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Re: Recruiting evaluation - needle - 02-06-2014

Might need a solid contribution from Alex Yazdi, aka "The Iranian Meatball."

Quote: So which current Cardinal player has potential as a future fullback?
“There’s a guy on the D-line, I’ve kind of been in his ear a little bit about playing fullback. His name’s Alex Yazdi,” Ward said. “His nickname on the team is ‘The Iranian Meatball’…once he gets a head of steam, he’s hard to stop.”

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/09/04/football-preview-stanford-sticks-with-smashmouth-fullbacks-the-teams-dirty-workers/



Leiataua... of course! Inadvertent Orwellianism - Redrum - 02-06-2014

We (and I) spent a good part of yesterday obsessing over Leiataua . Would he or wouldn't he?  Then, he wouldn't ...and now less than 24 hrs. later he's "that kid from Compton". 

I agree and affirm, this board has gained immensely from having Hulk and Boston Card contribute analyses.  I've read both for years on the Booty.  They bring what many of us (or I) lack: long attention spans and analytical skills.  If any of you ventured over to the Poison Lands  i.e. the Bootleg Current Events Board, you'd find Boston Card patiently and doggedly answering political babble with data.  Not that it changed any True Believers' minds, but it gave one hope that some could keep their heads while others lost, or gave away, theirs.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - Hulk01 - 02-06-2014

Thanks for the compliment Yvonne.  In recruiting, trust none of the outside sources because none of them understand Stanford, Stanford football, and Stanford recruiting--none. 

Andy Drukarev gets it.  It takes a good ear and intuition to read kids and Andy has that.  Everyone else at Rivals deserve nothing but belly laughs.  Ditto 247.  Most kids refuse the Bootleg's calls.

For 2015, I feel swamped by work, play, and god parenting.  But I think we can become a great source by getting some volunteers and dividing up responsibilities.

Slide is the obvious choice to cover Georgia and probably Florida.

If we coax Garry Cobb over here, he's the guy for defensive backs.  (I will contact him.)

We also have feet on the ground in New Jersey, which will be a key area for us for the next decade.  Or is there someone here already?

The idea would be that each person cover either one area or one position, cut and paste everything he can find, and send it to a central data base.  Lots of suggestions but one obvious choice is to enter a Google alert for the prospect's name and you will get updates to your email each time something surfaces.

I can do the Minnesota and Iowa, where I have sources, plus Oregon, ditto.  If I did a position group it would be DBs but Cobb is so much better there.

Any thoughts?  If I even attempt to cover everyone I will feel forced to stop completely.  As it is, I feel committed from 6 am to 11 pm for the forseeable future.  Wonderful problem to have but it will make me unable to comfort the uneasy, as I tried to do this year.

Sorry, but the kid from Compton will always be TKFC to me.  That was not a real offer.

Let's talk about this ok.

And thanks Redrum too. 


Re: Recruiting evaluation - Stymie - 02-06-2014

Very interesting article about Vecchio.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/louis-600485-iii-decision.html

Re: The soft spot in your defensive analysis - socalstanfan1 - 02-06-2014

(02-06-2014, 08:32 AM)Redrum link Wrote:And possibly in our DLine itself:

"plus highly regarded players (Shittu, Watkins, Kaumatule, and Nwafor) to step into the void. "

Of that group, Shittu and Nwafor have drawn comment for their disappearance.  Nwafor was injured, Shittu played and did not distinguish himself as a future star based on his play.  Watkins is never mentioned in the mix. Dunno why.  Only Kaumatule elicited any real optimism, but maybe that was just hope.  Hard to know, the only way we get to know and the only way they get a fair test is to play regularly.  But they might come up short in a fair test.  We have definitely been spoiled by the last three years.

