College Football, 2021-22

[grumbler]

Desmond Howard toasts disgraced but still-shitposting former OSU coach:



Of the eight billion people in the world, four have a Heisman Trophy and Super bowl MVP.  Zach Smith isn't one of them.

[Berkut]

Arizona has like....a good recruiting class.

There are these bizarre news articles about recruits flipping from other Pac-12 schools to Arizona, instead of the other way around.

I'm not sure what to make of this....

[Valmy]

Arizona has like....a good recruiting class.

There are these bizarre news articles about recruits flipping from other Pac-12 schools to Arizona, instead of the other way around.

I'm not sure what to make of this....

All that big Arizona NIL cash?

"If you come play for Arizona we can put your face on the best billboards in Tucson!!"

[grumbler]

Arizona has like....a good recruiting class.

There are these bizarre news articles about recruits flipping from other Pac-12 schools to Arizona, instead of the other way around.

I'm not sure what to make of this....

From what I've read, it's because Fisch and company have focused their recruiting on guys that can count on contributing right away.  Rebuilding programs can offer opportunities that more established programs can't.

Jedd was a good recruiter at Michigan, even with players outside his own position group.

[grumbler]

So Deion Sanders has flipped the #1 recruit of 2021 from Florida State to... Jackson State, an FCS HBCU.

This is OMFG territory.  Sanders did win the FCS coach of the year award (and Jackson State finished 11-1), but Jackson State didn't even qualify for the FCS 24-team playoff.  OTOH, Sanders is probably the best pure-cover cornerback who ever played pro ball, and Travis Hunter is a cornerback, so maybe it was a position-coaching decision.

Nonetheless, this is good news for college football.  A player didn't go for the razzamatazz, but for the coaching.  Also great for HBCUs if he can keep the spotlight through next year's games.

[Berkut]

Arizona doesn't really sign 5 star football players. Generally just not even in the mix for those guys.

However....

Arizona did sign a excellent QB prospect from Servite HS in Southern Cal, Noah Fifita. Along with a 4 star TE from that same school.

The top rated player from that school is a 5 star WR, Tetairoa McMillan. He had verbally commited to Oregon, but on Wednesday he declined to sign, saying he was going to take a couple days and would sign by Friday.

He is being heavily recruited by Fisch.

Twitter exchange between Fifita and McMillan:

McMillan: "You're so inspirational man."

Fifita: "Love you my bro! Best player in America #4MoreYears?"

That would be so freaking cool, to steal a 5* WR from Oregon...

[Admiral Yi]

Has anyone else noticed how many QBs have off beat names?

[Eddie Teach]

Noah is pretty common.

[grumbler]

Oregon is going through some recruiting difficulties because of the coaching change.  Michigan picked off their top WR prospect after getting him on campus for the Ohio State game.

A high school with a 4* QB, 5*WR, and 4* TE is... unusual.  I looked them up, though, and they are one of those Catholic prep school football powerhouses.  With only 850 students, they have full teams for Freshman Football, Junior Varsity, and Varsity.  Having an in there must be huge for a school like Arizona.

[Berkut]

Oregon is going through some recruiting difficulties because of the coaching change.  Michigan picked off their top WR prospect after getting him on campus for the Ohio State game.

A high school with a 4* QB, 5*WR, and 4* TE is... unusual.  I looked them up, though, and they are one of those Catholic prep school football powerhouses.  With only 850 students, they have full teams for Freshman Football, Junior Varsity, and Varsity.  Having an in there must be huge for a school like Arizona.

Yeah, they are like Mater Dei - one of those private prep schools that are just football powerhouses.

Fisch and his staff have been just relentless recruiting Southern California.

[Berkut]

I've been saying for a very long time, through Stoops and RichRod and Sumlin, that I really am not impressed with anything any of them do if they cannot recruit. Any success will be transitory. Unless Arizona can gets its "share" of talent in the Pac-12, nothing else really matters that much. It never happened. We had some ok recruiting years, but never good ones. A "good" year was being ranked 6th or 7th in the conference in recruiting.

We have never signed a 5* recruit out of high school, and precious few 4* players. When Arizona had a year or two of success, it was because they had managed to find the 3* player who turned out to be a 5* college player.

Fisch might be a shitty game coach, but in his first year with a bad, bad team full of players who frankly are not CBS caliber players, he has signed the highest rated recruiting class in Arizona history. It's a weird year for sure. The extra eligibility from COVID means that there are a lot fewer spots for the highest talent level players on the blue blood programs, and a lot of coaching changes. But he made the best of that, and signed an incredible class, and we just found out that McMillan is coming to Arizona as well.

[Berkut]

A tweet from the Oregon coaching who was recruiting McMillan yesterday. Apparently trying to convince him that he doesn't need to sign by the deadline, and can just wait....



Reports are that McMillan was going to go ahead and sign with Oregon after all, but decided he didn't want to play for a coach who doesn't know the difference between your and you're.

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLTlGLjH_6o

Fun trick play.  "Coach, what's the play??"

[grumbler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLTlGLjH_6o

Fun trick play.  "Coach, what's the play??"

Not sure that that isn't "intent to deceive," but if it isn't, you are right that it is the most fun kind of trickeration.

[grumbler]

Interesting tidbit:  the most explosive offense in the FBS (defined as percentage of plays that go for 50+ yards) is... Michigan.  Even more surprisingly, Michigan had a record ten different players achieve a play that went 50+ yards.

I'm thinking that this is what got Michigan's OC the Broyles award.  He's really good at setting up the defense for an explosive play, even when the plays that set it up don't go for many yards.  I think that it is hard to have the discipline to sacrifice pawns to set up the queen, rather than just going for the most yards possible on each play.