I know there is a lot of worry about our recruiting and lack of 4*'s or 5*'s, but look at the NFL draft every year and tell me how many of those drafted started their college careers as 2*'s or 3*'s. How many kids starting in FBS came in as 2* or 3* recruits. Many time a kid will come in raw but hungry. That kid might be thin and rangy and never had access to good nutrition or a serious weight program (most high school kids don't get either of these), but they might be tough and love the game. They will work hard, practice hard and stay in school. Over 4 or 5 years with time in the weight room and good food, any kid will bulk up and get stronger. If the kid has feet or any kind of speed, then there won't be any difference between them and the 4* or 5* that was recruited when they were. The star rating is only about the readiness of a player to play at FBS level at the time of their recruitment. It is fairly meaningless two or three years later. I give you D-Rob as an example of an under achieving high ranked 5* and JJ Watt as an over achieving 2*. In the end its all about finding that hidden talent and developing it. Way back when I played, Don James at UW was the Master of the 'Program'. Methinks Coach Wilcox is building the same thing at CAL. All you need to do is look at year over year improvement in performance metrics. Over time that reflects more wins, but those additional wins get tougher as the record gets better. I'm a huge Wilcox fan in spite of some grumbling out there. He did better in his first three years than Chip Kelly did at FUCLA, the football factory of the UC system. Coach Wilcox posted 20 wins in his first three years at CAL, and Kelly posted 10 wins in his first three years at FUCLA. And to think there was a time that I wanted Chip Kelly to come to CAL.
Sure, maybe a bunch of 2 or 3 *'s develop, if they stick around long enough and avoid the transfer portal....eventually tho Wilcox is going to need to start landing elite players if he is going to get to the next level...until then, 4th-5th place in the Conference is the ceiling.
low rated 3 star DE #89 are you kidding me?
I know there is a lot of worry about our recruiting and lack of 4*'s or 5*'s, but look at the NFL draft every year and tell me how many of those drafted started their college careers as 2*'s or 3*'s. How many kids starting in FBS came in as 2* or 3* recruits. Many time a kid will come in raw but hungry. That kid might be thin and rangy and never had access to good nutrition or a serious weight program (most high school kids don't get either of these), but they might be tough and love the game. They will work hard, practice hard and stay in school. Over 4 or 5 years with time in the weight room and good food, any kid will bulk up and get stronger. If the kid has feet or any kind of speed, then there won't be any difference between them and the 4* or 5* that was recruited when they were. The star rating is only about the readiness of a player to play at FBS level at the time of their recruitment. It is fairly meaningless two or three years later. I give you D-Rob as an example of an under achieving high ranked 5* and JJ Watt as an over achieving 2*. In the end its all about finding that hidden talent and developing it. Way back when I played, Don James at UW was the Master of the 'Program'. Methinks Coach Wilcox is building the same thing at CAL. All you need to do is look at year over year improvement in performance metrics. Over time that reflects more wins, but those additional wins get tougher as the record gets better. I'm a huge Wilcox fan in spite of some grumbling out there. He did better in his first three years than Chip Kelly did at FUCLA, the football factory of the UC system. Coach Wilcox posted 20 wins in his first three years at CAL, and Kelly posted 10 wins in his first three years at FUCLA. And to think there was a time that I wanted Chip Kelly to come to CAL.
I think this kid will be able to bulk up 35 pounds in a couple of years. If he does and it's muscle, he can play edge.
Sweet, I vote to make #89 our version of 55 at USC and 7 at LSU
Sure, maybe a bunch of 2 or 3 *'s develop, if they stick around long enough and avoid the transfer portal....eventually tho Wilcox is going to need to start landing elite players if he is going to get to the next level...until then, 4th-5th place in the Conference is the ceiling.