Justin Rowland updates Jedrick Willis' recruitment
- Thread starter wildcatman26
- Start date
You may very well be right. Seems like Schlarman got a contract extension not too long ago which was discussed on a thread on this board. I vaguely recall one or more posters suggesting the extension was given for recruiting purposes, at least in part to assure Wills that Schlarman's job on the staff was safe. I just don't the sense that Wills is all that in to UK. I hope I'm wrong.
Well, we've seen numerous examples of KSR / KSTV lack of acumen in reporting UK FB related matters, and this is merely the latest in a series of goofs and gaffes on their part.
I know John as a coach, player and person off the field. He is a great guy. Heard the Wills were blown away by the presentation Alabama put on for him at Alabama. They outlined a plan personally for him to get to the NFL. Very detailed. UK has not developed on the Oline the last few years granted John has had coaching changes. At this point UK has to look really good on the field and mainly the oline for to have a chance.
teammate & much more highly regarded & a true tackle Landon Young thought differently. if he wants a shot at the NFL at the more highly paid T position he should chose UK. or if he wants to be a lower paid guard, then Bama is his best bet.
Young is a KY boy at heart. He wasnt going anywhere but UK. Young had a better relationship with John. I love UK and played for Hal Mumme but comparing UK football to Alabama and saying UK has more advantages is just being a homer.
Let's also be realistic here... UK had 1 senior on the offensive line last year. Everyone else has been here for really just 2-3 years. Meyers, Meadows, Mosier, and Haynes were all big players last year on the line and all of them were just sophomores (some redshirt sophomores). Big George was just a freshman. That is an extremely young offensive line and I wouldn't expect them to have a whole lot of development when they still have 2 years to grow and get better.
At 6'4 it is doubtful that anyone in the NFL is going to draft you as a tackle. And if he isn't good enough to play tackle an Bama, why do you think he could do so regardless of where he played in college? The NFL drafts linemen and places them based upon their body type, not their college position.
Also, Wills is regarded as the #17 overall recruit in the country. When did Young ever get rated that high? It's great that Young is a Cat but it's silly sour grapes to try and knock a kid because he is weighing his options.
I was one of the few that really questioned the extension and some fans made up a sentiment that is was to solidify Wills to UK....which was a total fairytale. And UK can easily ink Schlarman to an extension once Wills commits/signs with UK. IF he does not come to UK...what again was the point of the extension.
reread my response friend didn't claim any superiority over bama, but if the young man wants a better shot at the more valuable higher earning tackle position that will happen at UK not down there
Well. if you actually played for Mumme maybe you know more about it than I do, but I think there are a lot of advantages in going to home state University for a lot of players. Maybe not as much if you are a can't miss project (and in general you have to have a lot of confidence in yourself or you won't be a highly regarded prospect like we are talking about) that has a main objective in cashing in on the ridiculous money out there. But like Couch (and of course he was a much more famous case and made enough in the NFL not to worry about money) I think there are a lot of advantages in picking home state U.
And, heaven forbid, if you did have a career ending injury or just didn't make the millions you expect to I think you would have a lot of recognition and advantages in your home state above and beyond another football factory where five stars are the rule. If our recently departed five star RB sits on the bench at Bama (like Goode did for four years before transferring down his last year) then I doubt if he will have nearly the following that he would have gotten if he had gone to UK, Wills will be much appreciated if he goes to UK and never plays for whatever reason, he should be appreciated for improving our image and bringing in some other great talent.
And I think in general he would be more comfortable playing at UK, and not losing a lot of friends and family being able to watch him and support him. Unless you do have problems and need to get a new start I'm not sure why you would want to start over.
UK is not some city college, great school playing at the highest level in a very nice city with a lot of tradition both in its campus and program, very good academics AND support, now it has the support and facilities to compete anywhere, with a great fan base that will come back when (not if) we start winning again.
Kind of curious, was UK your home state U, and if not did you ever wish you could have played at your state University? Mumme's teams really weren't that successful in the big picture, but the team had a lot of excitement and support from fans. Maybe the probation left a bad taste, but that was by traitors.
And I doubt if John would have gotten that extension unless the coaches thought he was a very good OL coach.
