Ghosts of Recruit Signing Day Past - 2005

by Frank O'Brien on Jan 14, 2011 11:26 AM EST

The class that said "We're Back!" I'm a little more unsettled with these picks probably due to the fact that I started compiling this list while most of these guys where in the middle of their college playing days.

Again, this ranking is based on their college performance compared with Scout's star ranking (in parenthis) for recruits. Feel free to recommend revisions by making a case for or against a particular player rating. Here's where I rate them:

5 stars, These are the guys that would have started on any top 5 team in the country, Most are All-Americans or 1st team Big Ten.

Sean Lee (3) and Derrick Williams (5). I may be a little generous here but I believe Lee never returned to 100% after the knee injury, one more year and he would be up there with Poz and Connor. As for Williams, his versatility made him special. Def. Coordinators made sure he was accounted for on every play including kicks. Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood reaped huge benefits from this.

4 stars: Top level D1-A Ballers, A notch down from the 5 stars but if you filled your team with these guys you'd bring home the BCS-MNC, most of these made All Conference teams and some AA consideration.

Justin King (5), Daryll Clark (2) and Kevin Kelly (2). King could have been at the top with one more year, DC17 two time All Big Ten QB in a weak field and Kelly for setting Big Ten scoring records.

3 stars: Quality D1-A starters

Lydell Sargeant (4), Anthony Scirrotto (2), Jerome Hayes (4), Mickey Shuler (2) and Dennis Landolt (3). I actually moved Landolt down after his senior season. Things got a lot tougher for him without Shipley, Ohrnberger and Cadogan.

2 stars: Quality backups because you've got to have depth

Knowledge Timmons (3) and Devin Fentress (2). Timmons could have been higher, Fentress maybe lower.

1 star: Depth Chart/practice squad fodder

Kevin Cousins (2), Francis Claude (2), Brennan Coakley (2) and James McDonald (3)

Washouts: This may be a harsh tag for some due to injuries or other extenuating circumstances but a lot of them didn't have the work ethic to stick it out.

Matt Lowry (2), Willie Harriott (3) and Chris Baker (3)

The count is 10 quality D1-A players out of 19. This class gets a lot of credit for bringing us out of the dark years due to the high profile guys like Williams and King but the previous class was better in quality and quantity.

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Comments

What made this class key

was that PSU had most of the pieces in place the prior year, but had literally no threats at WR. This class (plus some RS freshmen from the prior year) fixed that quite dramatically.

by The JuggerNitt on Jan 14, 2011 11:33 AM EST reply actions

I understand that it was a fairly weak field

but Clark not only was 1st team All Big Ten twice, he also was a Silver Football winner and the QB of two top 10 teams. I’m not saying you’re wrong to put him at 4*, it’s tough not to give a dude like that 5*

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 14, 2011 11:34 AM EST reply actions

Based on the stated 5-star standard, it's tough to know where to put DC

There were lots of good QBs active at the same time as he was, so the “start at any top-5 team in the country” standard might be tough for him to satisfy. Still, PSU’s offense was dominant with him at the helm, and he was far and away the best QB in a pretty strong Big Ten two years running. Tough call.

by newenglandnittanylion on Jan 14, 2011 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

List of QBs who have won both a Big Ten Championship and the Silver Football, last 30 years

Art Schlichter, Ohio State — 3 times finished in the Heisman top 6, drafted 4th overall
Chuck Long, Iowa — Heisman runner up, Maxwell award winner, drafted #12 overall
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan — finished 3rd in Heisman voting, drafted #26 overall, runner up in NFL MVP voting
Kerry Collins, Penn State — 4th in Heisman voting, Maxwell award winner, drafted #5 overall
Joe Germaine, Ohio State — drafted 101st overall, did technically win a Super Bowl with the Rams
Drew Brees, Purdue — twice finished in Heisman top 5, won Maxwell award, drafted 32nd overall, hasn’t done anything of note since
Brad Banks, Iowa — 2nd in Heisman voting, undrafted
Michael Robinson, Penn State — 5th in Heisman voting, drafted #100 overall
Troy Smith, Ohio State — Heisman trophy winner, drafted #174 overall
DC17 — never in Heisman top 5, undrafted

So yeah, only DC17 and Joe Germaine never finished in the top 5 in Heisman voting, and only DC17 and Brad Banks went undrafted. I thought those two things would be proof that he was in a very elite group, and while there’s some impressive names up there, there are some forgettable ones too.

