Cajuns showing interest in Josh Brister

[cajunhawk]

I alomost agree with everything you say. Except he's at the bottom of the UL food chain now. Here's the issue straight up. At the same time he's popping up on a lot of other radars in the FBS, he's dropped off the charts at UL. They were acting excited until about a month ago. Now all of a sudden he's invisible. That's becasue they're chasing everybody around the country who has a rival's pedigree. Or they're chasing someone else's kid that's in the position mine is. Every year at the end, these schools will sign a "late bloomer" or ten depending on their ability to sign the wonder boys that aren't in jail & have finally figured out how to find the building to take their ACT. Every year those kids will almost inevitably come from outside of the local area. UL is not unique in what they are doing. Tulane does it. USM does it. North Texas does it. ASU does it. UL will take a guy like the one from Acadiana a few years ago, the Xenno fellow, or Noah Marks & offer him a prefered walk on status. They're used to that guy either taking their offer or it's off to McNeese. I see them possibly trying that with Josh. And I am saying up front publicly we aren't going that route.

We have other options already, and we'll take them. But they aren't going to be the usual I want to wait & hope for UL options. We're getting some love from universities which would turn your stomach. Schools not named ULM. We're gonna do push to get the same offer with them UL gives their last few guys every year. If that doesn't work, a degree from one of the smaller schools would be wonderful. I may even send him to JUCO to get another year under his belt with a higher level of competition just to please the big boys. Either way it beats the hell out of pulling slips, running tongs, & doping pipe. And unfortunately it does have a huge amount to do with your Rival's rating number. Anyone who doesn't believe that doesn't believe getting a loan has anything to do with your FICO score.

I hope everything works out for you and your son. Hell I hope he comes to UL so I can buy you that beer.

[Clutch0364]

Do you mind telling us who they were & where they're from? I'd like to research them myself. If UL got Noah Marks for nothing, then they are obviously in an enviable position as a university. There aren't many schools getting that calliber of player to walk on. I'm not going to disagree that they got better players to commit. But I will contend that not being part of the national scouting comine hurts any potential recruits chances of being looked at seriously by FBS schools. Otherwise, why are all the players being recruited by the top FBS schools always at those camps?

Ken Marks from Beaumont and Marcus Keys from Port Allen. Both kids have outstanding feet and leg drive at the point of attack.

Noah marks in my opinion was not as good as the kids we signed last year. Great kid and I'm glad he is a Cajun but there are a lot of kidsI'd like to see as Cajuns. Sometimes the numbers don't work and other times we get a better athlete, that's just how recruiting works.

A lot of the kids Hud has signed never went to these big national camps so to say that you have to go to them to get noticed is just not true. In some cases is to much put into rankings and camps, possibly but not in all cases. There is a reason the teams who are in the top 25 year in and year out are typically the teams who are in the top 25 recruiting rankings.

[CrazyCajun]

Why would HUD host his own camp if he only recruits kids from those other camps? Or why would he invite kids to his camps that weren't at the other camps if that's all he is willing to sign?

[Turbine]

Why would HUD host his own camp if he only recruits kids from those other camps? Or why would he invite kids to his camps that weren't at the other camps if that's all he is willing to sign?

Bustle had a Women's Camp and he was already married.

[zephyr]

I watched a kid from Westminster last year named Noah Marks. Noah was a bruiser of an offensive lineman and was 6'5" plus and weighed 320 pounds. I saw Noah at the LSU lineman camp last year & the UL select camp. IMO Noah was one of the top three linemen at both camps. Noah's family paid money to be on the NCSA site. Noah went to no telling how many camps last summer. And Noah was an outstanding bruiser who had a tape which can still be viewed on YOU Tube or the NCSA web site. Noah was better than my son is right now. IMO Noah was good enough to play at any college in this country & could play in the NFL if he set his mind to it. He is that good. I think Noah ended up at NSU. What mistake did Noah Make. I don't think he ever attended a corporate sponsored combine. That is the difference between the haves & the have nots in this country. The haves know the system & how to take advantage of it. The have nots don't.

Maybe Noah didn't make a mistake. Maybe he's not a future pro player and certainly not good enough to play at any school in the country which is likely true. It doesn't mean he won't be a quality player at some point for us but I think its fair to say that many of your "predictions" are overblown just as the Justin Hamilton prediction was

On another note, I'm truly amazed that this thread has been able to generate over 9 pages of this dialogue.

[Bandwagon King]

Ken Marks from Beaumont and Marcus Keys from Port Allen. Both kids have outstanding feet and leg drive at the point of attack.

Noah marks in my opinion was not as good as the kids we signed last year. Great kid and I'm glad he is a Cajun but there are a lot of kidsI'd like to see as Cajuns. Sometimes the numbers don't work and other times we get a better athlete, that's just how recruiting works.

A lot of the kids Hud has signed never went to these big national camps so to say that you have to go to them to get noticed is just not true. In some cases is to much put into rankings and camps, possibly but not in all cases. There is a reason the teams who are in the top 25 year in and year out are typically the teams who are in the top 25 recruiting rankings.

