So Cincinnati has gotten 4 verbals from Indiana kids, another kid from Pike really likes them, and we lost Jordan Stepp to them. Kind of shocking and already there are posts questioning what on earth is going on and what is the appeal of the University of Cincinnati over IU.
Well, I'm not all that well versed in Bearcat football, but looking at their roster, especially the defense, it appears Coach Kelly likes smaller defensive players that can scoot and make plays. Kind of sounds like Coach Hep's preference for a defense. Hep liked smaller guys, but then beefed them from athlete to football player with solid coaching mixed in. His strategy worked, but sometimes it took a high powered offense to keep scoring and scoring. Cincy also has a very good spread offense attack that can really score. They also appear to play a lot of kids in a rotation. As soon as Jordan Stepp steps foot on campus next summer, he'll be their biggest DT. My guess (only a guess) is that he'll play right away and rotate in. At IU, more than likely he'd be redshirted and then join the rotation. Though I don't totally know why Jordan chose the Bearcats, I'm going to assume that immediate PT played a part. I think he'll do well there and I wish him and his family nothing but the best of luck. Jordan reached his dream of gaining a full ride scholarship to a Division 1 school.
As for Mitch Meador, Andre Cureton, and Will Saddler, the other 3 Bearcat commits, IU had not extended offers to them. They have personally watched all 3 of them in practice and/or games, but no offers were extended, though offers could have came later, but we will never know. Either way, all 3 have the potential to be good, solid players for the Bearcats, but they are just not the type of players that IU is looking to verbal at this point and time. So, what kind of players are the Hoosiers recruiting?
Well, IU has set it's sights on a number of highly ranked players. This class will be a smaller class of signees when all is said and done (17 or so), so the recruiting philosphy is a bit different than in the past. Now, don't get me wrong, IU has recruited very solid kids in the past and last year, got some very good early verbals, but this year is a little different. Normally, under Hep, the staff would offer about 30 grade A kids, then settle into the rest of the kids they knew they could get. Of the 30 or so grade A's, maybe 5 or so would visit, but rarely did we get any of them.
Now, fast forward to this winter and spring, again we offer probably 30 or so grade A kids, but something different happens. John Decker from Scout mentioned this as well, but the majority of the Grade A talent, along with the top talent instate and in surrounding states came to camp at IU. This is a brand new thing, but something that fans need to pay attention to. When you begin to get your kids to camp, even if it's one day, you will begin to reap the benefits of that in the coming recruiting seasons. IU football can't recruit on name recognition like the bball program. Also, Coach Lynch and staff can't let the recruits see banners from the past either. In the words of the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come", well, that's the only thing IU can do, and it's beginning to work. Sure, it's not a quick overnight fix, but reshaping a program the right way rarely is. Sure, IU could have hired Ron Zook to rebuild this place, and he's recruited well, but his arrogance is already wearing on players and it will only be a matter of time before he bolts to greener pastures. Ron is also just one example, as there are many others out there just like him. IU has had to start completely over, and though fans want a quick fix, just like Coach Crean is giving the bball program (believe me, IU bball will be much better than people think and they'll be back in the tournament in a year or 2 based solely on tradition and name recognition recruiting).
S0, is the sky falling? No! IU seems to be going after the bigger names and they are winning some battles. Sure, they will lose battles too, but if IU doesn't get all the midwest kids they are targeting, they'll just wait until after the season and bring in some Georiga and Florida kids. Those type of athletes certainly are not secondary prizes at all. I really do expect more verbals in the next couple of weeks. We sit very well with Nick Zachery from Sheridan and the Carr kid from Chicago. We also have a couple of kids from Ohio coming in this weekend and we sit well with instate kids. I still believe we will land 6 or so top instaters, which is just fantastic to haul in 1/3 or more of your class from instate. That would be my preference every year, but it all depends on the talent instate as well.
Now, for Edward Wright-Baker who committed to be a Hoosier this week. I've said a lot about him in past blogs, so I won't repeat a lot of that, but I will say his committment is HUGE for the program. In my opinion, he's a far better prospect than Ohrian Johnson was last season, and he's the 2nd best QB in the state (again my opinion). He's really not that far behind Morgan Newton either, and I know the staff really likes this kid's ceiling, and compare it very favorably to Newton's. He has a great arm/great leg ratio, so he can throw and he can run. He's also fairly tall at 6' 2" and well built body wise at 205 or so, so he doesn't need anything but some muscle to step in and play. He's also raw, but he plays in a spread attack at Jeffersonville, which is great because he'll adapt to what IU does pretty easily, or at least he should. He's rated as an Athlete by Rivals, but he's coming to IU to be a QB and will stay there unless Newton commits, then it's feasible that he could switch somewhere else, as he's athletic enough to do that.
