TSN: JMU has the best class

[FanofFCS]

http://tinyurl.com/7yn6muj

[AppAlum2003]

WAY too many threads dedicated to JMU around here... c'mon guys. This is getting out of hand.

[eaglewraith]

So what's the breakdown of their 2 and 3 stars? We had enough 3 stars to fill up almost half their class.

[HailSzczur]

Here's where Nova stands at the moment:

Signed NLI:
Austin Calitro (ILB, Danbury – 3 stars)
Tanoh Kpassagnon (DE, Wissahickon HS)
Don Cherry (LB, Trumbull, CT)
Cameron McCurry (LBDB, Fleming Island, FL – 2 stars)
Nico D’Angelo (OL, Holy Spirit – 2 stars)
T.J. White (LB, West Chester Henderson, PA – 2 stars)
Jonathan Green (OL, North Schuylkill – 2 stars)
Jake Prus (OL, Woodstown HS)
Bradley Seaton (OT, Brunswick, CT)
Javon White (RB, Souderton HS)
Shayne Jones (CB, Imaculata High School, NJ – 2 stars)
Aaron Wells (RB, River Hill HS – 2 stars)
Corey Majors (LB, Worcester – 3 stars)
C.J. Logan (QBDB, Northfield Mount Hermon, MA)
Michael Burke IV (WR, Columbia HS– 3 stars)
Patrick McGown (DL, Sierra Canyon School, CA)
Gary Underwood (RB, Winton Woods, OH)

Already Enrolled for Spring Semester:
Marc Mauro (DB, Bayville, NY)

On the Radar (Still Considering Options):
Kevin Gulyas (WR, Central Catholic, PA) – 2x All-Pennsylvania 3A selection.
Kris Cooper (DL, Serra HS, CA)
Brian Bostrom (K/P, The King’s Academy-Sunnyvale, CA)

[Silenoz]

PSU always has a class like that. Clearly translates into real world results

[chattownmocs]

lol at star rankings. People obviously dont get how it works. Being a 2 star or lower level 3 star prospect is not a positive. It means you have been evaluated and the scouts don't think you are good enough to play major college football. That's all it means. It doesn't mean you are necessarily better than a no star guy. He may not have ever gotten a look by recruiting services for alot of different reasons.

[Silenoz]

lol at star rankings. People obviously dont get how it works. Being a 2 star or lower level 3 star prospect is not a positive. It means you have been evaluated and the scouts don't think you are good enough to play major college football. That's all it means. It doesn't mean you are necessarily better than a no star guy. He may not have ever gotten a look by recruiting services for alot of different reasons.

Wow, probably the closest you've ever been to saying something I agree with

[GlassOnion]

Oh my, no mention of GSU...

Cue the indignation.

[Apphole]

Stars don't necessarily mean anything, but I would much rather have them than not have them.

[Twentysix]

lol at star rankings. People obviously dont get how it works. Being a 2 star or lower level 3 star prospect is not a positive. It means you have been evaluated and the scouts don't think you are good enough to play major college football. That's all it means. It doesn't mean you are necessarily better than a no star guy. He may not have ever gotten a look by recruiting services for alot of different reasons.

Not to mention the star raitings vary from site to site.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Wait... JMU has class?

[Twentysix]

Wait... JMU has class?

Yeah, sometimes they forget to go cause they are to baked. ;)

[HappyAppy]

Obviously the star rankings are not the end all, be all. Tons of 3-5 star guys end up sucking in college, and tons of no star guys become All-Americans. Still, I'd rather have the stars over not having them. If you look at the top 10 classes on Rivals, over 40% of the players are three star guys. There are a bunch FBS programs that brought in less three star guys then schools like GSU/JMU/App. Some brought in none.

No matter how you twist it, anytime you can bring in two and three star guys at the FCS level, it's nice. Does not gurantee success, but I like the chances of a three star guy a lot better than a no star guy.

[Eaglesrus]

Oh my, no mention of GSU...

Cue the indignation.

Personally I think its pretty humorous that this guy believes that he knows enough about all the players in every FCS signing class to be able to rank them, so no indignation here.