I disagree with some of this. Shittu I have some questions about. He'll have to step up and show something this Spring, without a doubt. Naw for was getting strong reviews before his injury, but it's hard to blame a player for being injured. And I do recall hearing some positives about the development of Watkins. He, too, will need to step up and show more this Spring and Summer. But, due to the strength of our starters, as the program has improved overall, I think the days of freshmen, and even redshirt freshman, stepping in and becoming key contributors are generally gone. There will be exceptions, of course, but in general a lot of very talented people will be waiting, and developing, until their third year, before stepping up and becoming contributors. Think: Cajuste, Danser, Wilkes, Mauro, etc. I think eventually most of the talent will develop, though new guys could come in and move ahead. But I'm not so down on our earlier DL recruits, just yet.

Well, we aren't talking at cross purposes - Redrum - 02-06-2014

I don't fault Nwafor for being injured,  just the result:  he got less game experience and so between rehab and having to start all over building game strength and game reactions,  we don't really know what we have compared to what we need.  Maybe that'll be sorted out in short order.  Or, not.  Watkins might have been turning himself into a dynamite player in our S&C program or running defense against our offense in practice.  I didn't hear a lot about him and I'd bet we don't really know what we have.  If you heard differently, great!  Is he an every down starter?  By contrast, we as outsiders knew we had a dynamite player in Murphy very early on.  The buzz from practice was that loud.

Hope they all explode...in a good way.  I wonder about Lohn  His description and video of a non-stop motor HS player made me think of Ben Gardner.  And,  since then, not much.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - washingtonismoney - 02-06-2014

(02-06-2014, 11:32 AM)Hulk01 link Wrote:Ditto 247.

247's an interesting case. With respect to prediction, 247's Vandy writer Barton Simmons did quite well with Stanford recruits: http://247sports.com/User/Barton%20S/Predictions?PlayerInstitution.PrimaryPlayerSport.Recruitment.Year=2014&PlayerInstitution.PrimaryPlayerSport.Sport=Football

And I thought Simmons had interesting write-ups of our camps -- though you're more expert than I; perhaps you have different opinions:
http://247sports.com/Board/30/Stanford-camp-notes-19407702/1#a19408050
http://247sports.com/Article/Stanford-Cardinal-Prospect-Camp-wrap-up-136806

But most have no special expertise, which is as you expect. Drukarev should be better than a random recruiting reporter -- that's his beat. Fortunately he's even better than a simple "replacement writer" metric.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - terry - 02-06-2014

A few comments on positions --

I'm pretty sure Taijuan Thomas has been practicing at CB since arriving at Stanford.

At the recruiting reception last night, the coaches indicated that Brandt-Sims could play a position similar to Kelsey Young's position last year. So he would appear to be more of a slot receiver than a running back.

Tyler has been practicing at OLB this year, and the coaches described Veach as an OLB also. That doesn't mean somebody won't switch positions, of course.

The coaches said that both Franklin and Murphy could play either CB or safety. So that gives us more options at safety.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - washingtonismoney - 02-06-2014

(02-06-2014, 04:58 PM)terry link Wrote:At the recruiting reception last night, the coaches indicated that Brandt-Sims could play a position similar to Kelsey Young's position last year.

Cool -- anything else from that reception? (Thanks!)

Re: Recruiting evaluation - terry - 02-06-2014

More from the recruiting reception . . .

Lance Anderson compared Alijah Holder to Richard Sherman in that he is a bigger, more physical cornerback.

Anderson described Perez and Okereke as inside linebackers.

Morgan Turner said Schultz is a Zach Ertz type of player.

Several coaches mentioned the performances of our recruits in the various all-star games (Gibbons, McCaffrey, I think someone else also). I was a little surprised that the coaches emphasized that.

The attendance at this event was the largest I can remember. Lots and lots of people there.

Shaw thanked several people, starting with the coaches' wives, President Hennessey, and the admissions office. Shaw seemed more relaxed and confident in this setting than I can remember him being in previous years. Shaw said he often is asked whether the football program has changed the admission office's standards. He said no, what has changed is the coaching staff's understanding of what the admissions office requires. He said the coaches are getting better at finding admissible prospects, not perfect, but better.

