Signing day scuttlebutt and coaching changes

<-Fear Ameer

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2017/01/11/afca-football-coaches-propose-10th-full-time-assistant-early-signing-period/96452766/

<-Fear Ameer

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2017/01/rhett_lashlee_leaves_auburn_to.html

forced out? dalliances with Kendal Briles?

<-Fear Ameer

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18455141/nebraska-cornhuskers-fire-defensive-coordinator-mark-banker

that's now two guys with 20-year coaching relationships, pressure is a little bit different in Lincoln than Corvallis

<-Fear Ameer

'Huskers going from 4-3 to 3-4

I wonder what they are paying him because Arkansas was in for him, and then they abruptly were not?

<-Fear Ameer

http://www.dandydon.com/lsu_football_commitments.php

As of 1/12/17, here we are...

Myles Brennan QB 6'3", 180 Bay Saint Louis, MS
Tory Carter FB 6'2", 255 Leesburg, GA
Saahdiq Charles OG 6'5", 314 Madison, MS
Austin Deculus OL 6'6", 323 Cypress, TX
Grant Delpit S 6'3", 180 IMG Academy
Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB 5'7", 191 Catholic
Neil Farrell DT 6'4", 295 Mobile, AL
Stephen Guidry WR 6'4", 190 Hinds CC
Edward Ingram OG 6'4", 325 DeSoto, TX
Jontre Kirklin ATH 5'11", 166 Lutcher
Aaron Moffitt DE 6'4", 245 Catholic
Lowell Narcisse QB 6'3", 224 St. James
Mannie Netherly WR 6'2", 183 Crosby, TX
Patrick Queen LB 6'1", 215 Livonia
Tyler Shelvin DT 6'3", 336 Notre Dame
JaCoby Stevens S 6'2", 200 Murfreesboro, TN
Seth Stewart OL 6'8", 320 Point Pleasant, WV
Justin Thomas DE 6'5", 255 Spanish Fort, AL
Kary Vincent CB 6'0", 170 Port Arthur, TX

Dandy Don talks more about it below in his daily report from 1/12/17...

Read more about Jason Phillips here: http://tinyurl.com/z2l6ese
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Turning to football, LSU announced the welcoming of five “early enrollees” yesterday: quarterback Lowell Narcisse, defensive end Justin Thomas, offensive tackle Austin Deculus, and safeties Jacoby Stevens and Grant Delpit. Wide receiver Mannie Netherly is expected to be the Tigers’ sixth early enrollee, but he has not yet been cleared by the NCAA, according to The Advocate. You may recall that a similar thing happened last year with wide receiver Dee Anderson who eventually was cleared in late January. As of now, all six of this year’s early enrollees are expected to participate in spring practice, including Narcisse, who The Advocate reports is scheduled to complete his knee (ACL) rehabilitation in February.

In football recruiting, the month-long dead period is now over and the staff is hitting the road today to check in with key prospects while also preparing to host double-digit visitors this weekend. One key target the staff will visit today is linebacker Jacob Phillips of Tennessee, and there’s some good news to pass along about his recruitment. I learned yesterday that Phillips is expected to visit LSU on January 20th. Getting a player like Phillips, who is already committed to Oklahoma, to visit at this late in the game is a really big deal. It’s an even bigger deal when you consider that he has already taken his five allotted “official visits,” which means that he and his family would be coming to LSU on their own dollar next weekend. If they do in fact make it in, that would tell me there is serious interest there. At 6-foot-3.5, 228 pounds, Phillips is an inside linebacker who could immediately challenge for playing time at the spots vacated by seniors Kendell Beckwith and Duke Riley.

And speaking of linebacker prospects, current LSU commit Patrick Queen of Livonia told WAFB’s Jacques Doucet yesterday that LSU wants him at Duke Riley’s spot. That’s particularly interesting since Queen is listed as an outside linebacker, athlete or running back by the major recruiting services.

In other football news, preseason rankings continue to roll in and yesterday Sports Illustrated pegged LSU at No. 5 in their way-too-early preseason Top 25, one spot ahead of the Clemson Tigers at No. 6. In their writeup, they echoed some of the thoughts I expressed yesterday by saying, “Ed Orgeron’s first full season in Baton Rouge is built for success considering he returns one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, Dave Aranda, and one of the nation’s best running backs, Derrius Guice.”

