New way of looking at lower star recruits

#1
CSpindizzy

CSpindizzy

Five Star Recruit
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Oct 4, 2005
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#1
Little 'backers

By Randy Moore

Date: Dec 19, 2005

Little linebackers often make a big impact … on the people they hit and the teams they represent.

That’s why Tennessee football fans should be thrilled that a couple of undersized, under-publicized ‘backers – LaMarcus Thompson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Dorian Davis (Iowa City) – committed to the Vols over the past few days. History suggests they’ll do quite well.
Thompson (6-1, 203) and Davis (6-1, 200) fit the mold of recent Vol linebackers such as Earnest Fields, Darryl Hardy, Scott Galyon, Al Wilson, Eric Westmoreland, Eddie Moore, Kevin Burnett and Omar Gaither. All of those guys were considered a bit short, a bit light (or both) when they enrolled. Several played running back or safety (or both) at the prep level. Only Wilson and Burnett were considered top-drawer recruits.

But look how they panned out:

Fields started four years (1988-91) and is the third-leading tackler in school history with 407 stops.

Hardy started three years (1989-91) and ranks No.10 for career primary tackles with 227.

Galyon started three years (1993-95), leading in tackles twice and recording the most fumble recoveries (8) in program history.

Wilson started three years (1996-98) and ranks second all-time in minus-yardage stops (27).

Westmoreland started three years (1998-2000) and ranks No. 1 all-time in minus-yardage stops (34).

Moore started two years (2001-2002), led in tackles as a senior and was the first Vol picked in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Burnett started three years (2002-2004) and was the first Vol taken in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Gaither started two years (2004-05) and was a two-time second-team All-SEC pick.

If Tennessee’s two newest commitments are anything like the guys mentioned above, their lack of size and notoriety won’t stop them from becoming outstanding players at the college level.


 
#2
#2
Tennessee has always relied on the LB position to make plays....that's why they like smaller LB's. They can go sideline to sideline, cover really well, and have a lower center of gravity so they can get underneath people and push them back. As far as low star recruits.....think Jerry Rice.....Mississippi Valley State.......don't think he was a Blue-Chipper....
 
#3
#3
I always thought UT used to take 3rd and 4th string RB and make them LB's because of their speed.
 
#5
#5
The spin has aready started about how great our class of two and three star recruits are. I remember Al wilson being a 4 or 4.5 recruit. Don't tell me that Randy Moore has sold out to the Fulmer apologists too!! Sheeeseee!!
 
#6
#6
(rockydoc @ Dec 19 said:
The spin has aready started about how great our class of two and three star recruits are. I remember Al wilson being a 4 or 4.5 recruit. Don't tell me that Randy Moore has sold out to the Fulmer apologists too!! Sheeeseee!!
Click to expand...
:horse:
 
#7
#7
Here's an idea for a new way to look at lower star recruits:


Pretend they have more stars.
 
#8
#8
Stars this, stars that, blah blah blah. One of Georgias best DB's in the last 10 yrs was hardly even offered by any schools, but UGA took a chance on him, and he turned out to be a stud. Anybody want to take a guess on this? Dont' get caught up on stars and rankings.
 
#9
#9
(VOLSnEAGLES @ Dec 20 said:
Stars this, stars that, blah blah blah. One of Georgias best DB's in the last 10 yrs was hardly even offered by any schools, but UGA took a chance on him, and he turned out to be a stud. Anybody want to take a guess on this? Dont' get caught up on stars and rankings.
Click to expand...


Good call...Rex Grossman had to recruit himselft to UF and he turned out to be one of the best QB's we've had.
 
#10
#10
(NCGatorBait @ Dec 20 said:
Good call...Rex Grossman had to recruit himselft to UF and he turned out to be one of the best QB's we've had.
Click to expand...

And he did a pretty good job the other day in his game as well.....
 
#11
#11
The way I look at it is this way. Just because a kid is rated a 4 or 5 star player doesn't mean anything until you see what they can do on the field against top notch competition. If his head isn't in it or he don't work hard or get along with teammates the ranking don't mean a thing. On the other hand look at these lower rated recruits or even walk ons at some places that have become stars. The recruiting ratings just mean the kid is talented and a stud at the high school level.
 
#12
#12
Come on now guys. Let's not sugar coat the fact that we are not having a great recruting class so far. We aren't. We can still get some great players and some of the lower star players may in fact turn out to be very successful. However, lets not act like suddenly rankings don't matter because we aren't ranked high. Seriously. I hear the same people down playing these rankings now and then turn around and talk about Fulmer having top 5 talent year after year.

We knew we wouldn't have a great class this year after the monster we got last year and with limited numbers for this class. However, we still have a lot of work to do to fill our needs and make this class respectable.
 
#13
#13
This is just a load of crap... haha yall say that the ranking doesnt matter but would you rather have the number 1 linebacker or the guys we are pulling right now??? not saying these guys cant be good players i am just saying that its just so much harder to find a gem in hiding than what we are use too. I am just happy we had a monster year last year and almost all of them redshirted, that fills alot of holes for us..
 
#14
#14
Stars and class rankings usually don't mean much either. Tenn is a perfect example of that. You've got to have the whole package. Talent, heart, discipline, coaching, wants. Tenn doesn't have the whole package right, and are missing about 3 parts of it. I'd rather have a 2 or 3* kid that wants to play for Tenn over a 5* that wants to play in the NFL. And a lot of yall are saying how great a year Georgia is having, they have like 30 scholarships to give out and can promise kids the chance to start early, where Tenn has limited schollies and its gonna be hard to beat out people for a chance to start as a Freshman.
 
#15
#15
My only concern is UT's recent track record for DEVELOPING talent. The good and bad news of that is the fact that we haven't done much with four and five star kids either.

 
#16
#16
(vols2345 @ Dec 20 said:
This is just a load of crap... haha yall say that the ranking doesnt matter but would you rather have the number 1 linebacker or the guys we are pulling right now??? not saying these guys cant be good players i am just saying that its just so much harder to find a gem in hiding than what we are use too. I am just happy we had a monster year last year and almost all of them redshirted, that fills alot of holes for us..
Click to expand...

Of course we all want the #1 class in America, but that doesn't always happen. My theory is just don't put down they guys we DO get until you get to see them on the court/field.
 
#17
#17
(Rocky Top @ Dec 20 said:
Of course we all want the #1 class in America, but that doesn't always happen. My theory is just don't put down they guys we DO get until you get to see them on the court/field.
Click to expand...


great way to look at it... but i mean i wasnt putting anyone down, i am happy with the people we have...
 
#18
#18
I'm glad we got LaMarcus Thompson.

I'm looking for Mathis to play too, hes from my hometown. (even if its a hated rival high school) [Same school as Bob Sanders, new hometown hero]
 
#19
#19
yeah i am thinking mathis is going to be a beast, kid needs to come back on here and drop a line...
 
#20
#20
It is sugar coating. Excuse me, but a guy that is 187 and runs a 4.79 is slow. Some offensive lineman get pretty close to that number.
 
#21
#21
Living in Atlanta, I heard this all the time

Thomas Davis - 2 Star
Pollack - 3 Star
Thurman - 3 Star
Greene - 3 Star

Stars mean crap
 
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