Let me start out with this: I’m no football expert. I am not a scout for a big recruiting website. I’m not a legit blogger cited by ESPN. I’m just a dude with a computer and a love for football. But I think I can chip on the issue at hand, with Jon Doss’ article and CGB’s reply.
Here is the link to the original post by Doss: http://california.scout.com/2/944081.html. CGB posted a rebuttal here: http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2010/2/10/1301782/jon-doss-knows-more-than-the. Apparently, CGB was threatened with a lawsuit. They took down their post, but would later repost it with some removed content. While I disagree with both the article and the threat, I’m just going to try and break Doss’ article down civilly.
“The rather large hole on the left side of the offensive line, vacated by departing senior Mike Tepper, doesn’t look any different than it did three days ago.
Senior Donovan Edwards, who was the second option at both tackle spots last season, looks to be the likely candidate to protect presumed starter Kevin Riley’s backside next year.
But then what?
Chris Adcock is too small (Tedford said at his press conference Wednesday that he could see the Mesquite, TX native playing center) and Alex Crosthwaite and Geoff Gibson don’t have the footwork that made Tepper a decent left tackle.”
While I’m certainly not a football expert, I disagree with this completely. First of all, freshman don’t make any impact (typically) on the offensive line. So, these incoming freshman will likely red-shirt and play. And while I am trying to not attack credibility here, it leads me to this question: who is Jon Doss to judge these players futures? I understand that Mr. Doss may have seen these guys play, and he may be an accredited writer, but I don’t see how he can judge this. Judging offensive linemen is one of the toughest things, especially footwork. I’m just not seeing how Doss can undeniable say, as a fact, that they don’t have the footwork to do such. And even if they don’t now, who says they can’t develop it later on?
“In a year where Tedford and Co. made more strides in national recruiting than ever, they lost a Central Cali JUCO in Roszell Gayden, who appears to be a perfect fit on the blindside, to a team that’s over half way across the country. Not to mention, his twin brother, Rashad, signed to play his college ball at San Jose State.”
Every team misses recruits. I’m not saying we should have or should not have gotten Gayden, but missing out on one recruit and criticizing them for it is highly questionable. The twin in this manner seems highly irrelevant, as they are different people and have different interests.
“What seemed like a promising group of wideouts to start (I don’t have to remind anyone that that’s been a weak spot for Cal over the last couple of years), turned downright ugly with the departure of prospects Josh Harper and Davon Dunn, both of whom left for “greener pastures” in the heart of some of the world’s most fertile grounds.
Yes, the Bears’ got a big lift with the late addition of Allen, but—with all due respect to Pat Hill and the Bulldogs—Cal should never (NEVER) lose recruits to Fresno State.”
Where to begin? Alright, so I will start this out with the first paragraph. What do recruits want most? Other then coeds, it’s playing time. While we do have a “weak spot” at WR, it’s not a spot where a freshman (and a *** one at that) can come in and play right away. As for the Fresno State comment, that made me nearly throw up in my mouth. It’s not all about what conference a team is in or the winning tradition. It’s all about feel and how you get along in the coaching staff. The last comment is one I find to be quite stupid.
“Not only was the Harper/Dunn saga embarrassing, but it put the Bears behind a pair of eight-balls as they attempted to scrounge up a couple of pass catchers.
And scrounge is what they did.
Here’s a quote from Tedford’s presser, when he was asked as to how accurate he felt recruiting sites were in ranking players like Kaelin Clay and Terrance Montgomery (two receivers that Scout has as two-star prospects)”
Scrounge is a highly-how should I put this- strong word. The connotation is that Tedford lost out on 2 receivers, and the best he could do was come up with these two “bums.” As for the 2 star deal, I’m fairly certain that a 2 star grade is not really a grade at all, but a statement that the player has not been watched in person by a website-affiliated scout but is believed to be a D-I prospect.
“Did Paul Wulff, Mike Riley, Steve Sarkisian (insert EVERY other Pac-10 coach’s name here) completely neglect such wide receiving talent? Or is this simply a case of the Bears reaching for a couple of guys that nobody else believed to be Pac-10 talents?”
