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Diamonds in the rough (non scholly players)

UnknownToMankind

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Who in your guys opinion are the best non offered players in the area... Diamonds in the rough? Steals for D1s.
 
Who in your guys opinion are the best non offered players in the area... Diamonds in the rough? Steals for D1s.

If you're talking primarily the class of 2016 players probably 90% or more of those that will get D1 offers already have them. This list could be longer if we throw D2 and D3 into the mix. A guy that's a real good football player who probably lacks D1 size is Isaiah Floyd from Foothill. I also think Nick Friedel from Cal High has the skill and intensity to play at the next level.
 
I think Floyd can overcome the size issue to be a solid player in the Big Sky Conference and maybe the Mountain West Conference. I've seen players like him do well in the right system.

I watched Rashaan Fontentette from Oak Grove on Friday and I think he deserves some attention. 5-foot-10 RB who isn't a burner, but has enough speed to run away from some people.
 
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I think Floyd can overcome the size issue to be a solid player in the Big Sky Conference and maybe the Mountain West Conference. I've seen players like him do well in the right system.

I watched Rashaan Fontentette from Oak Grove on Friday and I think he deserves some attention. 5-foot-10 RB who isn't a burner, but has enough speed to run away from some people.


Streak, I'm not real familiar with Sac State's offensive system. How do you see Floyd fitting in with what they do?
 
This year has been tough for Sac State with the QB injuries. They are running it more than throwing with most of the targets going to three receivers. One of which is a 5-foot-7.

Ideally, he is best in an offense where he can be lined up in multiple spots and get 7-10 touches in a variety of ways.

Justin Rowland just published a report on Floyd and echoed thoughts on him being a strong FCS candidate.
 
Floyd has the potential to be a Sproles type player, his body type will support muscle growth. Go be a savage in the gym young man! There is a kid at Amador as well who was having a hell of a year until he broke his collar bone. Huggins, maybe not D1 but definitely could play at the next level. Great hands very athletic, the kid is very strong.
 
Foothill has a couple kids that could be diamonds in the rough. Floyd is a sure thing to make plays at D1 level imo his cuts are ridiculous great acceleration and can stop on a dime. Grades are whats keeping him from seeing offers right now. He would thrive in mountain west can even see him killing it for a good team like Boise state.
 
I was just about to add Caden Voges. Hard to overlook the stats he has put up. QB recruiting is a tough thing to figure out
 
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hopefully the Sports Illustrated article this week will help his resume, since apparently throwing for over 10,000 yards isn't enough

very good leader and student of the game. would be a great fit at a smaller 1AA. perfect fit for a D3 or Ivy league type of school.
 
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Foothill has a couple kids that could be diamonds in the rough. Floyd is a sure thing to make plays at D1 level imo his cuts are ridiculous great acceleration and can stop on a dime. Grades are whats keeping him from seeing offers right now. He would thrive in mountain west can even see him killing it for a good team like Boise state.


Grades are the reason I was suggesting Sac State for Floyd. If his grades are what I hear they are, that could be one reason Davis and/or Cal Poly have not offered. I'm not saying Floyd can't cut it in the Mountain West, I see him as more as a Big Sky guy.
 
hopefully the Sports Illustrated article this week will help his resume, since apparently throwing for over 10,000 yards isn't enough

very good leader and student of the game. would be a great fit at a smaller 1AA. perfect fit for a D3 or Ivy league type of school.
I have told CoachReber this before but Voges is a high character leader!
 
Grades are the reason I was suggesting Sac State for Floyd. If his grades are what I hear they are, that could be one reason Davis and/or Cal Poly have not offered. I'm not saying Floyd can't cut it in the Mountain West, I see him as more as a Big Sky guy.
I think Floyd is a good player but is a better fit at a place like Humboldt State or another D2 where he can make an immediate impact. Sure he could play FBS or FCS ball but I think he'll struggle seeing the field. I know that new Sac State RB Coach Lawanson isn't fond of small RB's so I'd bet that Sac State takes a pass on him grades or not.

Alhambra OL/DL Dante Abono has really looked good this season on both sides of the ball. He's listed at 6'6' 240 lbs. on MaxPreps and has a motor and great length. Haven't heard anything about him recruiting wise but he projects as a Left Tackle for me and seems like the kind of player who is 6'6' 280 + lbs after 2 years in a college weight room. @ Bluedog2... what's the scoop on him?
 
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Floyd is too small. He's reporting 4.66 speed on HUDL and that's not fast enough. At his size he really needs to be down in the 4.5 range. He's got quick feet and moves well laterally.

