'17 MS RB Cam Akers (FSU commit 12/27)

#878
#878
butchna said:
"Tendency" to take a few who blew up later in the year...nice balance. We have way more success stories than failures IMO...at least enough to completely overhaul the talent level on this team. For every Raulerson, there are two Chance Halls. :)
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chargervol said:
I agree our staff has picked up some that haven't panned out.
Do you find that any different or in larger percentages than other schools?

I haven't checked but just at a glance, I thought we may even be on the higher end of 3 stars turning into respected talent.
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FTR, by "don't pan out," I meant to say "don't end up signing or being takes."
 
#879
#879
LSU has Guice who's a very good RB and was highly ranked behind Fournette who will be a Jr when Akers gets to College. They also have Devin White(So) who was pretty highly ranked, and also Nick Brossette who will be a Jr and was kinda highly ranked. While Tennessee will have(assuming Hurd and Kamara leave) John Kelly who won't have much PT to show how good he is and was only a 3*. CFA who was a 4* (not highly ranked as the guys above tho) and probably won't get a lot of PT. Playing time is supposed to be a big factor for Akers, so I don't see him choosing LSU over us.
 
#880
#880
OSU is similar to LSU, probably even deeper. Weber, Mccall, Antonio Williams, and J.K Dobbins whos currently committed. FSU seems to only have 2 highly rated backs after Cook, but one of those was a top 4 Rb out of HS. It'll be interesting to see just how important Early playing time is to Akers.
 
#882
#882
Darth_Shiveman said:
FTR, by "don't pan out," I meant to say "don't end up signing or being takes."
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We complain and question, but it's part of his modus operandi. He's overhauled the talent level on our team, so I'll live with it. :thumbsup:
 
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#884
#884
This is my opinion of the Akers/Chandler discussion that I posted in the Chandler thread...and before reading it, I don't watch a lot of film like some, but did take a few minutes to watch both films of these 2:


What film are y'all watching for those saying that Akers looks slow??? And also that Chandler looks faster? Akers outruns angles that smaller DBs have on him, as well as having excellent cutting ability and vision. In a couple of those long runs, it looks like he hit another gear when he needed it. He also lowered his shoulder and dropped the boom a few times...love to see that in a RB. Chandler's video quality is terrible and it seems to be sped up. I think the rankings are pretty accurate in my honest opinion and to my amateur eye. The combo would be a perfect replacement for Hurd/Kamara, and I bet Butch and RG are selling that to both of them.
 
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#885
#885
butchna said:
We complain and question, but it's part of his modus operandi. He's overhauled the talent level on our team, so I'll live with it. :thumbsup:
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I've got no problem with it either. The point I was trying to make was that Butch's history of doing that always makes wonder when we take a lowly rated player early.
 
#886
#886
Darth_Shiveman said:
I've got no problem with it either. The point I was trying to make was that Butch's history of doing that always makes wonder when we take a lowly rated player early.
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Nothing to wonder about. They evaluate and see something they like. In some cases the kids get upgraded and the staff look like geniuses. In other cases they don't get upgraded but end up playing well, and again, the staff look like geniuses. And in other cases still, the players don't develop and get passed over or released from the team. No mystery, just a staff that is confident in their ability to find the best talent we can recruit. And it is far easier to recruit a 3 star that you believe will end up performing like a 4 or 5 star, than it is to recruit a 4 or 5 star.
 
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#887
#887
Darth_Shiveman said:
I've got no problem with it either. The point I was trying to make was that Butch's history of doing that always makes wonder when we take a lowly rated player early.
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I always thought it was as simple as Butch not wanting to get burned late in the process. We chase the big dog for years/months & find out he is going to the enemy a week from signing day. In the meantime, all the *quality* recruits still on the board sign with someone that wants them instead of just keeping them dangling. We are then left with nothing but the 7th round pick so to speak.

It's a brutal business that pisses off a lot of folks. However, I have always seen it as a two-way street. If the recruit can drop us at anytime, then we should be able to drop one that doesn't meet our expectations during their senior season.

It's big boy recruiting.
 
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#890
#890
junder13 said:
Here's my unsolicited opinion on who's better between Akers/Chandler:

While I view Akers and Chandler as elite, I am inclined to view Chandler as the better of the two. I think the difference in the two players' ranking reflects the preference the recruiting sites give to prospects who camp. Akers is a camp warrior. Chandler doesn't seem to camp for whatever reason (or, at least, not as much). Not surprisingly, Rivals appears to be the site with the biggest ranking discrepancy between the two prospects.

