2023 Early Signing Day

[saltyshaker]

fifteen sounds like a good number.leaves room for a portal pickup or two.we seem a bit light on the rb room losing one to graduation and having one in the portal.i think hicks was injured most of the year so he might be able to fill the void.but maybe we can either find one in the portal or pickup one at the final spring signing period.vmi dl and holy cross wr still possible.hated to lose out on the dartmouth db but suprised that we have some surprises with db's coming back to grad school.wonder what happened with brooks but we got a late commit at dt to offset.

[The Jackal]

fifteen sounds like a good number.leaves room for a portal pickup or two.we seem a bit light on the rb room losing one to graduation and having one in the portal.i think hicks was injured most of the year so he might be able to fill the void.but maybe we can either find one in the portal or pickup one at the final spring signing period.vmi dl and holy cross wr still possible.hated to lose out on the dartmouth db but suprised that we have some surprises with db's coming back to grad school.wonder what happened with brooks but we got a late commit at dt to offset.

We basically ran with 4 running backs this season.

Roberto and Abrams appeared to split the playing time roughly 50/50, though Roberto had the lion's share of carries and yards.

Thomas appeared to be the #3 back, but was seldomly used as a feature runner. He would be "the guy" on maybe one drive per half.

Robinson earned carries in a primarily mop up role, but looked explosive in comparatively limited action. Hicks, I agree, looks like he sustained an injury somewhere along the line.

Jayquan Smith was the freshman in reserve this season, but he had very impressive film from high school. He could be a real one to watch in the future.

I assume if the coaches felt like they needed more depth at RB, they would have gotten it. The room as structured is deep with a lot of size and speed.

[FUBeAR]

The media report is out, so that usually means everyone we were expecting has signed.

https://furmanpaladins.com/news/2022/12 ... g-day.aspx

Great class with many offers. In particular many with offers from the Aacdemies. Great peer group to go up agaisnt as they are looking for similar profiles

Many won from Air Force. Wonder if CCH enjoys winning those guys over from his old boss!

Yes - always good to get guys with Academy offers as it tells us something good about their academics & character.

That said…we should remember that the Academies can/do bring in about 100 kids per year. They are unlimited by the NCAA and they will send 50 of those to the prep schools and 50 go direct to the academy. By the time each class reaches their final year, they are down to the typical class of 10-20 Sr’s. In order to get 100 in the class, they probably offer…just a guess…400…so…very roughly, there are 1200 Academy offers out there each year.

Again, it’s a good thing, but it really doesn’t tell us a lot about an individual player’s Football desirability. The Academies can afford to make a lot of Football mistakes while bringing in high character & smart kids. We can’t miss on any of those 3 variables.

[FUPlayer74]

Seems we don't go head to head with Wofford much anymore, not since the Ayers days. I'd like to think I know the reason for that but I'm not sure.

[Sad Din]

differet skill sets needed imho

Woffy needs bigs that can push 3 yards at a time, blockers and RBs. Dins are more diverse

[FUwolfpacker]

Will be curious to find out what the deal with Brooks is. Sometimes guys sign several days later. Odd that he would commit a couple days ago and not sign today. We may never know.

Was hoping to see George or McElmurray today but that doesn't mean we won't get them. As far as I know they haven't signed anywhere else so maybe they're going to be February signees. Sometimes I forget that the traditional signing day is still a couple of months away.

I think I'd like to see one more DT/NT. If Blackshear is definitely back then I'm not sure we absolutely need another CB, but given how this past year went, it wouldn't hurt if we could grab a transfer. Maybe after the 2nd portal opening. Otherwise, I can't really think of an obvious need, but another may pop up along the way.

Really excited about the most of the defensive players we signed. The LBs look very solid. Some definite potential with the TEs/WRs as well.

[FUwolfpacker]

This is not an indictment on any particular style of putting a team together, but I thought it was interesting. Sometime last week I was curious just how many offers Samford had out to transfers because I saw a ton of them on twitter. I may have missed some but my last count was 72 (yes I have the names). It's worked well for them, so I would expect it to continue. Not right or wrong, but I just thought that was a crazy number!

