***MD '16 DB Damon Hayes to Rutgers***

[seels2662]

This is not a question on why we offered a no star kid, the question is how the hell is this kid not rated and being looked at by everyone. Way way too many scouting experts have said good things about him for him to be less than a mid to high 3 star. MVP at Nike camp, did extremely well at The Prime Example/Perfect Showcase camp (which by the way Rivals analysts were there and called him a "sleeper pick"), and then dominated our camp to get the offer.

 

[RUtix4me]

Sorry, I'm not there yet. Flood's overall recruiting has been average.

T2K So which negative poster were you on ther linked article?
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2012/07/barringer_high_de_kemoko_turay.html

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Sounds like a great commit to me!

Congratulations, Damon! I look forward to seeing you playing for Rutgers!

 

[J.L. Gotrocks]

Welcome, Mr. Hayes!

 

[BeantownKnight]

Here are his highlights:

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3021916/highlights/208038376/v2

 

[cRURah]

So he's THE standout performer at our own camp and we shouldn't have offered? Why even bother? This kid impressed everyone. Who cares if Rivals evaluates him? Our coaches did up close and they obviously love his ability.
Welcome to the Scarlet Knights young man!

 

[RUfan121]

What other schools offered or was Flood the only one that saw that Nike Camp performance.

He won defensive back MVP at the latest Nike Opening Camp. That doesnt happen by accident; the kid can play man. We got a good one. People made the same comments about Adams until Harbaugh tried to take him from us. Same with Boggs, until Wisconsin tried to take him from us. I could go on and on. You've gotta start trusting Flood's knack for finding talent early on. Our staff is not easily impressed, they know a player when they see one.

 

[RUb-it-in]

Flood and I love the kid. SO, what else matters?

 

[RUfan121]

There in lies the problem......................

 

[seels2662]

What other schools offered or was Flood the only one that saw that Nike Camp performance.

This is what baffles me. He has done well in 3 camps, and we were the first one to offer. Their loss is our gain.

 

[MachiKnight]

Looks like a great pickup. This is why you have these camps!

 

[biazza38]

Sounds like he shut down some highly recruited WRs at camp. I love how Flood and co are able to say "screw the ratings... This kid is good." There are a couple things to remember when it comes to ratings. The first is that there are only so many guys these sites can rate. And the second is that these guys still have another year of football to play. These players will make significant strides from now until the end of their senior season. And even after their senior season, they have another offseason to improve. The point is, these guys have a lot of time from now until they step foot on campus to get better. Some will take advantage of that time and others won't.

 

[PSU_Nut]

This is not a question on why we offered a no star kid, the question is how the hell is this kid not rated and being looked at by everyone. Way way too many scouting experts have said good things about him for him to be less than a mid to high 3 star. MVP at Nike camp, did extremely well at The Prime Example/Perfect Showcase camp (which by the way Rivals analysts were there and called him a "sleeper pick"), and then dominated our camp to get the offer.

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

 

[seels2662]

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

Nut, I tend to agree that I would like to see what he does this year on the field before I go crazy over this commit, but you know as well as I know that when it comes to his rating, which is what I am talking about here, the scouting sites including Rivals uses the camp performances way too heavily to decide these things. That is the part that baffles me.

 

[RU4Real]

This board really needs to be shut down.

Maybe I'll make that my new hobby.

 

[Caliknight]

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

Shut down corners are doing less of those things and simply playing man v man. Even so, Rivals and other sites heavily weight camp performances as a means of evaluation. This kid will be a high three star.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

it is not like they just became aware of this young man 48 hours ago - It is not like he just showed up on Saturday and dazzled at the Knight Skills Camp & they just got all giddy & delirious over over him. They have been in touch - have been watching - they had a very clear sense of what his strengths might be & no doubt had watched ample amounts of video of his in-game play...
They have been doing their homework:
(1.) as mentioned - Rutgers had been recruiting Hayes since the start of the spring evaluation period. He even visited for The Scarlet-White game in April.
(2.) E.J. Barthel and Darrell Wilson (and no doubt in conjunction with Flood) have had him on their watch list for some time & obviously were familiar with his work
(3.) Damon Hayes opened some eyes during combine season, winning defensive back MVP honors at greater Washington D.C. Nike Opening camp in mid-April
(4.) In late May at the Washington D.C. area "Prime Example and Perfect Performance" Showcase he was recognized - and here's what was said - "Hayes is a big defensive back with great length and pretty good footwork. He made his fair share of plays on Saturday but the most impressive thing about him is his quickness for being that tall and long, and the fact that his instincts are above average. Maryland is the biggest school showing interest in him so far but expect Hayes to go to camps to try to get offers."

