USC's 2012 Signing Day Wrap Up
by Paragon SC on Feb 1, 2012 8:00 PM PST
in USC Football
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Well, it was an interesting day. You win some and you lose some.
So lets look at things...
Here is Kiffin's presser
The Good:
Kiffin hauled in a pretty good class. The class as a whole averaged over 4-stars. I am not really into the star classification system because it monitored by guys who are not coaches and who may have agendas, a lot of coaches don't even pay attention to it. That being said, it would appear that this is a very talented haul and is pretty damn impressive for only bringing 12 guys who wanted to be at USC.
Kiffin pulled in two guys from the state of Florida whom I expect will see immediate action. Guys who thought enough of USC to make the trek all the way across country away from the comforts from home.
Those are the guys we want.
Kiffin's words from a couple of years ago are ringing true...he knows within the first 10 minutes if guys are USC material.
The Disappointing:
But in reading the "pundits" and supposed "insiders" on the different boards over the past few weeks, it is clear that USC got less than we expected. Missing out on Peat and/or Murphy at a serious position of need is a big deal to me. Especially with both going to the same school. Even Scott Starr was shocked about Murphy, Tweeting "Damn".
Dodson and Miles were long shots, so I am not disappointed there. Pio was rumored to have some academic issues (don't know for sure) and Shittu was never serious on USC and gamed the whole process for the fun of it. Probably best that he didn't come here.
Don't get wrong, I think this is a very good class considering the sanctions we are under but I won't deny that earlier today it felt a little empty.
I know Kiffin can close, so that is not the issue, but USC is still being negatively recruited against...especially when you consider that the new revenue sharing deal allows schools to pay better salaries and bring better recruiters in than other schools have had in the past.
Welcome to parity.
USC did not even fill their 15 slots, not counting EE's. To me that says a lot, even if the plan is to use those slots for EE's in the next recruiting cycle. To me it shows that Kiffin has to be extra careful in who he chooses. He doesn't have the liberty to go after a few guys that might be less then ideal.
I won't even try to figure out the math, I will let Kiffin figure it out.
Better to leave a few spots open for serious contenders than to chase guys who may mess with the chemistry that Kiffin and Haden have worked so hard to build.
Obviously, it will not be a problem to be at the NCAA mandated 75 by the end of training camp.
I have been consistent on how depth will be an issue going forward into the teeth of sanctions. Not being able to fill all of our allotted slots shows things will get a little bit tight going forward.
Other than that, it is hard to be upset with this class. They all look like solid citizens who want to be at USC, regardless of the circumstances.
What's not to like about that?
FIGHT ON!
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OL is set, we have enough guys.
Murphy would have been good to have, but somewhat redundant. Our real need is in the interior defensive line. LFK is wise to keep some of those golden tickets in his pocket. If we win the Pac-12 and all the negative recruiting will fall on deaf ears.
"That's what the FBI can never understand - that what Paulie and the organization offer is protection for the kinds of guys who can't go to the cops. They're like the police department for wiseguys." Henry Hill, Goodfellas.
Feeling Loco?
+1 - OL isn't a position of need
We have gotten spoiled when we think USC needed a 16th OL. I’m I upset USC couldn’t land one more OT, either Murphy, Peat or Dodson? Yes, but then I’m greedy. However lets be real here, USC is loaded at OL and that one more kid was a luxury. Right now, USC has 15 OL on scholarship, that is more than they have ever had under Carroll. Hell they won the 2013 MNC with 12 and played with that many last year.
USC will always be negatively recruited against, that is just a fact of life. Use to be about having to sit on the bench. Now it’a about not having enough kids to win. When scholarship reductions are over, they will go back to “why would you want to sit at USC” again.
by ev on Feb 2, 2012 8:10 AM PST up reply actions
I will tell you something the DEs better get their stuff together because Len Williams is the DEAL
Yes we can't play in a Bowl and that is lucky for the rest of College FB' but next year we at USC will dominate.
by so.cal.native1952 on Feb 2, 2012 6:53 AM PST reply actions
For me the mindset is everything...
The physical quality/skill of all the new guys is what it is. Of course, all looks good and the coaching staff can and will handle/improve all of that. To me though the single most important AND BEST thing about this new class is… THESE GUYS REALLY WANT TO BE AT SC. With all that’s gone on and will continue over the next three years… these guys still chose to come to USC. They’re now Trojans in both body AND spirit. BIG BIG difference from many who’ve done the ‘college gig’ as mainly a necessary but interim step to the NFL My hope is the new guys take an ‘old school’ mindset to what being a STUDENT-athlete is really all about.
trojanWar
Agree --
I was elated to see on USCTrojans.com was—-
“One common attribute of these signees is their ability to compete. None of them were worried about depth charts or playing time. They were excited to be Trojans."
