Decommits and Recruiting

[AdamOnFirst]

Time to emulate some poor man’s/dissenter Rock content during the bye week.

NU’s recruiting class, already bad, is getting worse as LB Brayden Reily, one of our few guys with halfway decent other offers, decommitted and ended up at Clemson. Fair dues, I guess, for a guy to leave for a Clemson offer. I thought I’d heard of additional decommits, but wasn’t able to confirm that.

I wonder if they’ll intentionally recruit small classes to keep spots for transfers open, bringing in a bunch of 2 stars to fill out space would be a waste of time.

 

[Anon1753033624]

Success or failure next year will deprxt best average. We don’t have anyone better in closing someone who has been. In development for 3 years. The demand for quality QB will be insane next year and will push payouts to insane levels. Will we truly be able to compete.

 

[BigCatFan19]

Time to emulate some poor man’s/dissenter Rock content during the bye week.

NU’s recruiting class, already bad, is getting worse as LB Brayden Reily, one of our few guys with halfway decent other offers, decommitted and ended up at Clemson. Fair dues, I guess, for a guy to leave for a Clemson offer. I thought I’d heard of additional decommits, but wasn’t able to confirm that.

I wonder if they’ll intentionally recruit small classes to keep spots for transfers open, bringing in a bunch of 2 stars to fill out space would be a waste of time.

The amount of coaching changes will produce a huge inventory of available transfer players - This is probably better for NU to bring in someone proven talent (Grad Transfer) or less and open a new stadium

 

[Sheffielder]

Here is a question for anyone, everyone, and no one in particular: what can we learn from Vandy's recruitment of Diego Pavia?

Here's a kid who was playing for New Mexico State and finished his pre-Vandy season with ~1400 yards and 13 TDs to 6 INTs. On paper, this is nothing to write home about, but Jerry Kill was his coach, who went on to being a consultant/analyst for Vandy and presumably sang Diego's praises.

Is this a case of a really talented coach (Kill) having an inside track on a QB ready for a breakout season? Or did they actually see this kid for the diamond in the rough that he was on their own scouting merits? Or did they just grab him as the best option available based on timing/budget and they got lucky? And is Vandy one offensive tackle away from being 3-5 instead of 7-1?

As much as I don't like the current version of college football, I think it benefits a school like Northwestern as much as any program since we can do a hard reset and pick up the very talented second-string QB at State U who just happens to be sitting behind 2025's Peyton Manning and is sick of it. Those kids were harder to come by pre-Portal but now it's almost certain that dozens will hit the open market, and we don't need to spend 2-3 roster spots for years before we develop a homegrown QB ready for a starting job (even if this means we'll never see another Bret Basanez).

To me, AJ Henning remains a recent case study in picking up an excellent, proven player who needed to play at Michigan to realize that's not the college experience he wanted. I believe we can field a successful program with a bunch of guys like these, although I acknowledge it's too early to tell if Braun & Co. have sharp enough eyes to make the right picks one after another.

 

[bringbacktherantboard]

Is this a case of a really talented coach (Kill) having an inside track on a QB ready for a breakout season? Or did they actually see this kid for the diamond in the rough that he was on their own scouting merits? Or did they just grab him as the best option available based on timing/budget and they got lucky?

He was at NMMI in Roswell before he went to NMSU, so he was right in their backyard. It's definitely a case of finding a local diamond in the rough. I don't think the big schools pour resources into recruiting New Mexico like they do Texas and Florida.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Here is a question for anyone, everyone, and no one in particular: what can we learn from Vandy's recruitment of Diego Pavia?

Here's a kid who was playing for New Mexico State and finished his pre-Vandy season with ~1400 yards and 13 TDs to 6 INTs. On paper, this is nothing to write home about, but Jerry Kill was his coach, who went on to being a consultant/analyst for Vandy and presumably sang Diego's praises.

Is this a case of a really talented coach (Kill) having an inside track on a QB ready for a breakout season? Or did they actually see this kid for the diamond in the rough that he was on their own scouting merits? Or did they just grab him as the best option available based on timing/budget and they got lucky? And is Vandy one offensive tackle away from being 3-5 instead of 7-1?

As much as I don't like the current version of college football, I think it benefits a school like Northwestern as much as any program since we can do a hard reset and pick up the very talented second-string QB at State U who just happens to be sitting behind 2025's Peyton Manning and is sick of it. Those kids were harder to come by pre-Portal but now it's almost certain that dozens will hit the open market, and we don't need to spend 2-3 roster spots for years before we develop a homegrown QB ready for a starting job (even if this means we'll never see another Bret Basanez).

