SoCon 2019 Off-Season

[PaladinNation]

Not that it matters but 247 SoCon Composite keeps excluding Devonte Jones from Furman's class.
So I guess that gives Furman 5 two star players ranked by 247.
https://247sports.com/player/devonte-jones-46056461/

Anyways — I agree with SUDOG I love to see the guys and they're stories that sign but don't list on NSD.
Furman appears to bringing in between 8-10 PWO's, Partial Athletic, Partial Academic players in 2019.
One name that came out of nowhere but worth keeping an eye is safety Hugh Ryan of Dutch Fork HS.
Dutch Fork I believe has won three straight South Carolina 5A championships.

Ryan was supposed to be the Shrine Bowl backup for the SC trio of defensive backs that signed with, SC, Kentucky, and Georgia.
Ryan ended up being the starter - led South Carolina with nine tackles, one sack, one and a half tackles for loss.

Ryan chose the DINS over Wofford and a full offer from CSU.
Read more here: https://www.thestate.com/sports/high...#storylink=cpy

[PaladinFan]

I think it is notable that Furman did not take a QB this recruiting class. They have some PWO types, but were not really active in recruiting that position.

Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but that signals two things to me. First, Furman's coaches feel comfortable with what they have with their freshmen QBs. It also signals a change from most coaching staffs, which have opted to take a QB in every class. That avoids a backlog at the position and allows Furman to develop depth and not have to turn the reigns over to a freshman or redshirt senior, which has pretty much been the case during every transition the last ten years or so.

[PaladinNation]

I think it is notable that Furman did not take a QB this recruiting class. They have some PWO types, but were not really active in recruiting that position.

Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but that signals two things to me. First, Furman's coaches feel comfortable with what they have with their freshmen QBs. It also signals a change from most coaching staffs, which have opted to take a QB in every class. That avoids a backlog at the position and allows Furman to develop depth and not have to turn the reigns over to a freshman or redshirt senior, which has pretty much been the case during every transition the last ten years or so.

I heard the coaches only put two firm offers out in 2019 for QB, both chose Army. 2020 is not going to be the case Furman has cast a wide net for QB for next season. It also appears Furman has expanded it's recruiting outside of SC, SC, GA, FL, TN. Signing two players from Texas doesn't appear to be an outlier. A 2020 class Texas QB has already made an unofficial visit.

[walliver]

I think it is notable that Furman did not take a QB this recruiting class. They have some PWO types, but were not really active in recruiting that position.

Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but that signals two things to me. First, Furman's coaches feel comfortable with what they have with their freshmen QBs. It also signals a change from most coaching staffs, which have opted to take a QB in every class. That avoids a backlog at the position and allows Furman to develop depth and not have to turn the reigns over to a freshman or redshirt senior, which has pretty much been the case during every transition the last ten years or so.

Wofford didn't go after QB's either. It avoids a situation where you have too many QB's - a major problem for the Terriers 4-5 years ago when we played QB by committee with little success, but does put you at risk of burning redshirts like we did in 2016 when we lost our top 2 QB's very early (although under the new rules, Joe Newman would not have lost a year). I personally think option teams should bring in a QB every year. Since few high schools run the option, there is often a learning curve bring QB's up to speed.

[FUBeAR]

You’re all wrong. Here’s the way to manage your QB roster, if you want to have a Payton Award winning QB.

1) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 195 LBS 2 HUNTER HOWELL - FRESHMAN
2) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 184 LBS 4 GRAYSON EDGEMON - FRESHMAN
3) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 188 LBS 7 LIAM WELCH - SOPHOMORE
4) QUARTERBACK 6'1" 210 LBS 8 DEVLIN HODGES - SENIOR (Departing...HOORAY!!!!!!!)
5) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 179 LBS 10 COOPER CROSS - SOPHOMORE
6) QUARTERBACK 5'10" 178 LBS 11 WILL HUDSON - FRESHMAN
7) QUARTERBACK 6'0" 200 LBS 12 CARSON CROY - FRESHMAN
8) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 190 LBS 15 JES SUTHERLAND - JUNIOR
9) QUARTERBACK 5'6" 148 LBS 18 TY HATCHER - FRESHMAN
10) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 223 LBS 26 CALEB CLARK - FRESHMAN
11)QUARTERBACK5’10” 180 LBS - CADE BLACKMON - FRESHMAN (Signee)
12) QUARTERBACK 6’2” 184 LBS - CHRIS OLADOKUN - JUNIOR (Transfer)

