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Post by aztecfankrishnan on Jul 15, 2010 18:28:55 GMT -8
I agree. Not only is it silly and not at all helpful to basically rank people on who offered them or showed interest, but my ethical radar goes up on something that charges a subscription to read interviews and musings about minors. How about adults who muse about them endlessly on forums? ;D |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 15, 2010 20:15:11 GMT -8
I have good skimming skills. Unfortunately, there's no mention of Samoans, the lack of which is the real reason for the firings. Any hemoglobin? Always a traditional lack of hemoglobin for sea level teams playing at altitude. It is a factor and it is why the altitude teams always try to schedule sea level teams for OOC play. It is also why schools like Wyoming can beat SEC schools at the beginning of every season but get their arses kicked by the rest of the MWC save a sea level team or two. |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 15, 2010 20:27:57 GMT -8
For the record, I miss-typed in my earlier reply to Joe's thread. I said we all decried the firing of Lugie. Some of us may feel that way, but what I meant to write was that we decried the firing of Claude Gilbert. AzWm I cried both times. I get very emotional about all the crap that has gone down here on the Mesa. I see somebody tried to down play the loss of key games at the end of most seasons that Luginbill coached. At the beginning of the seasons he generally played out of conference games with one OOC game occasionally later in the season. If we were playing Pac Ten schools, it would stand to reason that we should have lost those. It did not stand to reason that we would lose to a Colorado State at the end of a season, unless as was obvious from the stands that you saw the domination of our linemen by the CSU linemen 60 to 65 percent of the plays. If it falls apart at the line, your play ain't gonna work. At the beginning of a season, our linemen could hold their own against USC. At the end of the season, those same linemen could not hold their own against Wyoming, or Colorado State or even Fresno. As regards Luginbill not being able to coach defense. He was a genius when he had talent. Here, his defensive line was thin and that put a lot of pressure on the Defensive backs to try to make up for mistakes. It also made them exhausted at the end of the fourth quarter in every game. YOu can coach what they are supposed to do, but if they are doubled over gasping for air, no amount of coaching can do a damned bit of good. Lugie proved that he was a Maestro of Defense by winning national championships at Pasadena City College and while at ASU he had the number one defense in the nation when he was the defensive coordinator. His defenses ripped opposing offenses apart. Any coach who can come up with the best stats after playing a Pac 10 schedule is one of the greatest defensive coaches of all time. Bar none! |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 15, 2010 20:37:34 GMT -8
I grade recruiting classes by the number of wins and losses they put up on the field. I do not. The greatest recruiting class in Aztec Football history was Tom Craft's first full recruiting class. That class put more players in the Pros than any other class in Aztec Football history. In 2005 they were Redshirt Sophomores playing for Tom. They won some games on emotion and lost some on youthful mistakes while playing that sophomore year for Tom Craft. Tom had to play all of those Sophomores and Freshmen because Ted Tollner left the cupboard bare of talent when he left. Tom simply had to play with underclassmen. Two years later after playing in Long's idiotic system, they graduated to the pros. They did not win for Long even though they had some good wins for Craft. The wins are a product of talent and good coaching. We had the talent, but with Long we had lousy coaching. In the past at SDSU, we were short on talent, but had some talented coaching. Sadly, you have got to have both to win with consistency. |
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Post by monty on Jul 16, 2010 6:21:32 GMT -8
