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:47 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:34 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:17 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:24 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:19 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 3:25 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:47 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 7:55 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:09 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:11 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:24 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:35 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:45 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:00 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:09 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:59 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:01 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:13 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:15 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:17 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:18 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:24 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 10:52 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:21 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:23 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 11:29 AM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 12:13 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 8:37 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
at 9:38 PM 
Anonymous said...
-
-
Post a Comment*The fact that Kelly produced with guys that weren't his or guys Dantonio didn't use (Barnett, Gilyard), says a lot. Kelly has the ability to coach a kid up and I would rather bring someone in that is a 2 or 3-star quality athlete than have a 4 or 5 come in and think they already have arrived - does that make sense? Sometimes the lesser egos, turn out to be the best players in the long run. This idea definitely applies to basketball - 4 and 5 star guys leave after one or two years (luckily we don't have those for basketball).
Appears he and Sippin' Mick share a similar recruiting prowess.
At least he seems to know how to coach lesser talent.
Danny, actually we do. They just appear to be overrated. McClain, Wilks, Mitchell and incomers such as Gates and Wright are ranked as four star recruits in various places. Gates and Wright could potentially rise to the five-star level (Gates was already there before dropping).
The 4-5 star label is not always accurate. I find it interesting in that some 2-3 star players become 4-5 star players after they are recruited by the usual suspects. Don't get me wrong I want a bunch of highly recruited players,but more importantly is what you do with those players.
Likewise if you are highly recruited as a 4-5 star player, and sit the bench for 2 years you might hang your head an become a non productive player. I like guys with a chip on their shoulder.
3:10 - There you go again, taking a left-handed shot at Sippin'. The Great Petite Defenders will be on the way to straighten you out. Right, lads?
Anybody remember a five star athlete who showed up at Notre Shame and decaled that they were going to win four National Championship? He's been really great so far!
In fact the clown showed up in a LIMO and declared that Notre Shame was going to win four National Championships. Off to a great start toward that goal last year!
Brian Kelly has done a great job here. Hope he stays for a long time. No excuses, whining and false evaluations of his recruiting class.
CSA, rivals and scout gave the evaluations of Mick's recruiting classes.
Sincerely, Your Buddy
UC's first step is to keep the 4 and 5 star guys in Cincinnati. Losing guys to OSU and ND is one thing, but the local guys going to Louisville, Pittsburgh or WVU hurts twice because their opponents gets stronger. BK will get it done. He could sell ice water to an eskimo.
wow, rivals and scout must be as stupid as SIPPIN MICK.
5:02 Just stated the facts, can't disagree with your assessment - 4:51
It's hilarious that some of you think a kid bypassing UC--have you actually been to Clifton lately?--is about the coaches. It's about the school, the campus, the program, the college experience.
I went to UC because of my field of study and the low cost. But how can you blame an athlete if he's got a shot at playing at Penn State, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, USC, Notre Dame, Georgia or one of the other schools that offers more than what UC's programs and UC's campus offers?
That's why the went to the Big East, that's why they built Varsity Village and that's why they are invested in the coaches they have across the athletic department.
Gotta say, the UC campus and Clifton area all the way down to The Rhine isn't very impressive when you can go to UVa, look at that place sitting in the mountains, see Monticello on a hilltop, look at those stunning women and go, "wow."
But I'm sure it's Cronin and Kelly's fault Clifton is a rat hole.
rickNmd,
Supposed you missed the fact that two of the past eight Miss America winners were UC students. Guess the UVa women would have beat them out if they would have entered the contests. Now stay away from the rat hole, as you call it, and return to your pig sty.
Clifton is a rat hole. You better be packin heat if you get a block off of the campus. You are absolutely right about all of that, but somehow they managed to be a perennial top 20 basketball program and the football program has made tremendous strides, how do you account for that? The only thing that the top basketball recruits want is to get to the NBA. That is why Cronin could recruit for Huggins and Pitino. How many players has Sippin Mick sent to the NBA? That is why he will rarely if ever be able to land a top recruit here. Sorry dreamers, that is college basketball today. If you want to watch 'student' athletes go watch high school and they are even beginning to contaminate that.
Just in the last year I've met two kids from the Chicago area now at UC - their first choice school. One big reason cited: the beauty of the campus. Just a fact.
3:13pm lets get your thoughts straight. FB recruiting is different than BB recruiting.
It's way easier to get a 5 star BB to come to UC BB tradition than to get a 4 or 5 star FB recruit to come to no FB tradition at UC.
But if BK stays, I think he will start to change some of the FB recruits thinking. He has the most to offer offensive stars with the potential to be featured in the spread offense as a freshman. The Defensive side will be harder to attract 4-5 star FB recruits.
CSA, not really sure if you know what you're talking about. Huggs was never really known for getting a bunch of top notch recruits, more for getting the most out of his players. He only got 4 top 150 recruits from 03-05 classes (three star Vincent Banks in 03, then 4 star Roy Bright in the 04 class, and Downey and Tyree Evans, both four stars in the 05 class). Mick had Jason Henry, Biggie and Wilks as four stars and Mitchell as a three in last year's class. And in the one coming up he got Cashmere and Gates, both four stars. So, yeah, you don't appear to know what you're talking about.