D3 player all the way....and there's nothing wrong with that. At D2 maybe he could be a punt returner or a Dave Megget type back on third downs but that's it unless he puts on 40 pounds. He reminds me of Dublin's RB who is faster, small also but not as shifty.
 
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Simeon Engle (6-4/215) at Placer. Plays on the inside for Placer, but was always around the ball against Bear River.
 
I've been watching Isaiah Floyd for a lot of years ... youth football and high school football ... the kid may not have size but he does have quickness and a HUGE HEART! The thing you can't measure is his ability to see holes and hit them hard. It's disappointing that his grades are not where they should be ... Foothill is a very academic school! He can play somewhere he just needs to find that somewhere ... which can be tough. Recruiting isn't a science ... and a lot of very good players end up without a seat when the music stops ... and the music stops pretty fast after the season ... the seats get filled.
 
I've been watching Isaiah Floyd for a lot of years ... youth football and high school football ... the kid may not have size but he does have quickness and a HUGE HEART! The thing you can't measure is his ability to see holes and hit them hard. It's disappointing that his grades are not where they should be ... Foothill is a very academic school! He can play somewhere he just needs to find that somewhere ... which can be tough. Recruiting isn't a science ... and a lot of very good players end up without a seat when the music stops ... and the music stops pretty fast after the season ... the seats get filled.

But a lot of "good" players grab a seat and remain in it (or hold a clipboard) as penance for their 1-2 years in the spotlight. Most players just want to compete.... and not on practice squad. There's no shame in the Juco kid who waltzed through HS, got his act together at Chabot, CSM or even CCC for that matter, and then gets two years paid for, usually in group 1.
 
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Wide Receivers are hard to come by... who do you guys like out there?
Northbay has a couple wr's. Chris Taylor Yamanoha already is a verbal commit to Louisville but the sleeper is a kid Damian Wallace out of Cardinal Newman up north in Santa Rosa. Junior with a small frame (5'10" 170) but has breakaway speed from what I've seen and is a solid corner. North of the Golden Gate players don't get a lot of exposure but these 2 could start on any team in norcal.
 
Floyd is too small. He's reporting 4.66 speed on HUDL and that's not fast enough. At his size he really needs to be down in the 4.5 range. He's got quick feet and moves well laterally.

D3 player all the way....and there's nothing wrong with that. At D2 maybe he could be a punt returner or a Dave Megget type back on third downs but that's it unless he puts on 40 pounds. He reminds me of Dublin's RB who is faster, small also but not as shifty.
Dude, I don't mean to bust your balls but this kid is not a D3 guy, unless he's at WWW or Mt Union... To compare him to Dublin's runningback is obsurd. With all due respect to him, they are not on the same level at all. 4.66 on HUDL any recruiter knows that doesn't mean anything. His HUDL speaks for itself. He's one of the quickest around, and he's a playmaker. I would like to see a major D1 take a chance on him kinda like Arizona did on that Campo running back last year.
 
This kid drops dimes! Tough in the pocket, quick release. I like him! Send him to Eastern Washington and he could win himself a Walter Payton Award
 
Dude, I don't mean to bust your balls but this kid is not a D3 guy, unless he's at WWW or Mt Union... To compare him to Dublin's runningback is obsurd. With all due respect to him, they are not on the same level at all. 4.66 on HUDL any recruiter knows that doesn't mean anything. His HUDL speaks for itself. He's one of the quickest around, and he's a playmaker. I would like to see a major D1 take a chance on him kinda like Arizona did on that Campo running back last year.

No disrespect to Floyd because I like him as a player. However, go out to division 1AA schools like Sac State, Davis, Cal Poly, etc....and you will find running backs that are just as fast as floyd if not faster, bigger, stronger and have similar moves. Due to his physical size, D2 or D3 may not be a bad fit and there's no shame in playing at that level. However, D3 schools are often about grades.
 
I'll make one more comment about Floyd ... forecasting RB's is almost as tough as forecasting QB's ... no coach can tell how that transition will be from HS to College. Floyd can play FBS ... San Jose State, Boise State, Wyoming ... and I think excel at the FCS level. Transition to any level of college is a major deal ... FCS is really only a couple of inches too short or a step or two too slow. A good football player is good football player, regardless of what level they play.
 
... forecasting RB's is almost as tough as forecasting QB's ... no coach can tell how that transition will be from HS to College.

Actually, it is the job of college coaches to forecast how players will develop in college. And many HS coaches with experience and perspective can forecast as well. At the least they know what the college recruiters are looking for. It's not that hard really. But when your job and family income requires you to forecast, you might tend to be conservative. Especially if you can get the same kid to walk-on.

