Isaiah Wright probable decommit per twitter

[formerlyknownasrutgers100]

Hence the "thumbs down" emoticon.

Didn't think the other poster understood what you meant

 

[brista21]

Some of you guys have turned awfully quick on the new staff. I see it this way, we cleaned house for a reason: We had at best plateaued and at worst were starting to slide back into the pre-Schiano dark ages. This at least for the moment appears to be growing pains of both a new and first-time HC and of said house cleaning. In 2 or 3 or 4 years we'll know the answer for sure, but for now I give these things a pass as bumps in the road are not only to be expected but sometimes necessary in this sort of process.

 

[G- RUnit]

FAIL

Maryland's class was in the 20's prior to the regime change and, since, has lost ALL 3 of its former 4-star commits, dropping the ranking down to 47th (2.89 star average). The 'Cuse class is currently ranked 50th with (15)3-star kids at an average of 2.71 stars. Our class, fyi, ranked 52nd here when Flood was fired, is sitting at 78th, due to the fact that we are currently at 13 commits, BUT with an average of 2.79 stars.

I hope so. Still my barometer. Randy Edsal not looking so bad either.

 

[RU2055]

I told ya we should have kept EJ.

Keeping Barthel (connection to a few recruits) => Tactical

Hiring Manzt (connected to NJ HS Programs) => Strategic

Forest from the trees, forest from the trees.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

I hope so. Still my barometer. Randy Edsal not looking so bad either.

The "barometer" is fair enough, shit I want better, I'm just pointing out the facts as of 5-minutes ago so people are misrepresenting them (as the other poster did...).

 

[RUInsanity]

The reality is Ash also kept some kids that we're thinking about decommiting but this board seems fixated on the ones that left instead of the ones that stayed. Check this board, if the title reads 'player decommits' it's 5 pages of discussion. If it reads 'player commits' it's 30 or so responses. One example, Damon Hayes had serious questions, even visited BC...after his visit he emphatically said he is sticking with RU, that got hardly a blip. If he flipped to BC, we would have atleast 3 pages claiming Campanile is a recruiting God. Just like folks are gonna claim EJ is a recruiting guru because we lost some guy named Wright, lol.

It's the same posters who post the same types of things in every decommit thread and drive the page count up in a thread by making provocatively negative comments. Being negative in a forum draws more attention than being balanced or positive. Some people apparently do not get enough attention in life I guess.

 

[Rokodesh]

We could lose every single kid that had committed to Flood and I still wouldn't care. Ash is still the right coach and these kids can be the big fish in a smaller pond if they so choose. the strength coaches will push our players harder than they've ever worked, can't handle it, there's the door.

 

[Loyal-Son]

I heard the same thing yesterday, and some seem to think he was a 'must get' type of recruit. Like I've been saying, Ash is recruiting a very different type of kid than Fludd.[/QUOTE]

Guess you haven't heard what Ash said about Pinnix-Oldrick, or you wouldn't make such an ignorant statement. We have lots of quality individuals on the team. They are eager to work their butts off to improve our performance.

It would help your credibility if you would show some respect! His name is Coach Flood. You are only making yourself look stupid with such remarks, not him.

And for the record, I am highly impressed with Coach Ash so far, and I am glad we got him. He was my first choice for our new coach. He has a tough, tough job ahead of him, but it appears he might have the right stuff to finally get us over the hump. Right now I am optimistic.

 

[Thisguy410]

This has to be on the list of dumbest posts ever, seriously.

Care to elaborate? if you're gonna knock my thought at least offer an alternative option. If we were losing kids to other P5 schools, I get it, coaching change, I get it. But multiple recruits to temple? come'on how in the world do you expect to compete against Ohio State, Mich, Mich St and Penn State if we can't even beat out temple...

 

[jakeknight]

Without being negative if the kid would rather play at a non P5 level and for some reason prefers a Temple degree then he has made the right choice, perhaps he is just not that competitive.

 

[Kbee3]

Care to elaborate? if you're gonna knock my thought at least offer an alternative option. If we were losing kids to other P5 schools, I get it, coaching change, I get it. But multiple recruits to temple? come'on how in the world do you expect to compete against Ohio State, Mich, Mich St and Penn State if we can't even beat out temple...

