Another point to Dave Christensen...

Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:49 am

Johnny Manziel, currently Freshmen QB for Texas A&M and a front runner (along with Manti Teo of Notre Dame), was rated a 3 star QB by rivals. And DC knows talent when he sees it, and he saw it with this kid. DC offered him a scholarship (along with all other teams on the list), but it does mean he knows a great player when he sees them.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/tamu/football/r ... ziel-89597" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:03 am

Johnny is a baseballer too. I know the Texas Rangers people were watching him.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:51 am

Those "rankings" are so political it's ridiculous. Hell, Smith was a frickin 2 star remember?..

Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:01 am

This doesn't mean he sees talent. Basically, every player rated 3, 4 or 5 star by Rivals, that adds Wyoming to his list, will get an offer. DC may not have even seen any film or even talked the player before an offer was made. Having said that, I don't disagree that DC can find talent, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He's been really good at finding and attracting talent.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:35 am

cowboyz wrote:This doesn't mean he sees talent. Basically, every player rated 3, 4 or 5 star by Rivals, that adds Wyoming to his list, will get an offer. DC may not have even seen any film or even talked the player before an offer was made. Having said that, I don't disagree that DC can find talent, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He's been really good at finding and attracting talent.

Hilarious, you think DC is throwing out offers to guys he has never seen film on or talked to the kid, his parents and his HS coach just because Rivals gives him 3-4-5 stars? Hilarious

Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:07 am

Really? We had ZERO shot at Manziel. Colorado State offered him too. So did Oregon, Stanford, Baylor, etc... He never even visited any other school besides A&M, so there really is no link between Manziel, Dave Christensen and Wyoming.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:11 am

cowboyz wrote:This doesn't mean he sees talent. Basically, every player rated 3, 4 or 5 star by Rivals, that adds Wyoming to his list, will get an offer. DC may not have even seen any film or even talked the player before an offer was made. Having said that, I don't disagree that DC can find talent, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He's been really good at finding and attracting talent.

So, Brett Smith being rated a 2 star QB means that he was given a "preffered walk-on" status than? Chris McNeil a 2 star? Some of our best players over the last couple of years have been 2 star or lower. Please, Just stop right now before you embarass yourself further.

OrediggerPoke wrote:Really? We had ZERO shot at Manziel. Colorado State offered him too. So did Oregon, Stanford, Baylor, etc... He never even visited any other school besides A&M, so there really is no link between Manziel, Dave Christensen and Wyoming.

What I'm saying is, is that DC saw a very talented QB and offered him a scholly. So he did try. That's all I'm saying.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:17 am

fromolwyoming wrote:

OrediggerPoke wrote:Really? We had ZERO shot at Manziel. Colorado State offered him too. So did Oregon, Stanford, Baylor, etc... He never even visited any other school besides A&M, so there really is no link between Manziel, Dave Christensen and Wyoming.
What I'm saying is, is that DC saw a very talented QB and offered him a scholly. So he did try. That's all I'm saying.

I'm pretty sure all of us could have watched Manziel's HS game film and saw talent. I do think DC brings in some very talented players on the offensive side of the ball...but I don't think it is fair to make any comparison that Manziel was some diamond in the rough that DC may have discovered.

Anyways, I have only watched 2 A&M games this year and I think Brett Smith may have a better skill set than Manziel. Manziel has a much better line and better talent surrounding him (which is no surprise it being A&m).

Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:25 am

I think the point here is that Christensen is going after the top talent in the country for us. We're not in the running yet, but we ARE making sure that we make every attempt to get them to Laramie.

Christensen and staff are NOT just throwing offers at every kid and seeing if they stick. They do a hell of a good job finding talent to fit their schemes. Are we aiming high? Absolutely, but I'd rather do that than settle for lesser talent right off the bat.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:57 am

WYO1016 wrote: They do a hell of a good job finding talent to fit their schemes.

I am going to disagree with this one. Short of the QB and WR position, I don't see any improvement in our overall talent level from Joe Glenn's teams, and in fact I believe it has declined nearly across the board. The defense is Vic-era bad and it's not just because Tormey (and English before him) have poor schemes. It's because we simply don't have the personnel to exert our will on the defensive side of the ball. We also have poor pass protection, little to no running game, and our special teams are hit and miss. That speaks to me of an overall talent deficiency that is partially masked by some big play contributions from the passing game.