I see comments on this board where poster cite HS achievements as if a scholarship is a reward for a decent HS career. It's not. What matters . . . . grades . . . . then character, work ethic, size, speed, etc. Basically they try to project how soon the kid could play for them and compete effectively against the teams in their league. Small RB's can be moved to a slot WR in a spread offense. If he can pass protect, maybe he can play RB. But if he will get run over by a DE in a slide protection or a blitzing LB, then he probably won't play RB . . . .unless the kid is sooo special with the ball in his hands that they modify the protections to keep him in the game. But that is pretty rare.
 
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Actually, it is the job of college coaches to forecast how players will develop in college. And many HS coaches with experience and perspective can forecast as well. At the least they know what the college recruiters are looking for. It's not that hard really. But when your job and family income requires you to forecast, you might tend to be conservative. Especially if you can get the same kid to walk-on.

I see comments on this board where poster cite HS achievements as if a scholarship is a reward for a decent HS career. It's not. What matters . . . . grades . . . . then character, work ethic, size, speed, etc. Basically they try to project how soon the kid could play for them and compete effectively against the teams in their league. Small RB's can be moved to a slot WR in a spread offense. If he can pass protect, maybe he can play RB. But if he will get run over by a DE in a slide protection or a blitzing LB, then he probably won't play RB . . . .unless the kid is sooo special with the ball in his hands that they modify the protections to keep him in the game. But that is pretty rare.


Well said Feedback. Like you say, it's not how well you play in high school, it's how well you project to play in college. I've seen many marginal linemen that are 6'6" get big offers and studly 5'11" linemen get no offers. Even the great Lombardi couldn't coach a 5'11" guy to be 6'3"!
 
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Actually, it is the job of college coaches to forecast how players will develop in college. And many HS coaches with experience and perspective can forecast as well. At the least they know what the college recruiters are looking for. It's not that hard really. But when your job and family income requires you to forecast, you might tend to be conservative. Especially if you can get the same kid to walk-on.

I see comments on this board where poster cite HS achievements as if a scholarship is a reward for a decent HS career. It's not. What matters . . . . grades . . . . then character, work ethic, size, speed, etc. Basically they try to project how soon the kid could play for them and compete effectively against the teams in their league. Small RB's can be moved to a slot WR in a spread offense. If he can pass protect, maybe he can play RB. But if he will get run over by a DE in a slide protection or a blitzing LB, then he probably won't play RB . . . .unless the kid is sooo special with the ball in his hands that they modify the protections to keep him in the game. But that is pretty rare.

Couldn't agree more - only change I'd suggest is size, athleticism, grades, coach-ability in that order. Size will make you a D1 player - athleticism/speed often decided the FBS/FCS issue.
 
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No balls busted. I watched Floyd and he's a good high school player! But at the next level he's gonna get hit by some big LB's who are stronger and just as fast. He's got a great heart but he won't hold up. Physics are against him. The Dublin kid is a former rugby player. Not as elusive as Floyd so he gets hit hard and holds up. The Dublin kid is a d3 player at best also. It's hard to hit Floyd now but in college he will get hit hard straight on. IMO he should attend JC, bulk up, work on his grades and then attend a play FCS or at a low D1 like Nevada or UNLV where school is a little less competitive.
 
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I've been in a lot of recruiting meetings and watched a lot of film ... easy to forecast the insanely talented! Najee Harris, Joe Mixon, Isaiah Langley, Stephen Johnson ... but those kinds of talent kids are not very common and those recruits often snub the average programs.

The star ratings try to do the job of projecting talent ... and most would argue do reflect a decent evaluation based upon what the prospect looks like and who recruiting them. Often we'd see a kid that looked very good on film ... and then the immediate next questions was who's recruiting him ... USC, UCLA, WASH, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State etc. ... recruitment was over for our school.

The 3 star and 2 star recruits are the ones that make or break your program ... especially when it comes to QB's! I had a discussion with a top O-Coordinator last year ... said we can miss all day long at any position except QB ... we miss on those guys and I lose my job!

Bottom line forecasting college football players is very tough ... and a kid like Floyd could be a diamond in the rough ... but some team has to give him a shot!!!!
 
I've been in a lot of recruiting meetings and watched a lot of film ... easy to forecast the insanely talented! Najee Harris, Joe Mixon, Isaiah Langley, Stephen Johnson ... but those kinds of talent kids are not very common and those recruits often snub the average programs.

The star ratings try to do the job of projecting talent ... and most would argue do reflect a decent evaluation based upon what the prospect looks like and who recruiting them. Often we'd see a kid that looked very good on film ... and then the immediate next questions was who's recruiting him ... USC, UCLA, WASH, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State etc. ... recruitment was over for our school.