6:06, not really sure if you know what you're talking about. If you are going to make a case regarding Huggin's recruiting, go back and include his entire tenure here. Certainly, you'll find more than a few top 150s there. Easy to cite 2003 forward when his recruiting here was on an obvious downturn.
I like the subject of UC women much better.
I must say, if your criteria for UC women is that 2 out of a zillion UC students have been Miss America, then comparing them to the women at UCLA, USC, Texas, Tennessee or even the preppy little rich girls at Virginia, then you must REALLY like big nosed, wide bottomed commuter chicks in their 10 pound parkas.
The women at UC just don't compete. Sorry.
6:49, Yep, that's exactly what I like! And you don't?
Dude, the Florida women's soccer team alone has better eye candy than UC's campus.
The Florida campus has more eye candy that about 20 schools put together. It's unreal there.
FOOTBALL!!
COLLEGE GIRLS!
Kindergarten time!
Nursery time! I've been waiting all day!
Like it isn't nursery and kindergarten time each post made about Huggins, AK and Zimpher. I prefer the "eye candy" subject better than that endless, mindless crap too.
Great point! And like it isn't nursery and kindergarden time when all the accolades for Mick hit the blog. It gets endless, mindless and incorrect. I prefer the "College Girl" chatter to that rubbish in a heartbeat.
The difference is Cronin is the current coach, and the present and future is what matters and what we should be discussing.
Huggins and Kennedy are not coming back, so the BS about them is just old and now extremely boring and monotonous.
Move to West Virginia and Mississippi.
Leave us with the UT coeds--Texas or Tennessee. Pick 'em!
There's a lot of truth to BK's belief that 4 & 5 star atheletes can be developed.
There's no telling how many 3 star kids there are who would be higher rated if they simply had been on a better team, or been in a better league, or not been hidden out in the backwoods someplace.
There's no telling how many with better development and training would have been 4 & 5 star.
There are still walk-ons who end up as starters. Who missed them and why were they missed?
I always wonder about the kids from smaller schools who go overlooked because they are not in a big conference or media market.
The numbers say these kids at lower classified schools can't play with the bigger boys, but you're not looking for a team, you're looking for individuals. Seems these potential recruits to hosed.
Good coaches will make players better. Kenyon Martin was the #42 player in the country (future stars) when he was recruited. He became the #1 draft pick even though he had broken leg. Huggins developed several NBA players. They all became better under Huggins.
Mick has had the chance to graduate any four year players and we will have to wait and see how he does, probably about 2010 or 2011 will be his first chance.
ricknmd wrote: you're not looking for a team, you're looking for individuals.
Bullseye, rnmd!
Excellent comment.
That's exactly what I have been saying for quite some time now. I want UC BB to succeed to the max, but we won't know for about two more years just how good or not good of a coach Cronin is. Be patient - all of us will know then. Until that time, it's pure speculation, good or bad.
Someone from Cheviot is calling Clifton a rat hole? Pot meet kettle.
UVA girls...? Best looking college girls in Virginia are in Harrisonburg. No contest.
Someone from Cheviot is calling Clifton a rat hole? Pot meet kettle.
Yeah, but in Cheviot you don't need to pack heat..or a toothbrush.
UVA is an egghead school and that is not where the hot chicks go. Try the SEC. FYI the real action is the spring and summer in Mt. Adams, where girls, from many universities hang out, and not surprising you will find some UC football players up there also.
Gee, there's a surprise. Fans from Cincinnati who do nothing but complain about why the past isn't in the present and who wants girls over women, and complain about women who are smart.
Guessing midwestern, beer-bellied numbskull sports fans is right at the top of every women's list, especially those eggheads from Virginia, Stanford, Duke and the Ivy League schools.
What a crowd.
I've seen several UC girls I would categorize as hot, but UCLA or Alabama we ain't. But I'm not a male model, so it all evens out.
I think we've all seen countless examples of raw talent being meaningless without solid coaching. Kelly appears to have the ability to make kids believe in themselves and rise above any inadequacies. I believe this is a much greater coaching talent than merely recruiting. It looks like Kelly has both, but time will tell.
at 3:49 PM Anonymous said...
3:10 - There you go again, taking a left-handed shot at Sippin'. The Great Petite Defenders will be on the way to straighten you out. Right, lads?
Actually the Mick haters are so much of a bore now we hardly notice. I just skim over useless posts such as yours and the one made by 3:10 PM and look for posts that actually contain something intelligent.
7:47 I do the same. I don't understand the hate of someone who wants to coach at his alma mater and appears to be turning around a program that basically survived the death penalty, but I don't pay attention to it anymore, either. As far as I can figure, it's just emotional baggage.
