William Campbell
Here's an article from October about William Campbell from an ESPN magazine.
http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/football/news/story?id=3592977
He took a visit to LSU this weekend, and he told me it was "good," and that was pretty much it. He's been very quiet about everything, and I haven't been able to get anything out of him or teammates either way.
He told me he's going to do an interview with me before the Army All American game, but he's going to be busy, so I'm going to try my hardest to keep him to it. Hopefully we'll have some good things to talk about.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 PM ^
All I want for Christmas is Will Campbell, Jelani Jenkins, Reuben Randle, Vlad Emilien, and another OL. And maybe another good corner and another good safety.
Would that make our recruiting class top 5? We're currently #8 to Rivals, and Randle and Jenkins are both 5 *'s, and the #2 and #4 overall recruits.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 PM ^
Je'Ron Stokes and Denard Robinson.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:44 PM ^
Yeah, I think that would put us in the top 5. That would make 3 5-stars and a shitload of 4-stars. Should be enough. Is it likely? Nope.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 PM ^
I think hes only taking these visits so he can get some vacations in to be honest. Hes announcing on the all american bowl, but thats not til january. Hes enrolling early to college (in january). And you all know its a big process, so if people see him around campus before the decision, hes blue.
I personally think hes going to michigan. He has friends on the team and all that. He has a chance to start from Day 1 as well.
Him, brandon graham and mike martin... damn.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 PM ^
Ya know, I was thinking that same thing the other day, about enrolling early. I can't figure out the exact date they have to enroll by, but you'd think the process would be started all ready.
-to preface this, yes I think about every scenario that could happen with every player all day long.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:05 PM ^
haha i didn't even think about that. should be some surprise at the all-america game.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 PM ^
the recruit I want to see the most in maize and blue - closely followed by jelani!
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:20 PM ^
Guys, don't worry too much about the specific recruiting ranking of our class. We don't oversign our classes like a lot of teams (especially SEC teams) do, since we don't offer a bunch of guys with little chance of qualifying. So we'll typically end up with like 22 commits and an SEC school will have like 28 and be ranked higher, because of the way they do the math on those things. But come September, several of their 28 won't be enrolled, while all of ours probably will be.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:36 PM ^
I think what's more important to the number of players, is the number we're ranked at. Everyone gets ranked by those sites by the "star ratings" they give the players. With some of the top players they are legit, and will be playmakers. But, when you get into the 4 and 3 stars it gets a little more blurry. This is where Rich Rod will show us how he recruits.
We've heard that he's going to recruit his guys. We still have a great recruiting class, with a couple lower ranked guys. Here's what I look at. I look at their film, their size and speed, then I look at who else offered them. The rankings are done by that specific site, and a lot of times aren't right. If you look at the other teams that have offered them, you can get a good feel for where they stack up. Some teams have higher needs than others, and there's a lot that goes into this, but generally this works pretty well.
If you look at the players we've gotten this year, they are Rich Rod's guys. They're all good, but they all fit into his system. The offensive players are fast, and can fill a couple roles. The defensive players fly around and HIT. There was a quote from Rich Rod that I thought was interesting, when he said, "you're either the nail or the hammer." I know a lot of these guys are young and they're trying to learn the system, but they played scared. There's a certain instinct that you have to let take over, and want to hit people. A lot of these recruits hit, and they hit hard.
I've said this a couple times, but I really think this class will do well, but the 2010 class is going to be FULL of Rich Rod's guys.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:42 PM ^
I love the fact we have some of our top recruits possibly enrolling early. If we can get Campbell and our QB's here early for Spring ball that is going to be a huge advantage for us next year. I am honestly looking forward to next year, it can not get here soon enough. How does the Spring Game work, I've never been and would like to make it up there this year.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 PM ^
Michigan Football needs this guy and his intensity. With all these fast Ninja's were getting, Michigan needs players that make their presence felt. I'm sure the Barwis factor will come into play. I just can't imagine what this guy would look like after speding four years with Barwis.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 PM ^
ESPN is now reporting that Rivals 4* DT Chris Bonds has committed to Alabama. Hopefully that makes Tuscaloosa a less appealing destination for Big Willie.
Speaking of which, has anyone heard how Will's visit went down there??
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 PM ^
Well Sam Webb said that after asking Big Will how it went he just said it was "straight". Take that for what it is worth but I do not think he was all that impressed. This thing honestly comes down to LSU and us and to be honest LSU has to rub his balls with Rich Rod's snake oil in order to snatch him.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 PM ^
I don't know if LSU is recruiting him for offense or defense, but if it's defense, they already have one 5-star and two 4-star DT's. I can't imagine LSU taking four DT's in one class.
I know people will say, "Teams will make room for a 5-star like Campbell" but I just don't see it happening (unless, like I said, they see him as an OL).