catdaddyp

Those four plus Stephens, Gould, and potentially Barthelemy.

Now we need some quality DL.

Pretty sure he’s being brought in to compete at Nickel. Reminds me of Darrian Lewis.

Hobson was a starter at two different DII schools before transferring to Old Dominion. He didn’t see much playing time at ODU. McNeil was ranked the #82 best cornerback by Rivals out of high school, but for whatever reason hasn’t developed to that level. He’s very long and could end up growing into a safety if he adds some mass.

Southern Miss according to 247. That’s now two we’ve lost to them if we account for the OL that committed to us just a little while back.

If my math is correct, as well as all the players who should have graduated or hit the portal is also correct, we are currently sitting at 69 scholarships and still have some spots to fill. I’ve listed below what that could look like from here. QB = 1 (maybe) WR = 1 TE = 1-2 OL = 2-3 DL = 4-6 LB = 1 (maybe) DB = 4-6 ST = 2 (probably walk-ons)

No offense taken. Here’s the reasoning behind why Boswell could now be on scholarship at Texas. In years past, roster limits were set at 85 scholarships, with anything above that number filled by walk-ons. Now, there’s a hard 105-man roster cap, and schools—depending on their conference—have the option to remain at 85 scholarships or expand all the way up to 105. I’ll use South Carolina as a comparison since I still have some inside info there. Carolina just took a receiver from Holy Cross as a scholarship player who, in previous years, almost certainly would have been a walk-on. For reference, that receiver has totaled just 25 receptions over three years. South Carolina also has more kickers on scholarship than ever before. I don’t believe Carolina will hit the full 105 scholarship limit this year, but they are clearly pushing beyond the traditional 85. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a reach to think that one of the biggest spenders in men’s athletics—Texas—is also putting players on scholarship who would have previously been walk-ons.

I’m a fan of this pickup. I tracked the Hayden brothers recruitment out of high school during my time at Rivals. He has more upside than he’s shown. Perhaps our DL coach will get it out of him.

He may actually be on scholarship. SEC schools have the option to go up to 105 if they choose to do so.

Reminds me some of Marcel Williams. 14 receptions for 134 yards last season. Zero drops.

DeWalt should be out of eligibility, but with all the rule changes, who knows? If that’s the case, it leaves White, Thomas, Newsome, K. Johnson, plus the incoming freshmen. We carried six cornerbacks last year, so I’d expect another addition or two.

According to PFF, he played in all 12 games and started two. He was targeted 31 times, giving up roughly 61% completion and over 420 yards. That’s not good. For comparison, Reed was targeted 40 times, allowed about 57%, but gave up only 205 yards. Newsome clearly has the physical ability. I’m hoping the rest of his game can get cleaned up and he produces at a higher level for us.

Former Zips long snapper Emmet Rhoades committed to South Carolina.

Would be a great pickup in my opinion. Plenty of upside potential.

Christian Young committed to Southern Miss.

Former Zip Marcus Moore heading to Miami (OH).

Didn't see the field again after playing what I’m assuming was the worse game of his collegiate career against Kent.

That’s too bad about Newell. Although, by the end of the season Cravaack was clearly the better player. Whether that was due to Newell not being 100% or something else, I’m not sure. This staff hasn’t had issues landing productive tight ends, so I’m not overly concerned. I’m not surprised to see Witherspoon looking elsewhere. He was a tweener with upside, but hadn’t put on enough weight to consistently play tight end and was a bit slow to be a true receiver. He also dropped a few easy balls in the spring game. I like the players we’ve landed so far — the two WRs, two OL, and the LB. The linebacker really brings it when coming downhill. Linebacker is another position where we’ve been solid year over year since Tibesar’s arrival.

Bump for updates.

Looks like Myers went the JUCO route out of high school before landing at ODU, while Hilburn will be coming straight from JUCO. Both receivers were very productive at that level, albeit as two different types of players. Hilburn looks like a guy who could step right in on both kickoff and punt return. If Brookhart can get similar production out of them as they had in JUCO, then these two commitments should be excellent additions.

I’m pretty sure we’ve offered him in the past as well. Maybe we land him this go round?

Portal commit Christian Young deleted his commitment tweet and is now visiting Southern Miss.

The plan with this staff has always been to sign 12–15 freshmen each class. This year it’s been slightly smaller so far, though we may still sign a few more. Like Captain alluded to, most immediate impact players are going to come from either the portal or JUCO. Although to this point, our JUCO signees have mostly been depth pieces, outside of a few guys.

Bump before the portal officially opens tomorrow. For portal departures, I’ve only included players who I believe are on scholarship and walk-ons who played significant snaps.