[The Jackal]

This is not an indictment on any particular style of putting a team together, but I thought it was interesting. Sometime last week I was curious just how many offers Samford had out to transfers because I saw a ton of them on twitter. I may have missed some but my last count was 72 (yes I have the names). It's worked well for them, so I would expect it to continue. Not right or wrong, but I just thought that was a crazy number!

It appears Samford's signing class of 15 has 9 transfers (3 JuCo).

These are just different approaches to recruiting. Furman is committed to recruiting and developing from the high school ranks. Samford has bought in pretty hard to rebuilding their roster with transfer players.

[The Jackal]

Seems we don't go head to head with Wofford much anymore, not since the Ayers days. I'd like to think I know the reason for that but I'm not sure.

At the moment, Furman and Wofford aren't on the same competition plane.

[apaladin]

differet skill sets needed imho

Woffy needs bigs that can push 3 yards at a time, blockers and RBs. Dins are more diverse

SD, You’re thinking old school Woffy. Now they are a pass happy bunch.

[gofurman]

differet skill sets needed imho

Woffy needs bigs that can push 3 yards at a time, blockers and RBs. Dins are more diverse

SD, You’re thinking old school Woffy. Now they are a pass happy bunch.

SD, you keep up a lot but I believe AP is correct here.. with the new coach (who threw for 400+ yards on us!!) I don't think FU v Woff recruiting is due to road graders providing for the option push. That's not necessarily what they do anymore. As a matter of fact I would have expected us to go up against them MORE now as they are promising to throw more in future...

Maybe someone can enlighten me - did any of our guys have offers from Wofford? Surely they did.

[gofurman]

Wolfpacker… thanks for starting this thread.

This class on paper is really interesting. There are some highly recruited players. Some players appear under the radar. This is an uneducated address—I think Furman's past several years recruiting classes' success has allowed Furman to take a few players that appear under the radar. Digging deeper, you can see on film why Furman has offered.

One player not to sleep on… just made first-team Washington Post All-Met at WR.

GoFu, should be happy with this player, he's a 4:45 guy:

Astro knows me

And he is right.

SPEED baby, SPEED. lanky FAST Receivers - honestly UIW should be playing in the National Title game with those WRs and Cooper making people miss tackles at RB ...

SPEED KILLS. As shown by Western in our 4th quarter etc - it is what makes them a scary team even when we have more talent than them overall.

Let's get another duo out there like Ike West and Brian Bratton. J Harris is a good one !

[The Jackal]

differet skill sets needed imho

Woffy needs bigs that can push 3 yards at a time, blockers and RBs. Dins are more diverse

SD, You’re thinking old school Woffy. Now they are a pass happy bunch.

SD, you keep up a lot but I believe AP is correct here.. with the new coach (who threw for 400+ yards on us!!) I don't think FU v Woff recruiting is due to road graders providing for the option push. That's not necessarily what they do anymore. As a matter of fact I would have expected us to go up against them MORE now as they are promising to throw more in future...

Maybe someone can enlighten me - did any of our guys have offers from Wofford? Surely they did.

From what I've seen, Wofford throws it that much because they can't run the ball.

[The Jackal]

Wolfpacker… thanks for starting this thread.

This class on paper is really interesting. There are some highly recruited players. Some players appear under the radar. This is an uneducated address—I think Furman's past several years recruiting classes' success has allowed Furman to take a few players that appear under the radar. Digging deeper, you can see on film why Furman has offered.

One player not to sleep on… just made first-team Washington Post All-Met at WR.

GoFu, should be happy with this player, he's a 4:45 guy:

Astro knows me

And he is right.

SPEED baby, SPEED. lanky FAST Receivers - honestly UIW should be playing in the National Title game with those WRs and Cooper making people miss tackles at RB ...

SPEED KILLS. As shown by Western in our 4th quarter etc - it is what makes them a scary team even when we have more talent than them overall.

Let's get another duo out there like Ike West and Brian Bratton. J Harris is a good one !

Odd that you'd push for lanky receivers and reference Bratton and West, neither of whom were tall.

Western Carolina had some speed at receiver, and they were watching the FCS playoffs from their couch.

