Rutgers Recruiting - Serenity Now
by BSD on Jun 5, 2008 2:31 PM EDT
in Recruiting
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PrintI thought we covered this, but apparently there are some people out there who still don't read BSD. Count Rivals Mike Farrell among those still in the dark.
What's going on in Piscataway, N.J., these days?Everyone knows Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is a tremendous recruiter and that the job he has done in taking a perennial loser to the brink of a BCS bid has been outstanding. But he has done it for the most part by focusing on New Jersey, New York and south Florida when it comes to recruiting.
This year is different — much different.
With Wednesday's commitment from running back Desmond Scott of Durham (N.C.) Hillside, the Scarlet Knights are branching out into new areas when it comes to recruiting. The top two commitments in the class of 2009 for Rutgers are from out of state — and neither is from New York or Florida.
Yep. You know where this is going.
Springfield (Pa.) Cardinal O'Hara quarterback Tom Savage surprised a lot of people when he committed to Rutgers over offers from Penn State, Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and others. Scott's offer list of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson and others was equally as impressive.Throw in tight end Paul Carrezola from Langhorne (Pa.) Neshaminy — who had offers from Boston College, Pitt, Iowa, North Carolina State and others — and three of Rutgers' first seven commitments are from recruiting areas normally owned by other programs.
In 2008, Schiano was able to pull three-star athlete Morgan Carter out of Virginia and quarterback Wayne Warren from Maryland. But neither had nearly as many options as Savage, a Rivals100 quarterback, and Scott, a Rivals250 all-purpose back.
When Penn State desperately needs a quarterback and a player such as Savage (a 6-foot-3, 231-pounder with a rocket arm) is in eastern Pennsylvania, you expect the Nittany Lions to win the recruiting race. They did that a few years ago with Pat Devlin, who originally had committed to Miami. Can Penn State steal Savage away from Rutgers as they did with Devlin and Miami?
"Only if Greg Schiano were to become the new head coach at Penn State," was Savage's answer following his commitment.
Savage loves Rutgers' offense and coaching staff and the opportunity to compete to play in a BCS bowl for a local team.
I guess I better get used to this. Every time Rutgers lands a decent recruit we're going to read stories about how they are taking over everything east of the Mississippi River. But a simple look at the facts says there is no comparison. Penn State doesn't get every kid they want, but they rarely lose a kid to Rutgers. Without doing the research I would bet nine times out of ten when a kid has an offer from Rutgers and Penn State and chooses one of those schools, it's Penn State.
This year Penn State already has 11 verbal commitments. Five of them had offers from the Knights. Rutgers has seven commitments, which is impressive, but only Savage held an offer from Penn State. And I don't think any of our kids ever even mentioned Rutgers as a major player in their recruiting. There is no comparison.
Contrary to what Farrell says, quarterbacks are not "desperately" needed in this class. Daryll Clark has two years of eligibility left and Pat Devlin has three. Had Savage committed to Penn State he was looking at a minimum of two years on the bench behind these guys. And while Savage is mostly a pure dropback passer, Penn State has made no secret about the fact they intend to go back to the spread option offense they used under Michael Robinson in 2005. Savage is not a good fit for this offense, so it's no surprise he's more attracted to the pro style offense Schiano runs.
Every time I read one of these articles it gets my blood boiling. Serenity now. Serenity now.
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Savage?
He was, at best, a Plan C QB recruit for Penn State. I’m glad he’s going to a college close to home, and hey, I’m happy for Schiano and Rutgers…but come on.
You can’t steal something that’s being practically given away by someone else. If someone puts a bunch of junk on the curb, and you find something useful in the pile and take it home with you…it ain’t stealing, kids.
-- Run Up The Score http://runupthescore.wordpress.com
by Run Up The Score on Jun 5, 2008 3:16 PM EDT reply actions
Jenkins
I feel that maybe picking up Jelani Jenkins will silence this issue once and for all. Any word on how we are doing with him?
They said, "I don't know his name, but he aims like Wayne Gretzky"
That's funny, 'cause I don't play hockey, I play HORSE on the mic and watch them all copy-Cannibal Ox
Jenkins
I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure we have a better chance than Rutgers.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
by BSD on Jun 5, 2008 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Rutgers
Is it honestly a big deal that Rutgers got a TE from Neshaminy? I don’t think we need anymore TEs considering we are going to the spread offense and want to use 3 WRs and 2 RBs.
Tom Savage is a great prospect, laser rocket arm, but i hate beating a dead horse, so was Anthony Morelli. We will land our spread offense QB in this class or next.