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 14, 2011 1:25 PM EST up reply actions

Are you series about Drew Brees??

A Super Bowl win is nothing?

This is BSD, the crazy stirs itself.

by Paige2PSU on Jan 14, 2011 1:34 PM EST up reply actions

I believe he forgot to use the sarcasm font on the Breeser

by Frank O'Brien on Jan 14, 2011 1:40 PM EST up reply actions

yeah, my bad

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 14, 2011 1:50 PM EST up reply actions

Every other one just seemed series.

I hoped you were being sarcastic! LOL!

This is BSD, the crazy stirs itself.

by Paige2PSU on Jan 14, 2011 1:52 PM EST up reply actions

didn't you hear, there was no Heisman in 2005?

so how could MRob have finished 5th in the voting. Obviously he isn’t elite enough.

by The JuggerNitt on Jan 14, 2011 5:16 PM EST up reply actions

and really, USC wouldn't have done as well without Bush

So Leinart wouldn’t have finished third.

Brady Quinn’s sister was ugly, and besides married AJ Hawk, so he probably shouldn’t be considered for the Heisman.

So Vince Young wins the 2005 Heisman, and Penn State, led by Heisman runner up Michael Robinson, beats them in the MNC game. FACT.

by The JuggerNitt on Jan 14, 2011 5:19 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not sure we beat USC, but, yes, we definitely beat Texas.

"But like any of our branding or marketing efforts, we will continuously review all aspects, conduct market research, and test sustainability."

by ReadingRambler on Jan 14, 2011 5:39 PM EST up reply actions

We beat Ohio State by 7 when Robinson was still mediocre as a passer.

By the time we got to the bowl game, he had moved up to decent.

"But like any of our branding or marketing efforts, we will continuously review all aspects, conduct market research, and test sustainability."

by ReadingRambler on Jan 14, 2011 5:40 PM EST up reply actions

I couldn't agree more with this

Against USC it would have totally depended on what kind of day the offense was having and the turnover battle. If those things go well, PSU would have won. If not, it would have been difficult. Penn State’s secondary was well above average, but not awesome, and USC’s passing attack was pretty awesome.

Texas’ defense was marginally better than USC’s and the entire offense was built around Vince Young turning broken plays into 30 yard runs. Against Tamba and the PSU LBs of that year, I just don’t think he gets it done.

2005 was an odd year in general. On any given week, PSU, USC, Texas, or Ohio State was the best team in the country, and while nobody #6 or worse approached Notre Dame’s consistent decency over the course of the year, Notre Dame was never in league with the top 4 either.

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 15, 2011 8:51 AM EST up reply actions

PSU...

beats Texas that year, but looses to USC. It would’ve looked like the 2008 Rosebowl except Leinart was a better college QB than Sanchez.

Opulence, I has it.

by Esteban d' Amur on Jan 15, 2011 5:04 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe. Our secondary was light years ahead of the 2008 version

which was definitely the weakness of our team that year and was ready to be exploited.

I don’t think Leinart against Lowry, Harrell, Z and Anwar puts up nearly the numbers that Sanchez did against our very average secondary.

"I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on the negative. I believe that having a good, peaceful mind is the basic premise for a good life."

by Adam Collyer on Jan 16, 2011 8:33 PM EST up reply actions

Matt Leinarts passing attack was

‘dump the ball to Bush’ and let him inflate the stats. They certainly had talent, and every now and then Leinart would attempt a throw over 10 yards, but there is a reason that he is at best a back up in the NFL.

