redhousewolverine

May 16th, 2012 at 11:30 PM ^

You guys are right.. Taco should move up. He is doing great on the camp circuit, which is the camp circuit, but he has completed with Mathis and ohios dt well. Maybe they are earring to see how he does in actual game situations but how he cannot make the top 300 is bbeyond me.

WolvinLA2

May 16th, 2012 at 11:39 PM ^

You're right. Taco hasnt shown much in actual on-field production compared to the DEs above him. Sure, he's looked strong at the camps, but they have been mostly regional camps, and the only time he competed against another top DE, he came up short (Mathis), even if it wasn't by much.

A lot of the DEs above him have been starting since they were freshmen or sophomores, and Taco didn't start as a junior. He has plenty of time to get that fourth star, but don't be too surprised if it doesn't happen until he proves it on the field.

WolvinLA2

May 17th, 2012 at 12:54 AM ^

Here's the thing. These camps work mostly on pass rush drills with the DEs, and since there are no pads they do very few running plays. It's clear Taco is athletic, but it's yet to be seen how how he holds up against the run. Since most high schools run a lot more than they pass, his pass rush was only needed situationally.

I would assume the guy who played ahead of him was better against the run.

GTWolverine

May 17th, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^

I hate that people are still calling Taco "not a starter" last year.  Its much more complicated than that to be honest.  He himself on his own twitter refuted that claim a while ago.  The whole Non-Starter thing is Ohio State BS that needs to stop over here.  He complained about people saying that about him.  Think about it.  The kid is damn good.  There's 4 guys on the D-Line.  Pickerington is not exactly a powerhouse in Ohio and you really think there were 4 guys better than him?  Hell no.  If you don't believe me, go to the Ohio Recruiting site and check out his film.  Its almost 7 mins long where he's defending against the run AND the pass.  Do you really think a true non-starter could amass 7 minutes of highlights in one season of football??  He makes A LOT of plays throughout the film and isn't overly lacking in any part of his game, at least no more than any other recruit.  The whole "non-starting" thing is a rumor gone amok, being perpetuated by Ohio.  Pass it on

GTWolverine

May 17th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^

I understand that point, however, the evidence points to him telling the truth of the matter. As I stated above, situational players/bench players don't amass 7 minutes of quality highlights in one season. If you can show me any other player who came off the bench and achieved that fete then I'll believe the rumors.

GTWolverine

May 17th, 2012 at 1:34 PM ^

I can't speak to why his coach used him in a 4-3 vs a 3-4. I'll concede to you that it's puzzling and most coaches put their best 3 or 4 on the line at that level. If you look at his highlights I just don't see any glaring weaknesses, no more than any other WDE recruit. Basically from his film I can't see any reason they'd bench him. He looks good vs the run, and the pass of course. I guess that's for the coaches to know and us to find out.

Magnus

May 17th, 2012 at 1:57 PM ^

Well, I see weaknesses (not that my opinion is more valid than yours) and clearly so do the analysts at Scout.  That doesn't mean we're right, but it means that opinions vary...and there's nothing wrong with that.  Who was right and wrong will be sorted out in 3-5 years.

GTWolverine

May 17th, 2012 at 12:56 PM ^

I understand that point, however, the evidence points to him telling the truth of the matter. As I stated above, situational players/bench players don't amass 7 minutes of quality highlights in one season. If you can show me any other player who came off the bench and achieved that fete then I'll believe the rumors.

WolvinLA2

May 16th, 2012 at 11:29 PM ^

It's interesting that they have Bosch as a tackle and Fox as a guard. Most people feel that should be reversed. Both are ranked pretty high though, so it's all good.

rbgoblue

May 17th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^

I think you have to be more conservative with the adjustments especially this early on.  There are a lot of camps and combines this summer, and if you adjusted the rankings based on how players did head to head every week, it would just get ridiculous.

By the time they have the final rankings out, they will have a lot more camp film and game film on the thousands of D1 prospects out there.  They will probably have it right by then.

turd ferguson

May 17th, 2012 at 12:00 AM ^

For those interested, I saw somewhere that Rivals will be updating its ratings in two weeks.

I'd expect more changes in the Rivals rankings, since they're pretty dusty now that several months have passed without any updates.

turd ferguson

May 17th, 2012 at 12:15 AM ^

Across the services, the most confusing prospect to me is WR Jordan Cunningham from Florida, who was just offered by Michigan.  The kid has offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, and USC, among others.

ESPN has him rated where you'd expect: #4 WR, #32 overall.  Both 247 and Scout are weirdly unimpressed, though -- #59 WR to 247 and #69 WR to Scout.

samsoccer7

May 17th, 2012 at 12:43 AM ^

If nothing else, this should just reiterate how awesome this class is. We are basically taking guys like Thomas and Kugler for granted (if you believe the doom in the Ty Isaac thread). I'm so excited for all these recruits its, well, tremendous fergodsakes.

MaizeMN

May 17th, 2012 at 12:46 AM ^

Smith @ 7 is exciting.

Dawson @ 6?  Isn't he generally considered the #1 G?

York seems really underrated, but I think he may move up like Pipkins did.

And I'm pretty sure they have Taco Charlton confused with Taco Pants.

trueblue22

May 17th, 2012 at 1:24 AM ^

10 out of 18 kids in our class are listed as a top ten player at their position in the nation. I'm thrilled with the way the coaches are recruiting. We all have seen Dawson dominate at camps but I'm not upset that he's not listed at #1. Kugler is so in a couple years they will battle it out and let us know for sure

hfhmilkman

May 17th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^

If arguablly the best Dcoordinator in college football wants a player, I do not care about the stars.  If Mattison wants the guy and the ratings agencies say 3, I trust Mattison over all of them.

trueblue22

May 17th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

I agree. The coaches will not offer kids unless they either see qualities they want or at a minimum someone that has a lot of potential. Regardless of what the recruiting services say you don't get a full ride scholarship to a top tier football team unless you can play. They could list all ur recruits as 1 stars for all I care but we all know we have some play makers and that will reflect on the field

Half Blood Dut…

May 17th, 2012 at 7:57 AM ^

The thing I love about our football coaches and basketball coaches, they know talent when they see it. If they recruited all kids that no one heard of, I'd trust what they are doing

Mr. Rager

May 17th, 2012 at 8:30 AM ^

How the FUCK is Taco Charlton a 3 star?  Scout... wow.  You have outdone yourself this time.