For every 4 or 5 star rivals recruit that turns out to be an NFL draft pick there is a 2 or 3 star guy doing the same. To think if you don't have 4 and 5 star recruits, you can't succeed, your ignorant. Boise State, Wake Forest, and Kansas have all played in BCS bowls over the past two years and two of them won. I doubt these teams are loaded with US Army All-Americans. They beat Oklahoma and VTech....Two of the 4 and 5 star rival capitals.
In the Cats perspective, while a local '5-star' guy like DaVier Posey is on the bench until his 3rd year in Columbus, DJ Woods (3-Star) will come here, play right away (at least on special teams) and double the numbers Posey puts up in his career at Columbus State. Eventually, we will get our Brian Brohm/Michael Bush. We will never get them all and that is fine with me. I will take all the Danny Milligan 2-stars the world can provide.
Go Cats!
"I would rather bring someone in that is a 2 or 3-star quality athlete than have a 4 or 5 come in and think they already have arrived"
Coach Kelly disagrees with you, he wants 4 and 5 star recruits (I guess you didn't read the article). The team is just a few years away.
Oh, and whoever said UC has hot girls is crazy. (but I do love your logic, Miss America goes there, therefore all the girls must be hot). I went to UC but have also spent time at Miami and OSU visiting friends...we are a distant 3rd.
Could it be the reason we can't land the 4 and 5-star recruits is because our "escort" skank is not as hot as some other schools skank?
I just wanted to use the word "skank" before 9 o'clock. Thank you very much.
Based on the so called talent on the UC campus I don't think we can be out-skanked but that would depend on your definition of "skank."
Wonder what the ratio of totally hot babes on campus that could compete in the upper echelon of college hotness would be?
1 out of 300-400?
Always thought that idiots slept until at least noon. Looks this morning as though that theory has been proven wrong...
Ah, Confucius say the "idiot" is the one who calls another an "idiot" while posting anonymously.
Super comment! Now that we all have heard your great words of wisdom for the day, let's talk UC BB and FB.
Uh...what was the question?
Oh, yeah: Football Recruiting.
BK will turn those 2s and 3s into UC 4 and 5 star players. The campus is attractive, the girls aren't any uglier than at OSU (and of course better than x's), the UC boys - well, can't say I've noticed any Adonises at games but am not really looking either.
UC a dmz? Um, for some reason kids keep going to Pitt don't they? You think UC is the only urban campus with a shady perimeter?! Get real!Have you ever been to Oakland? I have and it's no crime-free area by a long shot!
First, I'll just say way to go coach Kelly with his first full year of recruiting out of the way. Many people would have believed that a few of the recruits he has on the way here was far fetched (IT'S STILL ONE YEAR IN). Second, I'll just say how it blows my mind about the ridiculously ignorant comments that people make about Clifton campus area. The area has its problems (it's 10 mins from downtown of a major city), but is actually alot safer than people would think. So for those of you who believe you need to pack heat to walk around the area PLEASE go back to hiding behind your picket fences, and being afraid of things you have no idea about. GO BEARCATS!!!!
P.S. I grew up in a suburb and loved my U.C. experience and wouldn't have it any other way :')
Good to see the computers are up and running at the Jr High again.
I'm baffled how you can compare an urban campus like UC to Oakland.
What the hell does Oakland have to do with anything? That's been a notorious crime zone since the '60s.
Pitt, Louisville, Memphis, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, etc.--those are the city school comps to UC.
And Clifton is a rat hole, agreed. I never saw the charm other than quick access to the White Castle and Graeter's and a joint called Dollar Bill's.
Not exactly Georgetown but good times nonetheless.
10:13, that's why you're on here.
According to Scout.com and bearcatinsider.com Cincinnati has the 49th ranked class (at this point) in the country.
Neve before have I seen UC ranked better than 80th. So this class appears to show some great progress.
GO 'CATS!
"BK will turn those 2s and 3s into UC 4 and 5 star players."
That is like catching lightening in a jar. A few will turn out to be 4 or 5 star quality...but that isn't the way to become a consistent top 25 team.
BK and the FB team are making progress. It takes more than one season to become a consistent Top 25 team. Be patient, support UC FB & BK, and enjoy the ride. Has anyone ever been more excited about the prospect of great FB at UC than now?
It's great seeing UC FB on the rise. It wasn't all that long ago that FB at UC was an afterthought. Now, it's becoming pertinent and hopefully will continue to do so. GO BEARCATS!
"n the Cats perspective, while a local '5-star' guy like DaVier Posey is on the bench"
75% he plays next year.
... and 100% you don't.
I think it is important to point out that Mauk was a 5 star recruit out of High School and without him I don't believe we win 10 games. Even coming off the injury he was still better than what we had already and made a huge impact. I think the Notre Dame kid was a 4 star recruit. I do believe coaching matters, but don't dismiss talent.
UC lost a verbal recruit to Michigan today.
Yeah, Cheviot is also a rat hole, but you can walk the streets without being assaulted by hood rats.
* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.
By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site.
<< Home