Edsall said for the first time he is hitting his numbers and balance on how he wants the roster to look. The Huskies are at their full complement of players at every position. He said that have one extra offensive player however. But, the blueprint is filled right now. He has the balance that he wants.
However, since this has become a burgeoning industry, here are the Huskies' recruits for 2009.
Strength of the Class: Just idle speculation, but I would assume that the offensive linemen in Jimmy Bennett and Erik Kuraczea are the two jewels of this class. The Huskies have raked some pretty good offensive lineman with Barzdak, Petrus and Ryan last year and along with Kuraczea and Bennett, along with Adam Masters, it looks like the future of the line is going to be strong. Kuracza is big enough to play now, while Bennett projects like a major tackle down the road with his athleticism and footwork. I have never seen a good team with a bad offensive line. That is a good sign.
D-backs another strength: There are some major athletes in the secondary coming. Dwayne Gratz is a highly sought after corner back while Matt Edwards from Holliston, Mass. is another high ceiling athlete. Add in the raw Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Jerome Junior at safety (was a LB and has great size) and it looks like a strong class athletically.
Ready made receivers: I don't know if any of the receivers are ready to play, but at least one of them is going to have to. The Huskies don't have many options at wide receiver and a guy like Brian Parker at 6-4 is something this team doesn't have. He isn't a burner, but looks like a big physical target that can get downfield. Michael Smith is a good route runner (which this team doesn't have) and could be a nice slot receiver. Gerrard Sheppard has one year of high school football under him. He is a great athlete and could have had a hoops scholarship. He probably has the chance to be the biggest steal of the class.
BTW, still scratching my head at the Jeffers transfer.
Linebackers with some speed: The linebacker position is loaded but Edsall added a pair in Sio Moore and Jerome Williams. Both good athletes. They are going to have wait their turn, though being good a special teams is important. You can always move linebackers around too.
Light on the defensive line: The Huskies have almost a full complement of defensive lineman and signed some longterm projects. Trevardo Williams has tremendous speed, but he is going to prep next year. One defensive tackle, Ryan Wirth out of Cheshire Academy, looks to have the size Edsall is looking for at 6-3 w75 pounds. The rest are going to have to sculpt their bodies into it. Al Portee is 6-4 215 and Ted Jennigns 6-5 215 have tremendous frames to add weight. I am not sure if they stay at defensive end or bulk up to tackle. Maybe they stay at defensive end and the Huskies alter their scheme somewhat.
Searching for the tight end: Speaking of bulking up for defensive tackle...3 tight ends? I remember when the Giants drafted two tight ends in Derek brown and Aaron Pierce and everyone asked why? Why do yo need so many tight ends? The Huskies have 3. What's the need? Unless someone has left and we don't' know yet (wait until net Thursday). Stve Brouse, Martin bedard and Yianni Apostolakos with three recruits is 6 TIGHT ENDS! Someone has to be switching positions eventually. John Delahunt is enrolled in school now and is 6-3 245, Ryan Griffin is 6-5 225 and a good athlete and Corey Manning is 6-4 238. They are all different sizes and looks to be different ability levels.
6 tight ends though, what gives?
Huskies add explosive player: Jordan Todman looks like he can return some kicks and be the explosive kind of running back the Huskies are going to need for the future. 5-10 180 is very small, but he is fast and explosive. There is room on kickoff and punt returns as well as a chance to vie for carries backing up the Dixon and Brown tandem. Todman had a lot of nterest from BC and Penn State and the Huskies like his game breaking ability.
More Nuggets
Edsall didn't waste anytime lambasting recruiting services. Here is what got him. He had a recruit schedule for a visit in December that no one has really seen. The storm had his visit postponed and then after the Huskies offered Nebraska and Ohio State got in the mix. This recruit was a two-star under the radar type guy who visited Ohio State and then committed. When all was said and done, he was rated as a 4-star recruit.
This is not a joke.
Here is Edsall on it:
"That one player no one knew about him. His name got out on the internet and people saw him,
I go with Edsall on this. When who offers you is a big part of what your star ranking is, then that is a problem. A mere offer by Ohio State gets you to 3 star level. Also, what's the difference between a 2 star and a three star? It's just arbitrary. Most of the time it is schools involved. As long as people believe these rankings then they mean something. Some schools love saying how many stars their players get. I guess it builds momentum and drives interest. Listen, the recruiting sites are great if you are generally interested in the stuff. But the rankings? After the top 100 players their isn't enough film on them.
And, how do you compare a quarterback in California against a quarterback in Florida? From grainy high school film? Highlight reels? Do analysts watch an hour of tape on every single recruit?
I just find the evaluations farcical. Yes, Ohio State and company recruit and get the best players around. That is a good judge of who the best players around are. But, to go with 3 or 4 stars is silly.
The sad part is players are the ones who really follow this. Some obsess over their star rating. The emperor really has no clothes here.
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