Fellow BP'ers:
It is that time of the year again after early signing period has yielded another recruiting class that is presumably mostly over, though with some potential quirks with the transfer portal and gaps in certain positions. The BRPT, as we have done last last few years with what I think is a successful format, will do the BRPT review in communal fashion. Please everyone weigh in with your thoughts and add any category that seems appropriate...BUT we are staying away from overly negative reactions to the class. Obviously a certain level of candor is expected and I am not going to post that everything is unicorns and butterflies, but we've had enough negativity and discussion on NIL to the point where we need to take a step back and post to BP's traditional standards.
With that out of the way, here we go for RB07OSU:
General Thoughts
Let's just get this addressed right out of the gate: The finish to this class was disappointing. We had several decommits, missed on most of our remaining key targets, and there are admittedly some holes at certain positions. Hopefully we do not repeat that finish in future classes. However, don't lose sight of the many high-level prospects we did land and honestly I think we addressed a lot of big needs, though not quite with the numbers we wanted. This is a borderline top 5 class in the country (by most rating sites) and some fan reactions would make you think it is outside the top 25. There are a lot of very good players in this class and a lot to be excited about.
Brandon Inniss. May seem obvious, but the kid is extremely polished, crazy athletic, and has better size than most people give him credit for. I know it is a crowded WR room and PT will not be easy to come by, but Inniss is just too good to keep off the field. Runner up to me is Kayden McDonald, we need some help at DT and he is physically ready and a big talent, I wouldn't bet against him seeing the field this next fall.
Most Star Potential
Carnell Tate. Another WR, I know. But while I think Inniss is most ready to contribute at WR, Tate has a monster ceiling and could be one of the next great WR's here. So much to like about this kid. Jermaine Mathews is right there though, incredible cover corner with prototypical size and plays the ball so well in air.
Jelani Thurman. Kid has incredible size and wingspan, very athletic and seems like an absolute steal from the south. I don't know that he plays right away, but his potential down the road is very intriguing...especially now that we are trying to use TE's in the passing game.
Biggest ReachI kind of always hate this category but the reality is we typically have one or two prospects that seemed like a reach. This year I will go with Miles Walker at OL. While I think OL recruiting was overall pretty good with the 3 Ohio OL we landed, Walker came into the class after we missed on most of our other top targets at OT. Apparently the staff likes Walker a lot and he does have the frame you want on an OT, but we undoubtedly missed on several other prospects in winding up with him in this class.
SleeperJosh Padilla. Not necessarily underrated per se, but I think a lot of fans forget about this Ohio stud OL with a wrestling background and a ton of nastiness because he committed early without any fuss. I see Padilla as a 3-year starter type. Runner up is Will Smith Jr., he really proved himself his senior year and on the camp circuit, definitely one to be excited about.
Biggest Surprise CommitmentJosh Mickens. I know we were trending for him late in the game, but he came out of the woodworks as an LSU decommit and boy did we need him at DE with the way we finished.
The Ones Who Got AwayWell, this section could be filled with pages but I will just stick to a few of them. Kayin Lee is a big one, really like him and CB was a need, though Mathew and CSH are two absolute studs there. In terms of guys we looked good for that I hate missing on, Damon Wilson is definitely on the top....game changing DE and someone that would have paired well with Mickens. My last one would be Tackett Curtis, monster LB that we were looking good for that ended up at USC, I really like Reese but think we needed one more LB in this class like Curtis.
What This Class LacksIn my eyes, we needed another DE and CB. Whiffing on all those DE's hurt even with Mickens as a godsend in the final hour. At CB, I am a little less concerned because Mathews and CSH I think very highly of but we probably needed one more...hopefully get one in the portal? I do feel good at safety though, I really like Bonsu, Hartford and Hawkins (who might be a CB). You could say not landing a RB, but Wilcox is still out there and assuming everyone returns, our RB room is set for next year.
It is that time of the year again after early signing period has yielded another recruiting class that is presumably mostly over, though with some potential quirks with the transfer portal and gaps in certain positions. The BRPT, as we have done last last few years with what I think is a successful format, will do the BRPT review in communal fashion. Please everyone weigh in with your thoughts and add any category that seems appropriate...BUT we are staying away from overly negative reactions to the class. Obviously a certain level of candor is expected and I am not going to post that everything is unicorns and butterflies, but we've had enough negativity and discussion on NIL to the point where we need to take a step back and post to BP's traditional standards.
With that out of the way, here we go for RB07OSU:
General Thoughts
Let's just get this addressed right out of the gate: The finish to this class was disappointing. We had several decommits, missed on most of our remaining key targets, and there are admittedly some holes at certain positions. Hopefully we do not repeat that finish in future classes. However, don't lose sight of the many high-level prospects we did land and honestly I think we addressed a lot of big needs, though not quite with the numbers we wanted. This is a borderline top 5 class in the country (by most rating sites) and some fan reactions would make you think it is outside the top 25. There are a lot of very good players in this class and a lot to be excited about.
Earliest Impact
Brandon Inniss. May seem obvious, but the kid is extremely polished, crazy athletic, and has better size than most people give him credit for. I know it is a crowded WR room and PT will not be easy to come by, but Inniss is just too good to keep off the field. Runner up to me is Kayden McDonald, we need some help at DT and he is physically ready and a big talent, I wouldn't bet against him seeing the field this next fall.
Most Star Potential
Carnell Tate. Another WR, I know. But while I think Inniss is most ready to contribute at WR, Tate has a monster ceiling and could be one of the next great WR's here. So much to like about this kid. Jermaine Mathews is right there though, incredible cover corner with prototypical size and plays the ball so well in air.
Most Intriguing
Jelani Thurman. Kid has incredible size and wingspan, very athletic and seems like an absolute steal from the south. I don't know that he plays right away, but his potential down the road is very intriguing...especially now that we are trying to use TE's in the passing game.
Biggest Reach
Sleeper
Biggest Surprise Commitment
The Ones Who Got Away
What This Class Lacks
2024 Outlook
I think the priority areas are pretty clear for next year...two very good offensive tackles, a stud RB, a pair of good DEs, and at least three CBs. With Kienholz, I am not so concerned on Raiola, though we will of course want to land a QB in '24. In my eyes, the '23 class was a very good one in terms of star power, but we need more numbers with injuries, transfer portal, etc. all being very real. And hopefully we can adjust to the NIL world, I don't want to harp on that with all the conversation that has already happened, but the landscape of recruiting has changed there and we have to do better this next cycle. I don't pretend to know the answer, but the powers that be hopefully have a plan.