To me, AJ Henning remains a recent case study in picking up an excellent, proven player who needed to play at Michigan to realize that's not the college experience he wanted. I believe we can field a successful program with a bunch of guys like these, although I acknowledge it's too early to tell if Braun & Co. have sharp enough eyes to make the right picks one after another.

This dynamic you describe is indeed massively important. Sometimes you can get a guy like Gronowski, Max Brosmer, or another proven lower level guy, but you need to be able to scout immediate contributors too. This is rapidly becoming maybe THE defining program building skill in college football

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

This dynamic you describe is indeed massively important. Sometimes you can get a guy like Gronowski, Max Brosmer, or another proven lower level guy, but you need to be able to scout immediate contributors too. This is rapidly becoming maybe THE defining program building skill in college football

The failure of Lujan to lure Gronowski to NU still disappoints me.

 

[phatcat_rivals223240]

The failure of Lujan to lure Gronowski to NU still disappoints me.

Tell me more. I haven't watched Iowa and his stats suggest has a good runner, but not a special passer. Why do you feel he'd be better here?

 

[Fanaticat98]

Tell me more. I haven't watched Iowa and his stats suggest has a good runner, but not a special passer. Why do you feel he'd be better here?

I’ve watched some of Iowa’s games and I don’t think Gronowski would add much, our passing offense would probably be worse, although he might throw less INTs than Stone simply because he doesn’t throw it as much and would rather tuck and run as opposed to forcing a bad throw.

 

[mickbula]

Stone is better than gron. Iowa just is better at d than nu. And running too

 

[AdamOnFirst]

The failure of Lujan to lure Gronowski to NU still disappoints me.

Timing didn’t end up working out

 

[hdhntr1]

The failure of Lujan to lure Gronowski to NU still disappoints me.

Last year it did not matter as Gronowski chose to stay for another year, For this year did Lujan fail or was it that we had already committed to Stone before he (Gronowski) decided to check his options?

 

[hdhntr1]

Tell me more. I haven't watched Iowa and his stats suggest has a good runner, but not a special passer. Why do you feel he'd be better here?

Adding that dimension would have been big.

 

[Anon1762083599]

Re Pavia, seems like all of the above. Did they get a bit lucky? Sure did. But, they also trusted JK’s scouting ability that he could play at SEC level. Even at Vandy, where their overall “star level” pales compared to most of their SEC brethren and probably do take some risks on talent, aren’t going to just roll the dice. They knew he had talent, but I can’t believe even the most ardent Vandy enthusiast saw these kind of results coming.

 

[techtim72]

There wasn't a program that wasn't aware of Pavia and his talents. He had a lot of publicity last year. The reason he went to Vanderbilt is because Kill went there. I don't think his performance at Vandy is a surprise at all. You just have to be a football fanatic that watches weekday games or whenever NMSU frequently plays. I suspect if Pavia had been on the open market and had any academic track record at all, NU would have been in line.

 

[No Chores]

There wasn't a program that wasn't aware of Pavia and his talents. He had a lot of publicity last year. The reason he went to Vanderbilt is because Kill went there. I don't think his performance at Vandy is a surprise at all. You just have to be a football fanatic that watches weekday games or whenever NMSU frequently plays. I suspect if Pavia had been on the open market and had any academic track record at all, NU would have been in line.

There wasn't a program that wasn't aware of Pavia and his talents. He had a lot of publicity last year. The reason he went to Vanderbilt is because Kill went there. I don't think his performance at Vandy is a surprise at all. You just have to be a football fanatic that watches weekday games or whenever NMSU frequently plays. I suspect if Pavia had been on the open market and had any academic track record at all, NU would have been in line.

Probably true.

 

[Jaguar 88]

The program is in danger of dying in the future unfortunately. NU by itself obviously isn't on the radar for top NCAA football recruits, as they can't cut the mustard with the high academic standards or the state of the football program. NU needs to bend the knee or go to the AAC, or the like. Sorry, but following post Hankwitz NU football is a major bummer, with no real light at the end of the tunnel. I admire NU for keeping high academic standards, but if you don't do that, then you need to bring in a real coach that can turn it around and boost recruiting just by his name. NU needs to do the unthinkable and go for Urban Meyer or someone near his level. There, I said it. Braun and/or Lujan aren't going to cut the mustard. You need a guy that will bring in a system that will bring in top talent, even with academic standards. It boils down to football yes or no. The administration can't ride the fence forever. As things ride now, NU will at some point in the distant future go to a lesser conference or the NU fandom will experience the dark ages again. The NU administration needed to make the decision to go all in with football when Barnett was still around.