Right now, we have the best long snapper in the state and the 2nd best QB in the state committed to be Hoosiers. Sure, we missed out on the best DT in the state, but we can't win them all. I don't I have ever remembered IU being so selective with their verbals than this season. This is a very good problem to have, as the staff should be commended on their hard work. They just put on some great camps, got a ton of prospects in here, as well as some extremely good underclass talent, and they are now ready to hit the recruiting trail again for the next month. Also, many of the incoming freshman are here and doing 7 on 7 work and running and doing drills. Chris Phillips is really taken over the leadership of this ball club and he has them up and running at 6 AM and preparing. IU tasted the sweet nector of a bowl game last season, but they want more. They don't want to just play 13, they want to win that 13th game. Their desire and hunger is the best I've ever seen or heard of here, and I hope it continues to march in that direction.
Now, for Kellen Lewis. Of course there have been an awful lot of questions and posts and emails about this kid and rightfully so. Coach Lynch hasn't said a whole heck of alot about it, so he remains indefinitely suspended, but there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel and it's beginning to shine a lot more each day. I fully expect to hear something on KL within the next 10 days or so. He has met and exceeded everything that was put forth for him to do and he's crossed every hurdle that stood in his way. I fully believe that unless he does something extremely bad before the announcement, Kellen Lewis will be fully reinstated to the program and will compete with Ben Chappell for the starting QB job this fall. I also fully expect him to win the job, and lead the Hoosier offense onto the field for their first game this coming season.
Hope everyone that reads this is doing well. God Bless!!
John
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The big deal about Josh Keyt
Well it was bound to happen sooner or later, and last night it did, IU got its first verbal for this class, but it wasn't what many fans expected and it's gotten a lot of fans and forum posters questioning why in the world Lynch would give up a scholarship to a Long Snapper. Well, the questions are valid, but let me assure you, Josh Keyt isn't just a run of the mill long snapper. In fact, if Rivals or Scout rated long snappers, Josh would be a 5 star recruit. He's the top LS in the Midwest this year, and unless IU reals in Morgan Newton, I can assure you that Josh will be the highest rated kid at his position in this class.
Josh will come to IU next fall and redshirt as a preferred walk-on or greyshirt, then come January 2010, he'll get his full ride and be on scholarship throughout his career. Josh will be doing just exactly what Terrance Turner (WR) did a couple of years ago. This way the staff doesn't lose a scholarship this season, but still locks up the Midwest's best player at his position. Josh is also a pretty good DE, and besides his snapping, he'll start his career as a LS/DE and go from there, but regardless, he's here to do mainly one thing, and that's long snap.
Tim Bugg was IU's long snapper last season and he consistantly snapped the ball from his down position to the holders hands or punter's hands in .70 to .75 seconds. The average NFL snapper is between .7 and .8 seconds, so you can see that Tim ranked right there with the very good timed snappers. Also, Tim was accurate, and rarely did a ball go anywhere but right to the punter and/or the holder. Even in bad weather, the balls were consistantly placed and the times were the same. Not many people can LS it consistantly every time and that's why Tim was the best LS in college football last season. Next season, Brandon, Tim's brother takes over and though he's not quite as quick getting the snap back there (averages .80 seconds), he's just as accurate.
Josh Keyt snaps consistantly at .70 seconds, which is right where Tim was last season and faster than Brandon. He's also pretty consistant, which is why he's the top snapper in the Midwest. He crafted his trade at Chris Sailor's kicking camps and credits his instructors and his dad for helping him achieve an offer from a division 1 school and earning a scholarship. Also, if you saw my post on Peegs today, he's a friend, and I'm pretty pumped up about having a Putnam County athlete playing for IU.
The funny thing about Josh is that he lives within about 5 minutes of where Coach Lynch has a summer house in Putnam County on Heritage Lake. It's a small world sometimes. Anyway, so for those that fear or question that Coach Lynch and staff are out of their minds offering a long snapper, rest assured that Josh is special and pretty hard to pass up. Fans have stated that IU needs to offer the state's best players and Josh is the best at his position. Games are won and lost constantly on special teams play and unless it's a kickoff, it all starts with the long snapper and if he fails to do his job, the play doesn't go anywhere.
