STM's Huval commits to UL

[CajunT]

_ I know, Josh. I read it. I guess I was looking for some thoughts from some on the board. CajunT and Z often have good insight into our recruiting and I was looking for their thoughts.

As usual, thanks for your great coverage of everything having to do with UL athletics. _

He is very strong at the point of attack and has really good feet. If you see some of the video from the Scout.com/Fox Sports Combine, he faced several LSU DL commitments and was named outstanding OL in that camp. If Huval was 2" taller, he would have BCS programs calling him every night. He will do fine playing inside and he plays with a bit of a mean streak.

[HoustonCajun]

_ For a short 300 pounder, Huval moves extremely well. Good footwork is one of the biggest drop-offs from top 30 program lineman and all the rest. I know some people have been wondering why UL has added so slowly to our recruit list... but so far... I really like the guys we've gotten commitments from. _

Should there be concern about his being a 1A player since only McNeese and Southeastern recruited him? Not even LA Tech or ULM were on him. I know Fisher and Bustle were walk-ons, so this probably means nothing. I remember when we played K State and Nebraska and everyone kept saying how much bigger they were than us. We had some pretty big O linemen, I thought, unless our heights and weights were exagerated.

I don't know. We sign 5'11" DL and 6' 1" OL people. At least he is already at 300 lbs. vs. the 265 lb. linemen we sometimes get out of high school. I certianly like the size of our DL committment at 6'6" and 290 lbs. That is what this guy will be up against. Are his size and lack of 1A schools recruiting of him be valid concerns?

[MetryCajun]

_ Should there be concern about his being a 1A player since only McNeese and Southeastern recruited him? Not even LA Tech or ULM were on him. I know Fisher and Bustle were walk-ons, so this probably means nothing. I remember when we played K State and Nebraska and everyone kept saying how much bigger they were than us. We had some pretty big O linemen, I thought, unless our heights and weights were exagerated.

I don't know. We sign 5'11" DL and 6' 1" OL people. At least he is already at 300 lbs. vs. the 265 lb. linemen we sometimes get out of high school. I certianly like the size of our DL committment at 6'6" and 290 lbs. That is what this guy will be up against. Are his size and lack of 1A schools recruiting of him be valid concerns? _

If you ever do the Cajun Walk before the game, you will know we have a small team. If this guy is really 6'1", 300lbs and can move he will get major playing time for us.

[HoustonCajun]

_ If you ever do the Cajun Walk before the game, you will know we have a small team. If this guy is really 6'1", 300lbs and can move he will get major playing time for us. _

If we have a small team, the SID is seriously fudging on the size of our players per the team roster.

[Zeebart21]

:..:

[Damon]

_ :..: _

Looks like the gun from the guys on the YouTube video shooting the TV.

[Just1More]

_ If you ever do the Cajun Walk before the game, you will know we have a small team. If this guy is really 6'1", 300lbs and can move he will get major playing time for us. _

That's nonsense. Actually, the last time I did the Cajun Walk, I was surprised at the size of many of our guys. Most of the largest guys weren't upperclassman, but they were friggin huge.

[Just1More]

_ Should there be concern about his being a 1A player since only McNeese and Southeastern recruited him? Not even LA Tech or ULM were on him. I know Fisher and Bustle were walk-ons, so this probably means nothing. I remember when we played K State and Nebraska and everyone kept saying how much bigger they were than us. We had some pretty big O linemen, I thought, unless our heights and weights were exagerated.

I don't know. We sign 5'11" DL and 6' 1" OL people. At least he is already at 300 lbs. vs. the 265 lb. linemen we sometimes get out of high school. I certianly like the size of our DL committment at 6'6" and 290 lbs. That is what this guy will be up against. Are his size and lack of 1A schools recruiting of him be valid concerns? _

A lot of "big" schools are going to dismiss Huval due to the 6'1" height. We have the luxury of taking a closer look at his weight distribution, mobility and what he can contribute. I rarely question an Acadiana area prospect we get, even if he has few other offers, as long as local talent evaluators are high on him. Some of our best players, ever, were local guys that didn't get a lot of D1A (FBS) interest. I think sometimes the word gets out that they are highly likely to stay in the area and attend UL. This drops a lot of interest.

I believe our listed heights and weights as much as I believe anyone elses. I keep trying to figure out what some are talking about when they say we are smaller than other teams. I think our DL was short in stature but that wasn't what was holding them back. I watched every home or video'd game we played and as I sized up our lines/their lines I saw no great desperaties. I didn't see the Nebraska game, but they have NFL lineman, practically, man for man. KSU did not blow us off the line on either side of the ball and neither did LSU. I felt, this year, our OL primary abilities... dive blocking... was very inaffective with the talent and/or lack of talent in our backfield. They did give us fairly good pass blocking, which was my greatest concern going into the season with Chris QB'ing.

As for Pryer... I think it was explained somewhat. He is very inexperienced... that probably has BCS and other schools unwilling to take a chance on him. We are taking a chance on Pryer's lack of experience due to all of the other extremely appealing qualities. UL has to look for diamonds in the rough and players that fit directly into a need. We have got to add something new to our DL. We simply do not bust up plays and maybe a tall, strong, athletic... yet raw... D lineman can add that very needed ingredient.

Personally, I cannot stand the obsession with searching out players that cast a shadow of perfect dimensions. For UL, it would be the dumbest thing we can do. Lineman are the biggest, by far, drop off in talent from the top schools to the bottom. A tall, heavy, slow unaggressive, uncoachable lineman isn't worth a dime. Height, especially, is something, without a doubt, that you can compromise ahead of any other factors.

I do not usually like the idea, either, that a 17 or 18 year old that is already 300 pounds is a great selection. If he has great footwork at that weight... THAT is huge. But, another way for UL to pluck a gem offensive lineman, is to evaluate an undersized highschooler, with all the other attributes, and if he has the frame and genes for adding "good" weight, then you plan his career for junior/senior playing time while he grows and learns his role as an underclassman.

[MissingMandy]

_ For what it's worth, Hightower considers Huval to be one of the best he's had at STM, even better than Fisher.


igeaux.mobi _

Really? I guess that shows how much Hightower knows!

[Parrott]

Better at this same point in his career ...


igeaux.mobi