Recruiting - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 01-24-2006, 01:33 PM

I never follow recruiting very closely. But it seems like this year's class is pretty mediocre.

Can someone explain why Bronco never met with Havili?

With all the rumors last year that he had a limited-recruiting arrangment with Crowton, I wonder if he is undermotivated or not that good at recruiting.

The irony is now we have to compete against Crowton.

But certainly Crowton will be a HC next year, and probably somewhere in the west.

DrumNFeather · 01-24-2006, 02:07 PM

I get the impression from some fans and from what I've seen that BYU "recruits itself" so to speak. What I mean is, LDS atheletes (their primary target) should want to come and play football at BYU. You look at the tradition and some of the players that have come out of there and certainly the fan support...I won't lie, I think LES has a great atmosphere for College football at times. Perhaps for all of these reasons, the attitude is that players will just naturally want to come to play for BYU and you don't see Bronco fighting for players....Like havili.

Had the Y signed havili the stars level or number of recruits may have been irrelevant. To land a guy like Lark at QB and then solidify the back field...that would've been impressive.

When I heard Carrol had come to SLC to meet with Havili on the day of his decision, i was reminded of Jerry Maguire, when he's showcasing Tidwell all around the place, meanwhile Bob Sugar is meeting with Cushman and getting him to sign.

It was a similar situation during the coaching search (which, we'll all agree worked out fine for both schools) but when it came down to KW making a decision, Chris Hill was meeting with him and BYUs higher ups were in New York.

Just a couple of thoughts, I could be wrong...but there certainly isn't as much activity on the Cougar recruiting sites as there is on the Utah ones, from what i've seen.

Fumamota McChopperdave · 01-24-2006, 02:20 PM

because of the new academic standards. Faifili was an academic casualty. Wolfley may not qualify. It is just tough to get kids here. The academic standards are Stanford-esque, plus throw the honor code on top of that.
Bronco was in-house visiting California recruits last week. But he doesn't seem to get out as much as other coaches. Kyle is all over Cali and Texas this time of year. I have only heard of one or two recruiting trips all season by Bronco. And how is it that there is no in-home visit with the biggest local recruit in years?
What is really bewildering is the Tevaseu fiasco. We didn't even start recruiting the kid (solid 345 lb. NT, our biggest need, with JC experience) until a week ago. How did this kid fly under our radar?
I think Bronco isn't willing to aggressively recruit. He seems to have the attitude, 'If you want to be here, great. If you're not sold on it, fine. Go somewhere else.' Persistence can pay off with these kids. That's Pete Carroll's trademark.

MikeWaters · 01-24-2006, 03:06 PM

maybe Bronco is just plain lazy.

maybe this part of the learning curve, where byu fans have to suffer while Bronco tries to figure out how to be a coach.

Indy Coug · 01-24-2006, 03:44 PM

Bronco spent all of last week making in-home visits, to Havili, Tonga and many others. Rumors about him not visiting recruits is flat out false. TBS Magazine had an article last year about how Bronco convinced So'oto to come to Provo with an in-home visit; despite So'oto telling his parents beforehand he was going to go to Nebraska.

RockyBalboa · 01-24-2006, 09:56 PM

The rumors that Bronco doesn't visit with big time recruits in their homes is another Cougarboard piece of doo doo that smacks of science fiction.

Bronco is no different than any other College HC in this regard, he makes his lions share of in home visits.

Alkili · 01-24-2006, 10:39 PM

This year isn't that bad, I don't know why everyone is down. We have some good players coming in and we probably won't lose any of them. We will probably have a good year next year and be right back in the thick of things again.

cougjunkie · 01-24-2006, 10:56 PM

Also its not like BYUs standards are really that high in terms of getting in. Pass your classes and get at least an average score on the ACT and you will be fine, its the kids with the 1.5 gpas that have problems, they would have problems anywhere.

Iluvatar · 01-25-2006, 07:14 PM

This recruiting class is better than some may think. It's easy to get down after having missed on guys like Fua and Havili, but, let's look at what we've got.

James Lark--a 4* elite 11 type guy that just about every other program in the country would kill to have. We all dwell on the fact that we lost Havili, but, landing Lark really negates that in my mind. You win some, you lose some. We win big with this kid.

McKay Jacobsen--3* Texas 5A all-state WR and PR. Should probably be a 4*. What more could we want? This kid made some very good Texas 5A athletes look very, very silly at times. I can't wait to see him on the field. The only knock against him is his size, but, it appears he's grown a bit this year. If reports are true, he's about 6' now.

Ryan Freeman--3* I've seen this kid play. He absolutely manhandled a very physical Timpview D-line. He should be a very solid D-1 player. Perhaps an all conference type guy.