I agree. Not only is it silly and not at all helpful to basically rank people on who offered them or showed interest, but my ethical radar goes up on something that charges a subscription to read interviews and musings about minors. This whole cottage industry (and a few others) have taken the fun out of sports for lots of kids and helped to artificially inflate the egos (and expectations) of the kids who are uber-talented. Thanks to a lot of factors (mostly national attention to child athletes), if a kid isn't able to play on a club team by the time he's ten (maybe younger) than he usually just says screw it and doesn't play at all. Little leaguers on national TV, high school athletes on national TV, Rivals etc., the whole thing has gone too far IMO. It contributes to the entitlement of the athletes that do make it (and a harsh lesson about the world for those that don't) - the result is evident with some of the behaviors that are frankly anti-social and the narcissism evident when a superstar that hasn't won anything speaks of himself in the third person, holds an hour special to tell us where he is going a la a reality dating show, and makes a statement like ~I'm taking my considerable talents to South Beach. Kids should be kids and play sports because they enjoy them not because it might make the stage parents millions. While we're at it, let's CGI kid actors and not turn university into trade school. |
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Post by steveaztec on Jul 16, 2010 7:21:02 GMT -8
I grade recruiting classes by the number of wins and losses they put up on the field. I do not. The greatest recruiting class in Aztec Football history was Tom Craft's first full recruiting class. That class put more players in the Pros than any other class in Aztec Football history. In 2005 they were Redshirt Sophomores playing for Tom. They won some games on emotion and lost some on youthful mistakes while playing that sophomore year for Tom Craft. Tom had to play all of those Sophomores and Freshmen because Ted Tollner left the cupboard bare of talent when he left. Tom simply had to play with underclassmen. Two years later after playing in Long's idiotic system, they graduated to the pros. They did not win for Long even though they had some good wins for Craft. The wins are a product of talent and good coaching. We had the talent, but with Long we had lousy coaching. In the past at SDSU, we were short on talent, but had some talented coaching. Sadly, you have got to have both to win with consistency. Joe, can you remind me who was in that first class for Tom Craft? My memory is not what it used to be.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2010 7:48:16 GMT -8
I agree. Not only is it silly and not at all helpful to basically rank people on who offered them or showed interest, but my ethical radar goes up on something that charges a subscription to read interviews and musings about minors. This whole cottage industry (and a few others) have taken the fun out of sports for lots of kids and helped to artificially inflate the egos (and expectations) of the kids who are uber-talented. Thanks to a lot of factors (mostly national attention to child athletes), if a kid isn't able to play on a club team by the time he's ten (maybe younger) than he usually just says screw it and doesn't play at all. Little leaguers on national TV, high school athletes on national TV, Rivals etc., the whole thing has gone too far IMO. I don't disagree but it isn't going to change as the toothpaste is already out of the tube. No better example of that than the winning team in the World Cup. The guy who kicked the winning goal left home at 12 to go live at a soccer academy in the country. I thought that was absurd until reading further in the article that a couple of his teammates on the Spanish team entered the same soccer academy at 10. Remember when the U.S. media used to excoriate East Germany for manufacturing gold medals in the Olympics by taking talented kids out of their homes at a young age and putting them into state-run facilities to develop their skills? Well, except for the fact "academies" and "travel teams" are privately run and the kids aren't being stuffed with 'roids, the West has now pretty much become East Germany when it comes to youth sports. |
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Post by 83aztec on Jul 16, 2010 7:55:33 GMT -8
This whole cottage industry (and a few others) have taken the fun out of sports for lots of kids and helped to artificially inflate the egos (and expectations) of the kids who are uber-talented. Thanks to a lot of factors (mostly national attention to child athletes), if a kid isn't able to play on a club team by the time he's ten (maybe younger) than he usually just says screw it and doesn't play at all. Little leaguers on national TV, high school athletes on national TV, Rivals etc., the whole thing has gone too far IMO. I don't disagree but it isn't going to change as the toothpaste is already out of the tube. No better example of that than the winning team in the World Cup. The guy who kicked the winning goal left home at 12 to go live at a soccer academy in the country. I thought that was absurd until reading further in the article that a couple of his teammates on the Spanish team entered the same soccer academy at 10. Remember when the U.S. media used to excoriate East Germany for manufacturing gold medals in the Olympics by taking talented kids out of their homes at a young age and putting them into state-run facilities to develop their skills? Well, except for the fact "academies" and "travel teams" are privately run and the kids aren't being stuffed with 'roids, the West has now pretty much become East Germany when it comes to youth sports. This is a shock to you? |