Good morning, Tiger Fans,

With the recruiting contact period back in full force, the LSU football coaching staff wasted no time in hitting the road yesterday to visit top recruits. Coach Ed Orgeron zeroed in on in-state linebacker commit Chris Allen, spending much of the day at Southern Lab before visiting the elite linebacker in-home last night. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and Director of Player Personnel Austin Thomas visited with another key linebacker target they are hoping to flip, Oklahoma commit Jacob Phillips. Outside linebacker coach Dennis Johnson headed to Texas to visit with pass rusher extraordinaire K’Lavon Chaisson, while receivers coach Dameyune Craig opened up the contact period by visiting with LSU defensive tackle commit Neil Farrell. Running back coach Jabbar Juluke reportedly checked in on running back commit Clyde Edwards-Helaire and target Travis Etienne of Jennings. By the way, Etienne tweeted yesterday that he was blessed to receive an offer from the national champion Clemson Tigers.

As for new offensive coordinator Matt Canada, he reportedly dropped in on the state’s top-rated prospect, wide receiver Davonta Smith, as well as quarterback commit Myles Brennan. In this report by 247Sports, Brennan is quoted as saying, “We spent some great time together with my mom and dad. It was nothing but good things. I just love his personality and his football smarts. It fits really well. I’m beyond excited to have finally met Coach Canada. I can’t wait to be a part of the family for good.”

The staff is now preparing to host double-digit visitors on official visits this weekend, including several players committed to LSU and seven key uncommitted targets. Here’s the list of the uncommitted visitors expected in today:

In-State Prospects Visiting this Weekend:
WR Davonta Smith (Amite High)

DT Phidarian Mathis (Neville High)
S Todd Harris (Plaquemine High)
WR Racey McMath (Edna Karr High)

Out-of-State Prospects Visiting this Weekend:
DT Marvin Wilson (Bellaire, TX)
LB/DE K’Lavon Chaisson (Houston, TX)
ILB Tyler Taylor (Buford, GA)

While on the topic of recruiting, I have some good news to share as a brief follow-up to what I wrote yesterday about early enrollees. According to multiple reports, wide receiver Mannie Netherly’s issue with the NCAA Clearinghouse has been cleared up and he is good to go.

WE GON' FLIP HIM!


With just 15 days until National Signing Day, there are a few recruiting tidbits to pass long, starting with a word on several of LSU’s linebacker recruits. If you’ve noticed that we’ve been focussing a lot of the linebacker position in recent write-ups, there’s a good reason. LSU currently only has one linebacker committed in this class and the fact that no linebackers were signed in 2015 and only two were signed the previous year (including the departed Clifton Garrett) make this a big position of priority for the Tigers, not to mention the fact that seniors Duke Riley and Kendell Beckwith are moving on.

• Baton Rouge native and Alabama linebacker commit Chris Allen joined ESPN104.5’s Morning Drive with Jordy Culotta and Hunt Palmer yesterday to discuss his recent LSU visits and where things stand with his recruitment. Allen said the visit “went great” and noted that while he remains committed to the Crimson Tide, the Tigers “have a chance.” Asked why Louisiana kids who grow up dreaming of playing for LSU would cross over and sign with Alabama, Allen gave a simple answer that gets to the simple truth. “Mainly because probably every year, they're beating LSU and they are winning national championships,” Allen said. Even though this year they didn't win it, they made it to the game. That's a huge attraction.” As I’ve written many times, the best way for LSU to turn the Tide and prevent as many recruiting losses to the enemy is to beat Alabama. Simple, but true.

• Another linebacker recruit who had a great LSU visit this past weekend was K’Lavon Chaissson. In fact, Chaisson tweeted that it was the “One of the livest weekends of my life.” So where does that put LSU’s chances of signing this four-star pass-rusher extraordinaire? Well, according to Sam Spiegleman of SECCountry, sources indicate that the visit might have been enough to give LSU a slight lead over Texas in his recruitment. Of course, this see-saw recruiting battle could tilt the other way after Chaisson visits the Longhorns this coming weekend.

• Speaking of this coming weekend, all eyes will be on LSU inside linebacker target Jacob Phillips of Tennessee to see if he and his family make it in to LSU for an unofficial visit. As mentioned previously, if they do, that will bode extremely well for LSU signing this primary target. Make no mistake about it, landing Phillips would be huge. Just yesterday he was elevated to five-star status by Rivals.

