[Hulk01]

A favorite in-the-knower and I recently talked recruiting for over almost two hours.  During the talk he offered an interesting idea:

Someone should start a recruit ranking service and/or create an high school All Star game in which fellow players do all the votiing.

“Kids know,” he said.  “All we adults are doing is trying to trust our eyes and judgment.”

His words came back to me yesterday when I read the raves of two players who recently had faced Christian McCaffrey:

I don't think he's human.  He changed every way that we prepared on defense and he got the better of us."

"Obviously he's a great athlete and he plays all over field,  It's very unpredictable.


The two players’ coach added that his guys had played well.

“But there is nothing you can do to scheme against the kid,” the coach said. “He will just beat you in another way.”

Christian finished the game with 231 yards and four touchdowns on just 17 touches.

To Stanford fans who suspect that he had to have run stats that spectacular against a patsy, no.  He did it in the Colorado state championship finals.  And consider two more remarkable stats: His four scores brought his career total to 140.  One.Four.Oh

And in his four state championship-winning games over his four years, McCaffrey averaged almost 220 yards per game.

We may have our guy. :)

[Hulk01]

A favorite in-the-knower and I recently talked recruiting for over almost two hours.  During the talk he offered an interesting idea:

Someone should start a recruit ranking service and/or create an high school All Star game in which fellow players do all the votiing.

“Kids know,” he said.  “All we adults are doing is trying to trust our eyes and judgment.”

His words came back to me yesterday when I read the raves of two players who recently had faced Christian McCaffrey:

I don't think he's human.  He changed every way that we prepared on defense and he got the better of us."

"Obviously he's a great athlete and he plays all over field,  It's very unpredictable.


The two players’ coach added that his guys had played well.

“But there is nothing you can do to scheme against the kid,” the coach said. “He will just beat you in another way.”

Christian finished the game with 231 yards and four touchdowns on just 17 touches.

To Stanford fans who suspect that he had to have run stats that spectacular against a patsy, no.  He did it in the Colorado state championship finals.  And consider two more remarkable stats: His four scores brought his career total to 140.  One.Four.Oh

And in his four state championship-winning games over his four years, McCaffrey averaged almost 220 yards per game.

We may have our guy. :)

[FarmBoy]

That's crazy. 140 TDs in a career? 35 per year for 4 years? How much PT did he get as a frosh?

Hopefully his stats and skills translate to the Pac12. The last two RBs we got with video game HS stats did pretty well (thinking of Toby and Tyler here).

[FarmBoy]

That's crazy. 140 TDs in a career? 35 per year for 4 years? How much PT did he get as a frosh?

Hopefully his stats and skills translate to the Pac12. The last two RBs we got with video game HS stats did pretty well (thinking of Toby and Tyler here).

[OutsiderFan]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict McCaffery is the Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the year in 2014. 

[OutsiderFan]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict McCaffery is the Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the year in 2014. 

[kuz]

That's crazy. 140 TDs in a career? 35 per year for 4 years? How much PT did he get as a frosh?

Hopefully his stats and skills translate to the Pac12. The last two RBs we got with video game HS stats did pretty well (thinking of Toby and Tyler here).

Well, Ricky Seale set a ton of records too, and hasn't done much yet...

[kuz]

That's crazy. 140 TDs in a career? 35 per year for 4 years? How much PT did he get as a frosh?

Hopefully his stats and skills translate to the Pac12. The last two RBs we got with video game HS stats did pretty well (thinking of Toby and Tyler here).

Well, Ricky Seale set a ton of records too, and hasn't done much yet...

[Spiny_Norman]

You don't play RB at Stanford unless you can pass block.  Don't imagine that McCaffrey had to do that very much in high school.  He will have a steep learning curve if he wants to earn playing time.

[Spiny_Norman]

You don't play RB at Stanford unless you can pass block.  Don't imagine that McCaffrey had to do that very much in high school.  He will have a steep learning curve if he wants to earn playing time.

[OutsiderFan]

McCaffrey's just as good as a slot receiver as a RB.  To me, he's too good not to get on the field.  Of course, I thought that with Barry Sanders too..

[OutsiderFan]

McCaffrey's just as good as a slot receiver as a RB.  To me, he's too good not to get on the field.  Of course, I thought that with Barry Sanders too..

[Kathy]

Shaw doesn't play freshmen ... and apparently doesn't give a lot of playing time to sophomores. I think he has said before that Stanford football is for upperclassmen.

[Kathy]

Shaw doesn't play freshmen ... and apparently doesn't give a lot of playing time to sophomores. I think he has said before that Stanford football is for upperclassmen.

[washingtonismoney]

Shaw doesn't play freshmen ... and apparently doesn't give a lot of playing time to sophomores. I think he has said before that Stanford football is for upperclassmen.

Wellllllll.... he's said players are best as upperclassmen. Which is a no-shit statement if I've ever seen one.

The team does play freshmen -- it's started Montgomery, Yankey, Fleming, Williamson, Carter, Hogan, and Miller in recent years, and given significant minutes to Lyons and Peat as true freshmen... My issue with Shaw's treatment of freshmen is not so much the number but that he seems caught in between two models: you either redshirt almost all of them or redshirt comparatively fewer (and play those that don't heavily.) Shaw (and Harbaugh, previously) burns a lot of redshirts but seems to keep the burnt guys in a weird apprenticeship mode -- not getting much out of the year of eligibility. Owusu, Martinez, and Whitfield (among many others) were caught in this middle zone, and I think it's a mismanagement of resources.

[washingtonismoney]

Shaw doesn't play freshmen ... and apparently doesn't give a lot of playing time to sophomores. I think he has said before that Stanford football is for upperclassmen.