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Post by Bob Forsythe on Jul 16, 2010 8:22:52 GMT -8
I agree. Not only is it silly and not at all helpful to basically rank people on who offered them or showed interest, but my ethical radar goes up on something that charges a subscription to read interviews and musings about minors. Thanks to a lot of factors (mostly national attention to child athletes), if a kid isn't able to play on a club team by the time he's ten (maybe younger) than he usually just says screw it and doesn't play at all. It's a lot worse in other sports than it is in football because other sports have traveling teams. I worked with a woman whose daughter was on a traveling softball team and they would routinely drive a couple hundred miles for tournaments. And I think you'd be hard pressed to find a college softball coach who even bothers with attending HS games - it's all ASA and that's where they recruit. =Bob |
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Post by Bob Forsythe on Jul 16, 2010 8:25:15 GMT -8
I didn't. Even though I was just a kid when they canned CG (who in my opinion doesn't get near enough respect here), I thought he sealed his own fate by going to that silly veer offense. Claude went to the veer more out of necessity than any other reason. With the right QB and receivers, I doubt we'd have seen it. =Bob |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 16, 2010 8:31:23 GMT -8
I didn't. Even though I was just a kid when they canned CG (who in my opinion doesn't get near enough respect here), I thought he sealed his own fate by going to that silly veer offense. Claude went to the veer more out of necessity than any other reason. With the right QB and receivers, I doubt we'd have seen it. =Bob You are right, Bob. Claude had a lot of young players. His passing game that won so many games over the past few seasons requires a special skill set, and one of them is not youth and the other is not inexperience. The Veer can be run with kids who have fast reflexes. It does not require age or beauty, and would have worked better for Claude if his linemen grew up faster. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2010 8:56:38 GMT -8
I don't disagree but it isn't going to change as the toothpaste is already out of the tube. No better example of that than the winning team in the World Cup. The guy who kicked the winning goal left home at 12 to go live at a soccer academy in the country. I thought that was absurd until reading further in the article that a couple of his teammates on the Spanish team entered the same soccer academy at 10. Remember when the U.S. media used to excoriate East Germany for manufacturing gold medals in the Olympics by taking talented kids out of their homes at a young age and putting them into state-run facilities to develop their skills? Well, except for the fact "academies" and "travel teams" are privately run and the kids aren't being stuffed with 'roids, the West has now pretty much become East Germany when it comes to youth sports. This is a shock to you? Considering the vast amounts of money now involved in professional sports, no. Doesn't mean it isn't depressing, however, particularly since it only figures to continue to get worse. |
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Post by gettough on Jul 16, 2010 9:04:28 GMT -8
Considering the vast amounts of money now involved in professional sports, no. Doesn't mean it isn't depressing, however, particularly since it only figures to continue to get worse. The irony is that the parents are doing everything with the hope that the kid gets a scholarship, all the while paying for the tourneys, the hotels, the travel, the private lessons, and the camps and the newest equipment. From age 8-18, all that $ is essentially the same cost as college. But we have fun doing it! |
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Post by monty on Jul 16, 2010 10:58:45 GMT -8
I would have torn my hair out if I would have played one sport all year long and been traveling here and there to play a game. Playing a bunch of sports, taking music lessons, dicking around with your friends skateboarding or something and playing pick-up games most nights at thec court, although requiring the same time commitment sounds like a better time then playing say baseball all year - I was always amazed at the kids who did that (had to), it was always refreshing when you didn't have a weekend game, or you had a month off between sports.
