5 star RB Davis to USC
So I'm sure I will catch some hell for this but here it goes anyway. Remember Kyle Prater, the 5 star WR a couple years ago from Illinois who ended up at USC that everyone was recruiting. He went to USC and eventually lost out to all the other WR they had most of whom were California recruits. Ty Isaac is the second 5-star RB to pull the trigger for USC in the last couple days now. Only one of them is going to start, only one will be the man, and only one will get the bulk of the work. I know, I know everyone says they will be a team player, and they just want the chance to compete, but at some point 5 star, ESPN 150, Under Armor, Army All-Americans expect to play. If its close dont you go with the local talent Davis kid where you are trying to keep/build a pipeline? (and Stockton St. Marys, and Lincoln where Davis is from is an area that produces a ton of talent)
Its very strange to me that a kid like Isaac who would be the favorite to be a starter in a couple years, at a school that is much closer, at a school that has a higher academic standing, at a school that has the best offesive line class in the country, at a school where his parents could attend every home game and most of the away games if they chose to, would choose USC?? Gotta hand to Kiffin and Old Ed as he is called in SEC country for getting the job done.
Almost forgot, Prater is now at Northwestern. Couldn't find the field in Southern California I guess. You can say what you want about injuries, but he was healthy at one point and some how still never played.
This isnt meant to be proof in any one direction just something I noticed. Ty looks to be the type that will stick it out no matter what.
You find it strange that a kid would chose to go to a school where your favorite sportsball team doesn't play, despite the fact that you're ignorant to the many other potential factors considered by Isaac in choosing the right college?
Maybe some 5 star recruits don't expect to have everything handed to them on a silver platter as soon as they get on campus. Maybe some 5 star recruits are not only willing to compete for a major role on the team, but also thrive off of the notion of competition. Maybe recruit rankings are just an arbitrary prediction of collegiate potential that many 5 stars never live up to. On top of that, what school would't love to have multiple 5 star recruits, most especially at one critical and heavily burdened position?
I'm sorry, but the notion that if two 5 star recruits come in at one position in a recruiting class, one will likely transfer (or even consider it) is terribly flawed.
At the very least, it will be interesting to follow the rb situation at USC over the next few years. I feel like Isaac will be one of those guys I pay attention to throughout his career despite going to a school I absolutely despise.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
This opens up a spot for Demar Dorsey!
Stefon Diggs.
Wow. That "severe punishment" sure has put a damper on USC's recruiting, hasn't it? The NCAA sure did make them pay. They might not even win the National Championship next year.
Actually... they did make them pay quite severely. USC just happens to be one of those schools that attracts elite talent despite the sanctions. The argument is that other schools should have received a punishment more like USC (Ohio).
Have people forgotten that USC sucked balls for at least a decade before Slippery Pete and his cadre of cheaters got to USC? USC doesn't automatically get awesome players simply because they are USC. UCLA has most of the same advantages that people list for USC and they usually suck.
USC is still prospering from the decade of awesomeness they enjoyed under Carroll that was built on buying the best recruits in the country (Bush, McKnight, RoJo, Nick Perry...they ALL got paid). The current high school kids who are choosing USC are doing so largely because USC bought a MNC and several top 5 finishes.
The unfortunate truth is that it pretty much always pays to cheat in CFB. The benefits one enjoys in national exposure and the concomitant benefits in recruiting far outweigh the minor punishments handed down by the NCAA.
They weren't good by USC standards, but they did win a couple Rose Bowls. String of a couple coaches who weren't up to the job.
Onto your cheating program allegation. The NCAA investigated the program for nearly 5 years during the Reggie Bush thing and came up with an assistant coach should have known that Bush's parents living 100 miles away were taking illegal benefits.
That's all they found in all that time.
USC is private and UCLA is public which historically has limited what UCLA can put into facilities and assistant coaches. So they are a lot different.
USC gets awesome players because they recruit like crazy with talented recruiters and to an A-list academic school in a prime location. You are right. It isn't automatic.
Spare us the sour grapes.
According to Wiki, they still about 11 declared national championships (same as Michigan). Obviously two of those are in the recent Carroll era, but they still claim 5 championships between the 60's and 70's. There is a lot of tradition there, they just kind of lost it for a few decades.
Yes, there was cheating, and during that time they won a few national championships, but they still paid the price for it. And even during those times of punishment where they couldn't attend any postseason games, they still pulled in great classes with the limited scholarships available. You can't really argue against that.
In general, though, the NCAA has backed off on the severity of punishment dished out to programs who cheat. I just don't think you can throw USC under that bus.
Auburn had Williams, and Brown. Alabama had Ingram, and Richardson. Arkansas had McFadden, Hillis, and Jones.
I don't think it's really fair to say "only one is going to start, only one is going to get the bulk of carries, ect." If you're good enough to play, you're going to see the field. If USC has two RB's that can play college ball at a high level, then USC is going to play both RB's.
People need to relax. We lost out on a recruit. Oh well. He wanted to go where he wanted to go. Move on, stop questioning his decision.
Also, stop ripping on the school that the recruit picks. Michigan might be better in our eyes, but USC is better than his. USC isn't as bad as some people are trying to make it. They have one of the best, if not the best film schools in the nation.
Overall it is a solid school though. Can't blame the kid. But for a guy who seemed to dislike recruiting and all the attention, I'm not sure USC is the best place to be honest.
FSU #17 here http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/25-best-film-schools-rankings-215714 and #5 on another I found. Ive lived in Tallahassee 24 years and have never heard of them being number one, and believe me, if they were it would be known throughout this city. USC is in the top 2 of every list.
