Information overload. A lot of pub today, as should be expected. I would say the consensus surrounding the Buffs after reading message boards and few articles is a slight lean towards the disappointment side. Diante Jackson is what really sent most fans over the edge, which was expected, but again, one player won't make or break this thing. The new "company line" will now be "pray that Andre Simmons qualifies."
Speaking of Andre Simmons and the rest of the 2009 commits, cubuffs.com has put out a nice synopsis of Dan Hawkins media notes yesterday as well as a player by player breakdown by each coach that recruited each player. Here is what Coach Kiesau said about Andre Simmons:
ON WR ANDRE SIMMONS-"Andre is a JC kid we got out of Kansas. Again, he's 6'3, 205-210 pound kid who is big and strong kid-he can run now too, he's probably a little faster than Jarrod. He returned kicks as well, so he has some return experience as well. Great ball skills, great hands, he's very athletic-he's got some work to do academically, but he's on track to do that and he needs to stay on that course and get some work done and be able to come in and be an immediate impact for us."
Hawkins said it will as tough for Andre Simmons to get in as it will for Shaun Mohler...that is not good. Tons of good stuff in this release. I would highly suggest reading it.
Some other information that came out yesterday and recruiting rankings:
- The Buffs finished 48th in rivals recruiting rankings and 9th in the Big 12. The Buffs finished 8th in the Big 12 conference standings this year so a 9th ranked class should be expected. Winning will improve these rankings, obviously.
- Brad Bedell looks like he won't be the next offensive line coach. Hawkins wants a guy named by Feb 16th.
- CU finished the class with 19 signatures, putting them at 83 scholarships. Down the stretch, as Hawkins said in his press conference, they had 49 healthy scholarship players.
- Ryan Miller looks to be recovering well and is trying to get ready for the track season
- Miller and Max Tuioti-Mariner is still waiting to hear from the NCAA about their medical redshirts. They are confident that won't be a problem.
- The Buffs game at West Virginia has moved from Sept. 26 to Thursday, Oct. 1. The Buffs game at Oklahoma State has also been moved to Thursday, Nov. 19. I hate this one because they play Iowa State 5 days before.
- Spring drills open March 31. The spring game is April 25.
- Buff coaches will have 62 official visits to use in building the 2010 class. They used 53 in this cycle.
- Lamont Smith, a defensive back and member of the 2007 class, is no longer with the program. He was academically ineligible last season according to the BDC.
CUBuffs.com has a good page to listen and read about some good Buff information.
Neil Devlin at the Denver Post likes what the Buffs did in-state and he thinks the Buffs got a steal in TE DaVaughn Thornton:
The steal?
CU, again. My vote's for East's DaVaughn Thornton, an intriguing specimen of a tight end whose ceiling is high and can flat-out get it done. Translation: He can run and catch, and he is athletic enough to be plugged into other positions. Lock him in the weight room.
Kyle Ringo of the Boulder Daily Camera writes that some of the defensive linemen in this class may be put into the fire from Day 1.
But it's likely one or more of the freshmen will be needed.
"We'll see who is mentally ready, physically ready, emotionally ready," Hawkins said. "We'll see where we go. Probably just numbers-wise, you're probably right. There are probably a better chance for one or two of those guys, but we'll see."
The most likely to play might be five-star defensive end Nick Kasa, but Hawkins raved about the other three as well.
"He's extremely explosive," Hawkins said about defensive tackle Edward Nuckols from California. "He just knocks people off the ball."
The Denver Post has a neat article on the re-emergence of Denver East High School. Also, DP names some 2010 prospects.
The Daily Herald has a nice write up about Gus Handler and his college decision to come to Colorado.
Diante Jackson in the Contra Coasta Times:
"Freshman year is the biggest year that you want to get your grades straight and I felt that Oregon would give me more opportunities to be successful than Colorado, not just in sports but academically," Jackson said. "I felt like there's no better place to go in early and prove myself than Oregon."
Coach Bellotti of Oregon called Diante Jackson's recruitment a "saga." We will never know the whole story but "making his own choice" might not be accurate...but I am not bitter:
With a receiving corps full of holes, the Ducks secured Diante Jackson of Walnut Creek, Calif., marking the end to what Bellotti called a "saga." The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Jackson chose Oregon after making verbal commitments to a number of teams and was reportedly waffling among Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State as late as Tuesday evening. Bellotti said a phone call he received from Jackson late Tuesday gave him a good indication that he was going to pick Oregon.
Jackson is ranked in the top-50 in the nation by both Rivals.com and Scouts.com and was the top-ranked player in the Bay Area by the Contra Costa Times.
"I’ve learned that with Diante you have to be patient," Bellotti said. "He committed to a number of different schools, and he had a number of different people influencing him. But he made his own choice that Oregon was the best place to be."
Patrick Willis of the Rocky Mountain News talked with Jeremy Crabtree, rivals recruitng analyst, to discuss Colorado colleges recruiting. Here is what he said about Colorado:
1 How would you rate the University of Colorado's class overall?
"Colorado closed really strong. They lost a four-star receiver but they gained a four-star receiver back. They gained another three-star receiver in the back end, so I think overall you'd give them a B-minus. But judging from a need scale, they did a pretty good "need" job. . . . They've got their starting defensive end of the future, they've got their starting offensive tackle of the future in this year's class. They have a good quarterback who's going to make the position competitive, and the receiver punch, too. From a need standpoint, maybe a B, and from an overall talent standpoint, a B-minus."
Big12sports.com has a list of all the recruits taken by each Big 12 school.
Favorite picture of the day...Shaun Simon representing the Buffs well:
In basketball news, CU lost a tough one to Nebraska last night but you can tell this team is improving. Higgins and Thorne, once again, led the team in scoring.