Hope this blogs finds it's readers well and may God bless you all!!!
Josh will come to IU next fall and redshirt as a preferred walk-on or greyshirt, then come January 2010, he'll get his full ride and be on scholarship throughout his career. Josh will be doing just exactly what Terrance Turner (WR) did a couple of years ago. This way the staff doesn't lose a scholarship this season, but still locks up the Midwest's best player at his position. Josh is also a pretty good DE, and besides his snapping, he'll start his career as a LS/DE and go from there, but regardless, he's here to do mainly one thing, and that's long snap.
Tim Bugg was IU's long snapper last season and he consistantly snapped the ball from his down position to the holders hands or punter's hands in .70 to .75 seconds. The average NFL snapper is between .7 and .8 seconds, so you can see that Tim ranked right there with the very good timed snappers. Also, Tim was accurate, and rarely did a ball go anywhere but right to the punter and/or the holder. Even in bad weather, the balls were consistantly placed and the times were the same. Not many people can LS it consistantly every time and that's why Tim was the best LS in college football last season. Next season, Brandon, Tim's brother takes over and though he's not quite as quick getting the snap back there (averages .80 seconds), he's just as accurate.
Josh Keyt snaps consistantly at .70 seconds, which is right where Tim was last season and faster than Brandon. He's also pretty consistant, which is why he's the top snapper in the Midwest. He crafted his trade at Chris Sailor's kicking camps and credits his instructors and his dad for helping him achieve an offer from a division 1 school and earning a scholarship. Also, if you saw my post on Peegs today, he's a friend, and I'm pretty pumped up about having a Putnam County athlete playing for IU.
The funny thing about Josh is that he lives within about 5 minutes of where Coach Lynch has a summer house in Putnam County on Heritage Lake. It's a small world sometimes. Anyway, so for those that fear or question that Coach Lynch and staff are out of their minds offering a long snapper, rest assured that Josh is special and pretty hard to pass up. Fans have stated that IU needs to offer the state's best players and Josh is the best at his position. Games are won and lost constantly on special teams play and unless it's a kickoff, it all starts with the long snapper and if he fails to do his job, the play doesn't go anywhere.
Hope this blogs finds it's readers well and may God bless you all!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Odds and Ends
Been a while since I updated this, and I've kind of been waiting for the camps to get done before doing much, but I want to update a little bit on a few odds and ends.
First, Jerimy Finch is, as you all know, enrolled at IU and taking online classes. He has also applied for a hardship waiver with the NCAA to play next season, instead of sitting out the normal 1 year that is required for transfers from one D 1 school to another. For those that don't know what hardship waivers are, I thought I'd not only educate myself, as well as inform those that don't know and look into it a bit more. The official NCAA website provides the standards and codes that all schools and student athletes must follow, so this is where I got my information.
To be eligible for a hardship waiver, the tranferring student and the institution that the student is transferring too, must support their request via documentation as to why the player needs to play right away and not have to sit out the year. This documentation must be submitted to the NCAA subcommittee for review, and then a ruling is made. If the waiver is denied, the institution and/or the player can request an appeal hearing with the subcommittee for denial requests. This is almost like a hearing in that the transferring player and/or the institution can call witnesses before the committee to support their documentation request. At this point, this subcommittee will make a decision that will either agree with the original decision, or reverse the decision. Whatever the decision, this is as far as you can take it with the NCAA. I suppose you could take it further or outside the NCAA to the court system, but those do not usually end up in a timely matter.
Now, I'm in no way saying that Finch's case would ever go as far as I described above, but that are his, and IU's option. One of the most recent cases for hardship that was granted that IU fans may be familiar with is that of Tyler Smith. Tyler played at Iowa for Coach Alford, then transferred to Tennessee to play for Coach Pearl. He was allowed to play the following season, because he transferred to be near his ailing father who had cancer.
In one of the stranger requests of recent memory, was the family of Colin Peek. Colin transferred to Alabama from Georgia Tech. The appeal for hardship was orchestrated by Coach Nick Saban, because GT didn't employ a TE in their scheme, so with Peek's position basically eliminated from the offense, Peek requested immediate playing time because Alabama was going to use their TEs a lot. Basically, Saban needed a TE, and Peek was his best option. Of course, this request was denied.