• Earlier, I mentioned that LSU currently only has one linebacker committed in this class, Patrick Queen of Livonia. Yesterday, Queen was one of at least three recruits who Coach Ed Orgeron visited in-home. The other two were receiver Stephen Guidry and offensive lineman Saahdiq Charles. The good news is that all three of those commitments appear to be very solid. All three will be taking their official visits to LSU this coming weekend, where they’ll be joined by several other LSU commits as well as key LB targets Willie Gay and Markeviest Bryant, DE Justin Harris and wide receiver Marlon Williams.

Jacoby Stevens and Grant Delpit, come on down to Death Valley!


Good morning, Tiger Fans,

As promised, today I have for you Part 1 of a new two-part Q&A with Football Analyst Mike Detillier on the topic of LSU football. In it, I get Mike’s thoughts on the hiring of Matt Canada, what this could mean for the quarterback situation, and on several other topics related to the offense. Mike really shares a lot of great insight and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Give it a quick read using the link below and then let us know what you think. Then be sure to tune in tomorrow for Part 2.

DandyDon’s Q&A with Mike Detillier Part 1 of 2: Matt Canada Hiring, QB Situation and Offense in General

In recruiting news, two players of interest to Tiger fans ended as 5-stars in 247Sports’ final 2017 rankings released yesterday. One is linebacker target K’Lavon Chaisson of Northshore High in Houston who is now ranked as the 11th best player in the country. You might recall from yesterday’s daily dose that Chaisson called his recent visit to Baton Rouge “One of the livest weekends of (his) life” and is believed to be down to Texas and LSU. The other is safety commit Jacoby Stevens who is now ranked as the 23rd best player in the nation. Stevens and fellow LSU commit Grant Delpit would give LSU arguably the best safety haul in school history, and it could get even better if LSU lands in-state sensation Todd Harris who visited LSU last weekend and reportedly had a great time. Harris is believed to be an LSU-Alabama battle with TCU in the mix, though signs point to him signing with his home-state Tigers.

Writing about Harris reminds me to follow up on something I wrote yesterday about Southern Lab’s Chris Allen. I mentioned that in a recent radio interview Allen said players like him consider leaving the state for Alabama because the Crimson Tide almost always beats LSU and plays for the National Championship. I heard from several readers about that statement, and here’s a good point that one of my longtime readers expressed: “It’s like a two-edged sword. The other side is that these really good players from Louisiana need to show some loyalty, stay home and HELP us beat Alabama. The more of them that fall for the ‘grass is greener’ story, the harder it is for us to turn the Tide.” Well said, Kinny!

As of 1/27/17,...

1/27/17 5:45 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans,
In case you haven’t heard, LSU landed a commitment from its No. 1 target yesterday when linebacker Jacob Phillips of Nashville, Tenn. flipped from Oklahoma to LSU. Make no mistake about it, this is an absolutely huge get for LSU, the kind that not only raises a team’s status in the recruiting rankings (LSU is at No. 6 now) but, more importantly, addresses a huge team need. After struggling to recruit linebackers in recent years and with starters Kendell Beckwith and Duke Riley moving on, linebacker – particularly inside linebacker – was by far LSU’s biggest need in this class. Well, there’s absolutely no one better qualified to meet that need than Phillips, the No. 1 rated inside linebacker in the country. Phillips chose LSU over offers from not only Oklahoma but from just about every major program in the country including Alabama. To find out why he’s so highly regarded, just take a peek at these video highlights. He will be an absolute beast in Coach Dave Aranda’s scheme.

http://www.dandydon.com/lsu_football_signees.php

<-Fear Ameer

the recruiting end though. Orgeron as always a great recruiter. Right? Wasn't he an architect of those USC teams in the previous decade?

Just anxious to see what the offense looks like when the season rolls around. We've gotta make due with our current crop of QBS for now.

At the end of the 2016 season, here is where we stood:
No. 16 Danny Etling 6-0, 215, JR
No. 06 Brandon Harris 6-3, 218, JR
No. 12 Justin McMillan 6-2, 196, RSFR
or No. 14 Lindsey Scott, JR 5-11, 210, FR
or No. 8 Caleb Lewis 6-4, 218, RSFR

Added today:
Myles Brennan QB, 6'3", 180 - http://247sports.com/Player/Myles-Brennan-78201

Lowell Narcisse QB, 6'3", 224 Early enrollee - http://247sports.com/Player/Lowell-Narcisse-56104

Looking at Ken Niumatalolo

There goes our (my) succession plan

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

maybe you don't have to be disappointed?