I appreciate your information & you MAY be right about all that you are saying cocerning UL. But when I click on the Rival's sports web site, or the 24-7 web site. Almost every single picture of every top recruit listed has either an underarmor shirt on in front of a banner with with under armor all over it, or they have their picture with a Nike tee shirt which says NTFC. I'm going to assume that means National Training Football Combine. Almost every single top rated player in America. We're not talking about the top 50. We're talking about the top 5000 or more. The cold hard truth is that those combines are absolutely the easiest best way for an athlete, especially from a small school to get noticed by virtue of their athletic ability. Because they go through all the combine skills together with every FBS school in America watching. The coaches aren't running the drills. They are standing there watching the players go through the drills & evaluating in real time evidently. That's a huge plus in anybody's book. What you are saying may be helpful for the school. But it isn't helping certain players who deserved exposure. And I can tell you that Noah was one of the top five offensive linemen in the state last season. We can argue over which one & we can argue over what you like versus what I like. But as a strong side guard or tackle, there won't be many if any better in college fotball. UL flat out stole the man.

Somebody from the school ought to be picked up for grand larceny.

[Bandwagon King]

Maybe Noah didn't make a mistake. Maybe he's not a future pro player and certainly not good enough to play at any school in the country which is likely true. It doesn't mean he won't be a quality player at some point for us but I think its fair to say that many of your "predictions" are overblown just as the Justin Hamilton prediction was

On another note, I'm truly amazed that this thread has been able to generate over 9 pages of this dialogue.

What about Justin Hamilton's prediction has been overblown? He'll be a four year letterman & three year starter, and an All conference player this season. He'll get invited to the national scouting combine. And he still has a very very good chance of being a first round draft pick depending on how well he plays this season. You care to explain how I could overblow that? Especially coming from a guy who said he'd be red shirted & wouldn't see the field until his third season if he worked real hard & was lucky.

[SlickRick]

Since I've followed this thread from the beginning, I've got to ask....What was Kyle's Justin Hamilton's prediction?

[Bandwagon King]

Since I've followed this thread from the beginning, I've got to ask....What was Kyle's Justin Hamilton's prediction?

My prediction was that he would have an immediate impact for this football team. That he would be an all conference player and had a very good chance of being a first round draft pick & a shoe in for a top three rounds if he worked as hard as he could while he was here. Anyone here is welcome to find the quotes, but that was pretty much it. I'm still right on schdule. Now ask what was zephyr's forgettable prediction on the guy. Because that didn't last through the OSU game the first game. (-%

[CajunT]

The start of that stupidity was depending on YOU my man. I asked YOU what I needed to do two years ago & i'm doing it. The problem was your perception based on him going to a class 1-A high school. I kept telling you you needed to open your mind up. I kept telling you that if he continued to do work like he was working he was gonna blow up. Every time you showed me a guy UL signed & I could see how Josh was bigger & had better structure.

You think I want to be on here having this little tiff? You're wrong. But you say what you want. I've spent enough money on his recruiting process & sending him to a myriad of camps across the state to pay for his first year of tuition at Stanford. Has he gotten some great coaching & met some outstanding coaches? Absolutely. But his chances of getting to an FBS program because he didn't attend one of those combines was crippled beyond what I can calculate. And if you know anything about the system you know what I'm saying is the absolute truth. No matter what you say, you know I'm right. You may not have realized the importance before now. But you sure as hell do now, thanks to my son's lost opportunities which we will never even know about. How many more Noah Marks are ther out there BJ? Who is going to give those guys a well deserved opportunity?

UL couldn't even hold a Spring football game because they didn't have enough depth on the offensive line to play one & no one seems to be bothered about that. If they lose the SBC this season, it won't be because Broadway sucked, or we didn't have top flight recieving corps. It certainly won't be because of one of the best group of Running backs in the nation. It will be because we were to beat up or beat down at the LOS. Noah Marks alone could have been that difference maker for that program if it doesn't happen for that team this season. Noah never had a chance because he believed in a system which was set up to lock him out. I personally saw Les Miles step right over him to talk to a couple of Rival's wonder boys & offer them right in front of my face. I even wrote about it last year when I thought UL would offer him. I wonder if he would have been offerd had LSU made any overtones? I am fighting to avoid that for my son & any other parent & child from a small school, or big school around the Lafayette area from now on for that matter. That's why I'm on here sounding like a fool. I don't care because it does matter.

Edit: Your perception of 1-A high school football is certainly not unique. That's the problem. I went to the Nicholls camp myself. And I can tell you now. I saw whole squads of players from East Felliciano, Jesuit, Suphur High, and Evangel. East Felliciano looked just as good as Jesuit, Sulphur & Evangel. Maybe better. Just because a guy comes from a 1-a or 2-a program doesn't matter that much. Are the odds of seeing more college ready players better at a big school game? Yes they are. But there are plenty of college ready players on the 1-a & 2-a level. Is the talent always as refined? Most likely not. But that's what coaching is for.

[CrazyCajun]

has it ever occurred to you that you might be hurting your son by doing this on a message board? has it ever occurred to you that maybe a coach wants your son buy might be hesitant in getting in a 4-5 year relationship with you? im all for people for supporting and talking up their kids but there is a line where you can do more harm than good. lezbehonest, sometimes you can be a bit much.

Bump

[SlickRick]

Thanks Kyle! I did look it up and what you predicted then doesn't quite match up to what we've seen with Justin so far, but he still has a season to go, his 4th, which means he didn't go pro after 3. I do agree with your assessment of his athletic ability!

I'm a Justin fan and I'm looking forward to seeing his full potential this fall. Based on what I've heard, we are 3 deep on the DL this year, so when Justin is in the game, he should be fresh and that should spell trouble for the opposing team. He's shown the talent you described back when, but he hasn't done it consistently. I believe that is due to conditioning and being on the field too long. I hope he realizes he has a pro football future if he gets fit and stays fit throughout the season. Also, this season is his last to show the NFL what he can do, or pro sports lingo, this is HIS CONTRACT YEAR!