New Commit - JUCO RB

[dpodoll68]

So for you it's a joke but everyone else must get it right all the time. Got it!

Where is the joke with typing something like "Brandon Beal"? Explain it to me, because I sure don't get it.

The "Kirkland" bit is a well-established joke on this board and is well-understood by most. It's not my problem if you don't get the joke.

 

[RoyalGopher]

Spann came to NIU under Joe Novak.

You're right; I'm wrong. When I heard Spann was a walk-on a while back, I jumped to the conclusion that Kill got him, because of Kill's reputation with walk-ons.

 

[RoyalGopher]

Keep in mind getting a JUCO running back allows Rodrick Williams to redshirt.

 

[John Galt]

Edwards move to LB is permanent. He will be a much better LB than a RB.

The signing makes sense. A team as depleted as the Gophers needs to sign JuCo guys. Brews signing of JuCo guys was not what did him in. Signing JuCo players will allow us to (possibly) RS Williams.

I think people around here who don't like JuCo guys (and I get it, i'm not ripping on their pov) are going to have to accustomed to it with Coach Kill. I think we will sign a few of them every year.

I'll grant you that there were a lot of things that did Brewster in, they've been discussed on this board ad nauseum. I don't ever like the idea of signing a JUCO if there is a high school player that you feel you can get who will be a good player down the road, but I understand the need in this case. Having said that, if we are starting 5-6JUCOs on offense or defense next year, like we did on defense during Brewster's 2nd and 3rd seasons, we're in trouble long term and will suffer a big drop-off in years 4-5. I can live (barely) with 5 or less wins in years 2 and 3, IF we see 7+ wins in year 4. What will be unacceptable if we're winning less than 5 games in year 4.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I'll grant you that there were a lot of things that did Brewster in, they've been discussed on this board ad nauseum. I don't ever like the idea of signing a JUCO if there is a high school player that you feel you can get who will be a good player down the road, but I understand the need in this case. Having said that, if we are starting 5-6JUCOs on offense or defense next year, like we did on defense during Brewster's 2nd and 3rd seasons, we're in trouble long term and will suffer a big drop-off in years 4-5. I can live (barely) with 5 or less wins in years 2 and 3, IF we see 7+ wins in year 4. What will be unacceptable if we're winning less than 5 games in year 4.

I see your point. However, I don't think it neccesarily helps young guys to get PT before they are ready. I wouldn't recruit JuCo's to play in front of younger players who could be ready to contribute. When you look at the Gophers, we have so little with upperclassmen that these JuCo guys will essentially be plugged into that class. I agree that it is a bit of a superficial filling but it allows our younger guys to be developed and brought along naturally. I would have loved to have signed Junior Osunde ( I think that's his name) and Drayquan Crawford this past year (like Kill wanted), not because I know anything about those guys but because then we likely wouldn't have had to burn the RS on Thompson or Wells.

The argument against that seems to be that Wells and Thompson will be much further along because of the PT they have received this year and I think I agree with that to a small extent, I think it's marginal. I do believe that these players will be much better football players in 2015 than they are today but because we are so thin and weren't able to lock up those JuCo players, we won't get to find out (assuming no injury).

But I do agree with your point, it's a delicate dance of bringing in depth and allowing players to RS and just constantly filling the gaps with JuCo, which isn't healthy.

 

[Word]

I'm going to reserve judgment until I find out how Western Michigan feels about him.

 

[WHB Brewer]

It's all good in theory about offering to freshmen than a JUCO. But you need to consider the another point about balancing out the classes, looking to what scholarships will be available 2yrs from now. If he burns all of them this year on incoming freshmen, we are screwed 2yrs from now. Bringing in some JUCOs now frees up scholarships for a future class, while also providing depth and the chance that you hit a home run on 1 or 2. Like mentioned above, I wouldn't be surprised to see 6-8 JUCOs on the roster this spring.