[Accelerati Incredibilus]

Western Carolina supposedly had some of the top classes in the nation when Wagner first arrived and all it got them was a 6-29 record the past three years.

[Baldy]

Haha...Haley caught not doing his research, again. xeyebrowx

[GlassOnion]

Personally I think its pretty humorous that this guy believes that he knows enough about all the players in every FCS signing class to be able to rank them, so no indignation here.

I thought some might be in order, 3 teams mentioned, and GSU not among them...

[Apphole]

GaSo was mentioned.

"Sorry Georgia Southern Fans...."

[asumike83]

ASU has had a ton of zero star guys have great careers and a ton of 3-star guys who never see the field. Scouting is one of the most inexact processes out there, but pulling a 2 or 3-star guy with FBS offers is still a goal for FCS programs. Sleepers are great and often end up being what puts an FCS team over the top but you cannot plan to fill an entire roster with them.

In looking at a very early, rough projection of who our 22 offensive and defensive starters might be next season, about 8-10 will be guys who were 2-3 star recruits coming in with about the same percentage as back-ups on the 2 deep, depending on who wins out a few spots. I have no similar information about other programs but I'd think that is a pretty common mix at this level.

[Baldy]

GaSo was mentioned.

"Sorry Georgia Southern Fans...."
Yeah I know, kids we didn't even recruit. xlolx

Again, nice job, Haley. xbowx

[Baldy]

ASU has had a ton of zero star guys have great career and a ton of 3-star guys who never see the field. Scouting is one of the most inexact processes out there, but pulling a 2 or 3-star guy with FBS offers is still a goal for FCS programs. Sleepers are great and often end up being what puts an FCS team over the top but you cannot plan to fill an entire roster with them.

Exactly, stars are nice, but more impressive is the number of offers a kid gets. That is a better way to judge how good a player he could be. Multiple schools willing to take a chance of a kid who they all think is worthy of a scholarship. That's more of an exact science than some hearsay from a so-called recruiting "guru".

For example, one of the kids we signed had 8 or 9 offers from FBS schools, and I'll take the opinion of 3 Big-10 schools and a PAC-12 school over some keyboard jockey any and every day of the week.

[asknoquarter21]

Just to add, I think a lot of times players are given a 2 or 3 star rating based on potential. They could be a four star player if they were a little bigger or stronger, but now are a 3 star.

My worry with a lot of 3 star players at the FCS level is that they come in expecting to be the best player from day 1. This isn't the case and often times they end up transferring or being upset they aren't guaranteed a starting spot.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

xconfusedx
Stars don't necessarily mean anything, but I would much rather have them than not have them.

Makes sense.


xconfusedx

The star rating is some of the dumbest made up **** ever but if it makes you happy then good enough for me.xthumbsupx

[Apphole]

We all know that the recruiting star system is 100% intended for fans to crow on AGS. That is WAY more important than them actually becoming assets to a team.

But seriously, there are only so many ways to gauge a recruiting class. Size, demand(multiple offers) and stars are about it. It's all a competition.

[GSU EAGLES]

GaSo was mentioned.

"Sorry Georgia Southern Fans...."

Ga Southern had 5 three stars and App had 3 per ESPN. Nothing to be sorry about. Thanks for caring though.

[Apphole]

Ga Southern had 5 three stars and App had 3 per ESPN. Nothing to be sorry about. Thanks for caring though.

Not even trolling. I've said before, I feel that GaSo has the best FCS class this year by far. Don't crow about stars though. The Latin bear will attack you.

[frozennorth]

lets evaluate classes by how well they fill your future needs with players who will be able to fill them?

[FargoBison]

Best class in the FCS...no offense to JMU because I'm sure they have a tremendous class but for Haley to say that is a complete joke.

For one Rivals, Scout and ESPN doesn't even exist in ND when it comes to recruiting, these services just don't care about this area unless the recruit blows up and garners BCS offers. The MVP of the National Championship game Travis Beck, didn't even have a Rivals, Scout or ESPN page let alone a star rating.

I could say that same thing for some of our best players over the past decade.

Even if Rivals/Scout/ESPN covered everyone equally how do you compare an OL from Baltimore, Maryland with an OL from Beach, ND? It's impossible.

