OurDecay's 2002 Targets: Review

I had saved my comments on the 2002 Recruiting Tape. This was before we went 7-7 and lost a buttload of coaches. I hadn't completely lost hope or faith yet. Those were the days....*sigh*

This just goes to show:

1) How far off impressions can be, even from watching highlight tapes. (i.e. how wrong I can be)
2) There's a whole lot more into making a good player than raw ability. Nurturing the strengths of these players is so important.

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Antoine Bagwell, DB - Seemed to have good cover skills. A great hitter for his size...had some goodnight Irene hits. Showed nice closing speed, but I didn't feel his supposed 4.3 speed translated to the field. Was certainly fast, but you'll have to read below on some of the other recruits.

Adam Carriker, RE - Coaches are really high on him, and you could see why. He's HUGE. He looked pretty nimble in the pocket (he's a drop-back QB) and while he IS raw, he did a good job of shedding some blocks from the DE spot.

Curt Dukes, QB - WOW. You have to understand I wasn't 100% sold on this kid before. I am now. He had play after play where he literally flattened kids (ala Crouch vs. Iowa, 1999), a couple of times on the same play. He had all sorts of speed, looked fluid. But what really shocked me was his quickness and ability to change direction. He was exceptional running in traffic, with good vision and great strength. He definitely played to his measureables. Passing mechanics were good, and he hit some nice slant passes. Showed some touch too. Great player.

Isaiah Fluellen, WB - Obviously, the kid has another gear. Had alot of Playstation-esque plays where they just did the toss sweep and he beat people to the corner. Made some athletic plays on the ball as a receiver. Not sure about the level of competition, but has big upside.

Brandon Greeson, DL - His tape was fun to watch. VERY quick off the ball for his size. He instantly collapsed the pocket on every play. Was generally a terror. Looked pretty darned mobile chasing around the QB. Very impressive.

Matt Herian, TE - Seriously folks, this guy is fast enough to play receiver for most teams. He's fairly slim (215) for his height, but showed great ball skills, and was tough to bring down. Literally has another gear as a TE. If we can get him to maybe 240 and not lose his speed, he can seriously be an all-american. Wears a size 16 shoe. Has big hands. Reminds me of Jeremy Shockey.

David Horne, RB - Daaaaaaaaamn. All that, and a bag of chips. Had some runs that were just plain amazing. He's the real deal folks. Showed me more in 3 minutes of highlights than I could believe. Has a smooth, long stride, similar to Ahman Green's. Not quite as fast, but can take it to the house.

Mark LeFlore, WR - Our only recruit in attendance. Has exceptional leaping ability. He's the type of receiver you can just throw the ball high too, and he'll outleap you for it. The fun REALLY began when they started showing kickoff and punt returns, with the last highlight starting a whole room-full of applause. Serious speed, cutback ability, and vision. You can seriously put him on the level of a Peter Warrick, Santana Moss. He's that kind of talent.

Jermaine Leslie, OL - Very hard to see this tape. He had plenty of pancakes from the C spot. Was great at moving to pick up outside blitzers and is exceptionally mobile. Probably a legit 4.8 guy at 298 lbs. Huge upside here.

Kurt Mann, OL - A very good athlete. Will obviously need to put on some weight (is reportedly only 255 this basketball season) and I think improve his upper body strength. Video wasn't the best quality, but he appeared to have good footwork.

Grant Miller, FB/LB - Coach Albin called him the most elusive and best running fullback he's ever seen. Flashed some big-time running ability, and a second gear. As a linebacker, was blowing up lead blockers on the way to the QB. He also showed great burst into the backfield on a sweep. This is a diamond.

Jay Moore, DE - Showed mostly running back highlights, but I liked his pursuit angles and the way he played runs to his side. Had a really funny highlight were he dusts an entire team running the ball. About 6 guys had angles on him and he just outran them. Really, really fast for his size.

Jemayel Phillips, OL - This was the third most fun video to watch. He is sooooooo strong, and he doesn't even know it. He literally was swatting kids Fonoti-style. There were numerous times where he'd have a double pancake block. It was a case of a man among boys. They showed alot of plays with him pulling, and he looked better than most of our guys who are here now. Finished off his blocks with authority. Stud.

Ronnie Smith, WB - NOW THIS IS FUN. My side literally hurt from watching this kid making people look stupid. I think RedRick, OldSchool and KaiserSoze will agree with me that his elusiveness is beyond description. The only person who I've ever seen be able to change his direction faster and more often was Barry Sanders. You just cannot believe how ridiculous his runs were. EVERY play he'd make at least 5-6 guys miss. I started to drool about halfway through his performance. They showed about 6 slip-screens from the WB spot where he scored from 50 yards plus. Even pancaked a couple of kids on blocks. WOW. I'm in total shock how good he was.

Cory Timm, OL - Pretty big, and not fat. Was another terrible quality of tape, but most plays he was shown pulling. Plenty mobile. Couldn't really see much here. Sorry.

Dane Todd, FB - Definitely a devastating blocker. Surprised me with his running ability though. Looked HUGE on film. Not particularly fast, but you wouldn't want to get in his way. Great pickup.

Fabian Washington, CB - Simply put, you guys are not going to believe how FAST this guy is. I mean - BLAZING. His kickoff returns were just things of beauty. His acceleration reminded me of DeJuan Groce's this year. Very fluid. He showed GREAT technique on the fade route. You can see why he only gave up 8 passes total in four years. An absolute blue-chip. Coach mentioned he could play ALOT next year. I really think he has the ability to come in be like Ralph Brown. He's a future All-American and potential Thorpe Award nominee. Really.

DeMorrio Williams, WLB - Showed great instincts, good pursuit. On a few plays he blitzed unblocked, but showed the ability to break down and tackle elusive QBs one-on-one. Was pretty impressed with him.

Well, that's about it for the players. I'll let other people fill you in on what was said. We have alot of FAST guys in this class, that's for sure.

Ryan