 

[Hungry Jack]

The program is in danger of dying in the future unfortunately. NU by itself obviously isn't on the radar for top NCAA football recruits, as they can't cut the mustard with the high academic standards or the state of the football program. NU needs to bend the knee or go to the AAC, or the like. Sorry, but following post Hankwitz NU football is a major bummer, with no real light at the end of the tunnel. I admire NU for keeping high academic standards, but if you don't do that, then you need to bring in a real coach that can turn it around and boost recruiting just by his name. NU needs to do the unthinkable and go for Urban Meyer or someone near his level. There, I said it. Braun and/or Lujan aren't going to cut the mustard. You need a guy that will bring in a system that will bring in top talent, even with academic standards. It boils down to football yes or no. The administration can't ride the fence forever. As things ride now, NU will at some point in the distant future go to a lesser conference or the NU fandom will experience the dark ages again. The NU administration needed to make the decision to go all in with football when Barnett was still around.

Fitz was recruiting at a pretty high level before the Schill fiasco. Granted, we are in the midst of an emerging new era, but I think we have the resources to compete. We are in the most lucrative conference, we have great facilities, we have an attractive school and location, and we have had enough success on the field.

 

[NU'06er]

Adding that dimension would have been big.

As a general rule, I think we want to look less like an Iowa offense rather than more...

 

[Zazzy]

Wow Jaguar. Seems like everyone is being fired because they’re not doing well. I actually think we’re going reasonably well considering the limitations (eg Braun has been head for not even two years, etc)

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Timing didn’t end up working out

That’s part of my disappointment. Having Gronowski last season and this would have been a big plus for our offense. Sure, Stone might be marginally better than Gronowski this year, but two years of MG would have allowed us to be much more prepared for Tulane. Not to mention, I think we win a couple more games last season.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Last year it did not matter as Gronowski chose to stay for another year, For this year did Lujan fail or was it that we had already committed to Stone before he (Gronowski) decided to check his options?

My disappointment goes back to last year.

 

[hdhntr1]

As a general rule, I think we want to look less like an Iowa offense rather than more...

In general we want an offense that works and the added dimension of a QB being able to run would help with that

 

[hdhntr1]

That’s part of my disappointment. Having Gronowski last season and this would have been a big plus for our offense. Sure, Stone might be marginally better than Gronowski this year, but two years of MG would have allowed us to be much more prepared for Tulane. Not to mention, I think we win a couple more games last season.

Maybe, and if he had decided to go elsewhere last year I would be in total agreement, But he chose to stay with his team and that is hard to blame on Braun or Lujan.

 

[NU'06er]

In general we want an offense that works and the added dimension of a QB being able to run would help with that

I'm suggesting that Iowa does not strike me as an offense that works particularly well.

They are doing their usual ball control, defense, Ferentz ball thing. Gronowski has thrown 4 TD passes in 8 games and has a lower passer rating than any starting QB in the conference excepting Wisconsin.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I'm suggesting that Iowa does not strike me as an offense that works particularly well.

They are doing their usual ball control, defense, Ferentz ball thing. Gronowski has thrown 4 TD passes in 8 games and has a lower passer rating than any starting QB in the conference excepting Wisconsin.

He runs the ball well on top of this in a hyper conservative offense

 

[NU'06er]

I can't argue that we wouldn't run the ball from the QB position better with Gronowski than without.

But I feel like I spent the entire Wright/Lausch era suggesting quarterbacks should be valued for their ability to throw the ball first and foremost. Otherwise just put Komolafe back there and run the Wildcat. Shrug.

 

[hdhntr1]

I'm suggesting that Iowa does not strike me as an offense that works particularly well.

They are doing their usual ball control, defense, Ferentz ball thing. Gronowski has thrown 4 TD passes in 8 games and has a lower passer rating than any starting QB in the conference excepting Wisconsin.

