I have some time on my hands and have been thinking in a lot of detail about this class and wanted to put some thoughts on paper so to speak. We've had some really good momentum in recruiting over the past week. It's great to see as we've been sorely missing it for a long time. But a good hire seems to have done what we needed it to so far with hopefully more to come. Below I wanted to breakdown what we are getting and what needs we may still have. I also discuss how it meshes with current players on the roster.
QB Nick Sipe
QB Griffin Alstott
QB Cam Northern (walk-on)
In general, both scholarship QB's are rated as 3 star guys with Sipe typically getting the higher rating, although ESPN favors Alstott. With these two we have good size and athleticism. With the offensive coaches we have these guys should be well developed. They join a good stable of returners with Blough (JR), Sindelar (SO) and Sparks (rFR), plus 2 walk-on guys. You never know how guys will turn out but you have to like what we will have here. Being from southern Indiana and having seen Northern play, he is a good prospect as a walk-on and is a nice get.
RB - no current commits
This may be one position where a commitment for the 17 cycle isn't necessary. We return a large stable of capable backs in Jones (JR), Lankford-Johnson (SO), Knox (SR), Worship (SO), Fuller (SO), Yancey (SR), Green (SR) and Wegher (SO). Ideally Wegher could redshirt with a healthy Knox back. With some updates - we do have some offers out. It doesn't mean we'll end up with a RB but it is possible.
WR Brevin Harris
WR CJ Hayes
WR Tyler Hamilton
WR LaPerion Perry
WR D'Jaundrae Edwards
This position is probably one of the most important since we lose 4 of our top receivers from last season. You have to like the size of Edwards, Harris and Hayes. I think one or all of these guys could play right away. Hamilton is a speedster for the slot and him being on campus in the spring could land him time right away. Perry is small and is listed as an ATH but was projected to be a WR/KR type of guy. I'd imagine he gets the redshirt. These guys will compete with little returning experience, with Mahoungou and Phillips (SRs) being the most seasoned. Landers (SO) and Anthrop (rFR) will likely see more action along with Burgess (JR). Kimbrough (SR) and Franklin (rFR) may also factor. This group is wide open and we will need lots of new faces to emerge. With Edwards in the fold, we have 5 WR commits or possibly 6 if they decide Pittman is a WR. It is not likely we get someone else here unless they visit the JUCO market here. However, with little returning experience and a premium put on good WR, you can't rule out anything. Do we hang on to Perry? Although small, he does field offers from NC State and Cincinnati, so that is some good competition.
TE Darius Pittman
Although he is listed as a WR by Rivals, hopefully this guy projects at TE. If not, this is a position I think we need to nab at least one of. He has good size and a good frame so he would likely put on weight easily. You have to like the returning guys in Herdman (JR) and Hopkins (SO) and figure they will be in for a big role, especially with the inexperience at WR. Hopefully Trussell (SO) progresses as well.
OL Jalen Jackson
OL Ethan Smart
OL Mark Stickford
This is the most important position we are recruiting as evidenced by Brohm's emphasis on it. Having Jackson and Smart in for the spring will be huge and both could see early playing time as a result. With the decommit of Hudson, we are now only at 3 commits here. Don't be surprised if we end up with 1 or 2 more guys, especially from the JUCO market. The only entrenched returner is Barron at center. Other than that, it will likely be wide open. Mendez (SO) and McCann (SO) saw a lot of time at T so they will likely have a leg up. Perhaps someone out of the inexperienced group of returners of Hermanns (rFR), Yacoobi (JR), Truitt (SO), Swingler (JR), Daniels (SR), Neal (SR) and Hawthorne (rFR) will step up. I make the assumption Patterson will not return after his legal issues. There are also 5! walk-on redshirt freshmen linemen. The development of this group will ultimately determine the kind of year we are able to have next season.
DE Kai Higgins
DE Giovanni Hightower
Updated after Hightower commit. Higgins is a good looking prospect and will have 3 years of eligibility so that is a plus for a JC guy. Hightower looks like a good replacement for Mason and looks to have a larger frame so could put on more strength/weight. I'd imagine Hightower would redshirt, but you just never know. We do have returning experience in Robinson (SR) and Miles (SR) as well as some depth with Simmons (JR), Faison (SO), Turner (SO), and Larkin (SR). Perhaps someone cracks this lineup, but it seems as if there won't be as much change here.
DT Malcolm Robinson
DT Dante Johnson
Updated after Johnson commit. Robinson looks to be a good pickup. We are very thin at this spot, and it is something that must be addressed down the stretch in recruiting. Picking up Dante Johnson is nice, but his size at just 250 seems awfully small for someone to contribute right away. I'm not saying he can't, but it is likely he will need a redshirt year to put on some size and strength. Neal (SO) is the only guy who returns with much experience, and the rest of the group includes Brown (SO), Criddle (SO), Jones (JR), Colmery (JR) and Watts (rFR).