My wife thinks Joey Alfieri is handsome. He's replacing Tyler Gaffney on her list of favorites.

Kelsey Young can't be too happy about that - Redrum - 02-06-2014

"the coaches indicated that Brandt-Sims could play a position similar to Kelsey Young's position last year"

Between sessions acting a decoy in the un-executed fly sweeps Kelsey young got about 17 actual carries last season.  Now Brandt-Sims is going to cut that total in half.

P.S.  Terry:  About your wife's mini-crush on Gaffney.  Just between us guys:  was it the tats? And now that you're retired are you going to go out and get an arm done up like Tyler's?

Re: Recruiting evaluation - washingtonismoney - 02-06-2014

(02-06-2014, 09:45 PM)terry link Wrote:Several coaches mentioned the performances of our recruits in the various all-star games (Gibbons, McCaffrey, I think someone else also). I was a little surprised that the coaches emphasized that.

On one hand, it's a small sample size. On the other hand -- and probably where they're coming from -- it's the only chance to see the players against vaguely comparable players. Gibbons, for example, probably spent most of his senior year rolling over overweight 230 pounders. So while you never quite know how someone might translate to college players, competing against the best high school players might be a decent clue.

(02-06-2014, 09:45 PM)Redrum link Wrote:Between sessions acting a decoy in the un-executed fly sweeps Kelsey young got about 17 actual carries last season.  Now Brandt-Sims is going to cut that total in half.

I'm guessing that reflected a problem with Young (specifically, his hands/route-running ability) rather than a problem with the platonic ideal of the role. Note how Young's usage -- in terms of touches and, more broadly, in terms of routes run/motions run/etc. -- decreased from 2012 to 2013. (for one example: http://www.ruleoftree.com/2013/11/5/5062566/behind-the-numbers-examining-tyler-gaffney-and-stanfords-run-game)

Re: Recruiting evaluation - terry - 02-06-2014

Ha! I hadn't thought about getting Gaffney-style tats, but that's a great idea. The tats would go well with my Ben Gardner-style mullet!

Re: Recruiting evaluation - terry - 02-06-2014

Tavita Pritchard talks about Chryst and Brandt-Sims --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhR2APJX4cE

By the way, I think Tavita is an impressive guy.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - washingtonismoney - 02-06-2014

One thing about the Brandt-Sims video -- it's presumably his senior tape -- is that it looks like he's cutting better and doesn't accelerate as slowly as before.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - terry - 02-06-2014

The fact that Brandt-Sims appears on a video about QBs and WRs tells you something about how the coaches envision using him.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - BostonCard - 02-06-2014

Two observations on the video...

Chryst is going to need to learn how to throw it away.  He can elude high school kids, but in college that is likely a sack.
IBS would have benefitted from better blocking.  Man, on some of those plays there was a revolving door in front of him.

BC

Re: Recruiting evaluation - yvonne - 02-06-2014

(02-06-2014, 10:01 PM)terry link Wrote:Ha! I hadn't thought about getting Gaffney-style tats, but that's a great idea. The tats would go well with my Ben Gardner-style mullet!

and your Andrew style beard.

Re: Recruiting evaluation - slide - 02-07-2014

(02-06-2014, 10:22 PM)Yvonne link Wrote:[quote author=terry link=topic=9515.msg83422#msg83422 date=1391749283]
Ha! I hadn't thought about getting Gaffney-style tats, but that's a great idea. The tats would go well with my Ben Gardner-style mullet!

and your Andrew style beard.
[/quote]

no no no.  a neard would ruin the look Terry is carefully cultivating.

You're right, Terry - Redrum - 02-07-2014

The time to do your Gaffney homage arm tats would have been before you retired.

You walk into a settlement conference. Sit down and roll up your sleeve.  Let him get an eyeball full.  Look your adversary in the eye and say,  "Now, what was it that we're here to discuss?"

Even more effective if you're doing mergers and acquisitions.