That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of quality players on the roster. Yarborough is going to have an outstanding career and I still think Burns can be an impact corner, etc., but overall the results don't lie. Without Brett Smith we lose to a FCS team. That is simply not acceptable to be so dependent on one player 4 years into a staff tenure. Not sure whether it is recruiting of talent or development of the talent (most likely both), but either way we simply aren't getting it done.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:36 am

If only we could have combined DC's QB & WR recruits with Glenn's defense & RB recruits.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:44 am

NowherePoke wrote:
WYO1016 wrote: They do a hell of a good job finding talent to fit their schemes.
I am going to disagree with this one. Short of the QB and WR position, I don't see any improvement in our overall talent level from Joe Glenn's teams, and in fact I believe it has declined nearly across the board. The defense is Vic-era bad and it's not just because Tormey (and English before him) have poor schemes. It's because we simply don't have the personnel to exert our will on the defensive side of the ball. We also have poor pass protection, little to no running game, and our special teams are hit and miss. That speaks to me of an overall talent deficiency that is partially masked by some big play contributions from the passing game.

That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of quality players on the roster. Yarborough is going to have an outstanding career and I still think Burns can be an impact corner, etc., but overall the results don't lie. Without Brett Smith we lose to a FCS team. That is simply not acceptable to be so dependent on one player 4 years into a staff tenure. Not sure whether it is recruiting of talent or development of the talent (most likely both), but either way we simply aren't getting it done.

Note that I didn't say they did a hell of a good job LANDING talent for their scheme. If you look at who we've offered over the past couple of years it's pretty clear that they are pushing hard to upgrade on the defensive side of the ball. We just haven't been able to get those players to commit.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:27 pm

OrediggerPoke wrote:If only we could have combined DC's QB & WR recruits with Glenn's defense & RB recruits.

Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:21 pm

WYO1016 wrote:Note that I didn't say they did a hell of a good job LANDING talent for their scheme. If you look at who we've offered over the past couple of years it's pretty clear that they are pushing hard to upgrade on the defensive side of the ball. We just haven't been able to get those players to commit.

That was my thought too 1016, there's a big difference between identifying/recruiting talent and actually landing said talent. If there is any fault to be blamed in this arena it's DC and staff's inability to land big talent. But that is universal to any coaching staff UW has had for quite some time. The true test of a staff's recruiting prowess IMO, is A)finding the diamond-in-the-rough underrated players (Ala Brett Smith) and B)when a school like Wyoming starts bringing in the occasional 4, maybe the rare 5, star recruits (like Boise has in recent memory).

Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:31 pm

WYO1016 wrote:
NowherePoke wrote:
WYO1016 wrote: They do a hell of a good job finding talent to fit their schemes.
I am going to disagree with this one. Short of the QB and WR position, I don't see any improvement in our overall talent level from Joe Glenn's teams, and in fact I believe it has declined nearly across the board. The defense is Vic-era bad and it's not just because Tormey (and English before him) have poor schemes. It's because we simply don't have the personnel to exert our will on the defensive side of the ball. We also have poor pass protection, little to no running game, and our special teams are hit and miss. That speaks to me of an overall talent deficiency that is partially masked by some big play contributions from the passing game.

That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of quality players on the roster. Yarborough is going to have an outstanding career and I still think Burns can be an impact corner, etc., but overall the results don't lie. Without Brett Smith we lose to a FCS team. That is simply not acceptable to be so dependent on one player 4 years into a staff tenure. Not sure whether it is recruiting of talent or development of the talent (most likely both), but either way we simply aren't getting it done.
Note that I didn't say they did a hell of a good job LANDING talent for their scheme. If you look at who we've offered over the past couple of years it's pretty clear that they are pushing hard to upgrade on the defensive side of the ball. We just haven't been able to get those players to commit.

I misunderstood.

Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:51 am

fromolwyoming wrote:
cowboyz wrote:This doesn't mean he sees talent. Basically, every player rated 3, 4 or 5 star by Rivals, that adds Wyoming to his list, will get an offer. DC may not have even seen any film or even talked the player before an offer was made. Having said that, I don't disagree that DC can find talent, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He's been really good at finding and attracting talent.

So, Brett Smith being rated a 2 star QB means that he was given a "preffered walk-on" status than? Chris McNeil a 2 star? Some of our best players over the last couple of years have been 2 star or lower. Please, Just stop right now before you embarass yourself further.

Touche'

I wasn't talking about 2 star players. We have plenty on our roster (not enough, but plenty). I was talking about 3 star players. Can you remember a 3 star player that listed Wyoming that didn't receive an offer?

Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:53 am

zappinpoke wrote:
cowboyz wrote:This doesn't mean he sees talent. Basically, every player rated 3, 4 or 5 star by Rivals, that adds Wyoming to his list, will get an offer. DC may not have even seen any film or even talked the player before an offer was made. Having said that, I don't disagree that DC can find talent, at least on the offensive side of the ball. He's been really good at finding and attracting talent.
Hilarious, you think DC is throwing out offers to guys he has never seen film on or talked to the kid, his parents and his HS coach just because Rivals gives him 3-4-5 stars? Hilarious

I was being a bit, but just a bit sarcastic. But aren't we the guys that offered a scholarship to a player that sent in his brothers highlight video?