Finch's issue is family related, but that's as far as anyone really knows. This is of course a very private issue that will only be made public once a ruling is given by the NCAA. It will more than likely be July before we know the NCAA's decision on this one, and of course, if it's not favorable, Finch and/or IU could appeal.
I wanted to let those that read this blog know that Coach Tom Crean and Coach Bill Lynch have become very good friends very quickly and they often share a meal as their time allows them too. In fact, Coach Crean has leaned on Coach Lynch some through all this turmoil and strife that the men's bball program has went through recently. Coach Lynch and his staff are all too familiar with adversity and strife, as they dealt with the illness and ultimate death, of their leader, Coach Hep. Coach Crean has really bent Coach Lynch's ear, as well as other trusted friends about all that is going on with men's bball. Personally, I cannot remember, at least in recent memory, a school's athletic program that has dealt with as much adversity and strife as IU's fball and men's bball programs. One thing that I've heard Coach Lynch say about the late Coach Hep, is that you can give a player all the chances in the world to succeed, get them help, even drive by their house or call the apartment and make sure they are home, but ultimately, if a kid doesn't want to change, he won't. While I think that is obvious, I think some of that advice that was giving to Coach Hep staff, trickled down to Coach Crean. Sure, he could have given some of those many more chances, but sometimes you just go with your gut feeling. A lot of times, a person's past history will dictate their future behavior. This also leads me to my one and only comment about Kellen Lewis. I certainly made waves saying that in my opinion, there was a 99.9% chance that he would never don the IU football jersey again because of what he'd done. While I will certainly stand by that statement, I recently posted on Peegs that I think there is a 75% that he will play again. These percentages are merely based on the vibes and statements I am/was getting from those within the program. Things were laid out for KL to accomplish while he was away, and he's on track to complete those things by the end of this month. If he completes those things in the satisfaction of the staff, it appears it may ultimately come down to what his teammates want. At this point, that vote could either way.
Now that June has begun, that means it's time for football recruiting to really heat up. Kids all over the country will be making trips to football camps and taking unofficial visits. IU is no exception to this and here is the schedule of camps that will be held at IU this summer. These camps include the position coaches, as well as former and present players. During these camps, you usully wake up at 7:30, have breakfest, practice, eat lunch, practic, eat dinner, practice, then have a simulated game, then it's off to bed. It's jammed packed IU football.
This coming weekend IU will kick off their camp season with their 7 on 7 passing camp. Then on June 8 to 11 will be Session 1 of the Team camp. Session 2 will be from the 11th to the 14th. Finally, Coach Lynch will hold a youth camp for youngsters on the 16th and 17th. Also, Coach Bobby Johnson will hold a special Lineman camp on the 10th. Many offered lineman will be in attendance, as the staff will get a first hand look at what these kids can do. Also, Coach Ted Ginn's bus tour will again be making a stop in btown for a one day camp. No date yet on that one, at least none that I've seen listed on his website.
Ultimately, the staff believes that as many as 7 kids may very well verbal once the camp season winds down. I've gotten a few emails and saw comments about why in the world IU doesn't have any verbals so far and should we be concerned. Well, not having verbals by June is a little unusual, especially for IU, but IU has certainly upped it's effort on top notch talent. Almost everyday, the ticker lights up with another rated prospect that has IU in his top 2 or 3. It's only a matter of time before someone gets the ball rolling, then watch out as the dominos fall.
Well, that's it for now. God Bless!!
First, Jerimy Finch is, as you all know, enrolled at IU and taking online classes. He has also applied for a hardship waiver with the NCAA to play next season, instead of sitting out the normal 1 year that is required for transfers from one D 1 school to another. For those that don't know what hardship waivers are, I thought I'd not only educate myself, as well as inform those that don't know and look into it a bit more. The official NCAA website provides the standards and codes that all schools and student athletes must follow, so this is where I got my information.
To be eligible for a hardship waiver, the tranferring student and the institution that the student is transferring too, must support their request via documentation as to why the player needs to play right away and not have to sit out the year. This documentation must be submitted to the NCAA subcommittee for review, and then a ruling is made. If the waiver is denied, the institution and/or the player can request an appeal hearing with the subcommittee for denial requests. This is almost like a hearing in that the transferring player and/or the institution can call witnesses before the committee to support their documentation request. At this point, this subcommittee will make a decision that will either agree with the original decision, or reverse the decision. Whatever the decision, this is as far as you can take it with the NCAA. I suppose you could take it further or outside the NCAA to the court system, but those do not usually end up in a timely matter.