[Catamount87]

247 Sports Composite 2019 FCS Recruiting Class Rankings - Top Ten & SoCon

D1 Rank	FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	Team	Total Commits	3-stars	Avg	Points
115	1		Portland St	24	10	79.36	131.56
125	2		Harvard	14	10	81.06	121.09
130	3		Yale	15	9	80.18	115.75
132	4		SF Austin	13	9	80.74	113.59
133	5		Princeton	13	9	80.82	113.55
136	6		Cent. Ark.	16	5	78.44	99.46
137	7		Idaho	15	4	78.60	97.31
138	8		E Wash. U.	14	4	78.70	94.76
139	9	1	Mercer	13	5	78.81	92.53
140	10		UC Davis	10	6	80.29	90.42
151	20	2	WCU	6	4	81.42	65.38
171	38	3	Chattanooga	4	1	78.88	34.93
173	40	4	Furman	4	0	78.85	34.69
183	50	5	Wofford	5	0	76.32	30.95
207	69	6	Samford	2	1	79.48	18.90
211	72	7	ETSU	2	0	78.72	17.39
212	73	8	The Citadel	2	0	78.71	17.36
n/a	n/a	9	VMI	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Just noticed WCU has the highest AVG Rating of ‘listed’ commits of all of the Teams on this list; so it is most likely the highest in FCS (I’ll check and see...). If I were affiliated with the Catamounts, I think I’d be trumpeting something about being #1 in FCS Recruiting. Maybe they are...dunno. Again, nice job by WCU; looking forward to seeing Mr. McQueen run thru the SoCon in 2019 like poop thru a tin horn!

Oops...false alarm...just checked...Monmouth (88.00), Northern Iowa (82.91), Southern U. (82.65), NC Central (82.53), Stony Brook (82.19), Richmond (81.91), Texas Southern (81.66), Penn (81.65), Bethune-Cookman (81.54), and Sam Houston State (81.48) all have higher AVG’s than WCU...so WCU is #11...oh well, FUBeAR tried...

Hold on...just looked at the 6 WCU commits. McQueen is only the 3rd highest rated one on the list. #1 rated is a CB, who spurned P5 offers from Ole Miss, Syracuse, and Kansas State to sign with WCU. Welp...there goes half the field for SoCon Offenses trying to throw on WCU next year. #2 rated on the list is a big OT from GA, who only has FCS offers (10 others). Seems like a high rating for a Player with 0 FBS (P5 or G5) offers, but it is what it is...so, he sure should be mashing SoCon DLmen in 2019 & the years ahead.

Quite a haul for WCU...beating out SEC, ACC, and Big12 schools for Players. C’mon Cats Fans...spill it...what did WCU do right in Recruiting this year?

FUBeAR, do you have a link to that list?


Well I'm one Catamount that has learned over the years to approach recruiting class rankings with a bit of skepticism. We've seen classes that were "ranked" high nationally before only to watch those same classes fail (and fail BIG) on the field. Good grief that idiot Wagner we had as a coach had several top 5 ranked FCS recruiting classes that all ultimately sucked beyond on the field.

So, what do I think? Well 23 total commits is a good number. 13 on defense and 10 on offense sounds like stocking the cupboard a bit. Many were multi-sport stars in HS which sounds like we're getting more overall athletic too. That said, let's hope those 13 on defense aren't pressed into playing heavily before they're really ready for 1st or 2nd string duty. Last year's class was and it wasn't pretty. Hopefully, those young men will have the experience this year to be a lot better overall.

While were on the subject of defense, only 3 DL commits that average 6-3, 245 and 3 LBs that average about the same. This doesn't inspire confidence with fans in our ability to stop the run. Especially given the size of OLs in the SoCon and FCS nowadays. Which brings us to that, 5 OL averaging 6-3 and 300#s. This might be the biggest OL class we've had in a good long time. Interestingly, one played both OL and DL in HS which could come in handy at some point.

Lastly, skill positions. We've gotten away from big WRs, 3 in this class averaging 5-11 170. Only 1 RB, 6-1, 185 maybe he'll be good as a WR too. One QB, 6-4, 200# that was an ECU commit that flipped to us, was a track star in HS too. Interestingly, many of the 5 DBs we got also were WRs in HS. They're averaging 6-2, 185 so I wouldn't be surprised if we see one or two end up being WRs.

[PaladinFan]

Wofford didn't go after QB's either. It avoids a situation where you have too many QB's - a major problem for the Terriers 4-5 years ago when we played QB by committee with little success, but does put you at risk of burning redshirts like we did in 2016 when we lost our top 2 QB's very early (although under the new rules, Joe Newman would not have lost a year). I personally think option teams should bring in a QB every year. Since few high schools run the option, there is often a learning curve bring QB's up to speed.

I think a glut of QBs causes a problem that has shown up a few ways with Furman.

First, Furman has occasionally had a backlog. Furman took both PJ Blazejowski and Harris Roberts in the same recruiting class, for instance. That was a year after taking Dillon Woodruff (who would eventually play linebacker) and two years after Reese Hannon (who lost a year to injury). Hannon played most of his four years, leaving Blazejowski to start as a senior full time and then Roberts as a 5th year senior the next year. Furman will begin 2019 with its fourth straight different starting QB in four years.

I think Furman wants to get back to a spot where there is more space in that position. Ideally, it would have been nice to have Hannon turn the reigns over to Blazejowski in his junior season, who then would turn it over to Roberts in his junior season.

Let those guys spend a few years in the program, get used to the offense, and then spend two years as the starter.

[walliver]

You’re all wrong. Here’s the way to manage your QB roster, if you want to have a Payton Award winning QB.

1) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 195 LBS 2 HUNTER HOWELL - FRESHMAN
2) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 184 LBS 4 GRAYSON EDGEMON - FRESHMAN
3) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 188 LBS 7 LIAM WELCH - SOPHOMORE
4) QUARTERBACK 6'1" 210 LBS 8 DEVLIN HODGES - SENIOR
5) QUARTERBACK 6'3" 179 LBS 10 COOPER CROSS - SOPHOMORE
6) QUARTERBACK 5'10" 178 LBS 11 WILL HUDSON - FRESHMAN
7) QUARTERBACK 6'0" 200 LBS 12 CARSON CROY - FRESHMAN
8) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 190 LBS 15 JES SUTHERLAND - JUNIOR
9) QUARTERBACK 5'6" 148 LBS 18 TY HATCHER - FRESHMAN
10) QUARTERBACK 6'2" 223 LBS 26 CALEB CLARK - FRESHMAN
11) QUARTERBACK 5’10” 180 LBS - CADE BLACKMON - FRESHMAN (Signeee)
12) QUARTERBACK 6’2” 184 LBS - CHRIS OLADOKUN - JUNIOR (Transfer)

If you recruit enough QB's, you're bound to get a good one every now and then. 6 Freshmen QB's does seem a little excessive. I hope those guy have other skills.

[FUBeAR]

Hope I'm not using too much of HERO's work in this post, but I did sort them in a way that they didn't and I filtered their 300 down to the SoCon's 34 ranked Players + the 6 others they listed in the separate list of the Top 40 SoCon signees and ranked them by position....FUBeAR's finds it interesting...

HERO Sports Ranked SoCon Recruits by Position Ranking...

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
236	24	1	WCU	QB	Malik Richardson	Sumter, SC	East Carolina decommit, 9 offers
265	29	2	ETSU	QB	Tyler Riddell	Tampa, FL	UCF, FAU, Akron Decommit
275	32	3	ETSU	QB	Treyvion Houston	Greer, SC	2 FBS, 10 total offers
286	33	4	Mercer	QB	Dylan Fromm	Warner Robins, GA	South Alabama, Penn, SEMO, Chatt.
n/a	38	5	Chattanooga	QB	Gio Richardson	Palm Beach Gardens, FL	FAU decommit

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
31	4	1	WCU	RB	Syheam McQueen	Laurinburg, NC	N.C. State, South Carolina, UNC
n/a	39	2	Mercer	RB	Brandon Marshall	Jacksonville, FL	Charlotte, NDSU, 7 offers

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
78	8	1	Samford	WR	A.J. Toney	Birmingham, AL	6 FBS offers, 25 total
110	12	2	ETSU	WR	Devontez Walker	Charlotte, NC	ECU decommit, West Virginia, 6 total
212	21	3	WCU	WR	Kasimir Absolu	Jacksonville, FL	6 FBS offers
237	25	4	Wofford	WR	Calvin Jackson	Chattanooga, TN	App State - 12 total offers
242	27	5	Wofford	WR	John Harrington	Katy, TX	Yale decommit, 3 FBS offers, 7 total
n/a	36	6	Mercer	WR	Yahsyn McKee	Stockbridge, GA	Hawaii, 3 FCS offers

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
161	16	1	Samford	TE	Michael Vice	Vestavia Hills, AL	3 FBS offers, 10 total

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
51	5	1	Furman	OL	Evan Jumper	Myrtle Beach, SC	Rutgers, 12 FBS, 20 total offers
153	14	2	Chattanooga	OL	Brock Bethea	Pinson, AL	2 FBS, 14 offers
186	19	3	Mercer	OL	John Thomas	Marietta, GA	3 FBS, 10 total
240	26	4	Furman	OL	Pearson Toomey	Jacksonville, FL	4 FBS, 7 total offers
254	28	5	WCU	OL	Zach Hayes	Jonesboro, GA	Texas State, 10 FCS offers
267	30	6	ETSU	OL	Blake Austin	Johnson City, TN	Coastal Carolina decommit, 12 offers

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
7	2	1	Mercer	DL	Richard Benton	Atlanta, GA	17 FBS offers, 34 total offers
25	3	2	WCU	DL	Christian Harris	Chattanooga, TN	8 FBS offers, 31 total
53	7	3	Samford	DL	Nick Jackon	Winter Park, FL	Duke, 4 FBS, 17 total offers
80	9	4	Furman	DL	Jack Barton	Roswell, GA	8 FBS offers, 22 offers
113	13	5	Wofford	DL	Eric Mizell	Alabaster, AL	Troy, Navy, 18 total offers156
156	15	6	Furman	DL	Devonte Jones	Anderson, SC	4 FBS, 11 offers
269	31	7	The Citadel	DL	Dewey Greene	Columbia, SC	Troy, Air Force, 8 total offers

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
5	1	1	ETSU	LB	Deven Brantley	Riverdale, GA	6 P5s, 19 FBS offers
94	10	2	Samford	LB	Trimarkus Cheeks	Hampton, GA	Pittsburgh, 4 FBS offers, 9 total
106	11	3	Furman	LB	Joshua Agbenou	Winder, GA	6 FBS offers, 14 total
210	20	4	The Citadel	LB	Hasan Black	Wyoming, OH	3 FBS, 8 total
215	22	5	Furman	LB	Bryce McCormick	Nashville, TN	15 FCS offers
298	34	6	ETSU	LB	Diandre Davis	Charlotte, NC	Marshall, Ga State, 6 FCS offers

FCS Rank	SoCon Rank	SoCon Pos Rank	Team	Pos	Player	Hometown	Other D-1 Options
52	6	1	WCU	DB	Neil Ilenrey	Alpharetta, GA	3 P5s, 7 FBS offers, 13 total
184	17	2	Chattanooga	DB	Kameron Brown	Theodore, AL	Southern Miss, 4 FBS, 6 total
185	18	3	Furman	DB	Austin Jones	Tiger, GA	2 FBS offers, 12 total offers
230	23	4	Mercer	DB	Lance Wise	Powder Springs, GA	3 FBS, 5 total
n/a	35	5	Furman	DB	Kam Brinson	Augusta, GA	Umass, Navy, VMI, CSU
n/a	37	6	Mercer	DB	Joel Girtman	Atlanta, GA	Wofford decommit, FAU, 4 total offers
n/a	40	7	WCU	DB	Jabril Muhammad	Clearwater, FL	GA. State, FIU, NDSU

[SU DOG]

Not counting our coach's son who I think is a Faculty-child situation, I find that in the last 5 years Samford has signed ONLY 3 QBs, and two of those were this year. FUBeAR's list includes young Hatcher, the graduating Hodges, and the two 2019 guys. Some of these other QBs were used on special teams, such as holders, while others were used for signaling plays and sidelines communication. We obviously have(or maybe keep) more walk-ons than many teams do, and the QBs seem to stay even when not playing. Some will probably not return, but we shall see. Not really as strange as portrayed, IMO.