Wednesday Open Recruiting Thread 05.13.09

Been a long three weeks, eh?

First off, the 2010 Recruiting Big Board (while the names might not be added/removed at first, they will be)

ADDED:

• WR/DB Willis Wright, Miami Springs.  The coaches visited him this week.  My understanding is that Wright wants to play WR in college, but Miami wants him to play S.  A comparison would be Downs at WR.  Also, on his college choice.  Miami people seem to think that he is a "stay at home" kid.  Meaning that he will go to Miami if they offer.  If they don't, it is likely he will go to FIU.  Take it for what it's worth.
• DE Theodore "Man-Man" Jackson, Armwood.  Unlikey to qualify though he is a beast. 
• Shawn Green, DT

REMOVED:

• RB Storm Johnson, he will play in the SEC.
• WR DaRick Rogers, who will play in the SEC.
• WR Ted Meline, no interest from either party.
• WR Jeremy Richardson, from Alabama, no shot.
• DE Craig Sanders, no shot.
• S Jarrick Williams, will stay in state.
• CB Demarcus Milliner, from Alabama who will stay in state.
• DB Jeremi Wilkes.  I can't see FSU taking this kid.  Unimpressive film. 
• OL Jose Jose, committed to Tennessee
• DE Delvin Jones, no interest
• C  Erick Mack, No Interest

The coaches have been everywhere these past weeks.  Jimbo has been everywhere, the man is a machine.  The coaches are traveling in packs, and that makes quite the impression on kids.  No other school is sending its entire coaching staff (or most of it) to visit a single prospect like FSU is.  This is where Jimbo can really make his mark.  Head coaches aren't allowed to visit right now, but Jimbo isn't our head coach ;)  We intend to visit every high school in the state of Florida.

Some of the notable prospects visited:

• CB Lamarcus Joyner and STA
• WR Christian Green and OL Chaz Green
• LB Jeff Luc (we sent six coaches, UF sent one)
• Basically every school in South Florida
• 2011 ATH Karlos Williams
• Maryland DL JR Ferguson (we told you about this one two weeks ago when one of our readers tipped us that he overheard O'Dell's phone conversation). 
• Current commit Chad Abrams
• The Byrnes Trio:  Lattimore, Miller, and Willis:   

  Coaches from Florida State were by James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., to check in on Under Armour All-American defensive lineman Corey Miller, running back Marcus Lattimore and defensive lineman Brandon Willis.The Noles are in good shape for all three prospects and Lattimore said afterward that he hopes to make another unofficial visit to Tallahassee soon. The Noles, along with Georgia and Auburn are in the lead group for the talented back.

I spoke with quite a few prospects over the past month and they all echoed the same sentiment.  FSU consistently showed that they need these guys.  Our coaches are showing these kids how the program has talent, but lacks depth, and that there are opportunities to be coached by some excellent coaches and maybe start early.  The other thing that all say is that our coaches are very "real."  Some coaches BS kids a lot, but ours take the exact opposite approach, telling them it will take hard work, nothing is promised, etc. 

Don't Believe the Hype:

• STA's Gio Bernard is not coming here.  
• DB Cody Riggs will not attend FSU. 
• Auburn landing stud runningbacks.  Malzahan doesn't have his offensive line coach who was also the genius behind his running game at Arkansas and Tulsa.  They will fade down the stretch.
• DT Calvin Smith will most likely not sign with FSU, more than likely he signs with Illinois.
• I don't think we get DE Corey Lemoiner (Miami lock) and neither does Tharinger.com:

  Hialeah(FL) DE Corey Lemonier claims a top 2 of UF and Miami. The Hurricanes are the favorite by a good margin. Lemonier also has Florida State, Tennessee, and Alabama still on his radar.

• De'Joshua Johnson isn't a lock to go to FSU

  The biggest news out of today's practice came from De'Joshua Johnson. Throw away the notion that Johnson is a surefire Seminole. It will be a slugfest between Alabama and FSU. Johnson made it clear to me today that Alabama is neck and neck with FSU.

Have to remember here that Bama has a great chance of being undefeated when DJ decides. Still, I think he's going to be a Nole. Let's hope we don't take it for granted.

Encouraging Notes:

• FSU still leads for Terrence Mitchell: 

  "It's a top of the line program," he said. "I mean it's Florida right now. It used to be Miami and soon it will be Florida State again. The defense is real good and I think I could start right away. I just need to perform when I get there."

• Miami Central WR Josh Reese: 

  "With Florida State, they came to the school to check on me and the quarterback here (Jeffery Godfrey) and they brought like 3-to-4 coaches," Reese said. "They are recruiting me very hard. I like the program and I like the way they run their offense. 

