Somthing to think about

I have been looking over a lot of things and I have come to a couple of conclusions.

To understand where I am at please click on this link - open it in a new browser window that way you can flip back and forth.

We have 7 guys on the table with offers.
Andre
Peanut
Goggans
Hawthorne
Udell
Stevens
UGO

and Talbert if you think he has a unconditional.

Right now if everyone makes it in and we do not loose anyone we are at(Look at the total in the bottom right corner)we ar at 85 scholarship players.

Granted we will probably loose a couple and we might not have everone make it in but regardless we are at 85.

We have a legitimate 3 deep at every position and a 4 deep at most. Yes we are very young - we all knew that allready.

Where will we concentrate recruiting next year?

LB, DT, and OL as they are the thinnest.

We are stacked at QB, HB, DE, S, CB, TE and WR. We will go out and get the best at those positions but will not have to get a certain number at any position. To tell you the truth - we are fairly stacked at O-Line next year. We are very young but all in all we are at a good level.

Right now we have 15 guys that will graduate next year - so we will only be able to sign 15 as we are now at the 85 limit. We could loose up to 10 guys off of this years committs and still be able to sign a full class next year.

We might loose 2 - the same 2 guys to either GPA or other teams. So at the most with no one leaving for whatever reason we will only have 17 spots open next year as of now.

Remeber we are supposed to offer the starting kickers next year as well. I beileve CMS to ba a man of his word and he has told these guys if they earn a starting spot as Kicker they will get a scholarship. So you could loose up to 3 of those scholly spots to Kickers

I guess what I am trying to say is we are done for the most part in recruiting. We will be super happy to get Andre, Peanut, Hawthorne, Talbert, Stevens, Udell, Goggans, and UGO but will still have a very good group on campus if we don't.

Well maybe dissappointed if Andre leaves but I think he is BAMA bound anyway. So just wanted to make it clear that we have 85 guys ready to suit it up right now - so lets stop all the whining and moaning and lets go win #13.

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A friend of mine named Nepal said it better than me.

GREAT recruiting isn't just knowing who to sign it's knowing who to PASS on. I forget what SEC coach said that in the last few years, but I remember hearing it somewhere, and I agree with it 110%. Signing a kid who is not going to contribute to your program before they graduate is a complete waste of a scholarship (See: Mike McLaughlin). Furthermore, signing a kid who can contribute on ST's, or maybe in the three-deep for a year or two, can also be a waste IF the scholly could have been used on a kid who would have started for three years.

I LOVE the way recruiting is going this year, for many reasons. And one of them is that there doesn't appeart to be a "BACKUP" plan this year. CMS and staff are actually PASSING on kids who are marginal players. They're even passing on some who would could be considered pretty solid pickups.

Is there any doubt that if our talent situation was as desperate as it was two years ago, that we wouldn't have taken any or all of these players in heartbeat? Back then, we were clearly recruiting by the "warm bodies" rule - just get 'em in, we need the numbers. This year, however, is not about just "numbers" - it's about quality. There are no "back up" plans. We're going after the guys that our coaches feel like can come in and win championships, and if they miss on those guys, we're just holding that scholly until next year.

No sense signing a kid who is going to be a "project" at this point, when we can probably fill that slot with an "impact" player next year. And signing a "marginal" kid doesn't just cost you a single scholly in the next class - it can potentially rob you of FOUR YEARS of having a scholarship available for an impact player. Sure missing out on a BIG TIME recruit hurts, but signing a kid who is not going to contribute is going to hurt the team for the next FOUR YEARS. I'm very relieved and encouraged by the fact that our coaches are able to PASS on some good recruits this year.

I don't know how many of you have looked or thought ahead to 2007, but I'm sure that our staff has. And I'm sure they're aware that there is only going to be room for 15-20 schollies next year, depending on attrition. Every marginal kid that we pass on this year, is just one more "stud" we can be in on next year.

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Thanks Nepal

OK, OK - By request I will go ahead and give a final guess at who I think we will close with. I Guess it is time to stop beating around the bush.

Andre - Please LORD (willing to give one kidney for this request).
Hawthorne - Please LORD (willing to give one Leg for this request).
Peanut - Please LORD (willing to give one Arm for this request).
Goggans - Joins his HS teamate at the Capstone.
Stevens - Wants to play for Joe Kines.

Roll Tide.

Clay