<-Fear Ameer

Idiots.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/501989/Dooley-Deal.gif

right on

i have said all year its a competitive conference, it's good being rewarded for my wisdom.

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I just looked at the final polls for the first time bc of your post and realized why I didn't care to look before

West Virginia is still 6-7 spots ahead of Miami? Microcosm of everything useless about the polls.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

i feel like postseason awards and polls become more and more ridiculous with each passing year.

WR, TE, OL, defense, and special teamers deserve recognition too. Hell even the RBs deserve some shine. Even I didn't realize what kind of year that guy at Texas had.

Just because the Heisman is worthless, that doesn't mean they all should go.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

i have a problem with who they're giving the awards to, lol.

also, after watching the NC...anybody want to still give the helmsman to lamar jackson?

<--- Big Baller World Order

http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2017/01/oregon_ducks_workouts_hospital.html

<-Fear Ameer

Love the hire. First time I've been excited about anything Purdue football related in a decade.

We will be horrible next year, but I've got hope he Can turn it around. Home run hire considering just how hard of a job that was to fill. Had to pay a premium and I am shocked we did it.

I'm sure that is part of the reason Nebraska is paying Diaco 850K

<-Fear Ameer

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

Getting Baldwin from FCS power EWU to go from head coach to OC was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. He runs a very good offense that is similar to what Cal was currently running with Dykes.

I like our OL coach hire.

Now if Wilcox can hire Jimmy Lake from UW I would be very pleased.

record wise and recruiting wise?

*still waiting*

<-Fear Ameer

VT, UNC, GT, PITT, and Miami all looking for a new triggerman, and most need to to replace a lot of production around them too

Except us


http://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2017/1/14/14269108/football-analyzing-the-returning-production-of-acc-coastal-contenders

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

i mean, i'm glad he's gone because i hate the fucking hokies, but i think he's leaving too soon.

The bump for his untapped potential may be more than he could do for himself, given what they would have around him.

Pretty surprising that Ford, Hodges and Evans all bounced. I would have had them as a dark horse NC contender.

Interestingly their FR QB for next year (Josh Jackson) is kinda sorta from my area, and their new slot weapon (Kalil Pimpleton) is also from MI. They can certainly play, but I don't see them competing for an ACC chip in Jackson's freshman year. Pimpleton is like 5'7 160, but he comes from a powerhouse program (Muskegon) and knows how to avoid taking huge shots.

I wonder how all those dominoes fell. I could understand Ford and Hodges not wanting to play with a FR QB, but man...they could have been so good.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

this year he would have benefited from another year of development. and with the coastal losing all of their starting QBs, a chance to win the ACC and get more shine.

but what do i know... haha

He could realistically get better and be drafted worse

But yeah, VT went from loaded to reloading in about a week lol

Thinking I'll be headed to ATL for that one

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

Apparently after telling him a few weeks ago that his offer was still on the table. That's fucked up, but within the rules I guess.

I wonder who they pulled his offer for?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybarca/2017/01/17/uconns-randy-edsall-pulls-scholarship-teens-dream-becomes-collateral-damage/#2fc786ebb380

UConn's Randy Edsall Pulls Scholarship, Teen's Dream Becomes Collateral Damage - Forbes

*first time at UConn, Edsall made Jordan Todman address the entire team on the bus ride home from the Fiesta Bowl that he planned on entering the NFL draft. then Edsall snuck out on a separate charter jet and told the team over the phone that he had just accepted the job at Maryland.

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WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

I hope their NJ recruiting suffers accordingly

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

<--- Big Baller World Order

Was less than 72 hours after his future position coach came to his school and told him shits all good lol

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

less than a week in if a coach visits and says the offer is solid...it's usually solid..

but man the game is cold cold...

as recently as 3 days ago...

it's a cold cold game..

Once again GT will play 3 conference games against opponents coming off their bye week. Once again 5-6 ACC teams will play ZERO such games, including our main Coastal competition in VT. In 9 games against UNC since PJ took over, they have had an extra week of prep FIVE times, while we have had zero.

