Cajuns showing interest in Josh Brister

[Bandwagon King]

BWK, I wish your son the best. But if he happens to come to UL for fball, I strongly recommend you don't visit this site during his tenure here haha

Believe me. The recruiting game is much harder to deal with for a parent than just being able to go enjoy games & pull for the team. Because you try to be honest with yourself & your child within their level of ability to begin with. Then as you see them up close against the best of the best in your region. You realize where they stack up good or bad. If he wasn't at the top of the heap this whole mess wouldn't be so hard for me to handle. I could just say son you're okay, but these are better. I think this is a place you should look at. Or over here is a nice little program.

Then you hear how the process is going with the big schools chasing around eighth & ninth graders. Many of whom end up in so much trouble they either have to have a personal handler their whole time in school. Or they become complete discipline problems the whole time they're at school. Or they end up in prison throwing away an athletic career. Yet schools spend all kinds of money chasing that kind of player around all the time. And much of the time that guy is two years older than anyone else so they SHOULD be that far ahead of the rest of the crowd. Then when all the kids get older & the crowd catches up. All of a sudden that kid isn't so special any more. And you begin to see the fruits of your particular child's hard work. But the system is so set on chasing certain players that have been recruited for the past two or three years. That you find your son is fighting for scraps off the recruiting table because he has the label of late bloomer.

WTF is a late bloomer? A late bloomer is a guy whose parents made the decision not to hold their kid back a year so he could graduate with his rightful graduating class because that was important to their son. A late bloomer is that guy who chose to stay at the school he was at because of the education he was getting & realized that there is life after sports. So he chose education over sports. A late bloomer is somone whose father overcame himself to do what was best overall for his son instead of doing what he knew would be best for his football career should he become the man my son has become. So this whole process stinks like ____ to me. I don't like it at all. And I can see it continuing all through his entire senior season. In which case all bets are off. We're just gonna take the highest rated program that offers regardless of past affiliations or support. But you can believe me, it wasn't what I hoped for. That was not my intention. I have been pushed into this corner & we will respond accordingly.

[JMV JustMyView]

Obviously your reading skills are lacking a little. But I'll make you an offer, which if you have any common sense & have actually been around athletes working out at that age. You will change your tune once you see. How would you like to meet me at the LCA gym in a couple of weeks & we'll watch my son do his maximum bench press together. We can even watch him run a couple of suicides. Then you can see just how big he is & have a very good understanding of his size, strength, & speed. I don't mind showing him off if you don't mind showing up. Everybody in town knows who I am. I don't have a clue who you are. But I'll meet you & you can see first hand for yourself how legitimate my son is. Then you can go down to the campus & watch those guys & tell me for yourself if you think he couldn't walk out on that field & compete favorably with those guys right now. I don't have any problem with that. The only thing I ask is honesty.

I am a high school football and baseball coach so I do know talent, nobody is saying your son doesn't have talent, but not all of his numbers are off the charts ...If he is good enough he will be found...Ask yourself this if he played at STM do you think he would be as good as he is at LCA?

[duggie85]

Believe me. The recruiting game is much harder to deal with for a parent than just being able to go enjoy games & pull for the team. Because you try to be honest with yourself & your child within their level of ability to begin with. Then as you see them up close against the best of the best in your region. You realize where they stack up good or bad. If he wasn't at the top of the heap this whole mess wouldn't be so hard for me to handle. I could just say son you're okay, but these are better. I think this is a place you should look at. Or over here is a nice little program.

Then you hear how the process is going with the big schools chasing around eighth & ninth graders. Many of whom end up in so much trouble they either have to have a personal handler their whole time in school. Or they become complete discipline problems the whole time they're at school. Or they end up in prison throwing away an athletic career. Yet schools spend all kinds of money chasing that kind of player around all the time. And much of the time that guy is two years older than anyone else so they SHOULD be that far ahead of the rest of the crowd. Then when all the kids get older & the crowd catches up. All of a sudden that kid isn't so special any more. And you begin to see the fruits of your particular child's hard work. But the system is so set on chasing certain players that have been recruited for the past two or three years. That you find your son is fighting for scraps off the recruiting table because he has the label of late bloomer.

WTF is a late bloomer? A late bloomer is a guy whose parents made the decision not to hold their kid back a year so he could graduate with his rightful graduating class because that was important to their son. A late bloomer is that guy who chose to stay at the school he was at because of the education he was getting & realized that there is life after sports. So he chose education over sports. A late bloomer is somone whose father overcame himself to do what was best overall for his son instead of doing what he knew would be best for his football career should he become the man my son has become. So this whole process stinks like ____ to me. I don't like it at all. And I can see it continuing all through his entire senior season. In which case all bets are off. We're just gonna take the highest rated program that offers regardless of past affiliations or support. But you can believe me, it wasn't what I hoped for. That was not my intention. I have been pushed into this corner & we will respond accordingly.

Look, I'm just being honest but you have written off many talented players and projected the world for others. Now, I get you're not a "pro" like the recruiting sites but you think highly of yourself when it comes to evaluating talent. You have been wrong (and occasionally right) many time. As a matter of fact, one of them was drafted 10th overall last night.