They have scored about 10 pts per game more than we have (over 31 ppg). Grownowski has run for more TDs (11) than NU has (10). They have passed less and do not have a receiver with more than 16 catches. Their passing attack is ours without Wilde(39) That could be why the throw less and Grownowski's stats are less

 

[bringbacktherantboard]

Re Pavia, seems like all of the above. Did they get a bit lucky? Sure did. But, they also trusted JK’s scouting ability that he could play at SEC level. Even at Vandy, where their overall “star level” pales compared to most of their SEC brethren and probably do take some risks on talent, aren’t going to just roll the dice. They knew he had talent, but I can’t believe even the most ardent Vandy enthusiast saw these kind of results coming.

Auburn sure knew about Pavia after what NMSU did to them.

 

[Jaguar 88]

Fitz was recruiting at a pretty high level before the Schill fiasco. Granted, we are in the midst of an emerging new era, but I think we have the resources to compete. We are in the most lucrative conference, we have great facilities, we have an attractive school and location, and we have had enough success on the field.

Not much success since 2018. Yeah 2020 was nice, but that will have an asterisk next to it because of COVID. I will say this til I am blue, when NFL players were asked what brought them to the school they chose, recruits put facilities at the bottom of the pecking order. Getting laid at recruiting functions was above facilities. Teenage boys are dreaming of NFL big bucks and nailing coeds. Also, we landed better quality talent before the new practice facility.

 

[Jaguar 88]

Wow Jaguar. Seems like everyone is being fired because they’re not doing well. I actually think we’re going reasonably well considering the limitations (eg Braun has been head for not even two years, etc)

We will see now, won't we?

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Maybe, and if he had decided to go elsewhere last year I would be in total agreement, But he chose to stay with his team and that is hard to blame on Braun or Lujan.

Not blaming anyone; just sharing my disappointment. Not saying he would have had a Pavia impact, but it certainly would have been more than Mike Wright’s and would have positioned ourselves far better for this season.

 

[prez77]

It’s a bit telling of something (not good) that there’s debate over whether we would be better off with the 16th or 17th rated QB in the BIG10.

 

[hdhntr1]

Not much success since 2018. Yeah 2020 was nice, but that will have an asterisk next to it because of COVID. I will say this til I am blue, when NFL players were asked what brought them to the school they chose, recruits put facilities at the bottom of the pecking order. Getting laid at recruiting functions was above facilities. Teenage boys are dreaming of NFL big bucks and nailing coeds. Also, we landed better quality talent before the new practice facility.

The 2023 recruiting class was set up to be one of his best and 2023 was set up to be successful on the field as well

 

[hdhntr1]

Not blaming anyone; just sharing my disappointment. Not saying he would have had a Pavia impact, but it certainly would have been more than Mike Wright’s and would have positioned ourselves far better for this season.

Sounded like you were disappointed in Braun & co because kid decided he was not on the market and was going to stay with his current school. That sounded like blaming him. Not being up with him this year can be blamed on him but not last year

 

[hdhntr1]

It’s a bit telling of something (not good) that there’s debate over whether we would be better off with the 16th or 17th rated QB in the BIG10.

Question is would we better with Grownowski (with Wilde as WR 39 catches 570 yds 4 tds) than what we are with Stone. (again IA has no receiver with more than 16 catches or 204 yds (different guys) ) Grownowski has a significantly higher completion average (64.8 vs 58.3) and running ability would have been a plus in our current O.

 

[NU'06er]

Question is would we better with Grownowski (with Wilde as WR 39 catches 570 yds 4 tds) than what we are with Stone. (again IA has no receiver with more than 16 catches or 204 yds (different guys) ) Grownowski has a significantly higher completion average (64.8 vs 58.3) and running ability would have been a plus in our current O.

He's not Lamar Jackson. Of those rushing 11 TDs he's scored, something like 8 of them have come from 1 or 2 yards out, which tells me he has a pushable tush, not that he's a Mike Vick style menace in the open field. 6 of the 11 were scored against either Albany, Massachusetts, Wisconsin or Rutgers. He's rushing for a whopping 18 more yards per game than Lausch did in purple. That's the dynamism our offense is lacking?

I don't have a strong opinion about whether Gronowski or Stone is better. I do have a strong opinion that the difference between the two would not drastically move the needle and moreover that moving toward an offense that might as well be running the wishbone in its philosophy is going the wrong direction. When people complain (correctly) that we haven't had a viable multi-year solution at QB since Thorson, and when some add as part of the diagnosis that the lack of a modern offense is a significant contributing factor to being unable to recruit talented players unwilling to be shackled to a time of possession offense -- I can't see how moving to a guy who can't complete more than 2 passes per game to any individual receiver would have been an improvement.