[heath]

Exactly, stars are nice, but more impressive is the number of offers a kid gets. That is a better way to judge how good a player he could be. Multiple schools willing to take a chance of a kid who they all think is worthy of a scholarship. That's more of an exact science than some hearsay from a so-called recruiting "guru".

For example, one of the kids we signed had 8 or 9 offers from FBS schools, and I'll take the opinion of 3 Big-10 schools and a PAC-12 school over some keyboard jockey any and every day of the week.

why in the heck would a kid with that many better offers go to Georgia So. unless the standards are much lower at GSU to get in......... or he just doesn't have the confidence to play with the big boys. gotta make you wonder.

[whitey]

I really hate coming to the defense of TSN here but they did say "arguably the best class". Not definitively the best class. Anyway, we're obviously pretty excited about some of these incoming players but we all know recruiting is crapshoot. It'll be 2-3 years before we know how any of this shakes out.

[ChadWC]

He wanted to play QB. Not DB or WR. We signed another who turned down Cinci and Miss St. because he wanted to be close to home.


why in the heck would a kid with that many better offers go to Georgia So. unless the standards are much lower at GSU to get in......... or he just doesn't have the confidence to play with the big boys. gotta make you wonder.

[Eaglesrus]

He wanted to play QB. Not DB or WR. We signed another who turned down Cinci and Miss St. because he wanted to be close to home.

Yeah, wanted to play close to home but also wanted to play in a better program than Savannah State's :D

[Baldy]

why in the heck would a kid with that many better offers go to Georgia So. unless the standards are much lower at GSU to get in......... or he just doesn't have the confidence to play with the big boys. gotta make you wonder.

Who said those were better offers?

Maybe the kid wants to win, and he is going to win a ton more games at Georgia Southern than he would at Indiana, Iowa State, Illinois, Washington State, Memphis, and every other FBS school that offered him a scholarship.

[UNH Fanboi]

O/U on the # of players mentioned in this article that will be arrested and/or sanctioned by the NCAA?

[ursus arctos horribilis]

O/U on the # of players mentioned in this article that will be arrested and/or sanctioned by the NCAA?

I'm gonna guess similar to the particular schools general student population.

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

Some states are lucky to have a healthy amount of in-state talent. With Virginia being a decent size state but only two FBS programs (VT and UVA), add in the talent-rich (albeit often slow reading) 757 area, and you have a recipe for VA schools to do very well recruiting at the FCS level. Texas, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida are all great states for football recruits but also compete with more FBS programs. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, outside of Penn St., many lower division schools spread the wealth.

In another way, schools like Montana and NDSU have first dibs at the best athletes who have an interest in staying in-state. As mentioned by other posters form the Big Sky, it's comparing apples to oranges.

What this means to JMU has less to do with the national scene (although I would like to think the results will prove themselves over the next few years), but more on the VA scene. Liberty, ODU, UR, W&M we all compete against each other in recruiting, in the classroom, and on the field. Liberty is fighting to make Falwell's dream of a Baptist Notre Dame come true. ODU has the perfect recipe in the Tidewater to make for a program that can become FBS soon. JMU has obviously invested in the facilities to prepare for another level of competition. UR and W&M have their advantages as well, though they are now falling behind the others slightly.

There are more 757 players in the class than most in recent JMU history - much of the lack of 757 players had been to poor grades or they went to VT. This was something we can take heart in as many ODU fans (not all) thought they would suck up the talent JMU once had in this region, from which W&M also gets a few nuggets. Instead, we continue to bring in top quality student athletes. Yes, a few will fail out or do something stupid, but the majority will keep our team at or near the top the CAA for the next few years, and that's where we want to be to have home field advantage to the NC game.

No guarantees in life, but today if you are a JMU fan, you are feeling good about next year and the near future. ODU-JMU is going to become THE rivalry game in the CAA I think. I love that it is our final home game next year!

However true or overstated TSN's article may be, it is nice to have national recognition for our coaches' hard work off the field.

[Wildcat80]

Obviously the star rankings are not the end all, be all. Tons of 3-5 star guys end up sucking in college, and tons of no star guys become All-Americans. Still, I'd rather have the stars over not having them. If you look at the top 10 classes on Rivals, over 40% of the players are three star guys. There are a bunch FBS programs that brought in less three star guys then schools like GSU/JMU/App. Some brought in none.