Neither of the two teams playing for the national title are spread out, speedy offenses. NDSU and SDSU are among the worst passing offenses in the country.

What do they do well? Run the ball, play defense.

[AstroDin]

^^^ ditto.
One of Hinton's skill-set appears to be YAC.
He has the twitchiness to break ankles, then the speed to break away.

The DINS did run into a bunch of teams this season that lived and died by the 50/50 ball. I don't see that as a consistent formula for winning for Furman.

>>> Astro's Recruiting Roundup

Furman signed six linemen on early signing day. Between now and the final signing period, we could see two more. On the offensive side Balliew (6-5, 270), Luna (6-3, 275), and Garner (6-5, 280), on paper, fit what Furman wants in an offensive lineman. Side note: Furman gains two offensive linemen coming off injuries. Vollmer (6-5, 306) could be Jumper's replacement, and Petit (6-3, 285) should compete to replace Tomlin at OT.

Furman brings in three defensive linemen. This is offset by the loss of Coleman and Johnson graduating. Furman returns Sochovoka, Stephens, and Stainfield at DT. Furman has one NG on the current roster. Malachi Harrison (6-1, 264). Coach Lewis is an excellent DL coach—I'm sure he has a plan here. We could see X Stephens play NG. I expect another signee for the DL, but only if he's a fit. IMO, the addition of DL Vincent (6-1, 260) makes sense as the SoCon shifts toward more teams slinging the ball. Vincent is physical and plays with a high-speed motor.

I wasn't sure where Furman planned to play David Alabi (6-2, 240). He's listed as a Bandit. Based on his film, I'd consider Alabi one of the top pickups. The returning duo of Clark and Maier at Bandit is rock solid; adding Alabi gives the Bandit position a deep bench.

DE, in years past, was often manned by converted linebackers. Next season Furman will line up Barton (6-4, 264), the returning J Jackson (6-0, 260), PWO Dudek (6-3, 245), and incoming freshman DE Caldwell Bussey (6-3, 252). Bussey was Furman's first commit in this class and was a Twitter cheerleader for Furman. Don't sleep on Bussey.

The rest of the early signing class.

With Gilby's return… linebacker will be a position of strength for Furman. Gilby and McCormick play very well together. DiMaggio and Scianna provide depth and versatility, which allows Furman to redshirt the future dynamic duo of Ryan Earl and Raleigh Herbert. Earl (6-2, 225) and Herbert (6-2, 215) are eerily similar.

Wrapping up the defensive side of this class with the DBs. AK Burrell is an impressive athlete. My guess is he'll play safety for Furman. Braden Holmes is a taller DB (6-1, 170). Holmes was an early commit to Holy Cross, flipping after a visit to Furman. I think both of these guys are great pickups.

Furman brings in four receivers; two tight ends and two wide receivers. This class has it all, speed, strength, and playmakers. Chappell (6-5, 250) looks ready to contribute physically. Chappell could be an intimidating presence in Roper's two-tight-end sets.

I will group Tormey (6-7, 221) and Holbrook (6-4, 195) together. These two are going to be matchup nightmares at the FCS level. Both are very fluid. They run well. Tormey has a nasty side; he's a surprisingly versatile blocker. He also played some QB in HS. When you break records at IMG, you're a player, and Holbrook appears to be the real deal.

That leaves two intriguing signees… Hinton WR (5-11, 175) and Garcia QB (6-3, 190). Hinton plays with swagger, speed, and savvy. Hinton had 1,805 all-purpose yards. He's got slot skills, and Hinton's my sleeper of this class.

Has Furman had a QB from Cali before? Roper appears to be the type of QB coach that knows what he wants at QB. Garcia is in a great spot. He comes into the QB room behind Huff and Jones. I'm sold on the talent level in Cali HS football. I was impressed by Sac St. Garcia has a lively arm and is very mobile. Garcia will be an interesting story to watch.

That's my uneducated take on this class. There is a bit of everything. I would call this a grit and brawn class. Clay has repeatedly said that Furman currently plays blue-collar ball and that our players love football. This class appears to follow those attributes.