LB - no current commits
I do find it a bit concerning to not have a LB commit yet in this process. I think this is an area of need. I think we return a talented and capable group with Bentley (SR), Bailey (SO) and Ezechukwu (SR). There is some depth with Dawson (SO), Hudson (SR), Polk-Campbell (SR) and Fakasiieiki (rFR). But the fact that there are 4 seniors in a group of 8 guys signals the need to build some depth for down the road here. Perhaps they intend for Higgins to be an OLB type of guy, but he is a JC guy. It'd be nice to add at least one freshman.
DB Dedrick Mackey
DB TJ Jallow
DB Jacob Abrams
Mackey and Jallow look like pretty good prospects. Jallow especially could contribute early. He is a 3 star guy by most accords but ESPN rates him as a top 50 guy and a 4-star. Abrams isn't rated, but I like it because of his size and because it sent a message that we are going to recruit the big Indiana schools from Coach Brohm. We lost Marcus Jones to decommit, but he was a fast-rising prospect that would be okay to get back. Upgrading the secondary is definitely a place of need, but we do return nearly the entire secondary from a starting perspective but opportunity to play is there in the depth chart. At safety we return Mosley (SO) and Parker (SR) who were starters much of the year. Behind them though is little experience and only one scholarship player - Chelf (SO) to go along with 4 walk-ons. At corner, we played a lot of guys last year and return likely starters in Hunte (SR) and Cason (JR), though this is likely not set. There is a lot of depth from Roberts (JR), Shuman (SO), Hayes (SO) and Hardy (SR) as well as Little (SO) and Smiley (rFR).
K/P
We have no current commits and I would not expect that to change this year. We return Dillinger (SO) at Kicker and he was solid and return Schopper (JR) at punter who was very good. I imagine we try to bring in 1-2 in the '18 class.
EDIT: See post 31 for the scholarship breakdown. With other recent news, it appears as though we will have around 5 scholarships still available. It is likely there will be more moving parts, so this will continue to fluctuate.
EDIT 1/16/17: We still stand in the neighborhood of 5 scholarships. However, it has been mentioned there are likely moving parts even with our current holdover commits (specifically WR Perry and WR Harris). This gives us 7 and possibly more with any more potential (and still likely) roster defections.
QB Nick Sipe
QB Griffin Alstott
QB Cam Northern (walk-on)
In general, both scholarship QB's are rated as 3 star guys with Sipe typically getting the higher rating, although ESPN favors Alstott. With these two we have good size and athleticism. With the offensive coaches we have these guys should be well developed. They join a good stable of returners with Blough (JR), Sindelar (SO) and Sparks (rFR), plus 2 walk-on guys. You never know how guys will turn out but you have to like what we will have here. Being from southern Indiana and having seen Northern play, he is a good prospect as a walk-on and is a nice get.
RB - no current commits
This may be one position where a commitment for the 17 cycle isn't necessary. We return a large stable of capable backs in Jones (JR), Lankford-Johnson (SO), Knox (SR), Worship (SO), Fuller (SO), Yancey (SR), Green (SR) and Wegher (SO). Ideally Wegher could redshirt with a healthy Knox back. With some updates - we do have some offers out. It doesn't mean we'll end up with a RB but it is possible.
WR Brevin Harris
WR CJ Hayes
WR Tyler Hamilton
WR LaPerion Perry
WR D'Jaundrae Edwards
This position is probably one of the most important since we lose 4 of our top receivers from last season. You have to like the size of Edwards, Harris and Hayes. I think one or all of these guys could play right away. Hamilton is a speedster for the slot and him being on campus in the spring could land him time right away. Perry is small and is listed as an ATH but was projected to be a WR/KR type of guy. I'd imagine he gets the redshirt. These guys will compete with little returning experience, with Mahoungou and Phillips (SRs) being the most seasoned. Landers (SO) and Anthrop (rFR) will likely see more action along with Burgess (JR). Kimbrough (SR) and Franklin (rFR) may also factor. This group is wide open and we will need lots of new faces to emerge. With Edwards in the fold, we have 5 WR commits or possibly 6 if they decide Pittman is a WR. It is not likely we get someone else here unless they visit the JUCO market here. However, with little returning experience and a premium put on good WR, you can't rule out anything. Do we hang on to Perry? Although small, he does field offers from NC State and Cincinnati, so that is some good competition.