But it's all theoretical, so maybe you're right and Wilde + Gronowski would have been the second coming of Schnur to D'Wayne Bates...

 

[hdhntr1]

He's not Lamar Jackson. Of those rushing 11 TDs he's scored, something like 8 of them have come from 1 or 2 yards out, which tells me he has a pushable tush, not that he's a Mike Vick style menace in the open field. 6 of the 11 were scored against either Albany, Massachusetts, Wisconsin or Rutgers. He's rushing for a whopping 18 more yards per game than Lausch did in purple. That's the dynamism our offense is lacking?

I don't have a strong opinion about whether Gronowski or Stone is better. I do have a strong opinion that the difference between the two would not drastically move the needle and moreover that moving toward an offense that might as well be running the wishbone in its philosophy is going the wrong direction. When people complain (correctly) that we haven't had a viable multi-year solution at QB since Thorson, and when some add as part of the diagnosis that the lack of a modern offense is a significant contributing factor to being unable to recruit talented players unwilling to be shackled to a time of possession offense -- I can't see how moving to a guy who can't complete more than 2 passes per game to any individual receiver would have been an improvement.

But it's all theoretical, so maybe you're right and Wilde + Gronowski would have been the second coming of Schnur to D'Wayne Bates...

That still leaves 5 rushing TDs scored in the other 4 games so he has been pretty consistent. Stone by comparison has zero rushing TDs, Let's see. 11 or zero which would I take. Grownowski has over 200 yds rushing vs 20 for Stone. Heck last year Lausch ran for over 300 yds in 10 game behind THAT OL. Gotta think that a running QB would do even better behind our current OL. We have had a lot of trouble getting TDs when we are inside the 10 Grownowski (or even Lausch) as a QB with running ability woud definitely add a useful dimension there that we currently do not have with Stone that could improve that

Regarding his Grownowski) inability to complete more that 2 passes per game to any receiver, well other than Wilde, NU does not have anyone that Stone has been able to throw to for more than two catches a game either. (Well, Himon does have 19 catches in 8 games) And for all that, Grownowski has completed almost 65% of his passes vs 58% for Stone

We have Stone and we live or die with him. I was just countering the statement that we were just debating between the 16th and 17th rated passers in BIG.. It was more than that. It was also the makeup of the O. NU has recently generally had more success when we have had more of a dual threat QB that was able to add that extra dimension

 

[prez77]

That still leaves 5 rushing TDs scored in the other 4 games so he has been pretty consistent. Stone by comparison has zero rushing TDs, Let's see. 11 or zero which would I take. Grownowski has over 200 yds rushing vs 20 for Stone. Heck last year Lausch ran for over 300 yds in 10 game behind THAT OL. Gotta think that a running QB would do even better behind our current OL. We have had a lot of trouble getting TDs when we are inside the 10 Grownowski (or even Lausch) as a QB with running ability woud definitely add a useful dimension there that we currently do not have with Stone that could improve that

Regarding his Grownowski) inability to complete more that 2 passes per game to any receiver, well other than Wilde, NU does not have anyone that Stone has been able to throw to for more than two catches a game either. (Well, Himon does have 19 catches in 8 games) And for all that, Grownowski has completed almost 65% of his passes vs 58% for Stone

We have Stone and we live or die with him. I was just countering the statement that we were just debating between the 16th and 17th rated passers in BIG.. It was more than that. It was also the makeup of the O. NU has recently generally had more success when we have had more of a dual threat QB that was able to add that extra dimension

Not so sure about that last part: The "runners". - Lausch, Sullivan, Marty, HUJO combined had almost no wins. Ramsay was the exception. The non-runners, Bryant and Thorson did very well. Hilinski not good. So from that data, I'd say it doesn't make much difference. The other qualities matter a lot more.

 

[corbi296]

Not so sure about that last part: The "runners". - Lausch, Sullivan, Marty, HUJO combined had almost no wins. Ramsay was the exception. The non-runners, Bryant and Thorson did very well. Hilinski not good. So from that data, I'd say it doesn't make much difference. The other qualities matter a lot more.

Thorson a non runner? How quickly we forget. The guy was mobile and very fast in a straight line. If he had to, he could scoot. Do you not remember the Stanford game?