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 16, 2010 14:01:04 GMT -8
Joe, can you remind me who was in that first class for Tom Craft? My memory is not what it used to be. San Diego State head football coach Tom Craft announced the signing of 28 football players to national letters of intent on Wednesday. Included in the group is a SuperPrep All-America running back, a junior-college All-America kicker and a former SuperPrep All-America wide receiver. The class also includes seven other players who are all-region selections by SuperPrep. "I think it's a very good class because it meets our needs," said Craft, who led San Diego State to a surprising third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference in his first year as head coach. "We felt we needed to concentrate on wide receivers and linemen on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. We also felt that in order to balance our numbers, we needed to supplement the high school signings with community college help." The incoming class features five offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and seven receivers. The Aztecs also added three highly ranked linebackers and three running backs. The headliners include two highly-rated skilled players. Running back Lynell Hamilton (Stockton Edison) is one of the most decorated high school players to ink with San Diego State. He is rated as one of the top 15 players in the country at his position and among the top 15 in the western United States by most recruiting services. Another Stockton native, receiver Willie Dixon from San Francisco City College, was one of America's most sought-after recruits in 2000. He signed with University of Miami (Fla.) out of high school before returning to the west coast. He was considered among the top five receivers in the nation as a prepster. "I like our skill people and I think La Costa Canyon quarterback Kevin O'Connell is a player we can build the offensive class around," Craft said. "In the offensive line, we wanted to improve our numbers and our size and I think we've done that." The Aztecs could add two more names to the incoming class during the next week. Noting The 2003 SDSU Football Recruiting Class # Super-Prepping On paper, the 2003 San Diego State recruiting class is one of the school's best ever. Nine players are either All-America or all-Far West selections by SuperPrep magazine. That total includes former SuperPrep All-America receiver Willie Dixon. # Stockton Up For the second straight year, San Diego State has landed a pair of players from Stockton. This season, the two newcomers are the most highly-rated players in the class, including All-America running back Lynell Hamilton and former high school All-America wide receiver Willie Dixon. Last season SDSU signed LeAndrew Stewart and Brian Spinks from Stockton. Both players redshirted. # Front Five The Aztecs went heavy in the trenches with five offensive-line prospects signing on Wednesday. Four of those five weigh at least 285 pounds. # Sunshine To Sunshine For the first time ever, San Diego State has signed a high school player from the state of Florida on signing day. Johnathan Bailes was an all-state defender for Tampa Jefferson. He is the second Floridian in the program, joining Donny Baker, who was added to the roster last fall. # HS vs. JC The class of 28 includes six community college players and 22 prep players. The following players have signed National Letters of Intent to play football at San Diego State: NAME POS HT WT YR HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOL) Antwan Applewhite DE 6-3 210 FR Torrance, Calif. (Narbonne HS) Clinton Arial-Ryan K 5-8 175 JR Yucaipa, Calif. (San Bernardino Valley) Johnathan Bailes DL 6-1 325 FR Lutz, Fla. (Tampa Jefferson HS) Aleksander Blagojevich OL 6-2 285 FR Hawthorne, Calif. (Junipero Serra HS) Brandon Bornes RB 6-1 205 FR Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista HS) Corey Boudreaux DB/WR 6-1 180 FR Orange, Calif. (Mater Dei HS) Brandyn Dombrowski OL 6-5 300 FR Henderson, Nev. (Green Valley HS) Royce Edgington OL 6-5 295 FR Highland, Calif. (San Gorgonio HS) Sione Fifita* TE 6-1 250 JR San Bernardino, Calif. (San Bernardio Valley) Lynell Hamilton RB 6-1 215 FR Stockton, Calif. (Edison HS) Michael Hughes P/PK 5-10 170 FR Moreno Valley, Calif. (Canyon Springs HS) Marc Hull LB 6-2 185 FR Compton, Calif. (Narbonne HS) Jeremy Justice TE 6-2 235 JR Apple Valley, Calif. (Victor Valley) Ben Klamm DE 6-4 220 FR Granite Bay, Calif. (Granite Bay HS) Mike Kravetz OL 6-5 285 FR Las Vegas, Nev. (Durango HS) Va'ati Maka DL 6-5 260 JR Oakland, Calif. (College of the Canyons) Brett Martin LB 6-0 215 FR Corona, Calif. (Centennial HS) Lee Martin LB 6-1 200 FR Simi Valley, Calif. (St. Bonaventure HS) Kevin O'Connell QB 6-6 200 FR Carlsbad, Calif. (La Costa Canyon HS) Nicholas Osborn DL 6-4 240 FR Kensington, Calif. (St. Mary's HS) Jose Perez WR 6-1 170 FR Oceanside, Calif. (Oceanside HS) Devin Pitts* WR 6-4 205 JR Carson, Calif. (N.Torrance/USC) Ramal Porter* WR 5-10 165 FR Van Nuys, Calif. (Birmingham HS) William Robinson OL 6-6 250 FR Pomona, Calif. (Bishop Amat HS) Reginald Ross RB 5-11 215 FR San Diego, Calif. (Mira Mesa HS) Chazeray Schilens WR 6-4 185 FR Mesa, Ariz. (Gilbert Highland HS) Brett Swain WR 6-1 195 FR Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad HS) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2010 14:54:35 GMT -8
Rivals was much less sophisticated in those days and I wasn't a subscriber anyway so really had little way of knowing how good that class was. Now checking back, several things are apparent.