  Reese said that he wants to play where Godfrey plays.

  "That's very important," he said. "That's what we are trying to do is all three of us (along with running back Brandon Gainer) play at the same school. I don't know if it will work out or not, but we will see how things go."

  Godfrey recently named FSU his leader, and he's really the only QB the Noles are likely to take at this point. Landing the trio from Central (with Gainer being the top) would be huge. It would also give us an in with their 2011 stud wideout Charles Gaines Jr.
•   FSU does lead for Lamarcus Joyner, but it's a slight lead.
• Tharinger.com:

  Miami(FL) WR Quinton Dunbar will not be a Miami Hurricane from what I'm told. Dunbar, who de-committed from Miami recently, is getting the cold shoulder from the Canes and Randy Shannon. He'll most likely end up at Michigan, Florida, FSU, or Tennessee.

This definitely doesn't help relations between BTWHS and Miami.
• From Gridironstuds.com:

  Pahokee wide receiver DeJoshua Johnson has been invited to the Army All American Game

• Ultra talented WR/DB James Louis (much more later) hasapparently backed off his UF lean, after seeing how bad they are at putting players in the NFL and more importantly-- having guys succeed in the NFL.  Louis will be a tremendous lock down corner in college - if he realizes it. 
• From Noleinsider.com (still a great site even after Jamey Givens left):  rumblings that Miami and Booker T. Washington high have a tenous relationship, at best.  
• Luke Stampini of SoFlaFootball.com thinks that FSU & WVU are the schools to watch for Demar Dorsey.  Do we want Dorsey in this program?  There are rumored character concerns.

James Coley time

In this report, Steve Ellis tells us that FSU TE Coach and Recruiting Coordinator James Coley is not concerned with the current lack of commits.  They note that last year's high early output was fueled by a wealth of local prospects. Coley said that he's given out 100 offers, and that FSU does a great job of only taking a kid's commitment when they are very solid that the kid will stick (only 1 kid decommitted last year).  The state of Florida will continue to be the staff's main focus, with other dips into southern Georgia.

ESPN Scouting Reports:

Chad Abrams

Abrams is a very alert and instinctive free safety. He has good size and range for the position. Rarely out of position and show the ability to play effectively from either three deep or cover two. Gets a great break on passes in his zone; covers a lot of territory quickly. Aware of receivers breaking to the outside or in front of him. Anticipates who the quarterback is going to by route progression and often makes the interception or separates the receiver from the football. A true running threat once he makes the pick due to his athletic skills, quickness and agility. Loose hips and can change direction on a dime. Physical when coming up on run support or laying the wood on wideouts. Must be conscious of wrapping up the ball carrier especially in the openfield. A true centerfielder as a free safety in three cover; good field general. A solid special teams player that shows the talents to block punts; quick off the snap and runs through the block point to swat the football off the punters foot. Often the first guy down on kick off coverage and shows the knack to run by blockers and make openfield tackles. Abrams is a very productive safety that has all the tools to excel at that position. He should be an early contributor at the next level.

Wow, that is a glowing report.  Maybe we got ourselves a gem very early?  Abrams was receiving a lot of interest before he committed.  It's encouraging to see our coaches offer a prospect and then see the experts evaluate him and confirm the quality of our offer.

James Louis: (more later)

This young man can flat out run. He possesses some of the best quickness and acceleration of any receiver in this class and he can be a dangerous weapon in all three phases of the passing game. Louis has adequate size and while he doesn't look quite as tall as his listed height, he is a good leaper and exceptional athlete that can track the deep ball as well as anyone. He is very similar to last years Andre DeBose now at Florida. Can play inside or outside and off the line gets from 0-60 MPH's in the blink of an eye. Gets over the top of defenders in a hurry. He has a good feel for attacking coverage, is very quick in and out of his cuts and shows he can get separation. Eats up cushion and has stop and start ability for double moves and burst off the cut that is rare. Gets into his routes quickly and shows outstanding burst in all his change-of-direction skills. He simply knows how to get open and once he is in space you had better have 11 bodies running to the football because he possesses the ability to make two and three defenders miss in a short area of space and then take it to the house. This is a guy that will win most footraces once in the open field. His hands are excellent and he has shown the ability to make acrobatic and leaping grabs on balls thrown outside of his catch radius. If he plucks on the move on underneath routes and catches a seam, look out. Catches away from his body, consistently protects the football and does a good job of getting upfield immediately. This is a player that is not going to be an imposing threat or big redzone weapon. He must physically bulk up so that he does not get outmuscled at the line or versus tight coverage down field. Overall, Louis can create mismatches and big plays. He is at his best when threatening vertically and getting the ball in space underneath. We expect him to develop into a premier pass catcher at the next level. Outstanding prospect.