Now, I'm in no way saying that Finch's case would ever go as far as I described above, but that are his, and IU's option. One of the most recent cases for hardship that was granted that IU fans may be familiar with is that of Tyler Smith. Tyler played at Iowa for Coach Alford, then transferred to Tennessee to play for Coach Pearl. He was allowed to play the following season, because he transferred to be near his ailing father who had cancer.
In one of the stranger requests of recent memory, was the family of Colin Peek. Colin transferred to Alabama from Georgia Tech. The appeal for hardship was orchestrated by Coach Nick Saban, because GT didn't employ a TE in their scheme, so with Peek's position basically eliminated from the offense, Peek requested immediate playing time because Alabama was going to use their TEs a lot. Basically, Saban needed a TE, and Peek was his best option. Of course, this request was denied.
Finch's issue is family related, but that's as far as anyone really knows. This is of course a very private issue that will only be made public once a ruling is given by the NCAA. It will more than likely be July before we know the NCAA's decision on this one, and of course, if it's not favorable, Finch and/or IU could appeal.
I wanted to let those that read this blog know that Coach Tom Crean and Coach Bill Lynch have become very good friends very quickly and they often share a meal as their time allows them too. In fact, Coach Crean has leaned on Coach Lynch some through all this turmoil and strife that the men's bball program has went through recently. Coach Lynch and his staff are all too familiar with adversity and strife, as they dealt with the illness and ultimate death, of their leader, Coach Hep. Coach Crean has really bent Coach Lynch's ear, as well as other trusted friends about all that is going on with men's bball. Personally, I cannot remember, at least in recent memory, a school's athletic program that has dealt with as much adversity and strife as IU's fball and men's bball programs. One thing that I've heard Coach Lynch say about the late Coach Hep, is that you can give a player all the chances in the world to succeed, get them help, even drive by their house or call the apartment and make sure they are home, but ultimately, if a kid doesn't want to change, he won't. While I think that is obvious, I think some of that advice that was giving to Coach Hep staff, trickled down to Coach Crean. Sure, he could have given some of those many more chances, but sometimes you just go with your gut feeling. A lot of times, a person's past history will dictate their future behavior. This also leads me to my one and only comment about Kellen Lewis. I certainly made waves saying that in my opinion, there was a 99.9% chance that he would never don the IU football jersey again because of what he'd done. While I will certainly stand by that statement, I recently posted on Peegs that I think there is a 75% that he will play again. These percentages are merely based on the vibes and statements I am/was getting from those within the program. Things were laid out for KL to accomplish while he was away, and he's on track to complete those things by the end of this month. If he completes those things in the satisfaction of the staff, it appears it may ultimately come down to what his teammates want. At this point, that vote could either way.
Now that June has begun, that means it's time for football recruiting to really heat up. Kids all over the country will be making trips to football camps and taking unofficial visits. IU is no exception to this and here is the schedule of camps that will be held at IU this summer. These camps include the position coaches, as well as former and present players. During these camps, you usully wake up at 7:30, have breakfest, practice, eat lunch, practic, eat dinner, practice, then have a simulated game, then it's off to bed. It's jammed packed IU football.
This coming weekend IU will kick off their camp season with their 7 on 7 passing camp. Then on June 8 to 11 will be Session 1 of the Team camp. Session 2 will be from the 11th to the 14th. Finally, Coach Lynch will hold a youth camp for youngsters on the 16th and 17th. Also, Coach Bobby Johnson will hold a special Lineman camp on the 10th. Many offered lineman will be in attendance, as the staff will get a first hand look at what these kids can do. Also, Coach Ted Ginn's bus tour will again be making a stop in btown for a one day camp. No date yet on that one, at least none that I've seen listed on his website.
Ultimately, the staff believes that as many as 7 kids may very well verbal once the camp season winds down. I've gotten a few emails and saw comments about why in the world IU doesn't have any verbals so far and should we be concerned. Well, not having verbals by June is a little unusual, especially for IU, but IU has certainly upped it's effort on top notch talent. Almost everyday, the ticker lights up with another rated prospect that has IU in his top 2 or 3. It's only a matter of time before someone gets the ball rolling, then watch out as the dominos fall.
Well, that's it for now. God Bless!!
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