One, Lynell Hamilton was probably the highest rated recruit in school history. Way higher than Marshall Faulk. Hell, Lynell could have played tailback at Michigan, among other places.
Two, although they did little and nothing, respectively, at SDSU, Brett Martin and Lee Martin were also definite studs as they also had multiple offers from BCS schools.
Three, although another notch lower than the Martins, Antwan Applewhite and Brett Swain were also excellent gets.
That said, the class was otherwise pretty average.
Yeah, Willie Dixon was a 4-star recruit but he was probably the most misleading LOI signing in school history. Dixon originally signed with Miami but couldn't qualify and he essentially fell to us because even after getting his AA, nobody else but Craft offered him a schollie.
As to everybody else, back then, Rivals listed virtually everybody as a 2-star player. Although Marc Hull - another LB who never panned out - was rated three stars and although he played in the Mt. SAC Norcal versus SoCal all-star game, really nobody else offered him, either, as was the case with the great majority of the class. (Even back then, anybody who signed an LOI with a MWC school was given two stars. And Rivals had yet to create its numerical rating system that today is a much better indicator for us than whether somebody is two stars versus three.)
Anyway, I'll agree with Joe that insofar as having several major studs, that class was probably as good as any SDSU has ever had. However, if the standard is depth - and certainly if it's staying power - I don't think that class was anywhere near as good as a couple that Lugie had. Probably not even as good as one or two that Tollner had in the mid-nineties.
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Post by monty on Jul 16, 2010 16:58:40 GMT -8
Some good names in there, some guys I don't even remember (so I'm guessing some of the Craft Casualties).
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Post by steveaztec on Jul 16, 2010 17:00:31 GMT -8
Joe, can you remind me who was in that first class for Tom Craft? My memory is not what it used to be. San Diego State head football coach Tom Craft announced the signing of 28 football players to national letters of intent on Wednesday. Included in the group is a SuperPrep All-America running back, a junior-college All-America kicker and a former SuperPrep All-America wide receiver. The class also includes seven other players who are all-region selections by SuperPrep. "I think it's a very good class because it meets our needs," said Craft, who led San Diego State to a surprising third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference in his first year as head coach. "We felt we needed to concentrate on wide receivers and linemen on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. We also felt that in order to balance our numbers, we needed to supplement the high school signings with community college help." The incoming class features five offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and seven receivers. The Aztecs also added three highly ranked linebackers and three running backs. The headliners include two highly-rated skilled players. Running back Lynell Hamilton (Stockton Edison) is one of the most decorated high school players to ink with San Diego State. He is rated as one of the top 15 players in the country at his position and among the top 15 in the western United States by most recruiting services. Another Stockton native, receiver Willie Dixon from San Francisco City College, was one of America's most sought-after recruits in 2000. He signed with University of Miami (Fla.) out of high school before returning to the west coast. He was considered among the top five receivers in the nation as a prepster. "I like our skill people and I think La Costa Canyon quarterback Kevin O'Connell is a player we can build the offensive class around," Craft said. "In the offensive line, we wanted to improve our numbers and our size and I think we've done that." The Aztecs could add two more names to the incoming class during the next week. Noting The 2003 SDSU Football Recruiting Class # Super-Prepping On paper, the 2003 San Diego State recruiting class is one of the school's best ever. Nine players are either All-America or all-Far West selections by SuperPrep magazine. That total includes former SuperPrep All-America receiver Willie Dixon. # Stockton Up For the second straight year, San Diego State has landed a pair of players from Stockton. This season, the two newcomers are the most highly-rated players in the class, including All-America running back Lynell Hamilton and former high school All-America wide receiver Willie Dixon. Last season SDSU signed LeAndrew Stewart and Brian Spinks from Stockton. Both players redshirted. # Front Five The Aztecs went heavy in the trenches with five offensive-line prospects signing on Wednesday. Four of those five weigh at least 285 pounds. # Sunshine To Sunshine For the first time ever, San Diego State has signed a high school player from the state of Florida on signing day. Johnathan Bailes was an all-state defender for Tampa Jefferson. He is the second Floridian in the program, joining Donny Baker, who was added to the roster last fall. # HS vs. JC The class of 28 includes six community college players and 22 prep players. The following players have signed National Letters of Intent to play football at San Diego State: NAME POS HT WT YR HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOL) Antwan Applewhite DE 6-3 210 FR Torrance, Calif. (Narbonne HS) Clinton Arial-Ryan K 5-8 175 JR Yucaipa, Calif. (San Bernardino Valley) Johnathan Bailes DL 6-1 325 FR Lutz, Fla. (Tampa Jefferson HS) Aleksander Blagojevich OL 6-2 285 FR Hawthorne, Calif. (Junipero Serra HS) Brandon Bornes RB 6-1 205 FR Vista, Calif. (Rancho Buena Vista HS) Corey Boudreaux DB/WR 6-1 180 FR Orange, Calif. (Mater Dei HS) Brandyn Dombrowski OL 6-5 300 FR Henderson, Nev. (Green Valley HS) Royce Edgington OL 6-5 295 FR Highland, Calif. (San Gorgonio HS) Sione Fifita* TE 6-1 250 JR San Bernardino, Calif. (San Bernardio Valley) Lynell Hamilton RB 6-1 215 FR Stockton, Calif. (Edison HS) Michael Hughes P/PK 5-10 170 FR Moreno Valley, Calif. (Canyon Springs HS) Marc Hull LB 6-2 185 FR Compton, Calif. (Narbonne HS) Jeremy Justice TE 6-2 235 JR Apple Valley, Calif. (Victor Valley) Ben Klamm DE 6-4 220 FR Granite Bay, Calif. (Granite Bay HS) Mike Kravetz OL 6-5 285 FR Las Vegas, Nev. (Durango HS) Va'ati Maka DL 6-5 260 JR Oakland, Calif. (College of the Canyons) Brett Martin LB 6-0 215 FR Corona, Calif. (Centennial HS) Lee Martin LB 6-1 200 FR Simi Valley, Calif. (St. Bonaventure HS) Kevin O'Connell QB 6-6 200 FR Carlsbad, Calif. (La Costa Canyon HS) Nicholas Osborn DL 6-4 240 FR Kensington, Calif. (St. Mary's HS) Jose Perez WR 6-1 170 FR Oceanside, Calif. (Oceanside HS) Devin Pitts* WR 6-4 205 JR Carson, Calif. (N.Torrance/USC) Ramal Porter* WR 5-10 165 FR Van Nuys, Calif. (Birmingham HS) William Robinson OL 6-6 250 FR Pomona, Calif. (Bishop Amat HS) Reginald Ross RB 5-11 215 FR San Diego, Calif. (Mira Mesa HS) Chazeray Schilens WR 6-4 185 FR Mesa, Ariz. (Gilbert Highland HS) Brett Swain WR 6-1 195 FR Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad HS) That is a pretty damn good class. |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 16, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -8
Some good names in there, some guys I don't even remember (so I'm guessing some of the Craft Casualties). Most of the Craft casualties were actually Tollner's last recruiting class in 2001-2002. I point out to everybody that it takes a minimum of one year of home visits and school visits and talking to the mother (Who usually makes most of the parental decisions for their sons. If you do not believe that, ask the kids and you will find that it is true. Of those who say their parents "Helped" them with the decision, something like 70 percent will say their mother had the most influence. So much for Big Powerful Football Players.) As most people know, Tom came in (I think it was late December) and asked Tollner for the list of kids who had committed or were close to committing, and Tollner said that there weren't any. He had decided not to recruit that year because he felt the fans had