I think Louis should be a CB.  He has all the tools:  hips, acceleration, speed, and he can hit.  We should still make a pitch to him as a CB - sell our history at that position.  He could be a lock down corner with great NFL potential at that position.  He grew up a Florida State fan.  Our coaching staff should say, "Terrell Buckley is a former NFL all pro and one of the greatest cornerbacks in Seminole history.  Mickey Andrews has seen countless NFL corners.  They both want you as a corner.  You see?  You have NFL potential at the position." If we land Louis, he would be slightly behind Joyner in terms of potential and talent.

Some sleepers I would love to evaluate right now:

• DE Theodore "Man-Man" Jackson (Armwood) 6'2' 250 (estimate).  This kid has a very quick first step off the ball.  He will have to gain weight in college, but you can't teach that movement in a defensive lineman.  FILM RIGHT HERE, IMPRESSIVE.  There is a reason they call him 'Man-Man' around Armwood.  UPDATE:  Per Charles Fishbein, Jackson has a very very long way to go to get qualified.  Armwood might be looking into placing him into a JuCo already.  Maybe this will be another Amp McCloud situation, kind of a sign and place.  Fish also relayed that the kid is super talented and would be top rated this year.

• Safety EJ Johnson (Cocoa) 6'1 180. This is Phillip Thomas part two, and we can make up for the mistake we made last year.  This kid is truly a ballhawk, and I wrote about him back in March.  Kid sees the ball and he gets to it.  He had three picks in the state game against Godby.  MORE IMPRESSIVE FILM RIGHT HERE.

I hope we have room to take these kids.  I also believe that we will use these prospect's senior seasons as a barometer for an offer.  We shouldn't give them an offer right now, but get senior evals in.  Also, many, many, many thanks to SunshinePreps for the great "Media Players" that site puts together.  They are a very useful tool when you want to see a prospect.

More nice film from SunshinePreps:

• CB Terrence Mitchell (5'11 170, Hillsborough HS) Mitchell is probably our top target after Joyner at the CB position.  He can really lay the wood, and he has some impressive speed.  We are thought to be in really good position with him.  Our coaches have been on him for some time.
• CB Terrence Brooks (5'11 180, Dunnellon HS)  Brooks might be a kid that flies under the radar a bit.  Another CB prospect that will lay the wood, Brooks is quite the athlete as well.  You can see his speed from the video.  If the Gators don't offer (it appears  they won't), we are in great shape here.

If we land both of these CBs to go with Joyner, it will be the most physical group of CBs in the country.  All can run too.  Most importantly, they all have great COD (change-of-direction) and can accelerate to the ball. 

More video:

LB/S Jeremiah George:

We are currently recruiting George as a safety, but I think he will be a linebacker in college.  He really has come impressive closing burst.  I think George would be a nice take if Jeff Luc doesn't work out OR if we want to take four linebackers in this class.  He is a little on the small side at 5'10 190.  How does he fit into Jimbo's plan for the defense?

DL/OL Antonio Ford:

Antonio Ford from SoFLAfootball.com on Vimeo.

Ford is another Pahokee player that many think we should offer.  I don't know however.  Luke Stampini of www.soflafootball.com seems to think he is on the same level as Richard Ash, who I am extremely high on.  We have shown little interest of late.  FSUncensored's note:  I don't think he has the same potential as  Ash.

FSU USING TECHNOLOGY:

While Bobby Bowden doesn't know what the internet is (confusing it with E-bay), James Coley certainly does.  Coley is helping our staff stay in the technology race, though we are still far behind most schools. 

Follow him here:  http://twitter.com/CoachColey. My favorite tweets:

Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will b killed

Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the Gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running

Hey Mr. Coley - I AM HIM - tell us where ya been - AROUND THE WORLD & IM BACK AGAIN - They've been asking - WHO'S BEEN ASKIN BOUT ME

When you meet adversity face to face, choke it untill you snap its neck - The

Check them out.  They are all good and all are funny.  SQUAD UP!  It's basically just another way to talk to recruits. 

Final Thought

UF is going to pull an all-time scary class.  They are excellent and our fractured leadership dynamic has enabled them to ascend to where they are.  That said, we will still pull an excellent class as well.  All 3 of our current commits are on the ESPNU 150 Watch List, and I think we have a lot more who are very likely to commit.  The state of Florida is loaded, and with Miami likely to struggle, we should continue to do well.

Question of the Day:  Who do you think the five most important recruits in the class are?