I think people are making too much of these flips, but Temple DID actually compete with Pedd St. pretty well this past season.

 

[mildone]

So much angst in this thread. We were always going to lose recruits, even before the coaching change and certainly after.

 

[Thisguy410]

I think people are making too much of these flips, but Temple DID actually compete with Pedd St. pretty well this past season.

dude it was the first time in like 50 years they won... they had a senior lead squad, first game of the year, in Philly basically the stars aligned... Ever heard the saying even a blind squirel finds a nut once in a while?

Here's the thing, anyone who isn't just completely delusional understands that if a recruit has 2 offers, one from Penn State, one from Temple knows that kid is going to Penn State... doesn't matter who the coach is or what happened the year before, they are going to PSU. It needs to be the same here at Rutgers, we CAN'T have non P5 schools flipping our recruits and expect to compete on a somewhat regular basis in our division. we will be a lot like Temple if that happens, win a Big ten title and compete once every 40-50 years... NO THANKS. I'd like to be competitive at least once every 3 years and unless Ash can start getting and keeping some players, we are never gonna have a shot against the big boys if we're running out kids who we competed with Monmouth for

 

[rutger80]

dude it was the first time in like 50 years they won... they had a senior lead squad, first game of the year, in Philly basically the stars aligned... Ever heard the saying even a blind squirel finds a nut once in a while?

Here's the thing, anyone who isn't just completely delusional understands that if a recruit has 2 offers, one from Penn State, one from Temple knows that kid is going to Penn State... doesn't matter who the coach is or what happened the year before, they are going to PSU. It needs to be the same here at Rutgers, we CAN'T have non P5 schools flipping our recruits and expect to compete on a somewhat regular basis in our division. we will be a lot like Temple if that happens, win a Big ten title and compete once every 40-50 years... NO THANKS. I'd like to be competitive at least once every 3 years and unless Ash can start getting and keeping some players, we are never gonna have a shot against the big boys if we're running out kids who we competed with Monmouth for

I'm thinking that the players Ash recruits, will not be flipping to Temple or any other G-5 school.

 

[Thisguy410]

I'm thinking that the players Ash recruits, will not be flipping to Temple or any other G-5 school.

That's not the point though, I really don't know so maybe you can help me out but what half way decent P5 team loses recruits at this rate to a mid-major even after a coaching change? I don't know of any before this whole shenanigans.

 

[RUNVA]

My guess is that these kids bonded as a group. Once the QB committed one would expect others team mates to follow. Happened to Us in the last coaching change. Part of the process.

 

[RUSK97]

I've posted this before and I'll do it again -- here are the facts: Ash has lost a lot of recruits and gained only a few. Everything else is conjecture. It maybe that he didn't like the kids who left, they were already gone, or that he simply cannot close. Some posters are willing to accept the losses as inevitable and give Ash a pass. Others are concerned about the losses and the possibility that Ash may not be able to close, but remain supportive of Ash. I think both of these positions are reasonable. There is a third group, who are decidedly anti-Ash. This is a very small group; not everyone who questions whether Ash can close is anti-Ash. But, I think it's unreasonable to decide already that Ash cannot get it done.

As for me, I fall into category number 2. There has been no bump since Ash came in, which is disappointing. Kids are not running to play for him. It doesn't mean that he cannot get it done or that I don't support him. But, I am a little concerned. Let's see what happens this year on the field and next off season.

This sums up the fanbase perfectly IMHO. When anyone voices any concern about Ash, they're labeled a 'Floodie'. The reality is I think the overwhelming majority of the fanbase immensely wants Ash to succeed. But these early signs are very unsettling. I too am in category number 2 and am not thrilled with, but okay with Ash losing Flood recruits this year (though Idrizi was not a Flood recruit). I'm much more concerned that new recruits don't seem to be flocking in. Fine, I'll given this class a pass as a throwaway. But if Ash continues to lose recruits to Temple this time next year, there will be absolutely no excuse.

 

[KJ_RU]

Care to elaborate? if you're gonna knock my thought at least offer an alternative option. If we were losing kids to other P5 schools, I get it, coaching change, I get it. But multiple recruits to temple? come'on how in the world do you expect to compete against Ohio State, Mich, Mich St and Penn State if we can't even beat out temple...