By the way, this is not a shot at your thoughts on your son. Purely about you being upset with the system.

[CajunJack55]

If he is good enough he will be found...Ask yourself this if he played at STM do you think he would be as good as he is at LCA?

Who knows? He could be even better if he is at a bigger school. He would have more resources, better competition to challenge him and probably better and more coaches. Just because he is at a small school does not mean a kid is not good enough, they probably have a lot more potential in them and colleges know that they can get that out of him because of the resources they have that the kid never had.

Kids like Al Woods out of Elton would probably have been better off at a school like Barbe or Acadiana because he would have had the resources and coaches that he didn't have a school like Elton. He may not stand out as much at the bigger schools but that does not mean the talent is not there. But colleges know he had the potential once he gets the resources they can make a hell of a football player out of him.

[Bandwagon King]

I am a high school football and baseball coach so I do know talent, nobody is saying your son doesn't have talent, but not all of his numbers are off the charts ...If he is good enough he will be found...Ask yourself this if he played at STM do you think he would be as good as he is at LCA?

I know he would be further along. Because I know the day LCA officially started their strength & conditioning program. It was the day I went out & bought 14 heavy duty barbells a couple of years ago at Beall's sporting goods. How long has STM had their strength & conditioning program. LCA just started their track program this year. Josh never picked up a shot put until this spring & was able to compete in the regionals. With the the tradition of the fine Catholic schools in this area, for his school to come from no where & compete the way they did was phenominal. Do you understand that school never lined up for a kick off, field goal, or a punt before their first game last season. That's how cherry they were in high school. Now he's been playing since CAYSI & his team competed for the Turkey Bowl. In eigth grade they competed for parish championship with St. Lucille's. And this season they will be competing with VC for the district championship, & competing for a state title. That is a school which played varsity flag football two years ago.

Let me clarify myself & my position because I have just opened an unending can of worms. Understand, we already have multiple offers to play D-1 football. We have several dance partners & wanna be dance partners. And this competition isn't between UL & McNeese. The article mentioned in state schools. And it didn't mention all of them. It didn't mention the other out of state schools. I don't want to have to drive five, seven, eight, or ten hours to go to a home game. And the last thing in this world that I want is to have to walk into Cajun Field with another team's colors on & scream my lungs out at odds with the friends I've had to work my ___ off to attain.

Make no mistake about it it isn't UL or nothing. It isn't UL or D-2. It isn't UL or McNeese. It's UL or fill in the fricking blank & draw a line from Lafayette some of those distances & you can fill in the blank. That's why I hope he can end up at Baylor, or LSU. Because if he doesn't, the odds are pretty good he's gonna be playing in Cajun Field for brand X. And if he kicks the crap out of UL, I'll never let any of you guys ever forget it. I'll post a thread every day for the rest of my life reminding you of YOUR arrogance. The day I quit posting will be the day I'm in a box. Do you get the picture now?

[CajunDawgPound]

I will say it again. A father's pride is a wonderful thing but it can also leave one blinded. Nobody accused you of lying or embellishing, certainly not me. I was just responding a post that you made in which you said that your son was quote "a stud" and the he was quote "a four star' talent and that his overall stats were comparable to the quote "stats to the top tackles coming out of college & going into the NFL draft". You dismiss the fact that your son's absence from all of the major recruiting sites that everyone in the country tends to look at (including the coaches at UL, LSU, etc.) is something that is meaningless. There are plenty of stories out there of the kid that was under valued, under talented and overlooked but who worked hard to make himself into a success. Perhaps your son can be and will be one of these stories. But his recruitment (or lack thereof according to you in regards to UL) would be better served with less boisterous remarks by you. My posts are not intended to bash your son but rather a chance to give you a moments pause and offer some clarity to the situation. Speed is but just one factor in the recruiting process. But if this is what you want to hang your hat on, then perhaps it might be wiser to steer him towards a career in track.

Have seen major programs pass on kids from marginal programs because they didn't want a " Two of the same blood-line for one" special. Suggestion: Make comments disappear until after signing day.

[MelRock]

Beau I thought we were talking about music and Alice Cooper, I am not sure it is legal to re-hijack a thread.

SMH

[Boomer]

Beau I thought we were talking about music and Alice Cooper, I am not sure it is legal to re-hijack a thread.

SMH

One thing I think you have to say about BWK---he can judge talent---especially OL and DL---When you start looking at these guys every week and see the talent of many others you start to know---When you make the camps and have followed them for years you can Really tell---Anybody can tell the great ones and I recruited some but who can get the guy hiding in the talent pool---I couldn't but some of my friends could really judge and spot them----I think the worst feeling in the world is to have a kid that is say a walk on and he beats out the one you thought was gonna be very good---the bad feeling is because you get your ___ beat!!!

[BeauCajun]

Beau I thought we were talking about music and Alice Cooper, I am not sure it is legal to re-hijack a thread.

SMH

WTH. School's out.

[CajunEXPRESS]

I am looking forward to the Prophet taring up some safeties and cornerbacks as he scoots towards pay dirt.