No prima donnas apparently — that is a good thing — team players!
by trojanarchitect on Feb 2, 2012 10:39 AM PST up reply actions
Looks like the expressway scholar lost Pete and Murphy
According to LK he has great visits with those two the week before, but then he let Haden go this week and they ended up at shitford.
Yes we can't play in a Bowl and that is lucky for the rest of College FB' but next year we at USC will dominate.
by so.cal.native1952 on Feb 2, 2012 12:45 PM PST reply actions
Peat and Murphy were pretty solid Stanford commits for a while
That Murphy waivered until the last possible minute means that Haden had an effect.
If USC had gone hard earlier, then we might have had Murphy. But it’s hard to fault any OL prospect committing to Stanford, especially right now, since, after this years draf, they may have produced something like 4 first round draft picks in three years.
Now, if they chose UCLOL, which hasn’t had a lineman drafted in years, then there would have been a problem.
The dayze of USC calling and everyone else in the Pac-10/12 recoiling in fear is over. Not because of sanctions or tarnished image or any of that nonsense. It’s because the new TV deal is putting a lot of money into programs, which helps with upgrading facilities and the ability to hire the best assistant coaches. Would WSU have hired Leach or UA hired RichRod before the deal?
USC's sanctions definitely have an impact on recruiting throughout the conference
You’re right about the new TV deal enabling other schools to hire better coaches/recruiters, but USC’s reduced scholarships means that every year a few kids who might have gone to USC will go to a school we are directly competing against. Cal, Oregon, Stanford and UCLA will benefit the most from that since it seems like most of our recruiting battles for local players are with those schools.
Fight on!
Until UCLA wins
and puts players into the NFL and upgrades their facilities (an 80 yard practice field?), UDub and perhaps UA under RichRod will be more of a concern.
Cal isn’t a concern. They let Tosh go simply because of money. It shows that they that are not serious about big boy football.
The schools I am concerned about are the schools that are investing big time in their programs. Oregon, UDub, Stanford, UA.
Yes, sanctions allow other kids to go to other schools, but it isn’t hampering SC with the elite players. It the three stars who provide depth that will hurt SC.
With 15 scholies and a 75 total limit, the staff has to be very selective in offering and recruiting. You can’t reach for a five-star divas (Baxter, Ayles), a three-star tweener type (Kavienga, Baucham), a raw, long-term project (James Boyd), or an academic casualty waiting to happen (Daniel Campbell, Walker Ashley, Markeith Ambles, Patrick Hall).
Look at the 2010 class Lane inherited. Of the 18 signed and enrolled, four will be out of the program within two years (five if Scroggins doesn’t get his act together). That kind of attrition, common under PC, will have to stop for SC to remain competitive.
The staff has to be very, very careful, everyone offered has be a clear academic admit, the work ethic to stay eligible, and the potential to start. That means the staff has to be more careful, thus slower and more judicious about recruiting.
That is what will hurt for some players. We will be slower in the recruiting process, offering later.
Well I guess if the Lawyer Desmo was the coach we would have lost all games aLready
the thing is that pat probably sold usc short to those stanford recruits why because he such a scholar, really do you think pat would have gone to usc if his best friend wasn’t McKay son—he would have gone to ND—-Haden needs to go bottom line—let him take his alter boy knee pads somewhere else.
Yes we can't play in a Bowl and that is lucky for the rest of College FB' but next year we at USC will dominate.
by so.cal.native1952 on Feb 2, 2012 6:42 PM PST up reply actions
Well it gives us an extra 3 scholarships for the spring.
We can sign a total of 18 next year. That should give us some flexibility.
Only if 3 are Early Enrollee's, correct?
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again
-R. Zimmerman
Yes
Really works out for the best. Better to leave 3 spots open when we have to cut to 75 in yr 1 of sanctions, then have extra spots in yr 2 and maybe 3 when we are trying to climb up to 75.
A Quick Note for the Quitters
No comment from this thread will be deleted. You will have to own them when we get it turned around and beat Southern Cal. You will never ride the bandwagon when we come back. Not on BN. GO BRUINS.
by Nestor on Sep 4, 2010 9:24 PM CDT
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