That being said, I think it still takes a special effort by PSU to beat USC in 05

"Penn State is the standard for success with honor. Period. I can’t even believe we’re even discussing that" - ReadingRambler

by psuphysicist on Jan 16, 2011 1:15 AM EST up reply actions

What must be remembered

is just how bad USC’s scoring defense was that year against teams with a pulse. Against teams ranked in the top 16 (at the time USC played them), they gave up an average of 32.2 ppg, and only against UCLA (who scored 19) did anyone score less than 28.

So yeah, while I agree that it would’ve taken a special effort for PSU to win, it would’ve taken a special effort for the USC offense to score 32+ against a team with basically an NFL front 7 too.

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 16, 2011 9:14 AM EST up reply actions

and all of this (in my fantasy scenario) is moo

because USC doesn’t make it to the championship game because they don’t have the services of Bush (who also never won the Heisman), and Leinart woudn’t have been effective without Bush. Young therefore wins the Heisman that year, and PSU, who looked like they’d have matched up well with them (plus we always beat the Heisman trophy winner in the bowl game) would have finished 2nd in the nation, played in the MNC game, and beaten Texas.

by The JuggerNitt on Jan 16, 2011 1:51 PM EST up reply actions

Very tough indeed, Clark and Butler are definitely 4 and a half, definitely 5 stars in leadership

I just think there were too many other talented QBs and WRs around the country to put them at the top of the list. I would take a team full of those guys in a heartbeat.

by Frank O'Brien on Jan 14, 2011 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

Hayes and McDonald

Hayes: I’ll always wonder what he could have done if he had stayed healthy.
McDonald: I thought he was a quality player, it’s just that he was stuck behind other quality players

I've got the brains. You've got the looks. Let's make lots of money.

by ckmneon on Jan 14, 2011 11:37 AM EST reply actions

Might be in the minority, but I honestly think Lee got better after his knee injury.

I think a year off to watch the game really helped him. He appeared much bigger the following year and his instincts were better. I had always had him a level below Poz and Connor, but I think Lee’s senior year compares quite well with the best of them.

Jerome Hayes makes me sad. He was double tough. That sack on Claussen is a memorable highlight.

"I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on the negative. I believe that having a good, peaceful mind is the basic premise for a good life."

by Adam Collyer on Jan 14, 2011 11:48 AM EST reply actions

Lee wasn’t an A+ guy like Poz, Connor, Ham, Onkotz, Conlan, or Buttle, but he was certainly a solid A.

By the by, am I the only one who thinks Yeboah-Kodie may be the most underrated linebacker of the last 20 years at PSU?

"But like any of our branding or marketing efforts, we will continuously review all aspects, conduct market research, and test sustainability."

by ReadingRambler on Jan 14, 2011 11:58 AM EST up reply actions

Lee was still slowed in the first half of his senior year

He was dominant in the second half of the season.

by Frank O'Brien on Jan 14, 2011 1:15 PM EST up reply actions

Lee had the "it" factor

Lee might not have seemed as productive on the field as Poz or Connor, but he is one of those rare players that STILL contributed during a major knee injury. He was great when he came back, but he also was a coach on the sidelines and a mentor during his injury. I think that aspect of his time at PSU is often underrated. Talk about a guy like Hull getting tutored by Lee for an extra year and you will really start to appreciate how much Lee did for his team injured or not.

I get the paper. I go to the bathroom. I take the paper in there and I scan it. I look at it. The first thing I do is look at who died. All right. Second thing I look at are headlines. Something that says, "Paterno is the Greatest," I read it. -JVP

by wek5000lion09 on Jan 14, 2011 1:57 PM EST up reply actions

“He was at Kiski a week and he called me and said, ‘Jay, you know, there’s no girls here,’” Paterno said. "And I said, ‘Yeah, I knew that.’ He said, ’We’re out in the middle of nowhere.’ And I said, ’That’s the idea.’

“The first month at Kiski, Daryll struggled and then he kind of got into a groove and made friends. I think it was a good experience for him.”

Clark was an honor roll student in the fall term at Kiski, the same school former Penn State running back Curtis Enis attended, and he maintained an A- grade-point average in the final grading period.

by Frank O'Brien on Jan 14, 2011 1:12 PM EST up reply actions