The 3 star and 2 star recruits are the ones that make or break your program ... especially when it comes to QB's! I had a discussion with a top O-Coordinator last year ... said we can miss all day long at any position except QB ... we miss on those guys and I lose my job!

Bottom line forecasting college football players is very tough ... and a kid like Floyd could be a diamond in the rough ... but some team has to give him a shot!!!!
Problem is there are thousands kids just like Floyd looking for a shot. So many....... coaches have to filter them out based on size and speed. Now if Foothill takes down DLS and Floyd runs all over them and Foothill goes to state he could be noticed. No pressure there.
 
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Couldn't agree more - only change I'd suggest is size, athleticism, grades, coach-ability in that order. Size will make you a D1 player - athleticism/speed often decided the FBS/FCS issue.

I would concur with your order, but include a huge gap between the 1st 2 and the second 2. Heart, motor, character, grades, none of that trumps the vertically challenged. Coaches have to have some ego to be good coaches. It's much more palatable to think you can take a kid with size and coach him in to being a good player than it is to take an undersized kid with a ton of heart, great grades and great attitude and coach him in to an over achiever. Looking at OL/DL if he's 6'8" thin as a rail and can't walk and chew gum it's "good frame, good potential, get him in the weight room and coach him up and we've got a monster!" 6'0" built like a fireplug moves like a sports car and hits like a Mack truck it's "undersized".

In another post, someone mentioned watching talent jump out on film. I don't think anyone ever saw Dano Graves play (live or on film) and didn't think he was the most exciting player on the field....it was after the game when they stood next to him and looked at the top of his head that decisions were made.
 
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I would concur with your order, but include a huge gap between the 1st 2 and the second 2. Heart, motor, character, grades, none of that trumps the vertically challenged. Coaches have to have some ego to be good coaches. It's much more palatable to think you can take a kid with size and coach him in to being a good player than it is to take an undersized kid with a ton of heart, great grades and great attitude and coach him in to an over achiever. Looking at OL/DL if he's 6'8" thin as a rail and can't walk and chew gum it's "good frame, good potential, get him in the weight room and coach him up and we've got a monster!" 6'0" built like a fireplug moves like a sports car and hits like a Mack truck it's "undersized".

In another post, someone mentioned watching talent jump out on film. I don't think anyone ever saw Dano Graves play (live or on film) and didn't think he was the most exciting player on the field....it was after the game when they stood next to him and looked at the top of his head that decisions were made.

Dano Graves is red shirting this year so he can be the starting qb next year, his senior year at Cal Poly. I hear really good things about him.
 
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Still one of my favorite sayings of all time regarding recruiting. It's play one level below where you think you belong, two below where your dad thinks!
 
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Heard a great story from Dave Fleming last night on the radio. He said the beauty of Jim Harbaugh building winners at Stanford and the 49ers was he sought and brought in long and lean athletes even if they didn't have a specific position. His philosophy is that you win with guys like that and you can develop them physically to fit a position.

For example, bulk up a tight end to make an offensive tackle, add strength to a wide receiver to make a tight end, etc.
 
Heard a great story from Dave Fleming last night on the radio. He said the beauty of Jim Harbaugh building winners at Stanford and the 49ers was he sought and brought in long and lean athletes even if they didn't have a specific position. His philosophy is that you win with guys like that and you can develop them physically to fit a position.

For example, bulk up a tight end to make an offensive tackle, add strength to a wide receiver to make a tight end, etc.
Heard the same discussion ... origin was Mack Brown recruiting hoop players in North Carolina.
 
Two players that come to my mind are Charlie Ramirez at Pittsburg and Ronnie Rivers at Freedom. Ramirez is an unbelievable football player. I heard he's starting to get a lot of Big Sky attention as a Safety type. I hear the same about Rivers, starting to a lot of attention as a RB from the Big Sky. Both are in very similar scenarios as Floyd, although I believe Ramirez and Rivers are better then Floyd. If those three players go to Big Sky they'll be real good contributors. Similar to the Webster Twins from Deer Valley. The Webster's are faster then the above mentioned but over looked just the same.
 
Two players that come to my mind are Charlie Ramirez at Pittsburg and Ronnie Rivers at Freedom. Ramirez is an unbelievable football player. I heard he's starting to get a lot of Big Sky attention as a Safety type. I hear the same about Rivers, starting to a lot of attention as a RB from the Big Sky. Both are in very similar scenarios as Floyd, although I believe Ramirez and Rivers are better then Floyd. If those three players go to Big Sky they'll be real good contributors. Similar to the Webster Twins from Deer Valley. The Webster's are faster then the above mentioned but over looked just the same.

Based on the size of the Webster twins Big Sky is appropriate in my opinion.
 
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