No coach walks into a kids home and says we have an on campus stadium, and we play in a great conference against good programs, then walks out saying, "see you on signing day." The program was toxic and is probably still viewed that way alot of people are probably taking a wait and see approach. Hell, even Ash himself said the most important thing for he and his staff to do is be consistent with the message for the long term.

Some of you think that the day Flood was fired everything became rainbows and gummy bears at Rutgers. The fact is, alot of kids that liked and/or committed to Flood wouldn't play for Ash in a million years and Ash probably wouldn't have recruited them in a million years but he said he would honor the commits and make an effort to keep them aboard, whether the players chooses to decommit or not is up to them but Ash kept his word.

Lastly, Rutgers has never competed with Michigan, tOSU, Penn State, MSU, or any other elite program on the field or in recruiting. It doesn't happen because fans on a message board say, OK were in the B1G and we play good schools let's go beat tOSU and Michigan for recruits. That hasn't happened in our history and it certainly isn't going to happen in two months. Fortunately, coach Ash is smart enough to realize this fact and has decided to build the program the right way. It seems that some of you think that RU is this highly regarded program that players are dreaming to go to, well that's never been the reality. Ash said it best, on the OUTSIDE the perception of our program is very bad, hence the need for a culture change. The fact that we are even in recruiting battles with Temple and BC should tell you alot about where this program stands. Some think more highly of Temple than Rutgers right now, yet you think we should be recruiting on a tOSU and Michigan level, really? We're not this big, bad B1G program that can get any recruit we want. We've never been that, that reality only exists on boards like this. We can become that type of program but it requires people like Hobbs, Ash, his staff, etc. putting in the work that has never been put in before, more importantly some of us have to accept the fact that it's not happening over night.

 

[KJ_RU]

So for the first bolded, he clearly saw Wright as someone that would be part of the solid foundation, no? Because if he didn't, Wright wouldn't have been on campus contemplating things and Ash would've told him to find another place if he didn't fit in.

For the second bolded point, you must've been visiting a different board because there was A LOT of criticism here. Also from the media, people I talked to in person, etc. There still is! There was constant criticism of Flood before this season even after the 8-5 season especially with recruiting. I'm not sure where you got this idea from.

For the first bolded point, Ash said from day one that he would honor the commits and try to keep them committed, (that would involve Ash visiting them and having them visit campus), but it was obvious that alot of Flood's commits weren't going to stick around, in fact it was obvious before Flood even got fired.

For the second bolded point, the operative words I used was 'some people'. I know there was heavy criticism of Flood, I was one of the people expressing it and hearing it daily. The point was that 'some people' blamed the players for breaking the rules and the law....they said stuff like Flood can't be with them 24 hours a day, he is a coach not a babysitter, he can't control what they do outside of football, etc...the same folks gave credit to Flood for recruiting these guys and giving them repeated chances, yet they bash Coach Ash for not recruiting a top 20 class in two months time.

 

[Thisguy410]

No coach walks into a kids home and says we have an on campus stadium, and we play in a great conference against good programs, then walks out saying, "see you on signing day." The program was toxic and is probably still viewed that way alot of people are probably taking a wait and see approach. Hell, even Ash himself said the most important thing for he and his staff to do is be consistent with the message for the long term.

Some of you think that the day Flood was fired everything became rainbows and gummy bears at Rutgers. The fact is, alot of kids that liked and/or committed to Flood wouldn't play for Ash in a million years and Ash probably wouldn't have recruited them in a million years but he said he would honor the commits and make an effort to keep them aboard, whether the players chooses to decommit or not is up to them but Ash kept his word.

Lastly, Rutgers has never competed with Michigan, tOSU, Penn State, MSU, or any other elite program on the field or in recruiting. It doesn't happen because fans on a message board say, OK were in the B1G and we play good schools let's go beat tOSU and Michigan for recruits. That hasn't happened in our history and it certainly isn't going to happen in two months. Fortunately, coach Ash is smart enough to realize this fact and has decided to build the program the right way. It seems that some of you think that RU is this highly regarded program that players are dreaming to go to, well that's never been the reality. Ash said it best, on the OUTSIDE the perception of our program is very bad, hence the need for a culture change. The fact that we are even in recruiting battles with Temple and BC should tell you alot about where this program stands. Some think more highly of Temple than Rutgers right now, yet you think we should be recruiting on a tOSU and Michigan level, really? We're not this big, bad B1G program that can get any recruit we want. We've never been that, that reality only exists on boards like this. We can become that type of program but it requires people like Hobbs, Ash, his staff, etc. putting in the work that has never been put in before, more importantly some of us have to accept the fact that it's not happening over night.