turned against him and he knew he was going to be fired. That left Tom Craft only a few days to try to round up stragglers from the recruiting wars. Some buddy Tollner turned out to be for Tom Craft. At any rate, Tom was not the type of guy to just go out and offer scholarships to kids who did not project as college material football wise, so he went the other route, by offering scholarships to seven kids that did not project out academically. He did take chances on about five more and I think he had a total scholarship signing of about a dozen. It has been years now, but that sounds about right. It might have been eleven. QUITE FRANKLY it was a lost cause. People can hammer Tom Craft (And they did on the Aztec boards of the past) and say that all of those "non college projected potential academic busts" in 2002 were on him. I say it is not fair but that is because I liked Tom when we were both in school together. Tom urgently had to try to get some viable talent in to the school and the administration should have given him a few special admits. Hell, Cal does it all the time. They have all those wonderfully intelligent Asian students on campus and some grossly stupid dufus buffoons on the football team. That is OK, though because they do not go on the campus much other than to the sport areas so they do not frighten the real students who tend to be a little on the fragile side. As it was, our admin was at war with the football program, and Tom could not get anybody in on a basket weaving scholarship. Hell, they would not even allow him any African Art Majors. You know that the administration is fuggin' with you when they won't even allow that. |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jul 16, 2010 17:28:59 GMT -8
Rivals was much less sophisticated in those days and I wasn't a subscriber anyway so really had little way of knowing how good that class was. Now checking back, several things are apparent. One, Lynell Hamilton was probably the highest rated recruit in school history. Way higher than Marshall Faulk. Hell, Lynell could have played tailback at Michigan, among other places. Two, although they did little and nothing, respectively, at SDSU, Brett Martin and Lee Martin were also definite studs as they also had multiple offers from BCS schools. Three, although another notch lower than the Martins, Antwan Applewhite and Brett Swain were also excellent gets. That said, the class was otherwise pretty average. Yeah, Willie Dixon was a 4-star recruit but he was probably the most misleading LOI signing in school history. Dixon originally signed with Miami but couldn't qualify and he essentially fell to us because even after getting his AA, nobody else but Craft offered him a schollie. As to everybody else, back then, Rivals listed virtually everybody as a 2-star player. Although Marc Hull - another LB who never panned out - was rated three stars and although he played in the Mt. SAC Norcal versus SoCal all-star game, really nobody else offered him, either, as was the case with the great majority of the class. (Even back then, anybody who signed an LOI with a MWC school was given two stars. And Rivals had yet to create its numerical rating system that today is a much better indicator for us than whether somebody is two stars versus three.) Anyway, I'll agree with Joe that insofar as having several major studs, that class was probably as good as any SDSU has ever had. However, if the standard is depth - and certainly if it's staying power - I don't think that class was anywhere near as good as a couple that Lugie had. Probably not even as good as one or two that Tollner had in the mid-nineties. Sleepy, do you really have a vagina? Hell, all this time I thought you were a guy. Wow years ago I was treating you like a guy and posting snips at you just like most guys would. Hell, Honey, I am sorry. I didn't know. Just the same, did I just see you miss three of the best linemen that this school has had? Namely Robinson, Dombrowski and Kravetz. I think the QB was one of the best, too. Not up there with Dennis Shaw or Brian Sipe, but pro material. |
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