When Rutgers starts stealing our WRs, lets sound the alarm. Untill then….you are still Rutgers! Brink of a BCS game? Toronto is pretty far from the Orange, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar.
PSU Softball
Can Penn State steal Savage away from Rutgers as they did with Devlin and Miami?
“Only if Greg Schiano were to become the new head coach at Penn State,” was Savage’s answer following his commitment.
Shouldn’t this be a main focus of this post? I don’t care whether or not this kid is a good fit or if we don’t run the right type of offense for him, etc. – (even though these things ARE important).
My point is, would he really have said that if Bradley was Head coach and JayPa wasn’t the QB coach? I truly think this is a reflection of who our coaches are, rather than who our coaches aren’t. What Pennsylvania kid is going to fall in love with Piscataway, New Jersey over the Tradition that is Penn State Football? I’ll tell you….a kid who does not want to join a program that has sub-par QB coaching and an octogenarian who doesn’t know that his time has passed. Schiano is not the only reason he is going to Rutgers.
By the way, succession plans are necessary and they don’t just happen in college football. There’s a reason successful corporations put succession plans in place…so that in the unfortunate event your leader passes on or retires, you aren’t stuck putting the pieces together afterward. It’s only logical.
It’s time. Please… it’s time for some sort of succession plan.
by Stately NOVA Lion on Jun 5, 2008 4:30 PM EDT reply actions
Spanier
i posted a message the other day. it was part of an email conversation with Spanier and his son. He was asked if the rumors were true about Schiano coming to PSU as part of a succession plan….his response was “no, total fiction”
It is most likely Bradley as the man and i’m sure they are telling recruits this. No need to make plans public. it will just cause more questions and more answers.
PSU Softball
OK....
That’s fine with me….if that’s true. Just tell me there’s a plan and tell the recruits….because the uncertainty is killing us right now!
by Stately NOVA Lion on Jun 5, 2008 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
O Give Me A Brake
What if a PA kid comitted to Iowa, and the kid said he’d go to PSU if Kirk Ferentz was the coach? Should he be in the succession plan too? What about Al Golden when someone goes to Temple? We should add him to this sucession plan too I guess?
Now let me ask you this. What offense does Schiano run? Is it a spread? No.
This is not about Joe Paterno being old, or about Jay Paterno sucking. Its about the Penn State offense. It doesn’t fit him, so he went somewhere it does. Period. He likes Schiano’s system. Its that simple.
There are much better arguements for a succession plan than the one you just made.
God Created the World Out Of Nothing, Paterno Built A National Superpower On Cow Fields...
by Adam Bittner on Jun 6, 2008 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions
What if Jesus Christ was the Coach?
My point was not about who the PSU coaches aren’t, but rather who they are. So throw out all that “what if Kirk Ferentz was the coach, or if Al Golden was the coach”...again, not my point.
The type offense we run doesn’t matter either. Remember the ancient "run-between-the-tackles on 1st and 2nd down, then throw on third down" offense we ran the past two years? Well we could just as easily run that offense as we can run the "Spread HD" that Mastermind JayPa is putting together. Look, we can change what type of offense we run. Whether or not it’s done effectively, that’s another question. Remember Jay saying he would change the offense for Pryor? I do.
This IS about Joe and Jay. This IS about the program and the uncertainty of its direction. People want answers, they want to be comforted by knowing the future or where the program is headed. It gives them that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. What does it sound like when you tell recruits….."weeellll, I don’t know how long I’m gonna be around, I feel good, I’m still excited about coaching and I’m going to coach as long as I can". What the F does that mean? That means, "I have nothing else I know how to do, so I’m going to coach until I’m dead or unable to coach". I’m not saying Joe does not have that right. BUT, it’s selfish. Hopefully the recruits are getting some sort of indication of what’s in store for PSU’s future….because we sure as sh*t aren’t getting any answers.
By the way, are you related to Joe? Are you his friend or neighbor or something? You seem to think Joe is doing a wonderful job and can do no wrong. Neither you nor I know what’s going on behind closed doors, but I do know that LJ Sr. and Bradley are the ones out on the trail grabbing recruits….Joe is sitting in his office trying to figure out what that black thing is, with all those letters and numbers on it.
by Stately NOVA Lion on Jun 6, 2008 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Let Me Ask You A Question
How many coaches are there that could HONESTLY tell a kid they’ll be there for their 5 years? Carroll? Tressel? Meyer? Who knows? 5 years is a long time. Plenty of time to F a program up and get fired after a few 6 win seasons.
If RR and Saban are telling these kids those things, they’re full of shit, and their fu**ing liars. At least Joe is honest with kids. He doesn’t know any more than the next guy whats gonna happen 5 years down the line.