No matter how you twist it, anytime you can bring in two and three star guys at the FCS level, it's nice. Does not gurantee success, but I like the chances of a three star guy a lot better than a no star guy.

Except all need to understand that not all players get evaluated. The very best players get enough publicity that scout & rivals thoroughly evaluate them. Many no star players never even sent highlight dvds in to be evaluated. No dvd--no evaluation. Even for those that do send it in that means one parttime, unpaid football geek at those services is the one making an evaluation after maybe watching 20 seconds of the dvd. Many of these two-stars actually get added after reports of actual scholarships getting offered--reports from the players themselves--some real, some not. For many FCS level players this is a very inexact science. If an FCS scholarship is offered at a top FCS school be assured the coaches there did thoroughly evaluate game dvds. The ultimate test is how many of these kids are not done developing & succeeding. See you in the playoffs to find out. Go New Hampshire!!!!!

[Dane96]

lol at star rankings. People obviously dont get how it works. Being a 2 star or lower level 3 star prospect is not a positive. It means you have been evaluated and the scouts don't think you are good enough to play major college football. That's all it means. It doesn't mean you are necessarily better than a no star guy. He may not have ever gotten a look by recruiting services for alot of different reasons.

Actually...wrong. Half the time these "scouts" are not even scouts...they are employees of a scouting service who see some film here and there. It is based on reputation.

Furthermore, if a 4 star recruit somehow signs at a "lesser" deemed school...they drop them in a star ranking. For example, in basketball...a 4 star recruit that was garnering heavy interest and offers from high-majors...but then ends up going to a solid mid-major, e.g. ODU, Siena, Davidson, etc...gets dropped to a 2-3 star.

Happens all the time.

[eaglewraith]

why in the heck would a kid with that many better offers go to Georgia So. unless the standards are much lower at GSU to get in......... or he just doesn't have the confidence to play with the big boys. gotta make you wonder.

Our admission standards are higher than FBS schools in a lot of cases, most specifically UGA.

Also, we offer kids a chance to play at the position they want to play, not the one the bigger schools want to. No guarantee they'll play that position for us, but they'll at least get the chance. They prove they're better, they get the spot.

[eaglewraith]

I really hate coming to the defense of TSN here but they did say "arguably the best class". Not definitively the best class. Anyway, we're obviously pretty excited about some of these incoming players but we all know recruiting is crapshoot. It'll be 2-3 years before we know how any of this shakes out.

When I see a breakdown of the star ratings for the players (not wanting to debate how legitimate star ratings are in terms of talent evaluation, but since that's the criteria for the article then that's the metric we'll use) I'm not seeing validity to his claim.

[Apphole]

When I see a breakdown of the star ratings for the players (not wanting to debate how legitimate star ratings are in terms of talent evaluation, but since that's the criteria for the article then that's the metric we'll use) I'm not seeing validity to his claim.

The best thing to do is to do what UNCC did, add stars on your website only after you've signed the players. Now THOSE are the most meaningless stars of all: The ones added by a fanbase desperate to be taken seriously.

[proasu89]

[QUOTE=ursus arctos horribilis;1767860]xconfusedx

Makes sense.


xconfusedx







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh1qWZWNGGE



Just ask the Sneetches how they felt about "Stars".

[eaglewraith]

The best thing to do is to do what UNCC did, add stars on your website only after you've signed the players. Now THOSE are the most meaningless stars of all: The ones added by a fanbase desperate to be taken seriously.

That's not far off from what Rivals does for FBS schools. Anyone that signs with an FBS school automatically gets 2 stars if they weren't ranked before.

Kind of a scam.

[chattownmocs]

Actually...wrong. Half the time these "scouts" are not even scouts...they are employees of a scouting service who see some film here and there. It is based on reputation.

Furthermore, if a 4 star recruit somehow signs at a "lesser" deemed school...they drop them in a star ranking. For example, in basketball...a 4 star recruit that was garnering heavy interest and offers from high-majors...but then ends up going to a solid mid-major, e.g. ODU, Siena, Davidson, etc...gets dropped to a 2-3 star.

