Re: Class of 2016 -
gocard14 - 10-14-2015
(10-14-2015, 04:39 PM)Boston Card link Wrote:Here's his video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4s7kOupJ6g&app=desktop
He highlights his turnover creation (19 in two seasons). Given our relative paucity of turnovers this year, that auger's well. His coverage skills look good; looks like he would make a good free safety. I saw him overpursue a couple times, so he will need to be more disciplined, and there was one or two missed tackles, probably a result of aggressively going for a strip. To his credit, he stuck with the plays and eventually got his guy or forced a turnover.
BC
I had mixed feelings about the video. On the one hand, he definitely has very good ball skills with the ball in the air and seemed good in coverage, though it was hard to tell as a lot was zone coverage. On the downside his pursuit angles were often poor, his tackling needs work, and he just didn't give off the most athletic guy on the field, "men among boys" kind of vibe that many top recruits highlight videos have (See Long, David)
Re: Class of 2016 -
BostonCard - 10-14-2015
(10-14-2015, 05:16 PM)gocard14 link Wrote:I had mixed feelings about the video. On the one hand, he definitely has very good ball skills with the ball in the air and seemed good in coverage, though it was hard to tell as a lot was zone coverage. On the downside his pursuit angles were often poor, his tackling needs work, and he just didn't give off the most athletic guy on the field, "men among boys" kind of vibe that many top recruits highlight videos have (See Long, David)
I largely agree with your take; I think we wrote more or less the same thing. That being said, some of his interceptions are very athletic. He has good anticipation, closes fast, and times his jumps well. He did display a lot of athleticism in those plays. He also showed a fair degree of toughness, taking on running backs and blockers that were substantially larger. But agree on pursuit angles and tackling (again, possibly that's due to him going for the strip instead of the tackle).
BC
Re: Class of 2016 -
socalstanfan1 - 10-14-2015
I think this focus on the video of Long illustrates a danger of following recruiting. OF COURSE, high school players, no matter how talented, are going to be making mistakes. They are still in high school! Sometimes maybe they feel the need to compensate for less talented team mates. Sometimes they may just be relying on their exceptional athleticism. But this is why we have Duane Akina. Players need to be coached to be ready for the next level, so you are usually gambling on general talent level and the potential to be great. Sometimes it just never develops, and other times those 3* players exceed expectations because they learn technique and come to understand the game at a deeper level. But I wouldn't make too much of the occasional mistake on a HS highlight reel. Get the athletic talent, coach it up with excellent coaching, and you will get enough successful development to remain a force.
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-14-2015
Not even 10 years ago, Stanford's safeties included the likes of Taylor Skaufel, Tyler Porras, Austin Yancy, and Bo McNally. All of them were 2-star recruits, though McNally did distinguish himself far beyond his recruiting profile. We're in rarefied air here, people. Ulloa isn't a five-star recruit, but he's a heck of a player, probably in the top 30 or so safeties in the country. If he works hard and adds some bulk to his frame, he has a chance to be really good. I could see him developing similarly to a Jordan Richards, if all goes well. Although he might ideally want playing time right away, I think it will help him to have Reid and Edwards in the class in front of him to give him good mentorship and time to develop.
Re: Class of 2016 -
Stanford_Cardinals - 10-14-2015
(10-14-2015, 06:07 PM)TrumpCard link Wrote:Not even 10 years ago, Stanford's safeties included the likes of Taylor Skaufel, Tyler Porras, Austin Yancy, and Bo McNally. All of them were 2-star recruits, though McNally did distinguish himself far beyond his recruiting profile. We're in rarefied air here, people. Ulloa isn't a five-star recruit, but he's a heck of a player, probably in the top 30 or so safeties in the country. If he works hard and adds some bulk to his frame, he has a chance to be really good. I could see him developing similarly to a Jordan Richards, if all goes well. Although he might ideally want playing time right away, I think it will help him to have Reid and Edwards in the class in front of him to give him good mentorship and time to develop.
Agree 100%. His video is a lot of fun to watch and it seems clear he's passionate about Stanford.