Harkens back to 2009 when we visited Miami for our 3rd game in 12 days (#2 was Clemson) after Miami had 10 days of rest.

They are so scared of our nerd school and gimmick offense that's it's pathetic.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/college/paul-johnson-unloads-acc-for-ridiculous-schedule/vaa4Lg4PelcHCfinVQaGHJ/

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

http://usc.247sports.com/Board/29/Contents/Alabamas-Recruiting-Dominance-Continues-Wow-50860219

<-Fear Ameer

______________________________
http://i.imgur.com/Gj5Wy56.jpg

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

he missed a season due to an injury, but he got an extra year of eligibility and came back very strong...

super smart young man...

He played DT for us.... we won 3 city titles with him and became the first LA team to win a state title in 99 years with him..

I'm hearing he's going to be moved to Offensive guard in college...

I could see that happening... he's not as laterally quick as you'd want a DT to be...but he's huge...and very strong...

I'm really partial to this young man because of what he went through to come back from his injury...he was actually shot and stabbed ...he and his brother were picking their dad up from somewhere and they got jumped... He's fortunate to be alive honestly and he really grew from the situation...

he'll do great in college...

We need guys with that kind of smarts on our line. Paul Johnson switches blocking assignments on plays midgame and we have had trouble with guys who can't identify their targets.

Glad to have him at Tech!

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

Whatcha squad looking like?

http://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/136294/sec-schools-make-noise-early-on-signing-day

we're looking at 8 signees today.... to go with 12 last year.... that gives us 20 over 2 years....really unheard of in modern times for an LA public high school...

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/20170130/narbonne-football-to-highlight-signing-day-in-south-bay

we're pretty much unfade-able right now in the area.... folks are mad and claim we recruit..but that full table on signing day does all the recruiting we need...plus we got some really good players playing on Saturday right today...

I'll give a breakdown later on where everyone is going.....things are still in flux a bit...

but our main guys... LB Anthony Pandy..he has offers from Oregon, Oregon state, Washington, Nevada, Boise and Arizona..

DT Dominic Peterson, Area player of the year.... he's committed to Nevada....

WR Tre Walker has offers from Boise, San Jose, Florida Atlantic, and Illinois....

http://www.si.com/college-football/2017/02/01/jeff-thomas-miami-hurricanes-national-signing-day

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

He was on it, along with Jerry Jeudy at AL, and Tyjon Lindsey at NU.

<-Fear Ameer

Because Donovan Peoples-Jones was the national SPARQ champion as a junior

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

but no it wasn't a joke

<-Fear Ameer

And only Shavers broke 130 this year

For reference, DPJ put up a 149+ in 2015

Jeudy came in at 103

I don't understand their methodology?

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

don't know bout you but I'm ready to run through a wall after watching the excitement dripping out of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB6VzJ1qYo4

motherfucker talking in a library voice

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they lost out at the last minute to San Jose st, but most of us here really wanted him to go to Kiffin...

and he hasn't even coached a season yet. DeRuyter's best class at Fresno was ranked 75 (2016, ironically), and we came in at 74 this recruiting season. And we scored big in the valley and Cali in general, which DeRuyter largely ignored. Things are looking better for the Bulldogs.
______________________________
http://i.imgur.com/Gj5Wy56.jpg

thankfully he's not in a coordinator position so whatever. I guess Butch has to meet his quota after Mike DeBord left.

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He coached the DL personally here and both identified and turned out a lot of great players.

UM has 2 DL that will go in the top 50 (Wormley, Charlton) and another that will prob go around ~100 (Glasgow) and he is the single biggest reason why. Add in Willie Henry, Frank Clark, and Mike Martin...thats a lot of product.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

Wonder if Freeze survives this? What the hell is taking them so long on the UNC fraud case?

http://www.si.com/college-football/2017/02/22/ole-miss-ncaa-investigation-bowl-ban-hugh-freeze

<-Fear Ameer

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

I was looking for something on them and haven't found an article as of yet

<-Fear Ameer

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/2/23/14715312/ole-miss-ncaa-allegations-msu-leo-lewis

<-Fear Ameer

http://deadspin.com/oklahoma-quarterback-baker-mayfield-arrested-for-public-1792745261

<-Fear Ameer

what a leader.

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