Happens all the time.

nvm

[Mr. C]

Ultimately, sites such as Rivals are about one thing and one thing only, making money. There are thousands of high schools around the country and plenty of players that slip through the cracks. One of the great things about FCS in particular is how many guys get very little recruiting from high school, but make major impacts when they go through four years, or five years of college. There are walk-ons like Matt Stevens of Appalachian State, or Colt Anderson of Montana, who end up as significant college and NFL players. And there are guys like Armanti Edwards, Brian Westbrook, or Matt Szczur, who for whatever reason drop into the laps of FCS teams. How many stars did Brian Quick, or Jason Hunter have after playing ONE year of high school football before moving on to college. Quick is now possibly going to rise to the first round of the NFL (and will fall to the early second round at the least), while Hunter won a national championship with one of the plays we will always remember from a championship game (the 2005 fumble recovery and game-winning TD run) before becoming a solid NFL performer. Those are just two of tons of examples.

It is beyond clueless to write an article on signing day, saying someone among the 125 schools in FCS has the best class.

How many times has some publication afforded Chattanooga that honor over the past decade?

[DJnva]

Taylor Heinicke wasn't even given a rating by Rivals or Scout and ESPN gave him a 45.

Now, maybe he was never scouted and that's fine. Tough to see EVERYONE, but if you don't scout everyone, then the ratings that you do assign don't have much value.

[frozennorth]

Some states are lucky to have a healthy amount of in-state talent. With Virginia being a decent size state but only two FBS programs (VT and UVA), add in the talent-rich (albeit often slow reading) 757 area, and you have a recipe for VA schools to do very well recruiting at the FCS level. Texas, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida are all great states for football recruits but also compete with more FBS programs. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, outside of Penn St., many lower division schools spread the wealth.

In another way, schools like Montana and NDSU have first dibs at the best athletes who have an interest in staying in-state. As mentioned by other posters form the Big Sky, it's comparing apples to oranges.


kansas, nebraska, minnesota and wisconsin have no fcs programs. oklahoma might not either, and arizona only has one. NDSU, SDSU (usd and und only get sloppy seconds )and UNI more or less have the sub fbs talent in these states to themselves. This of course leaves me perplexed as to the lack of championships at UNI. Before the dakotas made the jump, they had even more of an advantage.

California has 7 fbs schools, and only 3 (?) scholarship fcs

[heath]

Our admission standards are higher than FBS schools in a lot of cases, most specifically UGA.

Also, we offer kids a chance to play at the position they want to play, not the one the bigger schools want to. No guarantee they'll play that position for us, but they'll at least get the chance. They prove they're better, they get the spot.

I guess it makes sense,....some kids would rather play than be scout team for a Big 10 team.As long as they get an education it's all good.

[eaglewraith]

I guess it makes sense,....some kids would rather play than be scout team for a Big 10 team.As long as they get an education it's all good.

Very true.

(And beat App/Furman :) )

[dystopiamembrane]

PSU always has a class like that. Clearly translates into real world results
Portland State hasn't had a class like this since the Tim Walsh era.

[Mr. C]

Taylor Heinicke wasn't even given a rating by Rivals or Scout and ESPN gave him a 45.

Now, maybe he was never scouted and that's fine. Tough to see EVERYONE, but if you don't scout everyone, then the ratings that you do assign don't have much value.
My point exactly. When you don't know squat, you steal silly numbers from someone else's site and trey to pretend you that you have a clue about recruiting.

[Tribe4SF]

Ultimately, sites such as Rivals are about one thing and one thing only, making money. There are thousands of high schools around the country and plenty of players that slip through the cracks. One of the great things about FCS in particular is how many guys get very little recruiting from high school, but make major impacts when they go through four years, or five years of college. There are walk-ons like Matt Stevens of Appalachian State, or Colt Anderson of Montana, who end up as significant college and NFL players. And there are guys like Armanti Edwards, Brian Westbrook, or Matt Szczur, who for whatever reason drop into the laps of FCS teams. How many stars did Brian Quick, or Jason Hunter have after playing ONE year of high school football before moving on to college. Quick is now possibly going to rise to the first round of the NFL (and will fall to the early second round at the least), while Hunter won a national championship with one of the plays we will always remember from a championship game (the 2005 fumble recovery and game-winning TD run) before becoming a solid NFL performer. Those are just two of tons of examples.