Bullwinkles the night of a big game. Crazy in Tally!!!
blue1997, Bullwinkles is an insane madhouse every night. Made Playboy's Top 10 List of party bars in the country. Glad you got to experience it!!
Judging by many comments on this board, it appears Michigan has one of the best high school counselor programs in the country.
Well, they do have good looking girls and nice weather" Everytime USC is brought up, this is said over and over and over again.
Maybe the kid just like good looking girls, he is in to hot girls, and lets not forget about the weather and the beaches!
Depending on the traffic, it can take up to an hour to get to the beaches from USC's campus.
There does seem to be a direct correlation with hot weather and hot girls, though.
If your point is that there are more hot girls in California I would disagree. You can show the causation of girls wearing less clothing due to hot weather though. That can certainly make it seem like there are more attractive women in hotter places.
It seems like a lot of people here would walk down a street in downtown L.A. with a "wtf?" expression as they saw that people in L.A. look a lot like people do everywhere else.
there are more hot girls in California, especially LA, for no other reason that more people who thinks they have a shot at getting by on looks, i.e., film, modeling, etc., are going to move there based on that alone. Just walk down the streets of Santa Monica for example-take your pick of streets- and do the same in say Grand Rapicds and the disaprity becomes so clear it's amazing.
It is a town for young people, with a large number being of the extremely hot variety. I don't even know why you would make an argument against that.
Exactly!!! Because USC has no tradition, no history of winning national championships, no history of Heisman winners, and they rarely put people into the NFL. They must be goin for girls....and don't forget the surfing!!! That's always a big plus for college football players.
And cash. They really seem to like cash.
M-Dog, you about killed me when I read this!!! Laughed my ass off!! They also like film schools from what I hear. There's a huge trend of football players transitioning into the film industry. Not sure if it's adult or mainstream, but definitely film of some kind. Maybe Chinese martial arts movies, I don't know. This also ties into their irrational desire for this cash you speak of.
I a lot of these comments seem like juvenile sour grapes. But this one is funny. And fair.
USC is a powerhouse and will be in NC contention next year. MIchigan has yet to get on that level and probably wont for at least another 2 or 3 years. Once we get on that level, we will start to win much more of these recruiting battles.
But you never know how a kid will develop at the next level. We've had some past 5* RB who failed to have stellar college careers. I wish him all the best and I hope he beats out Davis for playing time at USC. One of our RBs in last year class or this years class may turn into a star RB! They should find some gaping holes given the OL Hoke and his coaches are recruiting and developing!
sam webb recently said isaac: 1) expected davis to commit to usc and 2) wondered where he would be most comfortable if football didn't work out. it sounded as though he preferred to live in a big city versus a football-centric college town in case he didn't live up to the hype. this seemed a little bizarre but he has much more contact with the recruits than do any of us.
is making some recruiting calls over there.
Or KK is lending a helping "hand." Wink Wink Nod Nod.
The loss of Isaac isn't quite the sting that was felt when ROJO dissed Michigan, the team that stuck with him even when he was down and out with his knee injury.
Michigan will be fine. Future success at landing skilled position players will come once the pro offense finally emerges under Morris.
he wasn't afraid of competition. and let's not sell our commits short. he would've had competition at michigan too.
I think a lot of frustration on the board these days concerns Michigan's seeming difficulty (other than w/Shane Morris, obviously) with locking down the really high-profile skill position recruits in recent years, particularly at RB and WR. (Which is why we're all so nervous about Treadwell now.)
A couple years ago it was DeAnthony Arnett and Sammy Watkins at WR, last year it was Brionte Dunn at RB, this year it's Massington at WR and now Isaac at RB. The guys the current coaching staff has been getting so far at these positions seem to be more the "solid-not-spectacular" type or sleeper/under-the-radar recruits than the blue chippers we're all lusting for. We're picking up 4 and 5 star monsters on the lines, particularly OL, and everyone's wondering why more high-profile RBs and WRs aren't jumping for the chance to play with them.
I'm not saying this frustration is necessarily valid -- I think guys like Darboh, Chesson, Dukes, and York at WR and DeVeon Smith at RB all have the potential to be very solid (or even better) players for us -- but I understand why people are a little concerned.
USC is a unique situation when it comes to recruiting - they have name recognition, better weather than most, and at least the perception of being an NFL factory at the skill position (even though if you actually look at the players in the league, you don't see any skill-position standouts besides maybe Steve Smith and Reggie Bush if you are being generous). Kids seem to show up there, fall in love with the weather, the stadium, the, um, student bodies, and don't want to leave. Plus, they are basically the pro team in LA, and so they get a level of interest and media on a scale that dwarfs other campuses. Plus, they have a history of hiring slimy coaches who promise the moon and then chews up the kids, but nobody thinks that the jerk who dumped a former 4* so that you have a spot would do the same to you. Honestly, I wish kids who go there the best, but I wouldn't send my kid there to play football.
Now, the bigger issue is the inability (or more appropriately the perception) of this staff to "close" on skill-position players is real. I do think that there is some reason for concern, but at the same time there are so few big-name skill players each year, and many of them are (rightly or wrongly) sought after to a degree far different than similarly-rated linemen and less "glamorous" positions. So with fewer of them and a higher degree of difficult to convince them to go Blue, I'm not that bothered with the strikeouts provided the staff continues to go after them. At some point, you'll snag a couple of them and all will be right in the world. It just might not be the names you initially expect.
The rich get richer. But let's not write them off yet. There's still three more quarters of recruiting to play.