Extremely rare for freshmen to be ready right away except for in time of significant need on the depth chart. People have no concept what a physical and mental Step Up Vision one football is from virtually every High School level.
We might have no choice but to start a true freshman against Navy, Syracuse, UNH, and Yale. Gulp.
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 13, 2019 23:12:56 GMT -5
Regarding freshmen receivers, over the years we have had very few who caught a lot of passes. I do understand that we have a different coach than we had 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago and that he may look at freshmen in a different way. As well, we have some incoming freshmen, as suggested in earlier posts, who are highly regarded and who might become starters. Here's a look at a bunch of receivers of the past 20 years and the number of passes they caught per year. I've sorted them from most career receptions to fewest
Freshman Receptions----Soph Receptions- Junior Receptions-Senior Receptions=Career Receptions= Player
9----45-80-75= 209= Mike Fess 2----30-106-59=197= Brendan Flaherty (played some RB in early years) 27---47-54-62= 190= Jeff Laboranti 5----30-57-90= 182= Ari Confessor 0----42-39-74=155= Kalif Raymond 2----2-69-75=148=Ryan Maher 5----29-60-54=148= Gerald Mistretta 0----39-56-43=138= Brett McDermott 0----24-63-45=132= Luke Chmielinski 12---16-46-56= Thomas Harrison 18---33-42-33=126= Steve Green 0----37-48-37=122= Sean Gruber 10---11-38-45=104= Nick Larsen 0----27-46-39= 112= Freddie Santana 15----49-19-27=110= Richie DiNicola 0----24-49-44=117= Bill Edger 33----30-15-16= 94= Alex Schneider
Out of 17 players above 6 did not catch a single pass as freshmen and 5 caught 1-9 passes. Only Schneider and Laboranti appear to have been frequent targets.
So in 2019 let's see if Morris, Asante, Coulson, Kreimer, Purdy, and Thomas can show us that this new crop of freshmen can be very productive
Spencer Gilliam had 8 receptions as a freshman during the 2018 season. Based on KY's list above, a respectable showing, especially since three seniors (Dorsey, Bell, DeNicola) had the bulk of the receptions.
Spencer Gilliam had 8 receptions as a freshman during the 2018 season. Based on KY's list above, a respectable showing, especially since three seniors (Dorsey, Bell, DeNicola) had the bulk of the receptions.
Let's not forget that Spencer also ran in two blocked punts for touchdowns. Using a favorite hackneyed football phrase, I think that this guy "has a nose for the football", as in "put me in, coach, any position, I'll make something happen".
In addition to his receiving stats, Gilliam also had 24 kickoff returns with an average return of 22.3 yards, and a single rush for 9 yards -- and to the best of my recollection he had no fumbles.
For all those folks that depend too much the number of stars a recruit gets:
This stuff has been going on for years.
My freshman year roommate sent a letter (you know what those are, right?) to Bear Bryant at Alabama and said he was interested in going there to play football and came up with a yarn that was very exaggerated but not totally unbelievable. Bryant never responded. Probably didn't help that it had a Yankee postmark.
One thing about the late signings that has not garnered much attention is the addition of the long-snapper (Adam Guillemette) and punter (Pat Haughney).
Guillemette will apparently replace the graduating Jack Dixon as the long snapper on punts.
HC's punting game in 2018 was not exactly robust. Wilkinson and Ng appear to be primarily kickers (i.e., Kickoffs, Extra Points, and Field Goals). Haughney has the potential to be an upgrade in the punt game.
Holy Cross QB recruit Chris Butash named Florida Class 2A 2nd team all-state, and runner-up Player of the Year in Class 2A.
Those in Mass. should note that the divisions in Florida are numbered opposite of here; that is, Division 2 is next to smallest, not largest. Not to knock the kid, but he's not exactly going up against the iron of the state. Which in my mind means "have a little patience with the kid if he isn't great from the get-go, big adjustment"
Last Edit: Feb 17, 2019 10:54:27 GMT -5 by timholycross
I can remember hearing about a basketball big man who was said to not be that good because of weaker opposition in college. Of course, Larry Bird found a way to work that out.
According to 247 Sports, Butash also had offers from Lehigh, Fordham, and Toledo. It's not as if Holy Cross was the only school that saw something that made an offer worthwhile.
It's a small school with a small football roster and had a mediocre record with an equal number of wins and losses. But it's still possible that an individual player on that team can be a substantial contributor at the next level.
Spencer Gilliam had 8 receptions as a freshman during the 2018 season. Based on KY's list above, a respectable showing, especially since three seniors (Dorsey, Bell, DeNicola) had the bulk of the receptions.
Let's not forget that Spencer also ran in two blocked punts for touchdowns. Using a favorite hackneyed football phrase, I think that this guy "has a nose for the football", as in "put me in, coach, any position, I'll make something happen".
Spencer's HS track stats are above. He ran 11.04 which would translate to about 10.8 hand timed. It is possible that he ran faster in a meet which the aggregator did not pick up-- a dual meet, for example.
It's a small school with a small football roster and had a mediocre record with an equal number of wins and losses. But it's still possible that an individual player on that team can be a substantial contributor at the next level.
And maybe, just maybe, without him as their QB, his high school team instead of a .500 record would have had a .250 record or lower.
Oh, and I still think Austin Butler should be a consideration but Chesney would have to change the whole offense. [I'm kidding for those of you who are too serious minded to understand]
Carollwood Day had 36 players on their varsity.... That's absolutely ridiculous.
Florida goes all the way up to 8A. If your kid is serious about football, why would you send them to a PRIVATE SCHOOL in 2A? It literally has the competition level of a "freshmen football team" in the larger divisions. Giving out "All State" honors in 2A is probably laughable in the winning Florida programs at the other end of the spectrum.
Last Edit: Feb 18, 2019 15:39:32 GMT -5 by Deleted