Sigh. Maybe they didn’t need receivers? Or maybe they didn’t watch the tape as closely as Tedford? To be honest, every evaluator is different. That’s why each recruiting ranking is different. Tedford may have seen something others hadn’t. The fact of the matter is Tedford saw this guy as a Pac-10 talent and I trust him. And this guy isn’t a scrub; according to the recruiting sources, he’s not too far behind the “vaunted” group of Harper and Dunn. They aren’t really that far about, and it certainly isn’t scrounging.
“Very few people are pulling for these two kids as much as I am. After the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Justin Forsett over the years, I love the under-the-radar recruit more than anything.
But if Forsett, who drew interest from Notre Dame and Texas Tech, and offers from UConn and Utah, was a diamond in the rough, then Montgomery and Clay are diamonds well outside the out-of-bounds markers at TPC Sawgrass.”
Forsett never got a schollie from either of those “big” schools. UConn wasn’t even a decent program at the time of his recruitment, and Utah is still a MWC school. I’m sorry, but in recruit terms they aren’t far apart. Similar grades, and they both have offers from a Pac-10 school.
“With first-year starters/contributors Derek Carr, Tate Forcier, Jeff Tuel, Richard Brehaut and even Jordan Wynn (you may remember him from his carving up of Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl) all in the Golden State, the Bears went with Bridgford who, unfortunately, may never see the field.”
Tuel? Carr? Forcier? Brehaut? Wynn? Even if he could land these guys, they wouldn’t have made an immediate impact. Forcier and Wynn are spread guys; they don’t fit the offense. Brehaut might not have came anyway, and Carr is a Fresno guy; he’s not going to start here. Bridgford still might pan out, and was highly regarded.
“At Berkeley’s regional Elite 11 quarterback camp, I fell in love with two athletes; neither was Austin Hinder and, interestingly enough, neither would ever have Cal offers.
The Bears passed on Stockton product Marcus McDade, a late-bloomer whose arm strength is unparalleled amongst 18-year-olds in America, and Brett Nottingham, a UCLA decommit and Stanford signee who had more of a total package than any other QB in the West, BYU’s Jake Heaps and USC’s Jesse Scroggins included.”
McDade? You mean the same McDade who had no Pac-10 offers? I mean, if a guy gets no Pac-10 school offers the guy, he must be a scrub. Even you say so: “Did Paul Wulff, Mike Riley, Steve Sarkisian (insert EVERY other Pac-10 coach’s name here) completely neglect such wide receiving talent? Or is this simply a case of the Bears reaching for a couple of guys that nobody else believed to be Pac-10 talents?” But wait, you say he’s good. As you said, I’ll take advice of 10 coaches (yes all 10, unlike in your case) and say McDade is not better then Hinder. As for Nottingham, he may yet be a solid player, but putting him ahead of the best QB in the country is ridiculous.
“Instead, Cal took Hinder, a 6-foot-5, 180-lb project, who has fallen from as high as the No. 2 rated passer in the class to Scout’s No. 34.
While he is the nicest kid I’ve come across in a while, it was overwhelming to me that, at one of the more prestigious camps for some of the most elite quarterbacks in the country, Hinder had to be taught a five-step drop.
He’d never done that before.
His mobility and accuracy are admirable, but I’m afraid that Hinder, who has run out of the shotgun mostly, may be a bit out of his comfort zone.
And even if he’s not, even if he’s on point, when is he going to play?”
He was still, at the point when Tedford was recruiting, the #2 QB in the country. He still has that potential. McDade nor Nottingham have reached that point. As for a 5 stop, so what? He has time to develop. He can learn that. It’s not a big deal. McDade, as far as I know, ran a similar offense in high school and likely has similar deficiencies. A bit out of his comfort zone? McDade would be too. Hinder’s a smart kid, he has time to learn, and he has accuracy and mobility. Then you ask, when’s he going to play? Um…this might be the dumbest statement yet. You advocated for both McDade and Nottingham, but this question seems to apply to both of them. Hmm…hypocritical much?
Well, I hope I reached my goal. This has been a rather major issue in the recent days, and I felt I should address it. Hopefully I gave you a more civil and reasoned out response to Doss’ article.
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