Bartow's Comments on Al and the state of CANES recruiting in South Florida to Joe Rose 1/21/15
That's not a good sign, especially with FSU doing very well down here and now UF, with Randy on their staff, they will do very well in the coming years.
If we don't get our act together soon, the 2016 class is in serious jeopardy.
Mario is getting who he wants to Bama, Strong is getting some recruits to Texas. Brewster is getting kids to FSU. Richt is getting kids to UGa. We didn't offer any of the kids that are going to UGa. That's a HUGE problem.
Bartow says that facilities are important and winning and being on TV. Urban winning a title in Columbus, they'll be coming here more and they already have Bosa coming in the '16 class.
Hearing Bartow's comments yesterday on Joe Rose's show, those in the Hecht Center think they can ride this out and it will go away. I have news for them, it won't. This is going to be something a New President at UM will have to tackle early on in his/her presidency, and that's addressing the football program and determining Blake's and Al's future. Right now, we are taking a huge beating and if we don't finish strong, the calls for Al's ouster will only get louder and louder if they aren't that already.
Its not looking good inside the Hecht football offices right now.
However, from StateoftheU.com back on Monday and my takes:
- Booker T. Washington CB Davante Davis visited campus, but in all likelihood will end up elsewhere. He's currently committed to Texas, but like Tim Irvin before him, Davis may be considering a flip to Auburn. I want to add that he will visit Gainesville tomorrow for his OV. However, I think he'll stay with his commitment to Texas here.
- A late riser on the recruiting trail, DT Kevin Scott (Los Angeles, CA) was visited by Al Golden on the first day of the contact period, was given a scholarship offer, and scheduled an official visit to Miami for next weekend. The 6'5" 280lb Scott is being hotly pursued by several teams. Like most kids from LA, USC is thought to be the leader. A strong visit to Coral Gables may change that. We'll have to see when he comes to campus tomorrow for the OV. Considering that we need DTs in this class, getting Scott is critical.
- WR commit Lawrence Cager visited Alabama this weekend and enjoyed it, but left still committed to Miami. Cager will be coming to Coral Gables for a visit tomorrow. With Gosier now decommitted, keeping Cager in this class is a MUST.
- There's talk that WR commit Terrell Chatman may be close to flipping from Miami. He's my personal favorite WR in this class, so I hope that those rumors are unsubstantiated. Chatman is scheduled to visit Coral Gables on January 30th. This kid is committed to us, and will visit us for the last visit. He's in Tempe for his OV to Arizona State tomorrow. He visited TCU last week.
- After the decommitment of Dwayne Lawson, Miami has been looking for a QB in this class. And, after doing some searching, may have found one. Coming for a visit next weekend will be Evan Sherriffs (Jefferson, GA), a 6'6" 195lb player with great height and good developmental skills. As I said previously "don't be surprised if a lower ranked/unknown player from outside FL is the take for this class." Should Sherriffs, whose only current offers are Columbia and Virginia Military Institute, earn an offer and commit, that would most definitely be the case. But, before you go all doom and gloom, watch Sherriffs' highlights. You'll see some things you'll like. I suspect this kid will commit to us possibly as soon as his visit ends tomorrow.
- WR target Daylon Charlot (Patterson, LA) visited Alabama. Widely considered a heavy lean to the Tide, Charlot left uncommitted. He did, however, drop this cryptic tweet during his visit: "Seems like everything is coming together" Take it for what its worth, however, in the end, I believe Bama will end up getting him. That's really an LSU-Bama battle there.
- Former RB commit Dexter Williams visited Notre Dame and greatly enjoyed his visit ($). Williams says he is still high on both Louisville and Miami, in addition to Notre Dame. If he wants to play with friend Jalen Julius, the pick will be Louisville. If he wants to be close to home, the pick will be Miami. If he wants to go with the late charging school, the pick will be Notre Dame. In short, I have no idea which way Williams is going as of this moment. But, with a renewed sense that Jordan Scarlett will be in this class, Miami's pursuit of Williams isn't as important as it was a few days ago. With Scarlett now firmly in the fold, My gut tells me that in the end, it'll be Louisville that wins this battle holding off Notre Dame.
- DE Arden Key is on campus for his OV today. He is scheduled to make an announcement on February 2nd. But, in my mind, his recruitment will go until NSD. He visited us on Monday and is schedule to visit South Carolina tomorrow and Auburn next Friday for his final visit. That's really a UGa vs South Carolina battle there. In the end, my gut tells me that Key will end up with the Bulldogs.
- Targets LB John Houston and DT Rasheem Green, both 5-star players and teammates from Junipero Serra HS in Gardena, CA, visited Southern Cal this weekend. Each player brought multiple family members with them (Houston was said to have brought his grandparents along for the visit) and were on campus with 9 USC commits. I think that Houston is 100% USC, while Green is still in play for Miami. With Houston, SC is the favorite to get him and he has no other visits scheduled. I agree with StateoftheU on this, Houston likely ends up at SC. As for Green, that's a three-team race between us, SC, and Arizona State, whom he visits tomorrow for his last OV. In the end though, I think Green stays on the West Coast and ends up at SC.
- DL target Austrian Robinson enjoyed his visit and moved the Canes up his leader board. Even with that positive move, Maryland still leads. In the end, I see Robinson signing with the Terrapins come National Signing day. Robinson visited us last week, and is in Oxford for his OV to Ole Miss tomorrow and in Columbus next Friday for his final OV before NSD. I'm going to disagree and I believe Urban is going to make that late push in the end and land this kid.
- DE target Russel Ude isn't likely to end up in this class. He's committed to Cal and will visit the Golden Bears next weekend. That visit should effectively end his recruitment. I'm going to disagree here. This might be a candidate for a flip here. He visits us tomorrow and visited Oregon last weekend. If we make a strong impression tomorrow on this end, we might be able to flip him to us.