Wellllllll.... he's said players are best as upperclassmen. Which is a no-shit statement if I've ever seen one.

The team does play freshmen -- it's started Montgomery, Yankey, Fleming, Williamson, Carter, Hogan, and Miller in recent years, and given significant minutes to Lyons and Peat as true freshmen... My issue with Shaw's treatment of freshmen is not so much the number but that he seems caught in between two models: you either redshirt almost all of them or redshirt comparatively fewer (and play those that don't heavily.) Shaw (and Harbaugh, previously) burns a lot of redshirts but seems to keep the burnt guys in a weird apprenticeship mode -- not getting much out of the year of eligibility. Owusu, Martinez, and Whitfield (among many others) were caught in this middle zone, and I think it's a mismanagement of resources.

[Redrum]

In support of some sense of proportion:

1)  Yes, McCaffrey's stats in that championship game prove he's not a fluke.  He really can produce against top level HS competition.  So glad he's coming west to us.

2)  But...his cumulative career stats at Valor Christian were accumulated in an elite program playing against lots of weak/ weaker/ weakest teams.  Good stats to have, but not evidence of McCaffrey's prowess alone.

[Redrum]

In support of some sense of proportion:

1)  Yes, McCaffrey's stats in that championship game prove he's not a fluke.  He really can produce against top level HS competition.  So glad he's coming west to us.

2)  But...his cumulative career stats at Valor Christian were accumulated in an elite program playing against lots of weak/ weaker/ weakest teams.  Good stats to have, but not evidence of McCaffrey's prowess alone.

[Extra Point]

Shaw's postulate on freshmen is a rule of thumb rather than a commandment. I'm sure if Shaw had been coach in 1977, Darrin Nelson would have started just as he did for Bill Walsh. The pass blocking requirement, however, may be a lot closer to a commandment.

One of the things the running back coach (Green?) raved about in 1977 was Darin's blocking ability.

[Extra Point]

Shaw's postulate on freshmen is a rule of thumb rather than a commandment. I'm sure if Shaw had been coach in 1977, Darrin Nelson would have started just as he did for Bill Walsh. The pass blocking requirement, however, may be a lot closer to a commandment.

One of the things the running back coach (Green?) raved about in 1977 was Darin's blocking ability.

[Bruce Wang]

There's also that old chestnut: count the number of freshman starters and that's how many games you will lose.

[Bruce Wang]

There's also that old chestnut: count the number of freshman starters and that's how many games you will lose.

[Bruce Wang]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict McCaffery is the Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the year in 2014.

I'm going to out on a farther limb and predict that son of Christian and grandson of Ed will come to the Farm and win Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the Year in 2044.

[Bruce Wang]

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict McCaffery is the Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the year in 2014.

I'm going to out on a farther limb and predict that son of Christian and grandson of Ed will come to the Farm and win Pac-12 Offensive Frosh of the Year in 2044.

[Mick]

A favorite in-the-knower and I recently talked recruiting for over almost two hours.  During the talk he offered an interesting idea:

Someone should start a recruit ranking service and/or create an high school All Star game in which fellow players do all the votiing.

“Kids know,” he said.  “All we adults are doing is trying to trust our eyes and judgment.”

Back in the pre-crazy media days when there wasn't so much info floating around about players, my dad was friendly with Bob Berry, QB at Willow Glen High, then Oregon.  Berry was a QB in the old East-West Shrine game.  The topic turned to the best players on the team, and Berry said "well, they're all pretty good.  But there's this running back from Kansas named Gale Sayers who is just better than anyone on the field."

Gale Sayers holds the rookie record for TDs with 22 in 1965, tied Ernie Nevers' NFL record of 6 TDs in a single game, and is youngest inductee to the HoF ever.

[Mick]

A favorite in-the-knower and I recently talked recruiting for over almost two hours.  During the talk he offered an interesting idea:

Someone should start a recruit ranking service and/or create an high school All Star game in which fellow players do all the votiing.

“Kids know,” he said.  “All we adults are doing is trying to trust our eyes and judgment.”

Back in the pre-crazy media days when there wasn't so much info floating around about players, my dad was friendly with Bob Berry, QB at Willow Glen High, then Oregon.  Berry was a QB in the old East-West Shrine game.  The topic turned to the best players on the team, and Berry said "well, they're all pretty good.  But there's this running back from Kansas named Gale Sayers who is just better than anyone on the field."

Gale Sayers holds the rookie record for TDs with 22 in 1965, tied Ernie Nevers' NFL record of 6 TDs in a single game, and is youngest inductee to the HoF ever.

[doubledub]

What Division is "Big Mac" playing his football in?

[doubledub]

What Division is "Big Mac" playing his football in?

[Bruce Wang]

Christian McCaffrey wrote an open letter, thanking everybody for winning the Colorado senior football player of the year award.  It's very well written.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24682...-mccaffrey

[Bruce Wang]

Christian McCaffrey wrote an open letter, thanking everybody for winning the Colorado senior football player of the year award.  It's very well written.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24682...-mccaffrey

[Spiny_Norman]

Christian McCaffrey wrote an open letter, thanking everybody for winning the Colorado senior football player of the year award.  It's very well written.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24682...-mccaffrey

Publius' link to McCaffrey's letter led me to this article about another winner of the Denver Post Golden Helmet award - Mike Boryla.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24683...ryla-1960s

[Spiny_Norman]

Christian McCaffrey wrote an open letter, thanking everybody for winning the Colorado senior football player of the year award.  It's very well written.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24682...-mccaffrey

Publius' link to McCaffrey's letter led me to this article about another winner of the Denver Post Golden Helmet award - Mike Boryla.

http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_24683...ryla-1960s