We may not know in the moment how the pandemic affects recruiting, but I'm sure it will have an impact.
A lot of Furman's typical competitors, like the Ivy League and Patriot League, are not playing this fall. I expect most of the typical travel and on campus recruiting is next to non-existent at the moment.
great point CCH spoke to this at the Lunch & Learn. Unless a player visited during their junior year - no campus visits.
I have reached out to BMac (Hero Sports) about recruiting - primarily Furman recruiting this season. He shared with me that due to several things he's really behind on recruiting and hasn't been able to put as much time into it as in past years.
I'd have to crunch numbers but my guess is the 2021 class is very similar to the 2020 class in offers per player. Last year's class had several players that were primarily FBS recruited and Furman was the FCS school in the battle.
What impresses me so far with this class is the athletic skill and size. Two 6-3 + tight-ends, a very shifty big-armed QB, two DE's over 240 pounds, a 6-3 WR, a 6-2 DB.
I feel Furman is now in the position of being very strategic in its recruiting this season. Last year's class was still filling needs and increasing in CCH words more dynamic playmakers. This class has some dynamic playmakers but its more of a blue collar class.
Do we recruit much from VA and NC? Those kids will have no film this season. That mostly impacts Juniors I would think. If they are in good programs, they didn’t play as sophomores. And really good players make their mark before senior year. So it will be tough to evaluate all these juniors if they can’t afford to go to camps. Any seniors who had to wait behind a superstar until this year are just utterly hosed.
Would a big reduction in supply (eliminating thousands of kids from 2 huge states) make it more of a battle to get the GA, TN ,SC kids we want? Or do we just wait till late in the fall of 2021 to make offers based on senior year film? Or do you trust coaches who tell you a kid was awesome on JV? Could be interesting. On the other hand, we may seem some FCS teams bite the dust which would decrease demand I guess.
Do we recruit much from VA and NC? Those kids will have no film this season. That mostly impacts Juniors I would think. If they are in good programs, they didn’t play as sophomores. And really good players make their mark before senior year. So it will be tough to evaluate all these juniors if they can’t afford to go to camps. Any seniors who had to wait behind a superstar until this year are just utterly hosed.
Would a big reduction in supply (eliminating thousands of kids from 2 huge states) make it more of a battle to get the GA, TN ,SC kids we want? Or do we just wait till late in the fall of 2021 to make offers based on senior year film? Or do you trust coaches who tell you a kid was awesome on JV? Could be interesting. On the other hand, we may seem some FCS teams bite the dust which would decrease demand I guess.
Just using Ferguson as an example, he had a bunch of offers from Patriot and Ivy League schools. He ended up committing to the school geographically the closest to him.
Now, maybe Furman was his top choice for years. Maybe he wants to be closer to home. Perhaps a Georgia kid, seeing that it would be near impossible to do on campus visits this fall, opted to stay with the school he likely had the most information on - the one essentially down the road.
All of that is speculation. I have no actual idea if that is true.
I think Jackal has a point - don't know for sure… but it was back I believe under BL Furman and W&M had offered an o-lineman from Georgia - during his recruiting he made the comment I know Furman what they have to offer - didn't take an official visit to Furman but did make a visit to W&M and he committed.
Under CCH Furman has kept some highly recruited locals close to home Jumper and DiMaggio come to mind. At the same time - next season Furman will have at least five plus players from Texas. Furman has gone into Ft Walton, FL for a highly recruited player as well as Macon County, TN for another player with 20 offers.
I think we're seeing a staff that knows what they're looking for and has a lot of relationships in a diverse range of states.
All of that is speculation. I have no actual idea if that is true.
Hmmm...might be a good time to add a signature / tagline to your posts
...just sayin’
When I'm just making stuff up, I at least let you know.
Just make sure you disclose the difference between fact and opinion. For example, Furman is having a great recruiting year is an opinion, but Wofford sucks is a fact.
DE commit Alex Maier and Fleming Island are 4-0
Maier is playing MLB/OLB/DE for Fleming at 6-4 225+ Maier is another long body for Furman's strength and conditioning team to build up. BTW… Fleming plays 7A ball in Florida, this season Florida has created an 8A league for the largest schools in the state.
Myion Hicks. Is he gonna play RB or LB for Furman? Hicks had a monster game week one.
4 carries for a whopping 143 yards and 2 TDs also 1 catch 59 yards and another touchdown.
Hicks also had 8 tackles. I do some consulting work for Parish Episcopal in Dallas the private school league that Hicks plays in is the real deal.
I’m sure he’s great but those guys in the white shirts don’t look like the real deal.
I believe Hicks plays in TAPPS, which is a private/parochial school division of Texas football.
When evaluating a player from smaller schools like Hicks, I think you have to remember two things:
1. Furman is looking for "prototype" players. That is, guys that meet specific physical attributes that will fit well in our system. It is not a coincidence that most of our recruiting targets at various positions all physically resemble one another.
At 5'11 215, Hicks meets the physical prototype of our running back position. I would assume, too, that the kid can run.
2. A D1 talent is usually going to look like a man among boys against smaller competition. Most teams won't have guys as big and as fast as he is. It's our coaches' job to get him ready to play against bigger and faster players.
In that regard, the pure statistics really shouldn't matter. A D1 player is going to put up gobs of yards against players who are not his physical match. Remember, Devin Wynn broke all sorts of records as a running back at a small Georgia High School. You gotta find these kids, "coach em up," get them in the weight room, and see what you've got.
Case in point about not getting too wrapped up in the competition level (and because I am reminiscing on a Sunday) -
I played a small Class A high school. The baddest team we played every year was Miller County in Colquitt, Georgia.
During those days, Miller was led by a kid named Brandon Miller, who would go on to start at OLB/DE at UGA. He was a physical freak. We were a playoff team and Miller Co. would beat us like a drum every season. Fire ant beds on the field. Mosquitos so big they could carry off children. Every time Miller Co. would score (which was early and often), they'd fire a "cannon," which wasn't really a cannon, but a home-made bomb, that sounded like the world was ending and would cover the field with smoke for five minutes.
The dude looked like a man among children on the football field. He was too big to tackle and too fast to catch. Even though he played against a shrimp like me, you couldn't get wrapped up in the competition level. He was a bad man, and it was obvious to everyone watching.
This is more just me spitballing on a Sunday, but check out this highlight:
Miller isn't the dude that catches the ball (who himself is a big fella). Miller's the cat that hurdles his own player and runs down the guy that catches the ball. Guy is in a full sprint and Miller hurdles a man and catches him.
Also, this gives you a little flavor of playing Miller County in the early aughts -
Entire offensive line in a four point stance (only time I ever saw that). No "pass blocking" even on passes - the only throws were quick slants.
This would be a penalty in 2020, but it was a standard Friday night fare in Southwest Georgia football 20 years ago. Head on a swivel, kid. Just last night in the Auburn/Georgia game two kids were ejected for hits far less egregious than this. I guess it's good for overall player safety.
Fortunately for me, I missed the Charles Grant days by a few years. Grant, the former UGA and NFL star defensive lineman, used to play running back for Miller County in the mid-90s. Glad I didn't have to deal with this nonsense
Don't get wrapped up in who is playing defense. Bad hombres are bad hombres regardless of where they play. Find them, coach them, and turn em loose.
I think in any HS league - even in Texas Hicks stands out physically…
Hicks is listed as 1st team all-state at linebacker, 2nd team all-state at running back.