OK, so for the future, I assume you are all in on Ash and next year at signing day when we have a recruiting class ranked about 50th, ur still going to be on here saying "Ash has a plan"?

 

[AreYouNUTS]

OK, so for the future, I assume you are all in on Ash and next year at signing day when we have a recruiting class ranked about 50th, ur still going to be on here saying "Ash has a plan"?

More like "next year, at signing day, when we have a recruiting class ranked about 35th, are you still going to think he isn't the answer"??

 

[MADHAT1]

When there's a coaching change there's decommits. I get that but when they happen this close to NSD, i have to blame coach Ash. Wasn't Wright on campus this weekend? Gotta close on these guys

Might not like what he heard in an honest assessment of how his talent would fit if everything went according to the way Ash sees the team in a couple of years.

 

[mildone]

No coach walks into a kids home and says we have an on campus stadium, and we play in a great conference against good programs, then walks out saying, "see you on signing day." The program was toxic and is probably still viewed that way alot of people are probably taking a wait and see approach. Hell, even Ash himself said the most important thing for he and his staff to do is be consistent with the message for the long term.

Some of you think that the day Flood was fired everything became rainbows and gummy bears at Rutgers. The fact is, alot of kids that liked and/or committed to Flood wouldn't play for Ash in a million years and Ash probably wouldn't have recruited them in a million years but he said he would honor the commits and make an effort to keep them aboard, whether the players chooses to decommit or not is up to them but Ash kept his word.

Lastly, Rutgers has never competed with Michigan, tOSU, Penn State, MSU, or any other elite program on the field or in recruiting. It doesn't happen because fans on a message board say, OK were in the B1G and we play good schools let's go beat tOSU and Michigan for recruits. That hasn't happened in our history and it certainly isn't going to happen in two months. Fortunately, coach Ash is smart enough to realize this fact and has decided to build the program the right way. It seems that some of you think that RU is this highly regarded program that players are dreaming to go to, well that's never been the reality. Ash said it best, on the OUTSIDE the perception of our program is very bad, hence the need for a culture change. The fact that we are even in recruiting battles with Temple and BC should tell you alot about where this program stands. Some think more highly of Temple than Rutgers right now, yet you think we should be recruiting on a tOSU and Michigan level, really? We're not this big, bad B1G program that can get any recruit we want. We've never been that, that reality only exists on boards like this. We can become that type of program but it requires people like Hobbs, Ash, his staff, etc. putting in the work that has never been put in before, more importantly some of us have to accept the fact that it's not happening over night.

That was an excellent post. I had been playing catch up on this thread, and was gearing up to write pretty much this exact thing.

People need to take a reality pill. It's not Ash's fault recruiting is problematic right now for RUFB. Hell, it's not even Flood's fault, although he sure as shit didn't help things. We have (and have had for a long time) a perception problem and we need to win and win consistently to get past it. There aren't too many places, at the moment, outside of RU fan's minds, where the perception is that RU is so significantly better than a Temple or BC that we should be crushing them in recruiting. We will get there. But this is our reality at the moment.

From what little I can tell, it seems like Ash is doing the right things to put us on the path back to where Schiano got us and hopefully beyond. But it's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen in just one year for those who think 2017 will be magically different either. Better, yes. A finished body of work? Give me a break.

I understand and empathize with the impatience people feel. If we want to shortcut the process, we need to spend at least $10MM on a coaching staff. Probably more. And even if we brought in a Harbaugh-type coach, it still wouldn't be nearly as easy to recruit as it is in a program like Michigan or OSU. And that just doesn't seem likely to happen until at least 2021 or whenever we get a full share - and maybe not even then.

I'm optimistic. I think Ash and crew will do at least as well as Schiano, probably better. Time will tell if they can get us over the much, much larger hump presented by life in the Big Ten East. Schiano never managed it in the substantially easier Big East.