TE Darius Pittman
Although he is listed as a WR by Rivals, hopefully this guy projects at TE. If not, this is a position I think we need to nab at least one of. He has good size and a good frame so he would likely put on weight easily. You have to like the returning guys in Herdman (JR) and Hopkins (SO) and figure they will be in for a big role, especially with the inexperience at WR. Hopefully Trussell (SO) progresses as well.
OL Jalen Jackson
OL Ethan Smart
OL Mark Stickford
This is the most important position we are recruiting as evidenced by Brohm's emphasis on it. Having Jackson and Smart in for the spring will be huge and both could see early playing time as a result. With the decommit of Hudson, we are now only at 3 commits here. Don't be surprised if we end up with 1 or 2 more guys, especially from the JUCO market. The only entrenched returner is Barron at center. Other than that, it will likely be wide open. Mendez (SO) and McCann (SO) saw a lot of time at T so they will likely have a leg up. Perhaps someone out of the inexperienced group of returners of Hermanns (rFR), Yacoobi (JR), Truitt (SO), Swingler (JR), Daniels (SR), Neal (SR) and Hawthorne (rFR) will step up. I make the assumption Patterson will not return after his legal issues. There are also 5! walk-on redshirt freshmen linemen. The development of this group will ultimately determine the kind of year we are able to have next season.
DE Kai Higgins
DE Giovanni Hightower
Updated after Hightower commit. Higgins is a good looking prospect and will have 3 years of eligibility so that is a plus for a JC guy. Hightower looks like a good replacement for Mason and looks to have a larger frame so could put on more strength/weight. I'd imagine Hightower would redshirt, but you just never know. We do have returning experience in Robinson (SR) and Miles (SR) as well as some depth with Simmons (JR), Faison (SO), Turner (SO), and Larkin (SR). Perhaps someone cracks this lineup, but it seems as if there won't be as much change here.
DT Malcolm Robinson
DT Dante Johnson
Updated after Johnson commit. Robinson looks to be a good pickup. We are very thin at this spot, and it is something that must be addressed down the stretch in recruiting. Picking up Dante Johnson is nice, but his size at just 250 seems awfully small for someone to contribute right away. I'm not saying he can't, but it is likely he will need a redshirt year to put on some size and strength. Neal (SO) is the only guy who returns with much experience, and the rest of the group includes Brown (SO), Criddle (SO), Jones (JR), Colmery (JR) and Watts (rFR).
LB - no current commits
I do find it a bit concerning to not have a LB commit yet in this process. I think this is an area of need. I think we return a talented and capable group with Bentley (SR), Bailey (SO) and Ezechukwu (SR). There is some depth with Dawson (SO), Hudson (SR), Polk-Campbell (SR) and Fakasiieiki (rFR). But the fact that there are 4 seniors in a group of 8 guys signals the need to build some depth for down the road here. Perhaps they intend for Higgins to be an OLB type of guy, but he is a JC guy. It'd be nice to add at least one freshman.
DB Dedrick Mackey
DB TJ Jallow
DB Jacob Abrams
Mackey and Jallow look like pretty good prospects. Jallow especially could contribute early. He is a 3 star guy by most accords but ESPN rates him as a top 50 guy and a 4-star. Abrams isn't rated, but I like it because of his size and because it sent a message that we are going to recruit the big Indiana schools from Coach Brohm. We lost Marcus Jones to decommit, but he was a fast-rising prospect that would be okay to get back. Upgrading the secondary is definitely a place of need, but we do return nearly the entire secondary from a starting perspective but opportunity to play is there in the depth chart. At safety we return Mosley (SO) and Parker (SR) who were starters much of the year. Behind them though is little experience and only one scholarship player - Chelf (SO) to go along with 4 walk-ons. At corner, we played a lot of guys last year and return likely starters in Hunte (SR) and Cason (JR), though this is likely not set. There is a lot of depth from Roberts (JR), Shuman (SO), Hayes (SO) and Hardy (SR) as well as Little (SO) and Smiley (rFR).
K/P
We have no current commits and I would not expect that to change this year. We return Dillinger (SO) at Kicker and he was solid and return Schopper (JR) at punter who was very good. I imagine we try to bring in 1-2 in the '18 class.
EDIT: See post 31 for the scholarship breakdown. With other recent news, it appears as though we will have around 5 scholarships still available. It is likely there will be more moving parts, so this will continue to fluctuate.
EDIT 1/16/17: We still stand in the neighborhood of 5 scholarships. However, it has been mentioned there are likely moving parts even with our current holdover commits (specifically WR Perry and WR Harris). This gives us 7 and possibly more with any more potential (and still likely) roster defections.
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