As an 18 year old, I’m more comforted by a straight shooting guy who is being honest with me than a jerk who brushes off the question with an “O definitely, I’m not going anywhere”.
I think you’re looking at this from an odd perspective, as we all are, because for the first time in 40 years, we’re being faced the the fact that our coach is mortal and isn’t going to be here forever. For a lot of programs, this is how things are on a year to year basis. Joe might be in the ground for 20 years, and we still might not know what the “direction” of the program is. Welcome to the realities of modern college fooball.
God Created the World Out Of Nothing, Paterno Built A National Superpower On Cow Fields...
point well taken.
thanks for your perspective. this is frustrating me to no end and i’m ready for a change. that’s just my opinion.
by Stately NOVA Lion on Jun 9, 2008 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Living in NJ
This is my plight as a Penn State alum in NJ. Rutgers fans suddenly think their team is bigger and better than Bruce, and everybody else is a chump. What we need to do is get them back on the schedule and beat them every year (like we would!), and then all those fans go back to watching Giants football on Sundays and mowing the lawn on Saturdays.
New York
I’m tired of hearing how New York embraces Rutgers. It is not in NEW York. They need to support Buffalo and Syracuse. Rutgers is close to Trenton. Tony Soprano was the Boss of New Jersey. Rutgers would have trouble playing .500 ball against any team along I-95.
PSU Softball
Also
I live in Pittsburgh, and some ass hole from Duquesne is talking shit that they are going to have division 1aa team, and they are going to start recruiting our players. We should schedule them immediately to put them back in place.
On the other hand, maybe when we hear some nonsense from a second tier program, (that has only been second tier for two seasons) we should giggle and ignore it. Jesus, it’s Rutgers, who cares what they say?
For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994
Rutgers...
...still plays football? Maybe I got confused because their last game was in Canada…
"We heard all that talk all week about the SEC and their speed, but we knew personally that they weren't nearly as tough as us."
-Tony Hunt
No doubt
I dunno what I enjoyed more, shutting up everyone who picked an overrated SEC team by outplaying UT, or listening to Tony’s post-game comments.
"We heard all that talk all week about the SEC and their speed, but we knew personally that they weren't nearly as tough as us."
-Tony Hunt
"overrated SEC team"
The best part of that game, other than the beating that was doled out, was the pack of Tennessee fans sitting in front of me. I yelled in their ears so loud for so long they had to leave early. Tough titties.
PSU owns a little piece of Raymond James, and that’s alright with me.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
I hear ya
I was there as well, although mostly surrounded by a large group of PSU fans. For the most part, I found the UT fans to be respectful…the night before the game, while I was wearing one of my many PSU shirts, some of them came up to me and started giving me a jokingly hard time about JoePa retiring…before going on to say that they respect the hell out of him.
However, the younger generation were the ones who were shirtless and loud, and I didn’t mind joining in on the “overrated” (clap clap clap-clap-clap) chant as they walked out of the game early.
"We heard all that talk all week about the SEC and their speed, but we knew personally that they weren't nearly as tough as us."
-Tony Hunt
SEC Speed
In our last two games against SEC teams (Auburn 02 Capital One & Tennessee 06 Outback) neither team was appreciably faster than Penn State. In my opinion, neither team was faster, period, but I’m sure there is some method of saying that the average speed of Auburn’s bench was faster than our starters or some other nonsense, but a game speed, there was no noticable difference.
Auburn beat Penn State when they decided that “they are tougher but we’re faster” was total bull shit. They stopped trying to out quick Penn State (a waste of time, for a bunch of white Italian kids our guys run run pretty well) and just jammed the ball down our throat. That happened, they won.
In both games, the teams were pretty evenly matched in terms of size, speed and skill. Phil Fulmer couldn’t out coach Joe Paterno in a hundred years, Tennessee lost. Tommy Tubberville adjusted and Auburn won.
For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994
My Take
I believe there are three components to football: Speed, Strength, and preparation. The team that wins two out of those three will usually win the game. Against Tennessee we won the strenght and preparation, and didn’t lose speed my much if at all. Against Auburn we probably lost all three.
If you look at OSU the past two years, they lost their MNC games through speed and preparation even though they probably had the strength advantage.
Just my take.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
What happend to Ohio State...
...is really the million dollar question, isn’t it? After the Florida game, it seemed that preparation was the issue. I mean, OSU looked stunned that Florida ran a spread option. Their D was flat footed and indecisive, which is precisely how you get killed by a good spread team.
But was LSU really that physically dominant as compared to Ohio State? That just seems impossible to me. I cannot believe that Les Miles outcoached Jim Tressel so easily. But watching the game, both seemed to be pretty clearly the case.