It is beyond clueless to write an article on signing day, saying someone among the 125 schools in FCS has the best class.

How many times has some publication afforded Chattanooga that honor over the past decade?

Full agreement. W&M has had three guys drafted recently,and another who was free agent and started for the Colts this year, and none had any stars from a rating service coming out of high school. This years star Jonathan Grimes also had no stars.

The guys who started evaluation of FCS classes last year were doing it the only way you can at this level...by watching video of every recruit, but the job was too big to finish.

[henfan]

Any guess on how many of those kids will ever see the field? Recruiting analysis/rating is one of the more pointless pursuits in college football.

[jmu_duke07]

Any guess on how many of those kids will ever see the field? Recruiting analysis/rating is one of the more pointless pursuits in college football.

I'm not a fan of ranking recruiting classes... If it did mean anything, Clemson would have won many National Championships this decade. Obviously, that never happened. Recruiting accounts for 5% of the game. It's coaching and luck that matter.

[ChadWC]

Recruiting accounting for 5% of the game is so wrong its not even funny. Recruiting is somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of it. You can only coach guys so much before you need to actually have players. Players make average coaches look great. Great coaches with great players win championships.


I'm not a fan of ranking recruiting classes... If it did mean anything, Clemson would have won many National Championships this decade. Obviously, that never happened. Recruiting accounts for 5% of the game. It's coaching and luck that matter.

[BisonHype!]

Make sure you feed them boys a large cache of steroids!

[blueballs]

Recruiting accounting for 5% of the game is so wrong its not even funny. Recruiting is somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of it. You can only coach guys so much before you need to actually have players. Players make average coaches look great. Great coaches with great players win championships.

So true...We all know the old saying, "It ain't about the X's and O's, it is about the Jimmy's and Joe's."

[UD77]

So of the 14 kids in this class THREE are QB's - 21%. There are going to be two disappointed kids in the future if they were brought in to be QB's or were told they were the MAN. I know that Reynolds was concerned about that and he came back to talk to UD after he heard they signed the 6'6" kid.

So lets take an extreme example and just say the entire class was made up of QB's with four stars. Does that make it a great class? I would think what makes the class is whether the kids that are brought in will be able to be on the field and contribute what they were brought in to do AND they fill a gap or precieved future gap. I could be wrong but, I think, with these three kids that makes a minimum of 5 QB on the team, with three in the same class.

[UD77]

Make sure you feed them boys a large cache of steroids!

Funny you mention that - Two ex-JMU guys (2011 team I believe) just got caught with roids in a raid.

http://www.dnronline.com/article/suspect_steroids_found_in_jmu_athletes_apartment

[whitey]

That's clearly why he made that comment. If you're going to post on internet message boards you'll need a better sarcasm detector. xpeacex

[whitey]

So of the 14 kids in this class THREE are QB's - 21%. There are going to be two disappointed kids in the future if they were brought in to be QB's or were told they were the MAN. I know that Reynolds was concerned about that and he came back to talk to UD after he heard they signed the 6'6" kid.

So lets take an extreme example and just say the entire class was made up of QB's with four stars. Does that make it a great class? I would think what makes the class is whether the kids that are brought in will be able to be on the field and contribute what they were brought in to do AND they fill a gap or precieved future gap. I could be wrong but, I think, with these three kids that makes a minimum of 5 QB on the team, with three in the same class.

Mickey Matthews has already said these three guys are going to come in to compete with each other at the QB spot. The one(s) that don't make the cut will be moved to other positions. JMU does this every year when the coaches recruit High School QBs. JMU focuses on high school QBs and frequently move them to other positions. Perfect and recent example being JMU's starting RT, Josh Wells (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/sport/2011/oct/27/tdsport01-jmus-wells-from-quarterback-to-lineman-ar-1413400/).