- with all of this - watching & communication & interacting - and then the outstanding performance at the Knight Skills Camp - it would seem that they got a pretty good read on the young man - about as good as you will be able to get with any recruit ...
Would seem that Flood & Company are very very positive that Damon Hayes is a very high caliber prospect -

 

[RU1993]

Welcome to the banks

 

[rutgersdave]

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

There maybe some truth to this but I would believe he is from a small school that normally don't generate D1 players. The recruits that are surprises are either from small schools or have played only 1-2 years of high school football. Flood has to take advantage of types of situations now. I believe that Hayes hasn't been evaluated yet or he would have been rated a 2 stars at least.

 

[PSU_Nut]

[\

There maybe some truth to this but I would believe he is from a small school that normally don't generate D1 players. The recruits that are surprises are either from small schools or have played only 1-2 years of high school football. Flood has to take advantage of types of situations now. I believe that Hayes hasn't been evaluated yet or he would have been rated a 2 stars at least.

It not a small school as they play in the largest division in Maryland High Schools. They have produced several D1 players including ones that went to NC State and Penn State in 2014. The size of the school did hurt his teammate who is a verbal to Virginia Tech and had 7 P5 offers.

 

[RealityChech2]

Not that I care about the rankings and what not since we know our coaches can evaluate talent, this kid was an MVP at a Nike Regional Camp that is highly publcized. Why hasn't he been evaluated by Rivals? Clearly he's on the radar (maybe not by this group thread) but there should be more info on him by Rivals. Just saying.

My guess is that many so called 'experts' looked at this HUDL film only. If you look at this HUDL film it is not impressive, it seems that at times he may be playing a safety or if he is playing CB he is 10 yds off the ball. it is also a very short film.

 

[vkj91]

It is June so it's not as though we are taking reaches based on a time line. If the staff wasn't 100 percent sold on him they wouldn't have accepted a commitment.

 

[CranfordKnight]

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

So Guarantano blows everyone away in camps and does nothing on the field and he's a 5 star superstar-in-waiting, and Damon Hayes blows everyone away in camp and has no stars, no offers, and we'll taking a big gamble on him. Got it.

And you wonder why we question recruiting services.

 

[Caliknight]

Rutgers is in on some big time cb's still.

To accept this kids verbal after seeing him up close and personal tells me the kid is a straight baller. I don't need to know anything else,

 

[PSU_Nut]

So Guarantano blows everyone away in camps and does nothing on the field and he's a 5 star superstar-in-waiting, and Damon Hayes blows everyone away in camp and has no stars, no offers, and we'll taking a big gamble on him. Got it.

And you wonder why we question recruiting services.

It is not just the recruiting services. It is the lack of offers. HIs teammate is also a DB and has offers from VT, BC, Clemson, Illinois, UVa, NC State yet this kid has none. The reason is because he not showing the same skills on the field as he is camps. If he was dominating in real games like people say he is in camp he would have more offers then just from Morgan State, ODU and Maine. To say Guarantano is doing nothing on the field is a joke. You don't have an offer list like his with out being able to play the game. It a gamble because since he has no other major offers why not wait until you see him play a few games in the fall.

 

[RealityChech2]

It is not just the recruiting services. It is the lack of offers. HIs teammate is also a DB and has offers from VT, BC, Clemson, Illinois, UVa, NC State yet this kid has none. The reason is because he not showing the same skills on the field as he is camps. If he was dominating in real games like people say he is in camp he would have more offers then just from Morgan State, ODU and Maine. To say Guarantano is doing nothing on the field is a joke. You don't have an offer list like his with out being able to play the game. It a gamble because since he has no other major offers why not wait until you see him play a few games in the fall.

Guarantano had 9 TDs and 9INTs on the field. So he has proven that he can throw INTS. Your theory is baseless. Russo's numbers were so much better ON THE FIELD!

 

[RUblackshirt2006]

Camps vs. on the field. I never played football but I'd think you could have all the talent in the world, but maybe when real hitting is involved I could see a young kid playing under his ability just for mental reasons. I don't know if that's something you overcome, but I'd think it's possible you give that guy a D1 scholarship and suddenly he's got all sorts of new confidence. Maybe that translates to the field. Could be what they are hoping and willing to take that shot early.

