2018 verbal commitments

[cajun4life]

We know Napier was behind the 8 ball with this year's class. Last coach wrecked relationships with many HS staffs. The early signing period really threw a monkey wrench into things. He only had a few weeks to build a staff to try and piece together a decent signing class.

All of us should have seen this coming. To expect an eye popping class this season was really wishful thinking. Now, I fully expect this staff to absolutely crush the next class.

Just to give you guys an idea of where we need to go, these are 24/7 class rankings of certain regional foes.

#66 Tulane. (20) 3-stars
#73 Houston. (19) 3-stars
#76 Louisiana Tech. (16) 3-stars
#81 Southern Miss. (19) 3-stars
#85 UTSA. (16) 3-stars
#86 Memphis. (16) 3-stars
#88 Arkansas State. (14) 3-stars
#89 SMU. (15) 3-stars


#125 Louisiana. (4) 3-stars

IMO in order for us to become successful and maintain it we need to land 2 or 3 of the top 40 rated players within Louisiana. And land 10 or more of the next 35 rated players.

That’s 10-13 three star kids from Louisiana. Then throw in another 5 or 6 three star kids from the south. That’s where we need to be recruiting wise. I think this staff will get there next season. With a full year of recruiting and the early signing period.

[CajunNation]

Not to disparage those rankings, they are meaningless at the G5 level. Example is that one of our staff members heavily involved in our recruiting decisions thinks Moncrief is the best player in the class. He is a 2 star guy and some of his other offers were FBS schools. Note I would say the same were we ranked higher.

I hate when Stevie P says this, but it applies here. Large sample size.

Citing 1 or 2 exceptions to the star system does not negate a double digit disparity in 3 star recruits between us and the schools I mentioned. That gap MUST be closed.

Ask Rickey Bustle how coaching up a bunch of 2 star recruits worked out for him.

[basinbear]

I hate when Stevie P says this, but it applies here. Large sample size.

Citing 1 or 2 exceptions to the star system does not negate a double digit disparity in 3 star recruits between us and the schools I mentioned. That gap MUST be closed.

Ask Rickey Bustle how coaching up a bunch of 2 star recruits worked out for him.

There are far more than 1 or two exceptions....

[Ragincajun07]

I hate when Stevie P says this, but it applies here. Large sample size.

Citing 1 or 2 exceptions to the star system does not negate a double digit disparity in 3 star recruits between us and the schools I mentioned. That gap MUST be closed.

Ask Rickey Bustle how coaching up a bunch of 2 star recruits worked out for him.

I agree, the double digit disparity is discouraging, even knowing the issues the current staff faced. We should always be in the hunt for the same players as those schools.

Anyone who thinks we’re just going to up and kill recruiting and be second in state next year is kidding themselves. It will take time.

I can take my vermillion colored glasses and realize both Tulane and La Tech have a lot to offer recruits right now.

Tulane finally has a competent coach and is in the AAC. La tech is rolling with 4 straight bowl wins and is tied 1st in g5 schools with the number of players drafted over the past 5 years. We have an uphill challenge.

[Geaux]

I agree, the double digit disparity is discouraging, even knowing the issues the current staff faced. We should always be in the hunt for the same players as those schools.

Anyone who thinks we’re just going to up and kill recruiting and be second in state next year is kidding themselves. It will take time.

I can take my vermillion colored glasses and realize both Tulane and La Tech have a lot to offer recruits right now.

Tulane finally has a competent coach and is in the AAC. La tech is rolling with 4 straight bowl wins and is tied 1st in g5 schools with the number of players drafted over the past 5 years. We have an uphill challenge.

LA Tech can also point to four or five recent draft picks over the last two to three years that are doing very well in NFL.

We got Elijah.....thats it.

Elijah was a highly-ranked recruit. highly-ranked recruits are usually a direct reflection of NFL drafts

[CharlieK]

When Napier took over we had like 4 commits, a couple of which we dropped. A few weeks later early signing period happened taking many off the board. He then built a staff, AND recruited several guys who fill very specific needs. We only signed 15 or so, so the overall score is meaningless. Our average recruit rating puts us in the middle of the sunbelt. Not where we want to be long term, but as much as we could expect given the above limitations. We will bring in a few more guys, fill some more holes and then see if our well paid coaches can coach.

We lost two players to P5s at the last moment and another to the Lane Kiffen crazy express. So on the whim of 3 KIDS we went from a great class to so-so. And he put this all together in 6 weeks or so. We are on the right track.

Now my expectations for the next class will be much higher.

[LifeTimeCajun]

When Napier took over we had like 4 commits, a couple of which we dropped. A few weeks later early signing period happened taking many off the board. He then built a staff, AND recruited several guys who fill very specific needs. We only signed 15 or so, so the overall score is meaningless. Our average recruit rating puts us in the middle of the sunbelt. Not where we want to be long term, but as much as we could expect given the above limitations. We will bring in a few more guys, fill some more holes and then see if our well paid coaches can coach.

We lost two players to P5s at the last moment and another to the Lane Kiffen crazy express. So on the whim of 3 KIDS we went from a great class to so-so. And he put this all together in 6 weeks or so. We are on the right track.

Now my expectations for the next class will be much higher.

And he did most of that with very little staff. He didn’t have a full compliment of coaches for most of the 50 days of recruiting.

[CajunAmos]

I hate when Stevie P says this, but it applies here. Large sample size.

Citing 1 or 2 exceptions to the star system does not negate a double digit disparity in 3 star recruits between us and the schools I mentioned. That gap MUST be closed.

Ask Rickey Bustle how coaching up a bunch of 2 star recruits worked out for him.

How many of those signed in the early signing period?

[CharlieK]

And he did most of that with very little staff. He didn’t have a full compliment of coaches for most of the 50 days of recruiting.

We were facing an absolute disaster of a recruiting class, like an all time bad one, before Hud was fired. Napier worked a damn minor miracle to get what we got and even have a chance for the three guys we lost. What he was able to do will keep us in the game. Next years class will (needs to be) the big splash.

[CrazyCajun]

The man was hired to build a program...he wasn’t hired to swing for the fence in 2018