Started By
Message
re: 2019 Football Recruiting Thread - Auburn Goes 4/7 & Land Brothers
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:39 pm to TigerPaw1
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:39 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
New No. 1
IMG Academy defensive end Nolan Smith has overtaken Zach Harrison as the new No. 1 player in the country. Harrison had been No. 1 due to his freakish upside. He’s 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, runs a 10.7 100 meter and a 4.47 40 but he’s still extremely raw as a defensive end. We love Harrison but we came to the realization that Smith has enough freakish athleticism of his own with a 4.51 40 yard dash and a 42-inch vertical. But he also has none of the refinement concerns. The Georgia commit is polished, dominated elite competition last year as an underclassman and at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, he has no size concerns. Smith is the rare prospect that is both safe and has immense upside.
There was really only one other prospect that joined the conversation as the No. 1 prospect and that was Kayvon Thibodeaux. He reasserted himself at The Opening Finals and delivered a No. 1-worthy performance and that helped him creep up to No. 3 in our overall rankings.
1
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:39 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
The 5-star rundown
OT, Logan Brown (Wisconsin commit)
Up from 17 to 6
A 61-foot shot putter who is a lean athlete at offensive tackle with a nasty streak, we felt this was the right time to crown the guy we’ve long suspected was the nation’s top tackle. Now lets see if he can hang onto that title.
Wisconsin is actually recruiting really well this cycle
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:39 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
DT, