The Class We Wanted....

I'm going to steal someone's quote off FB who said "this may not be the class we wanted, but perhaps it's the class we needed" It may not be our typical class of 4 and 5 star recruits only, but hopefully it will have a bunch of blue collar guys that along with the talent this team already possesses, will be a team to get us back on track.........along of course with the coaching changes. I for one am very optimistic......but then again that's what Fight On should mean.

 

No I think Washington and Oregon are sharing a good part of the class I wanted

 

I don’t think this was the class the staff wanted either given all the players they went after and lost (Funa, Jonah T, Rhyan, etc). But, we can say all we want about 3-stars that work, but if Helton struggled winning games with HIS 4 and 5 star recruits last year there’s no reason for me to believe he’s going to win with a less talented roster this year.

 

Let’s wait for spring practice so we can practice in shells and shorts because we have no depth at Oline and we don’t want to risk injury. This would be the third year this could happen!
Fight On!

 

Sorry, love the optimism but this what UCLA says. Your comment is flat out quitting.
Sorry, but what a joke that we are stoked that we stole players from New Mexico and Georgia Tech. embarrassing that you are accepting this crap.

 

Respectfully, the "accepting this crap" part is...WHAT ELSE are we, as FANS and Board Jockies supposed to do? I can scream all I want, I can pound my keyboard all I want and NOTHING will change regarding the 2018 season/cycle...sorry, but that's REALITY.

Now we need to WELCOME the new Trojans and PRAY for change, growth, and a new PURPOSE and direction for this USC Football Program...yes, I said it...PRAY for it...it's connected to the first part of FFF! :-)

Fight On, FOREVER, Fight On!
RB4SC

 

Don’t forget we are very short with DBs. We have 2 coming of a shoulder injuries and I’m confident they will not be hitting. Therefore who will play at the safety positions?

 

id gladly take a 3* recruit. but my concern is not the ability of a 3* to develop, but in our coaching staff's ability to develop them.

 

That is the concern but maybe not. New OC, DL, DB, RB coaches plus Drevno taking control of the OL. LB coach is Nansen; that's good. Those are all the most critical areas for player development. WR coach is Colbert; that's the unknown. All those coaches except for Colbert have the experience and proven ability to develop players. Now Clay has to allow his coaches to coach and stick to managing the team. Maybe things aren't that bad. I don't think Clay Helton can get away with no-pads practices anymore. There will be hell to pay if he even considers soft practices. It's up to Swann and Helton's coaching staff to keep the fire under his seat lit.

 

No, it's not the Early Signing Day class SC envisioned back in August.

But when you finish 5-7 and have major coaching turnover, including the departure of two of the best recruiters ....it had to be expected.

When Udeze, Martin, Callaway, Bradford and others were fired/departed, any chance with recruits who liked those coaches - OL Sean Rhyan, DL Stephon Wright, DB Trent McDuffie, etc. - departed too.

That's just the recruiting game when there are major changes - a program takes a step backward in the short term on the recruiting trail, in the hopes of taking two steps forward on the field the following year.

AND this recruiting class ain't done yet - the traditional signing day in February still has some prospects SC needs and has the opportunity to sign.

IF SC closes on most, if not all of the following, by early Feb.

* OL Enokk Vimahi
* DB Chris Steele
* DL Matthew Pola Mao
* WR Bru McCoy
* RB Jordan Wilmore
* DB Noa Pola Gates
* WR Kyle Ford

... this 2019 class will be a lot better than folks say it looks right now.

 

Half.of the above would be fine with me, especially one more OL. Mc Coy Md Ford alone would change my mind a bit

 

Surprised that you don’t have Puka Nakua listed here. Not interested in him, or do you think he’s going elsewhere?

 

Puka sounds like a receiver that would excel in KK's offense. Everything I have read about him says he is excels at YAC. Sure handed and catches everything thrown his way. I really hope we still recruit this kid. He is the WR I want most.

 

Add WR Puka Nacua and OT Dawand Jones to the list of recruits still in play for February.

 

That’s what I’m talking about.

Everyone wants change, but no one wants to pay for it. It would have been a much bleaker signing day if they’d have had a wholesale housecleaning as some wanted. They can change more next year and still have a good class as long as the team shows a positive result.

 

Yep that’s the recruiting game when your head coach sucks and the AD is forced to clean house.

It’s a shame we lost Udeze and Martin through all of this. Those two guys could recruit.

 

I know this will be an unpopular statement for most, but I feel compelled to put it out here anyway.. but before I do, I’d like to preface it by saying that I wished we’d have retained BKU.
That said, I don’t think that Tuitele (HI), or Ika or even Wright we’re trending towards the Trojans even with BKU. While many recruits liked him, and some very much, even Drake was starting to trend towards asu. His leaving didn’t have that great an effect as some believe.
What’s your opinion Helix???

 

This.

The glaring failure of this class is on the OL. Missing out on Jonah and Sean R. is big, no doubt about it (Vimahi is 100% a must-get). But if we get 5 out of those 7, we'll finish somewhere in the 10-15 range, and I can live with that. Year after year we have closed really strong in February, and until "NSD" comes to pass I'll withhold judgment on our recruiting class.

I'm also more optimistic than most on a few of the 3* guys we've signed. And for the moment, I'll take a high-character 3* over a prima donna 4*/5* player. The # of those kids who have flamed out of the program over the last 5 years is wild. The Vavae Malepeai, Jordan Iosefa, Jalen McKenzie's...I'll take those 3* kids any day.

 

Well, it's still to be determined how much BKU leaving will affect the class.

He felt it was time to leave, and you can only respect what he's done as a player and coach. He is a great Trojan.

Recruits like Tuitele and Ika were never really in play for SC.

But Stephon Wright came down to SC and ASU - so there was a real chance there. Plus, a commitment by Drake Jackson is never a question, and Matthew Pola Mao may have already signed by now, if BKU is still on the case.

So all in all, I can't classify BKU leaving as a positive or having no effect.

Hopefully by early February, SC will have made the best of things, and lessened any effects of the coaching turnover.

 

This is USC, where the expectations for us have been set long ago.
The 4* and 5* recruits are expected, and some "lesser" recruits are welcome as well, but we still expect certain things to happen here.
Regardless of who the coach is here, we all know what we expect to have simply by being USC.

With that being said, this is not an early indication of what we expect to come to USC in terms of recruiting.
As others have mentioned, the race is not over and until the ink is dry on all of the LOIs, I will continue to sit back and watch as things unfold and this new revamped USC staff is able to repair and mend relationships with these prospects to get them to USC.
Fight On!