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ESPN Update On West Region Recruits

I found this interesting as Greg Biggins, the West Region Recruiting analyst from ESPN, gave his take on a few of the bigger recruits in the region and where he thinks they will end up. It is not looking too good for the Buffs:

Markus Wheaton, 5-11, 170, WR, Chandler (Ariz.)
I'm not surprised too often in recruiting because you basically expect the unexpected. Saying that, it will be a little surprising if Wheaton ends up anywhere other than Oregon. Wheaton visited Oregon, Cal and Colorado and will trip to UCLA this coming weekend. He was raised a Ducks fan after the success of his older cousin Kenny Wheaton, a former Oregon All-American. If anyone can pull off the upset here, it's Cal but Oregon does look pretty solid.

I still think the Buffs have a better chance than Biggins thinks but with the emergence of Simmons, Darden and Jackson into the class plus the possibility of Ussery and Wright, it might not be a bad idea to write Wheaton off unless the Buffs can get him as an athlete, which is what they were initially recruiting him as.

Kevin Greene, 6-3, 220, DL, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. (San Francisco, Calif.)
Greene has already visited Washington State and Colorado and will check out USC and Arizona State later this month. He has already ruled out the Buffs and said he will decide among the three Pac-10 schools following his final visit. USC leads big here and I'm actually surprised he hasn't committed to the Trojans already. Greene has liked USC for some time and it moved to the top of his list the second it offered him. Look for the talented pass rusher to commit to USC either on, or shortly after, his visit there.

We knew he had been gone for a while now. He has a big jimmy for USC.

Nik Abele, 6-6, 250, OL, Irvine (Calif.)
Abele is a specimen who opened a lot of eyes at the USC Rising Stars camp in the summer. Although he didn't earn an offer from the Trojans, several other schools jumped on the bandwagon and he took visits to Colorado, Utah and Arizona State. Abele will visit UCLA this weekend and has talked about visiting Oregon State or Cal for his final visit. The last time I spoke with Abele, he said the visits were growing on him and added there's a strong chance the visit to Westwood will be his last. The Bruins have done a great job recruiting Abele and assuming he enjoys his visit, look for him to announce for UCLA shortly afterwards.

I still think Nik is gettable. He is a kid who probably likes the thing that has been freshest in his mind but he has considerably cooled on the Buffs. If Hawk wants him, I think an in-home visit would do a lot. He had this same "good feeling" about Utah after he visited there as well.

Kyle Van Noy, 6-4, 200, ATH, McQueen H.S. (Reno, Nev.)
Van Noy is one of the most versatile players in the region and could end up on either side of the ball in college. Van Noy has already visited Colorado and Arizona State and will visit BYU and UCLA in the next two weeks. I've always gotten the feeling that Van Noy wanted to stay home and play for the Cougars and that feeling has only gotten stronger in recent months. Barring something crazy happening, look for Van Noy to announce for BYU after his final visit.

Not much of a chance with Van Noy. We sort of knew that before he even officially visited the Buffs. I was shocked he actually visited. He would be a great get but it isn't going to happen.

Michael Clay, 5-11, 205, LB, Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, Calif.)
Clay is a talented outside linebacker and reminds me a lot of former Stanford 'backer Michael Okwo. Clay tripped to Colorado and will visit his other finalist, Oregon, this coming weekend. Clay said he plans to announce his college choice January 13, which is his mother's birthday. Heading into the visit to Eugene, it sounds like the Ducks hold a slight lead and they could really seal the deal with a strong trip this weekend.

The top two is CU and Oregon but he has always liked Oregon. I bet that is where he will end up.

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You should rename this to

“Buffs won’t get anybody: The ESPN Story” or something. This was depressing as hell.

They call me Bubblegum.

by SlamDunkTheFunk on Jan 6, 2009 2:20 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

+1

"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman

by Broncoman on Jan 6, 2009 4:41 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

boy we could be in for some Bronco type drama next offseason if our recruiting goes back to Barnett like

and we don’t even come close to that 10 wins that I keep bringing up.

I guess a was reading a lot of Scott to Texas on ESPN so I’m trying to be as positive as I can.

If Evans can come in and contribute I think we have the backfield and O line in place to win the North. I think Diante opposite of Josh and having McKnight in the slot could be deadly. Add a rotation of Polk, Scott, Rodney in the backfield and hell, we don’t need any stinking recruits, lol.

If we get one or a couple of the DL that we are rumored to be close to I will be happy. I also think that Orms has the potential to be a playermaker in the secondary.

I just realized something about what I just said potential. Have we seen any of the guys on the Buffs reach their potential under this staff? We have some guys that I think can turn into great players (Smith, Stewart, Scott) just to name a few but do we have the faith in this staff that they will develop these guys to turn this program around?

Hopefully everyone can prove me wrong next yr and we will be talking about a great year and several 4 and 5*’s on the Buffs radar

by roxbombers on Jan 6, 2009 2:50 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

What are the odds...

we get shut out here? 50:50? I’d venture that’s not too far off the mark.

If that’s the case, we have a pretty empty class, right? Anyone know what the backup plan looks like?

by Buff-in-IL on Jan 6, 2009 8:32 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

Odds of getting shut out here?

Pretty good. I will do a featured post soon enough on a few players visiting in January

The Ralphie Report - Go Buffs!...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Jan 9, 2009 8:05 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

Josh Moten considering the Buffs again?

I don’t have a Rivals subscription, so I can’t read the whole story, but it seems like they usually don’t post articles about players unless the news is relevant. Moten’s athleticism could be invaluable, and there’s obviously plenty of room in the class for him right now.

by highlandsbuff on Jan 6, 2009 9:27 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

Yeah

he is reconsidering the Buffs. He definitely has talent and I like the kid. It will be interesting if a) he changes his mind from Washington b) if he really wants to play quarterback or is given the opportunity to play QB at the next level.

The Ralphie Report - Go Buffs!...All Colorado Buffaloes on SBNation - http://www.ralphiereport.com/

by irish1611 on Jan 9, 2009 8:06 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

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