 

[biazza38]

JG is talented, but he really hasn't done anything on the field yet. I'm sure he'll have a great senior season, but go check the stats.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Guarantano had 9 TDs and 9INTs on the field. So he has proven that he can throw INTS. Your theory is baseless. Russo's numbers were so much better ON THE FIELD!

Do you think coaches just look at STATS when recruiting? There more that they look then that when recruiting. Perfect example is Dominick Bragalone from PA. He ran for 4,316 yards last season and had 8,730 career rushing yards. He didn't have a single offer. The reason being that he lacked the skills on the field despite great stats. Football is a team sport and many stats reflect the team effort.

 

[jabba2]

Shut down corners are doing less of those things and simply playing man v man. Even so, Rivals and other sites heavily weight camp performances as a means of evaluation. This kid will be a high three star.

Maybe if another BCS school offers him first. If its not a rule a 3 star kid has to have more than one offer...it should be. Pitt fans are asking for MacVittie to get 4th star when he has no other offers besides Pitt.

 

[NYSportsFan]

247 just made this kid a three star after not having him rated at all. So take it with a grain of salt. and for the people on here saying why take the risk on this kid with no solid offers but a lot of interest, so lets say in Sept he blows up the first part of his senior year on the field, gets big offers and RU loses him lets just say. Now what? is it a big loss when you said it wasnt a big gain to begin with? we can't have it both ways. i trust the coaches who are seeing him live and in person vs other WR targets that they are also recruiting.

 

[RUONTHERISE]

welcome to the banks Mr. Hayes!

 

[Knight Shift]

247 just made this kid a three star after not having him rated at all. So take it with a grain of salt. and for the people on here saying why take the risk on this kid with no solid offers but a lot of interest, so lets say in Sept he blows up the first part of his senior year on the field, gets big offers and RU loses him lets just say. Now what? is it a big loss when you said it wasnt a big gain to begin with? we can't have it both ways. i trust the coaches who are seeing him live and in person vs other WR targets that they are also recruiting.

This three star rating is going to so upset some folks here . . . .

 

[KaKaKen]

What do all those have in common? They are not in pads and are non contact drills. There is no tackling involved, they are not making reads. They are not playing multiple coverages. It just one on one competition. However football is played in pads. Teams play zone and man coverage, There is tackling involved. There are reads to make. If his game filmed matched his ability in shorts and t-shirts then yes he would have offers from schools. Rutgers is obviously willing to take a gamble on the kid. Most schools are not. Could they win big? That is possible. As you know for every win there are 10 times as many who don't turn out. Hopefully he will beat the odds.

Watch his highlights on hudl. He tackles like a linebacker

 

[RUtrumpet92]

This feels like the kind of commit we have had in the past where some question taking him on, then his recruiting really takes off, and eventually people consider it a loss if he decommits or a coup if we keep him.

 

[78CollegeAve]

PSU Nut probably said something similar when a barely recruited Jordan Hill committed to RU. No offers, blah, blah, blah. But then PSU offered him, he switched and all was well in the world. What am I thinking, of course PSU will have a blue spin on Hill too.

 

[Bleed_Scarlet]

Looks like his uncle is Mercury Hayes, who was a heck of a WR for Michigan (and played in the pros

Let's hope the genetic link is strong

 

[CranfordKnight]

Yes, like Peter Mokwuah all over again. I hope he sticks with us when his recruiting blows up.

In the meantime, welcome to Rutgers Damon Hayes!

 

[RUMBA-JK]

247 just made this kid a three star after not having him rated at all. So take it with a grain of salt. and for the people on here saying why take the risk on this kid with no solid offers but a lot of interest, so lets say in Sept he blows up the first part of his senior year on the field, gets big offers and RU loses him lets just say. Now what? is it a big loss when you said it wasnt a big gain to begin with? we can't have it both ways. i trust the coaches who are seeing him live and in person vs other WR targets that they are also recruiting.

+++ YES +++ from not having had an evaluation from one of the rating entities - to now having an evaluation ... and it is: " [thumb2] [thumb2] [thumb2] "

http://247sports.com/Player/Damon-Hayes-39193

 

[82RU]

I believe our recruiting philosophy involves identifying talent and getting in early if possible not waiting to see who else offered and for them to establish relationships and then try to come in late for the steal.