Re: Class of 2016 -
BobK - 10-15-2015
@MightyAlaskaUte: Simi Fehoko has 6 TD catches in the first half tonight
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-15-2015
The recruiting rankings are fun to watch, but there's another measure of the recruiting class that we don't discuss as often and that doesn't show up much in the rankings. The staff is landing the 3-star guys who had early offers instead of having to make late offers or completely whiffing.Â
Ulloa is a great example. He got his offer before the May junior day, when there had been very little attrition from the board at safety. (Brandon Jones and Deontay Anderson may have been the only losses at that time.) Antoine isn't even as highly rated as Ulloa, but he was an even earlier offer at a position that isn't a brobdingnagian need, which all suggests that the staff thinks very highly of him. Peek received a very early offer as well, though, to be fair, that is offset to some degree by the desperate need for NTs. McElwain has an extremely low recruiting profile, but he was the staff's first and only offer at fullback. Nate Herbig was the top OG at Stanford's June camp. The staff did miss a couple of higher-rated OG prospects (Bredeson, Raridon, Braun), but Herbig was not a desperation offer by any stretch. Hattis was the top OT at Stanford's June camp. Again, Stanford did miss a couple of higher-rated OT prospects (Menet, Hamilton, Farniok), but Hattis appears to be a very solid Plan B, especially considering the UCLA offer and the Semper Fi invitation. The end of the recruiting cycle appears to be set up well too. The staff leads for Stewart, who was the top WR at Stanford's June camp. He's a bit down the list of WRs that the staff considered, but his senior season performance is validating the offer. The staff leads for Swann as well. Swann certainly was Plan B after Rand fell off the board, but the Semper Fi invitation and his offer from MSU make it clear that he's hardly chopped liver. I won't get into the guys who are less certain to come, but suffice to say that there are some good ones in that group too. None of those 3-star guys mean much to the recruiting team rankings, but they are hugely valuable to the team. Even if they don't end up as starters (which is a bad assumption), they will still provide solid depth so that there aren't situations like the team has this year at NT. Bravo to the staff for landing these guys at such a high rate this year.
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-15-2015
Recruiting news of potentially very large proportions:
[tweet]653718213763727360[/tweet]
The staff would not invite him for an OV if he weren't enrolled in the requisite APs. Add the fact that he is in the Top 1% of his high school class, and it becomes reasonable to believe that he's an admissible candidate, if, in fact, he wants to come. Plus, he's waiting until January 2 to announce, which means he'll likely have a final decision from admissions, or at least have a very good indication of his admissions status.Â
Since 2012, Stanford has lost very few recruits who have come on an official visit and been admitted. I think you could even expand that to recruits who have come on an official visit and not been rejected or at least informed that they probably would not be admitted. I still think the entire list consists of Uriah Leaitaua (special case because of the pull of religion), Devon Allen (special case because track & field was a major factor), and Jameis Winston (special case because he's a buffoon). Any others? I would would not bet too heavily against Stanford here.Â
Re: Class of 2016 -
BobK - 10-15-2015
Another would be the Guard at Oregon State. But a great point
When it's said Stanford missed it could also indicate academics
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-15-2015
Admissible probably but Google suggests no OV. He committed in the summer. His dad was/is a DL coach there so he probably wasn't open to other options. I like that McCulloch is open until January.
Re: Class of 2016 -
PalmTree - 10-15-2015
(10-15-2015, 06:23 PM)BobK link Wrote:Another would be the Guard at Oregon State. But a great point
When it's said Stanford missed it could also indicate academics
Michael Phillip, Bob? I think he visited here and then committed to the Beavers ~ a week later. He started as a frosh too, IIRC.
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-15-2015
Oh, yes. That was a while ago. I thought he meant semualo.
Re: Class of 2016 -
BobK - 10-16-2015
Phillip yes thanks and he was admitted
Re: Class of 2016 -
washingtonismoney - 10-16-2015
https://twitter.com/bartonsimmons/status/655118357474099200
247 has him as a top-10 WR nationally.
Re: Class of 2016 -
washingtonismoney - 10-18-2015
https://twitter.com/ClarkYarbrough/status/655825889918386176
Re: Class of 2016 -
BostonCard - 10-18-2015
Congrats to Yarbrough.
https://twitter.com/ClarkYarbrough/status/655825889918386176
BC
Re: Class of 2016 -
Stymie - 10-18-2015
Whether or not Mr. Yarborough becomes a TWU stud, he will be a 40+ year decision stud to me.
Re: Class of 2016 -
amartinsu13 - 10-18-2015
Is Simi Fehoko going to do a mission?
Re: Class of 2016 -
StannyBoy - 10-18-2015
(10-18-2015, 02:28 PM)amartinsu13 link Wrote:Is Simi Fehoko going to do a mission?
Yes
Re: Class of 2016 -
TrumpCard - 10-18-2015
Dylan Crawford would be a great pick up at WR, if Shaw can land him, but, as important, he would also give endless fodder for this board.Â
First, he would be Oregon's version of Josh Rosen. I doubt Oregon fans would care that Oregon passed him by because their team will have 10 other speedsters to replace him, but we would talk about it constantly, as we're wont to do.
Second, we could have a 50 faces of Crawford t-shirt. See if you can find a photo of him smiling, except maybe the slightest smug little smirk. Here's a photo of the amazing time he had at his Michigan official visit:
[tweet]655864462226948096[/tweet]