Tico Pringle--3* How many three star JC DB's do we get at BYU? Not everybody I've talked to is sold on him, but he's fast (ran a 4.26 electronically timed 40 according to J.C.football.com) and athletic. In any event, he should be better than what we had last year, and he's LDS, so he's probably here to stay.

Andre Saulsberry--3* I'll admit, I know very little about the guy. I know that he was all-conference for two years at Riverside CC. I also know that scout.com bumped him from 2*'s to 3*'s. Again, how many 3* DB's does BYU land? I'm excited to see what he can do.

Romney Fuga--2* At first I wasn't too jazzed about this guy. Then I read that he was named the LA times Cal lineman of the year. He was given this honor over USC's 4* DL recruit Alex Parsons. Fuga had offers from Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Penn State. Many think he's as good Sione Fua (I'm not just saying this to take away the sting of losing Fua to the PAC-10). I think we've got something with Fuga. Realistically, he should probably be a 4* recruit.

Mike Hague--2* Led the state in rushing yards. He's tough, has good size and legit 4.5 speed. Clearly better than 2*'s.

Robbie Buckner--2* 1st team all-state Arkansas. Next to Jacobsen, was possibly the best overall athlete at the BYU camp this summer. Ran a 4.4 40 at Arkansas' summer camp.

Max Hall--2* He was a solid 3* guy coming out of HS. I don't why we aren't making more noise about him! I'm stoked he's here. He could be our starter in 07.

Brandon Ogletree--2* 6'1" 215, 4.6 40. 1st team all-state Texas. Again, I'm not sure why this kid is only rated 2*. Good size, good speed, all-state, nice statistics. I don't get it.

This class is already solid in my opinion. If we were to add Matangi Tonga (4*), Viliami Akotea (3*), or Pauli Latu (3*), this class could be quite good.

FWIW

*Not too shabby, really! I'm excited about some of these kids...

Iluvatar · 01-26-2006, 09:31 PM

and nobody on this board is talking about it?

Really, I don't know what more we can expect. Bronco brings in two three star JC corners, and a couple very heavily sought after DL's. If he can land Viliami Akoteu to shore up the D-line in the interim, I say mission accomplished.

01-24-2006, 01:33 PM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Recruiting I never follow recruiting very closely. But it seems like this year's class is pretty mediocre. Can someone explain why Bronco never met with Havili? With all the rumors last year that he had a limited-recruiting arrangment with Crowton, I wonder if he is undermotivated or not that good at recruiting. The irony is now we have to compete against Crowton. But certainly Crowton will be a HC next year, and probably somewhere in the west.

01-24-2006, 02:07 PM	#2
DrumNFeather Active LDS Ute Fan Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Nantucket : ) Posts: 2,566	A few thoughts I get the impression from some fans and from what I've seen that BYU "recruits itself" so to speak. What I mean is, LDS atheletes (their primary target) should want to come and play football at BYU. You look at the tradition and some of the players that have come out of there and certainly the fan support...I won't lie, I think LES has a great atmosphere for College football at times. Perhaps for all of these reasons, the attitude is that players will just naturally want to come to play for BYU and you don't see Bronco fighting for players....Like havili. Had the Y signed havili the stars level or number of recruits may have been irrelevant. To land a guy like Lark at QB and then solidify the back field...that would've been impressive. When I heard Carrol had come to SLC to meet with Havili on the day of his decision, i was reminded of Jerry Maguire, when he's showcasing Tidwell all around the place, meanwhile Bob Sugar is meeting with Cushman and getting him to sign. It was a similar situation during the coaching search (which, we'll all agree worked out fine for both schools) but when it came down to KW making a decision, Chris Hill was meeting with him and BYUs higher ups were in New York. Just a couple of thoughts, I could be wrong...but there certainly isn't as much activity on the Cougar recruiting sites as there is on the Utah ones, from what i've seen. __________________ "It's not like we played the school of the blind out there." - Brian Johnson.

01-24-2006, 02:20 PM	#3
Fumamota McChopperdave Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SLC Posts: 25	we've lost several recruits because of the new academic standards. Faifili was an academic casualty. Wolfley may not qualify. It is just tough to get kids here. The academic standards are Stanford-esque, plus throw the honor code on top of that. Bronco was in-house visiting California recruits last week. But he doesn't seem to get out as much as other coaches. Kyle is all over Cali and Texas this time of year. I have only heard of one or two recruiting trips all season by Bronco. And how is it that there is no in-home visit with the biggest local recruit in years? What is really bewildering is the Tevaseu fiasco. We didn't even start recruiting the kid (solid 345 lb. NT, our biggest need, with JC experience) until a week ago. How did this kid fly under our radar? I think Bronco isn't willing to aggressively recruit. He seems to have the attitude, 'If you want to be here, great. If you're not sold on it, fine. Go somewhere else.' Persistence can pay off with these kids. That's Pete Carroll's trademark. __________________ "If you had a friend who was a tightrope walker, and you were walking down a sidewalk, and he fell, that would be completely unacceptable."