I think it's clear that we lead for Chandler. Akers is planning to EE so perhaps a silent commit from Chandler will remain silent until after the EE deadline. With Akers having a strong bond with CRG, the strength of our offense being the running game, a possibility of Hurd gaining Heisman consideration, and a high probability we lose both of our primary, highly touted RBs this season, I think Akers is more in play than most VNers seem to believe. He's not likely going to Ole Miss and UT isn't much further away than LSU. I also think once he sees how good Weber looks at OSU this season, the Buckeyes will fall from the top of his list, leaving him choosing between UT, LSU, and UGA (he may have already cooled on UGA, according to some). LSU's pitch to Akers will be identical to ours (strong running game, losing a Heisman candidate/front runner at RB, immediate playing time available), so I think they may become our toughest competition.

I think we could get both Chandler and Akers if we play our cards right. I don't think we have to in order to have a strong running attack in 2017 and beyond, but, as VNers like to say, "I'd allow it", ha!
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I agree with this. I think weber will have a big year and dobbins is a stud that has already been committed for months. As the year wears on, I think these things will effect Akers decision.
 
#891
#891
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
We had as good a class as Ohio State in 2014 and a better class in 2015.

Ohio State is right now benefitting from the 2015 national title and the 2016 NFL draft.
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Are you sure about that? If you are using 247's ratings osu's 2014 class was hands down better than tenn's. I have no idea why 247 is including 8 walk ons in osu's average * rating but they are.

In 2015 tenn is ranked higher and osu has a higher average * rating.

2016, osu was higher ranked by quite a bit.

And yeah a natty and a record # of nfl picks will help recruiting........

All of this is silly though because no one knows how good these classes are until they play.
 
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#892
#892
Jbawjbaw said:
Are you sure about that? If you are using 247's ratings osu's 2014 class was hands down better than tenn's. I have no idea why 247 is including 8 walk ons in osu's average * rating but they are.

In 2015 tenn is ranked higher and osu has a higher average * rating.

2016, osu was higher ranked by quite a bit.

And yeah a natty and a record # of nfl picks will help recruiting........

All of this is silly though because no one knows how good these classes are until they play.
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First of all there are other ratings. 247 isn't the only one. And even if you decide the composite ratings are sort of a consensus, then we had 16 4* recruits while Ohio State had 15 4* and 1 5* recruit.

I wouldn't call that "hands down better."

Plus if we look at performance so far, our 2014 class runs circles around Ohio State. We've produced significantly more impact players.
 
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#893
#893
Jbawjbaw said:
Bama and Oregon aren't in the B10.

Just sayin.
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You don't play them until the playoffs. We play them in the regular season.
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#895
#895
Jbawjbaw said:
Bama and Oregon aren't in the B10.

Just sayin.
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I must have missed where they played those guys as part of their regular season. It makes a difference when you are playing teams like those in the regular season week after week vs teams like the Rainbow Warriors, who while they have great hair and look scary, really aren't that tough.
 
#896
#896
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Plus if we look at performance so far, our 2014 class runs circles around Ohio State. We've produced significantly more impact players.
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That's becausewe have had to start them as freshmen while OSU's 14 guys are just getting playing time because they sat behind 1st rounders.
 
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#898
#898
cncchris33 said:
That's becausewe have had to start them as freshmen while OSU's 14 guys are just getting playing time because they sat behind 1st rounders.
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I don't know about you but I watched Ohio State's spring game and have followed some of the preliminary 2-deep discussion on their message boards.

If you look at that, you'll notice that a lot of their 2015 players (who were part of a lower rated class) are passing up the 2014 kids on the early depth chart.

I think they simply missed with a lot from that class. And I think you SEVERLY underrate our 2014 class. It should produce more NFL players than almost every other teams 2014 class.

Sometimes higher rank doesn't translate to better players. 2014 is proof of that.
 
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#899
#899
Jbawjbaw said:
Blah blah OSU blah blah
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Here's what going to happen... Meyer is going to be beat by MSU 2 out of 3 years before he gets frustrated and feigns health problems so he can quit again. After Meyer quits Ohio State will slide into the same "post great coach" problem that everyone else does. When OSU goes 6-6 three years in a row, people like you will stop trying to associate OSU's dominance with your own personal identity. There will be no coattails to ride on.

The upside of this is that people may be able to stand being around you enough for you to be able to develop some meaningful personal relationships... Take that with a grain of salt though, I'm being real optimistic.
 
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