Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Spaz's first Signing Day

Today is the day high school football players sign their letters of intent. I'll have coverage throughout the day and give my thoughts on Spaz's 4 PM press conference. Here are the first few stories related to BC's class and recruiting in general.


All things considered it looks like Spaz and Siravo did a good job holding together the class. The only defections were Nick Klemm and Korey Reynolds (who decommitted in January). Considering that both were recruited by Don Yanowsky and we set to play positions without a current position coach on staff, that is to be expected. Siravo had some good quotes on how BC positioned itself during the transition. At the end of the day you have to sell the school first and not the coaching staff.


Johnathan Coleman remains the most interesting project in the class. As I said when he first appeared on the radar, his story really echoes Michael Oher's. Hopefully BC brings out the best in him.


Here's a story of a New England kid that got away. Towards the end of the article it mentions the perception that BC takes Mass football for granted. On the message boards (and even in the offices of the Yawkey Center) there is an ongoing debate about the quality of Massachusetts football. Regardless of where you stand, BC and the new head coach should do a better job working with the high school coaches and borderline prospects. Even if it only unearths the occasional dividend it is the right thing to do and will only help local football.


One of my turnoffs to following recruiting is the sleazy nature of the process. For every Coleman you get a story like this one in Kansas. Fortunately the shear numbers involved in football will make it harder for a hustler like this to make a real impact.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I read quite often and I totally agree that recruiting is often a crapshoot.

And why not recruit marginal New England talent? Look at Jordan Todman, record setting back from Dartmouth MA. No one really wanted him, and then he became a productive true freshman runner for UConn.

Eagle All Access said...

I disagree about the Ohler-Coleman comparison. Ohler was heavily recruited out of high school and received numerous offers from top programs. Coleman was an under the radar kid BC found and offered based on his athleticism.

BCDisco said...

On a completely unrelated note, say what you will about women's basketball, but this is pretty cool:

http://tinyurl.com/dfyp3b

BCDisco said...

Sorry for the lack of link-camp.

ATL_eagle said...

Aped: Oher had more time playing in high school and therefore got more attention. The parrellels are in how you can take a kid out of one environment and see him thrive in a new supportive one.

Joe Bags said...

I don't agree that BC should work closer with borderline MA projects because "it's the right thing to do" just to have these kids bolt at the last minute. Iowa, Georgia, UNC... these schools are completely different from BC, and if that's the kind of experience these kids want, then they were never seriously interested in Boston College. I want Spaz & Co. to pursuit kids that get BC and want to play there because of what the school has to offer, not because it's close to home or because it was their only offer from a BCS school

Unknown said...

I guarantee you that you Boston Eagle fans will be very pleased with Johnathan Coleman. I worked with him at the ABC program and I have never worked with a more disciplined and focused young man at his age. He was told to gain 15 pounds in the off season, and he worked out on his own to gain 15 pounds of muscle mass. He would routinely,work out, and refused to eat unhealthy foods. Once his football I.Q. catches up to his physical ability, you all will have a GEM!!!! Additionally, I had college coaches calling me from Alabama and other schools, and Johnathan fell in love with Boston College, their facilities, the coaches and the overall environment.. He's a loyal kid, that I assure you is way more athletic than you all are aware...