Love my state and University which are both Kentucky. Had a couple great seasons which were a blast. I'm just saying Wills is a great kid who will be successful at whatever school he chooses. If you hate Bama fine but don't act like a KY boy can't be successful there. Ask Shaun Alexander.
Shaun Alexander chose Alabama because Bill Curry famously stated Shaun was too small to play in the SEC.
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Maybe you can point out to me where I said he couldn't be successful at Bama. And I can't ask Shaun Alexander, and really don't care to ask him anything, don't even know where he lives now.
Maybe you can ask Tim if you can be successful at UK, or even Randall Cobb.
I just think the competition (and chances of failure) are higher at Bama. And i think it would be more rewarding to be a part of the rebuilding of UK football. I just haven't ever been much of a frontrunner, and personally i would rather play at EKU than sit on the bench of a NC at Bama.
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Maybe you can point out to me where I said he couldn't be successful at Bama. And I can't ask Shaun Alexander, and really don't care to ask him anything, don't even know where he lives now.
Maybe you can ask Tim if you can be successful at UK, or even Randall Cobb.
I just think the competition (and chances of failure) are higher at Bama. And i think it would be more rewarding to be a part of the rebuilding of UK football. I just haven't ever been much of a frontrunner, and personally i would rather play at EKU than sit on the bench of a NC at Bama.
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Wins will take care of recruiting. Our boys need to put points on the board, win games, and look good doing it. And compete hard in those losses. Do that, and I am optimistic that Wills will eventually wear the blue & white come signing day, regardless of what his initial commitment is.
Doesn't that say something about where he is needed and wanted more? UK will probably wait until the last second if needed to get him.
They already have a slew of five star OL, where would he be a bigger hero AND make more of an impact?
It's like the situation going on with John Petty. If he went to UK and played for Cal, he'd be just another 5 star who could very well be "recruited over" and lost in the shuffle. With Coach Avery, he'd be our 1st priority regardless of position and potentially a hero in Tuscaloosa. Not to mention he'd make more of an impact in TTown.
It is now officially the "me, me" generation. I don't know where Petty is from, if he is from Alabama then if I were him I would stay with my family, friends, and state and go to BAma, if he is from Arkansas I would go to Arkansas, without extenuating circumstances.
Similar to the high school situation where athletes desert their communities to go to Trinity, or Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, with all kind of basketball prep schools scattered around the nation.
ME, ME, ME, and that leads to deplorable situations like the win at all costs city college nearby.
Not exactly. Cal doesn't over recruit. Our Freshmen recruits are already projected as starters this year. They ain't redshirting. If Petty came here he would likely start in year one. Or at least be a heavily used backup. Alabama in football will recruit 5 players just like Wills in the same class and then redshirt him and recruit 5 more next year. It's a little different.
My point was more on the impact he'd have, as obviously football and basketball recruiting are not exactly the same thing. At Bama, Petty would start for sure, no questions asked. At Duke, UK and Kansas there's a chance that he wouldn't. Just look at Bolden at Duke and Gabriel at UK. There's a chance that neither of them will be starters this year. And by "recruited over" I mean that Cal could sign another bluechip in the same class that could beat him out at whatever position he'd end up playing, or in the next class if he's not a one and done. And nothing is wrong with that. That's what makes Cal great. He wants to get the best players possible.
With Wills, he'd probably start at UK in 2017. At Bama, he'd have a shot since we're very thin at tackle and losing 3 scholarship tackles after this year (and if we sign Isaiah Wilson, he'd be moved to Guard since he has bad weight), but I doubt he'd have the same chance to start as he would at UK.
If indeed W-I-L-L-S does go to Bama, I do not think UK will shut the football program down. With Drake Jackson and Landon Young on board, the future is pretty solid IMO, not counting other fine young O lineman that are, or will be future Cats. Best wishes to young Mr. Wills, wherever he may end up !!
Looks like he's Bama bound but if we land Tony Gray and Thayer Munford we will be fine.
As many have said before, a verbal to Alabama at this point is meaningless. I seriously doubt that we will stop recruiting him. If we have a good season (7 wins) I think we may be able to keep him at home. When are these kids going to wake up to Saban's take this offer now or it is gone tactic.
Funny thing is that when I typed Sabin, autocorrect changed it to Satan. I got a kick out of that one. Maybe autocorrect knows something we don't.
Auto-correct simply projects what we all think. [devil]
