2017

[RickDaglessMD]

Everyone needs to press pause for a minute. The recent decommits aren't great, and there will likely be one or two more going forward (no inside info here, just common sense), but before the hysteria reaches critical mass, I think people need to ask themselves a couple questions.

(1) Are any of these recruits that we've lost so far since the shakeup (Bah, Oliver, Campbell, Morgan) or any that we may lose (Russo, Rene) worth us not changing coaches? Would we be better off having kept the old staff and keeping these kids?

(2) If we had kept Flood, given his spotty track record as a closer, would we even have been able to keep the entire class together until signing day without losing one or two along the way?

My answer to both of those questions is "No".

So, we're taking a hit in recruiting this year. It's what happens when you bring in unfamiliar coaches with a new scheme, and can work in our favor (for example, a coaching shakeup is why Kelvin Harmon, who is a better WR than anyone we have, is suddenly available to us again). More importantly though, I'm excited to see what Ash & Co., who are all young and dynamic guys, can do with a huge arsenal of scholarships available for 2017. A full, loaded cycle where our recruiters actually may be able to sell what Rutgers has to offer, something Flood couldn't do if his life depended on it.

Anyone else Ash brings in before then is a bonus, and I'm confident he's going to snag at least one or two kids to offset those leaving.

 

[Knight Shift]

#DreamTeam2017?

 

[mdk01]

1. He would have kept Russo for sure and likely kept Rene. Whether that's a price worth paying will be seen when the starting QB trots out in 2017 or 2018 along with the team that surrounds him.

2. There are limits as to how many scholies you can give in a year. A disaster for 2016 can't be totally mitigated in 2017.

 

[RickDaglessMD]

2. There are limits as to how many scholies you can give in a year. A disaster for 2016 can't be totally mitigated in 2017.

It's 25, isn't it? (Unless the NCAA decides to hit us with sanctions). I doubt we'd even get that many in a class, but I think Ash could do some serious damage even with 20 scholarships given to the right recruits.

 

[Queztastic]

Whatever happens with the 2016 class is less important than (a) what happens on the field in 2016, and (b) what the 2017 class shapes up to be. If we put together a decent season on the field, the 2017 class will hopefully be strong.

There will be little immediate need for 2016 recruits to play right away. We are only losing 2 senior starters on offense since we have co-starters at rb and I am assuming a fb is not as important in the new offense. We are only losing 3 starters on defense.

While depth is always needed, the 2016 class will not make our break anything. However, some WR, DB and LB talent in 2016 will help. With Pollack and Manning as early enrollees, looks like LB is covered.

 

[RUTGERZ_R00LZ]

A disaster for 2016 can't be totally mitigated in 2017.

You can absorb a bad recruiting class if you had a good class before the bad one and another good class in the year after the bad one. Let's define a good class as a top 30 class. Since we didn't have a top 30 class in 2015 we need a real good class in 2017 if 2016 blows.

 

[RoxboroughKnight]

It's very hard to pull in a class that has both quantity and quality in the year of a coaching change. Everyone says kids should commit to a school and not the coach, but a lot of kids still commit because of relationships with coaches.

Look at Michigan. They ended up taking a class of 14 last year because they lost kids when Hoke was fired and Harbaugh couldn't fill it before signing day. If it happens at Michigan, it can happen here too. A few of these kids wanted to play for Flood and/or position coaches that are no longer here. It's the price you pay for a coaching change.

I think we have some good players in this class. Hopefully we can hold on to them and add a few more kids. But regardless of what happens the 2017 recruiting class is when the staff will really be judged.

 

[RURM85]

No saying if some of the decommits would have stayed if Flood was still coaching. The results of this season also took a toll. Morgan enamored with Pitt for awhile.