People can be unrealistically impatient all they want. Things are simply going to take some time. I'm going to patient as long as I see continued progress. Seems to me like a saner, more happy way to approach all this. But each to their own.

 

[KJ_RU]

OK, so for the future, I assume you are all in on Ash and next year at signing day when we have a recruiting class ranked about 50th, ur still going to be on here saying "Ash has a plan"?

You assume correctly, I'm all in with coach Ash and I'll be here next signing day supporting him and the program. The question is, if he pulls in a top 30 or 40 class will you be here reminding us how wrong you were.

With that said, if 3-4 years from now we're still having this conversation then I might have a different outlook...but to crucify the guy after two months on the job, two weeks on the road and with the mess he inherited is IMO unfair and unrealistic.

 

[KJ_RU]

EDIT: THIS RESPONSE WAS MEANT FOR LOYAL-SON, WHO SUGGESTED THAT I WAS SOMEHOW TAKING A SHOT AT CURRENT PLAYERS BECAUSE I SAID THAT ASH WAS RECRUITING A DIFFERENT KIND OF PLAYER. FOR SOME REASON I CAN'T DIRECTLY RESPOND TO YOUR POST.

I didn't see this post until just now, I think you may be taking my post out of context. I, in no way tried to disparage any of our current players. I respect the fact that you've taken it upon yourself to defend the current players against the ridicule that a few caused. You got it wrong here though, save it for the other folks that do that. To say that Ash is recruiting a different type of player is a true statement and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

To say Ash won't recruit lazy players, doesn't mean our current players are lazy. To say Ash won't recruit thugs doesn't mean our current players are thugs. To say Ash won't recruit a player with academic issues, doesn't mean current players are marginal students. What's true is that Fludd would take shortcuts and recruit a player that may be strong in some areas but is lacking in others. Ash won't do that, because as i said, he is recruiting a different type of player. That, in no way, is taking a shot at our current players.

 

[G- RUnit]

I hope so. Still my barometer. Randy Edsal not looking so bad either.

With recruiting of Bailey you may want to be more diplomatic and courteous to other die hard fans before labeling a post a fail. How do you like them apples?

 

[lilphilw]

For the first bolded point, Ash said from day one that he would honor the commits and try to keep them committed, (that would involve Ash visiting them and having them visit campus), but it was obvious that alot of Flood's commits weren't going to stick around, in fact it was obvious before Flood even got fired.

For the second bolded point, the operative words I used was 'some people'. I know there was heavy criticism of Flood, I was one of the people expressing it and hearing it daily. The point was that 'some people' blamed the players for breaking the rules and the law....they said stuff like Flood can't be with them 24 hours a day, he is a coach not a babysitter, he can't control what they do outside of football, etc...the same folks gave credit to Flood for recruiting these guys and giving them repeated chances, yet they bash Coach Ash for not recruiting a top 20 class in two months time.

You're right there were a few that looked like they were on their way out like Reynolds and Morgan. Ad then russo didn't fit but losing Rene hurt. Especially since Ash is a defensive focused coach and seemed like a perfect fit. But like I said before, I wasn't worried about these guys. When a coach changes, its expected. Its when you have a player committed this long (Wright) and flips last second RIGHT after an OV visit that has me worried. Seems like he just failed to close.

And again you're talking about a small minority. Whether its not blaming Flood enough or people expecting a top 30 class, there's only a handful of them. I think most people were reasonable hoping there would be some momentum going into NSD and for next year. Instead its looking more and more like he's trying to fill the class with diamonds in the rough. That I don't like and have no problem criticizing Ash for. He said that's what he wouldn't do in his opening interviews.

Might not like what he heard in an honest assessment of how his talent would fit if everything went according to the way Ash sees the team in a couple of years.

You're right. We don't know what Ash said to him about how Wright would be utilized. Wright committed to a pro style offense and now Ash had to sell him how he'd fit in the spread. But they had a home visit before I'm sure explaining how he fits. And if the spread and his utilization was a problem right off the bat, I don't know if he still would've taken the visit.

BTW what kind of offense does Temple run? Is it a spread or does it only seem that way because of their QB's (Walker?) mobility?