[Tubby Raymond]

Funny you mention that - Two ex-JMU guys (2011 team I believe) just got caught with roids in a raid.

http://www.dnronline.com/article/suspect_steroids_found_in_jmu_athletes_apartmentMi ckey put the hit out on em?

[JmuSkinsfan]

Ian Fisher will be JMU's QB in the future if I have read things right. He's 6'6 250 ... and a stud. He was a 3-star but a lot of schools were recruiting him to play TE or elsewhere ... but JMU got him to play QB. JMU did a similar thing with Rodney Landers when he was being recruited to play safety at a lot of FBS schools but went to JMU to play QB (he was a 3-star as well).

Taylor Reynolds is a tough one. He may get moved to a skill position ... but I'm sure he will be given a chance to compete.

The third QB (or, the "ginger" as JMU fans are calling him) also has a large frame, and many feel pretty strongly that he'll get moved to the line (he's somewhere around 6'4 240 I believe).

Anyway, JMU landed a 4-star and 3-star transfer for the secondary, and both should play immediately. That certainly helped their cause, but they did get a couple other 3-stars (LB, aformentioned Fisher), and a solid allotment of 2-stars.

Stars certainly are not the end-all-be-all, but it helps in analyzing immediately who had the best year.

[GlassOnion]

Mickey Matthews has already said these three guys are going to come in to compete with each other at the QB spot. The one(s) that don't make the cut will be moved to other positions. JMU does this every year when the coaches recruit High School QBs. JMU focuses on high school QBs and frequently move them to other positions. Perfect and recent example being JMU's starting RT, Josh Wells (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/sport/2011/oct/27/tdsport01-jmus-wells-from-quarterback-to-lineman-ar-1413400/).

In 2009 App State signed 5 HS QBs out of 15 recruits. One is now the starting QB, another starting CB, another starting WR, another starting QB/WR/RB (Cadet.) This isnt anything new.

[whitey]

I don't think I said it was...?

[GlassOnion]

Sorry, not aimed speifically at you. It was kind of an answer to UD 77's quote in your post. As long as the kids are athletes, it doesnt matter which position they come in as. If you have 4 star athletes listed as QBs for your entire class, and your not looking for linemen or TEs, Its likely a very good glass. If you have an entire class of 4 star statue QBs, not so much.

4 HS QBs that are now 4 starters for App. That was a pretty good class.

[Longhorn]

4 HS QBs that are now 4 starters for App. That was a pretty good class.

High School QBs are often the best athlete on a team, and make for a solid talent when moved to other positions at the college level.

[bluehenbillk]

Ian Fisher will be JMU's QB in the future if I have read things right. He's 6'6 250 ... and a stud. He was a 3-star but a lot of schools were recruiting him to play TE or elsewhere ... but JMU got him to play QB. JMU did a similar thing with Rodney Landers when he was being recruited to play safety at a lot of FBS schools but went to JMU to play QB (he was a 3-star as well).



Skins- you need to stop hanging around with JMU football players there & put down the pipe. There is a better chance of the Mayans being right that the world will end in 10 months versus a 6'6" 250lb QB starting in JMU's system. Not happening.

[JMUDuke2002]

Skins- you need to stop hanging around with JMU football players there & put down the pipe. There is a better chance of the Mayans being right that the world will end in 10 months versus a 6'6" 250lb QB starting in JMU's system. Not happening.

Really! Why? Landers was 220, and closer to 230 in the end. Rascati was 230 and 6-2. Granted, Fisher is taller than both. It actually fits with MM's QB preference--big guy who can take a pounding. After dealing with Thorpe's injury problems and his smoking habits, MM is looking for a bigger, more durable guy at QB. He'll be given a chance. I wouldn't be surprised if he does become a TE or lineman, but he'll be given a chance.

[JMUDuke2002]

Granted it is high school, but check him out on youtube. Freaking hilarious! He's taller than his lineman and definitely a man among boys.

[HailSzczur]

So of the 14 kids in this class THREE are QB's - 21%. There are going to be two disappointed kids in the future if they were brought in to be QB's or were told they were the MAN. I know that Reynolds was concerned about that and he came back to talk to UD after he heard they signed the 6'6" kid.

Sounds pretty lopsided on the QB if you ask me. But what else would you expect from JMU xthumbsupx