Here’s what I think…
Look at the Penn State/Ohio State game from last season. Ohio State was simply more proficient at every aspect of the game. A million teams have thrown for a million yards against Penn State, but the trick is not making any mistakes, and Ohio State didn’t. OSU took the game to Penn State, executed better, and kicked our ass by taking advantage of game plan that’s never been a state secret.
I think that LSU and Florida, similarly, just executed better than Ohio State. If the talent is similar, and I think by and large it was, it comes down to making plays. LSU (and Florida before them) were used to making plays to win games. Ohio State is used to be being more physically gifted then their opponents, Michigan and Penn State included, and as a result, they tend to let the game come to them more. It’s tough to change that philosophy in the last game of the season, even with a month to prepare.
For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994
It Seemed to me.......
and this is just a gut feeling from watching both games….....that both LSU and UF had Boeckman and Smith running for their respective lives. From what I recall, OSU didn’t get much pressure in either game.
Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.
The Spread
Ohio State and Jim Tressel have always struggled against the spread. LSU and Florida were obvious, but they also lost to Illinois last year. In 2005 they lost to us when we were running the spread with Michael Robinson. It would appear to be Tressel’s achilles heal which bodes well for us in 2008.
Mike
Black Shoe Diaries
The spread
You stop the spread by aggressively attacking it and tackling well. That is not the standard philosphy of Defense for any team in the Big Ten, whcih is more passive and aimed at preventing big plays.
It’s much easier to play a zone properly on every play than it is to man up and attack speed players in space. But I think the latter is what you have to do stop the spread effectively.
For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994
Interesting.......
I don’t purport to have a great understanding of x’s and o’s despite playing football my whole life (bad coaching) :) but I would think (to answer my own question) that you wouldn’t expect much pressure against a spread team since its bing bang boom the balls out. If that’s the case, then you do have to ask the question of how OSU was getting so whooped in space. I can’t believe for one 2nd that Tressel didn’t see what was going on. I would think if he thought he had the athletes to do it, he would have them out of the zone and in someone’s face. Especially when you could see right away that the zone wasn’t going to cut it. Especially against Florida.
Jarvis Moss was in the backfield that whole game against Florida.
I guess what I am saying is that if OSU had the horses (and I am not saying they didn’t) and you give Tressel the nod as a smart football guy with decent vision….....then how do you explain the outcomes of both the UF and the LSU game. I never got the feeling that they were truly in either of those games while I watched them. UF was up 34 – 14 at half and that was obviously with the 7 they spotted OSU on the Ginn kickoff return. I suppose you could argue that after halftime OSU only allowed 7 points and that was pretty good.
Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.
I'm not an X and O guy at all
But from what I’ve seen, if you let the guy catch the ball in space and start running he’s going to hurt you. The solution is press coverage which tries to prevent catching the ball and sound tackling if he does. This is inherently risky, insofar as if you miss the tackle; the guy runs a long way.
What Ohio State did seemed to be more about trying to prevent the big play, but as a result giving up countless really good plays. 8 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, 7 yards, etc.
Penn State damn near invented this; the theory being the other team will have failures of execution (dropped passes, penalties, interceptions, etc.) that will eventually stall the drive. LSU and Florida executed their offenses so well though that they simply ate up the conservative defense. Just like Ohio State did to Penn State in October.
With respect to the Florida game, Ohio State was 11-0 and number one, if you think about it, why change your game plan going in? That’s an easy question to answer now, but at the time, for OSU’ to abandon its defensive scheme (and their Defense is typically awesome) and try something so inherently risky, would been pretty controversial. Keep in mind, Florida ran way more spread against Ohio State than they did the rest of the season. LSU was not really known as a typically spread team. If anything I thought their offense was overly reliant on one guy (Early Doucett).
Maybe that’s why LSU dominated teams that were considered on par with them but had trouble with teams they were favored against. If you are an underdog, there is no reason to not let it all hang out by attacking and trying to make plays. If you think you’re more evenly matched, the tendency is to try and avoid mistakes, especially in the Big Ten.
For the Glory; National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994
I Agree.......
that Auburn started playing smash mouth on offense in that game…......what did they do to suddenly contain LJ after the first quarter. I didn’t see that coming.
Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.
LJ
LJ had trouble all game long with the surface of the field. It looked like he was playing on ice the way he kept slipping and falling without contact.
the idiot formerly known as "joepadon"
Rutgers........
Good for them. I hate watching teams be as bad as they were before Schiano. They have put together a nice program. If we do lose a player to them, that is better than losing a PA product to a team in the SEC or to OSU or Mich.
Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.
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