01-24-2006, 10:39 PM	#7
Alkili Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 263	This year isn't that bad, I don't know why everyone is down. We have some good players coming in and we probably won't lose any of them. We will probably have a good year next year and be right back in the thick of things again. __________________ Dark is the Night, but I begin to see the light.

01-24-2006, 10:56 PM	#8
cougjunkie Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 5,741	Also its not like BYUs standards are really that high in terms of getting in. Pass your classes and get at least an average score on the ACT and you will be fine, its the kids with the 1.5 gpas that have problems, they would have problems anywhere. __________________ LINCECUM!

01-24-2006, 03:06 PM	#4
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	maybe Bronco is just plain lazy. maybe this part of the learning curve, where byu fans have to suffer while Bronco tries to figure out how to be a coach.

01-24-2006, 03:44 PM	#5
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	Bronco spent all of last week making in-home visits, to Havili, Tonga and many others. Rumors about him not visiting recruits is flat out false. TBS Magazine had an article last year about how Bronco convinced So'oto to come to Provo with an in-home visit; despite So'oto telling his parents beforehand he was going to go to Nebraska.

01-24-2006, 09:56 PM	#6
RockyBalboa Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 7,297	The rumors that Bronco doesn't visit with big time recruits in their homes is another Cougarboard piece of doo doo that smacks of science fiction. Bronco is no different than any other College HC in this regard, he makes his lions share of in home visits.

01-25-2006, 07:14 PM	#9
Iluvatar Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 52	This was posted on cougarboard... This recruiting class is better than some may think. It's easy to get down after having missed on guys like Fua and Havili, but, let's look at what we've got. James Lark--a 4* elite 11 type guy that just about every other program in the country would kill to have. We all dwell on the fact that we lost Havili, but, landing Lark really negates that in my mind. You win some, you lose some. We win big with this kid. McKay Jacobsen--3* Texas 5A all-state WR and PR. Should probably be a 4. What more could we want? This kid made some very good Texas 5A athletes look very, very silly at times. I can't wait to see him on the field. The only knock against him is his size, but, it appears he's grown a bit this year. If reports are true, he's about 6' now. Ryan Freeman--3 I've seen this kid play. He absolutely manhandled a very physical Timpview D-line. He should be a very solid D-1 player. Perhaps an all conference type guy. Tico Pringle--3* How many three star JC DB's do we get at BYU? Not everybody I've talked to is sold on him, but he's fast (ran a 4.26 electronically timed 40 according to J.C.football.com) and athletic. In any event, he should be better than what we had last year, and he's LDS, so he's probably here to stay. Andre Saulsberry--3* I'll admit, I know very little about the guy. I know that he was all-conference for two years at Riverside CC. I also know that scout.com bumped him from 2's to 3's. Again, how many 3* DB's does BYU land? I'm excited to see what he can do. Romney Fuga--2* At first I wasn't too jazzed about this guy. Then I read that he was named the LA times Cal lineman of the year. He was given this honor over USC's 4* DL recruit Alex Parsons. Fuga had offers from Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Penn State. Many think he's as good Sione Fua (I'm not just saying this to take away the sting of losing Fua to the PAC-10). I think we've got something with Fuga. Realistically, he should probably be a 4* recruit. Mike Hague--2* Led the state in rushing yards. He's tough, has good size and legit 4.5 speed. Clearly better than 2's. Robbie Buckner--2 1st team all-state Arkansas. Next to Jacobsen, was possibly the best overall athlete at the BYU camp this summer. Ran a 4.4 40 at Arkansas' summer camp. Max Hall--2* He was a solid 3* guy coming out of HS. I don't why we aren't making more noise about him! I'm stoked he's here. He could be our starter in 07. Brandon Ogletree--2* 6'1" 215, 4.6 40. 1st team all-state Texas. Again, I'm not sure why this kid is only rated 2. Good size, good speed, all-state, nice statistics. I don't get it. This class is already solid in my opinion. If we were to add Matangi Tonga (4), Viliami Akotea (3), or Pauli Latu (3), this class could be quite good. FWIW *Not too shabby, really! I'm excited about some of these kids... __________________ \"What we do in life echoes in eternity\"

01-26-2006, 09:31 PM	#10
Iluvatar Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 52	Manasi Tonga commits... and nobody on this board is talking about it? Really, I don't know what more we can expect. Bronco brings in two three star JC corners, and a couple very heavily sought after DL's. If he can land Viliami Akoteu to shore up the D-line in the interim, I say mission accomplished. __________________ \"What we do in life echoes in eternity\"