My Review of the 2003 Recruiting Tape

by Ryan King, 2/6/03

Fun night.

First of all, it was great to sit at a table with huskerbj, go_skers_, Mussker, Old School, Kaiser Soze, and Nitin (in no particular order). It was really neat to finally meet many of you.

(Editor's Note: a final tally attributed 6 Morgan & Cokes and 6 Jack & Cokes to me this evening. So take everything with a grain of salt. I did this last year, but I was mostly sober.)

Impressions of the recruits in the order they appeared:

1) Greg Austin - His quickness jumped out at me. He was very quick off the ball (getting through the neutral zone before his man got out of his stance a couple of times) and had great dancing feet. Was able to pull and move in traffic and negotiate obstacles. Looked good.

2) Andy Birkel - If you can't say anything nice..... Okay, well he's a long strider, but showed no elusiveness, very little burst, and generally I wasn't impressed. My opinion of him as a recruit is the same now (actually a little worse) as it was before the dinner. His highlight reel wasn't really even a highlight reel. Not impressive. Hopefully there is more film that is better.

3) Titus Brothers - started CB for Texas's 5A (largest class) state championship team. Very physical, with nice closing speed. A couple people made Keyou Craver comparisons based on his picture alone, and I have to tell you he played the same way. Very good athlete.

4) Brett Byford - Very mobile and fast off the ball for a guy of his size. His ability to pull and engage stuck out at me. Pretty good.

5) Steve Craver - Oh man do I hope he qualifies (not freakin' likely). He is just plain NASTY, just like his brother. A big, violent hitter, with lots of closing speed and a mean disposition. Would be a great OLB. Imagine Keyou a little bigger, and this is what you'd get. Obviously strong and liked to finish off tackles in a big way.

6) Joe Dailey - I was greatly anticipating his highlights, based on hype. I was not disappointed. Honestly, I was stunned by his elusiveness and scrambling ability - he's very shifty and fast. The word "fluid" comes to mind. His passes were not necessarily great spirals, but he seemed to have a very fast release and great accuracy. He has a gun for an arm. Very impressive. A couple of comments by the coaches lead me to believe they think he could challenge for the starting job. He is coming in early to compete.

7) Donald DeFrand - A big, physical CB with good speed. Not afraid to hit, and looked pretty natural turning and following a receiver. At 6'2", will be a nice matchup on taller receivers. Saw enough to believe he can start next year if he works at it.

8) David Dychess - Impressive kicker highlights. Repeatedly kicked KOs out the back of the endzone, kicked a 44-yarder FG that would have been good from 54 easily. Big, big leg. Nitin wanted me to note that he was impressive, and I agreed. Great, underrated pickup.

9) Darren DeLone - Looked like he hustled pretty well, but resembles the upright stance of an early Patrick Kabongo. Had nice feet for his size and excelled in pass-blocking. Was better in passing situations than running. Will need to redshirt and work on better technique. Naturally big and strong, though.

10) Tierre Green - HOLY COW. Most impressive highlights I saw tonight. I am dumbfounded that he could somehow fall under the recruiting radar. Unbelievable speed with pads on. His burst through the hole was really something, and he actually showed a little more shake n' bake than his cousin. I'm not saying he's the second coming or anything, but this guy should really be a 4-star guy. I was stunned. Very fast.

11) Corey McKeon - Also impressive. Fast with great closing speed. Seemed to have nice instincts, and was strong when he made tackles. I was pretty excited after seeing him. ESPN called him one of the top LBs in the country, and I don't think they were too far off.

12) Josh Mueller - Great frame, but wasn't particularly impressed with his athleticism or speed. Seemed like he lumbered around. Coaches said he has a strong lower body and is 100%. Showed nice hands on one of the highlights. Didn't seem like a 4-star guy.

13) Wali Muhammad - Strange highlight reel. 22 sacks last year, and they didn't show a single one of them? Seemed to be very quick off the snap, and showed a few plays where he used his hands to shed a blocker in the hole. Hard to gauge based on his reel. Others at the table thought he looked like a MLB.

14) Chris Patrick - A bull-rusher. Didn't jump out at you in film. I honestly don't understand ratings. Had a Vandenbosch/Kelsay hustle, but not the athleticism to go with it. Didn't see the great footspeed I was hoping for.

15) JB Phillips - Fun to watch, if you enjoy blocking. Very strong blocker who never gave up on it. Was blocking guys 20 yards downfield, and often finished it off with the defender on his back. Fills an important position of need from us.

16) Bo Ruud - He looks faster than Barrett. That's all I will say.

17) Ryan Schuler - One of the three most impressive recruits I saw, and probably the best of them all. A total physical specimen. Killed people on every play. Was pancaking dudes and then going to the next level and tossing LBs through the air. This is what a 4-star OL should look like. A man among boys, like Dailey. They showed a single drive from one of this games, every play. In six plays, he pancaked at least one person on every play. In some cases two. I can't wait for him to see the field.

18) Ronnie Smith - For our pure enjoyment, they showed his highlights again after showing them last year. My opinion of him hasn't changed one bit, even though the highlights were a little different. He is IMPOSSIBLE to tackle in the open field. There are some questions about the physicalness of the football where he was, but none about his athleticism. Still breathtaking.

19) Brandon Teamer - Looked "okay". I think they were trying to show off his ability to use his hands to get rid of blocks and move laterally down the line of scrimmage. He did okay, but he has NOWHERE the speed to play RE. No way.

20) Adrian Turner - Showed some speed, but most of his highlights were at I-back. Seemed very physical, like the other two CBs.

21) Trevor Neeman - Somehow looked a whole lot better than before. Made alot of plays, showed quick pursuit, and alot of energy. Weird.

22) Kade Pittman - No comment.

That's about it for the recruits. Solich said next year there will only be 3 Husker camps instead of 4, but in it's place there would be the first-ever national Adidas camp (like a Nike camp) that would run one day. Interesting. A great recruiting tool, I'd have to think.

Ryan