Lloyd recruiting blunder
Just kidding... Lloyd and everyone else missed this guy, who was apparently visible (at camps and such) but a late-bloomer.
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1053376
February 18th, 2010 at 7:23 AM ^
You can't find them all, either. Recruiting is still an inexact science. There are always a few "nobodies" who develop and some "can't-miss" prospects who bust.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:25 AM ^
Hillsdale has an awesome school, the name of which I can't recall now, but is essentially the School of Firearms. Seriously, you can get a BA in guns.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:00 AM ^
Can someone sign up Tate for an independent study?
February 18th, 2010 at 8:08 AM ^
If a quality athlete just has some bad luck and doesn't get labeled as a "hot" recruit initially, it can snowball against him. The coaches feel safer running in herds to get the big names. It takes guts for a big name school to go after a sleeper.
I like the fact that RichRod has the guts to do this occasionally. Omameh is a great example. I'm hoping Vinopal is the next one.
[But I have nothing against a class loaded with 4 and 5 stars either.]
February 18th, 2010 at 8:18 AM ^
When I first glanced at that picture, I thought he was a tight end. The kid is 315, but he's LEAN. He could probably be 340 lbs. and still not look like a fatty.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:46 AM ^
If that isn't a typo, he's gonna be a beast somewhere...
February 18th, 2010 at 11:55 AM ^
yeah he played a lot of TE in hs at about 250 lbs, as well as C for the basketball team. He has added some serious mass.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:29 AM ^
Sucks that we missed on this guy, but I would put these as bigger recruiting blunders.
Taking Savoy over Desean Jackson. Jackson wanted to be a Wolverine.
Not offering Ted Ginn at camp, he really wanted an offer and was very interested in Michigan at the time, but instead left in tears. I believe the reason we didn't offer was because he didn't look great at CB.
Not having anyone on campus when Ryan Reynolds and his Dad came up to visit and wanted to commit.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:01 AM ^
Not to flame or anything, but is that Desean Jackson story really true? I realize Lloyd was stubborn at times, but would he really take a "sleeper" like Savoy over a nationally recognized 5-star high-profile recruit like Jackson?
http://rivals.yahoo.com/cal/football/recruiting/player-DeSean-Jackson-2…
Sorry -- I don't believe it. Michigan isn't anywhere in his list (which I guess would at least be consistent with the story).
Ginn? Same idea:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ohiostate/football/recruiting/player-Theodore-G…
Michigan made that list. But, his dad was the coach, right? And he's also part of a well-known OSU pipeline, right? I can't imagine a universe where Ginn would wind up at UM.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^
If I remember correctly, Jackson did have Michigan high on his list. However, the claim that we took a 2/3 star WR instead of him is absurd.
With Ginn, Michigan very high on his list. The Glenville-OSU pipeline was not as solid then as it is now. I could actually envision Lloyd not giving him a camp offer. Other than Ginn being ridiculously fast, he wasn't a very good player(still isn't). Teams were recruiting him as a CB, and he obviously didn't have the skills for it. Michigan was stacked at the time with WR's and Breaston was the PR/KR. We offered him eventually, but he wasn't really skilled enough at any position to give an early offer to.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^
DeSean Jackson wanted to come to Michigan and was about to commit to Michigan. Michigan took Savoy and told Jackson that his spot was already filled. Jackson was crushed and he went on to become a star at Cal, and obviously one of the big play guy at Philly.
Ginn did want to go to Michigan. Michigan offered him as a CB. Ginn was terrible when he camped at Michigan so Michigan didn't really offer him on the spot. OSU offered him to play WR and the rest is history. Michigan finally offered him as a WR but it was too late. Largely because of this incident, Glenville players never went to Michigan because his dad was mad at Michigan, mostly at Lloyd Carr.
Another story is Brian Cushing. He was highly recruited LB, everybody wanted him. Cushing wanted to go to Michigan and sent his film to Michigan. Michigan never got around to watching his film. Cushing went to visit Michigan unannouced. Michigan coaches never bother to give him a tour, pretty much left him alone. Cushing was pissed after being showed up at AA. When Michigan finally saw his film, they immediately offered him, but it was too late. Cushing committed to USC.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:45 AM ^
I actually played AAU basketball with this kid. He went to several D-1 football camps over his high school years but was never offered by anyone major because of his drive and personality. He was a very nice kid but didn't have that mean streak that o-linemen need, he was very soft coming out of high school and was not focused on earning a D-1 scholarship. Like magnus said, he is extremely lean and can add on a decent amount of weight. Scouts have consistently been at Hillsdale practices watching him for the past two years...
February 18th, 2010 at 9:06 AM ^
Oh, and by the way, he is expecting to run around a 4.9 40. At his height and weight, that is pretty much insane!
February 18th, 2010 at 9:41 AM ^
Hey cool I went to High School with that guy! He's two years younger but I remember him on the bball team. Didn't think anyone from Northern would make the pros with our "powerhouse" program lol.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:55 AM ^
The the NFL draft is more so. This kid could probably be had in the 5th round or so. Do you look at him, his size, athleticism, apparent intelligence, desire and project a starting 6'8", 340# DT with speed? Well, do you?? Do you pass on a highly ranked DL in round two hoping to get this "sleeper" in round five? Great organizations (hello, New England) are built on being right on these precise kinds of questions more often than the other guys.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:02 AM ^
First of all, he's an offensive line prospect, not a defensive line prospect.
Secondly, New England has used plenty of high picks and free agency to build their franchise. It's not like they make a point of picking sleepers every year.
In fact, New England is probably not the best argument for the NFL draft being an "inexact science" because their draft picks generally have tended to work out. They build their team from within and then supplement with free agents/trades like Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon, Mike Vrabel, Randy Moss, etc. But Tom Brady, the offensive line, Troy Brown, Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, etc. were all "home grown" talents.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
holy shit, that guy went to my hs, Forest Hills Northern. I had no idea he had developed into that kind of player! He's a couple years older than me so I never played with him, but word at the time was that he denied a preferred walk-on spot at ND despite them being the only d1 school to show interest.
Obviously, I hope he has a long and illustrious nfl career :)
February 18th, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
"Veldheer has a better grade than, among others, Texas' Adam Ulatoski, Penn State's Dennis Landolt and Notre Dame's Sam Young."
Translates to: The Lions will draft Young, Ulatowski or Landolt, and the Patriots, Colts, or Saints will draft Veldheer. You know how that ends up.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
Lions who had an outstanding draft last year. They got 4 and potentially 5 quality starters from the draft. That's more than most teams can ask for in one draft.
Levy was a great mid round value when they passed up a higher rated LB at #20 and #33 overall. He showed a lot of promise and is expected to be a mainstay as a starting MLB for years to come.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:17 PM ^
just saw this dude mentioned on sportscenter by the "draft experts" Mcshay and Kiper. Mcshay said this kid is a freak athelte for his size and he could be one of the bigger sleepers in the draft. As long as the Lions dont hear about him, he may actually be a decent NFL player.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:43 AM ^
There was an article on Jared a few weeks ago, that Hillsdale's coach Keith Otterbein had to be convinced by Hillsdale's basketball coach (who coached Veldheer's older brother at HC) to give him a serious look. Very glad he did.
Youtube is blocked at this location, so I can't post a link but search for Jared Veldheer 425 hang clean.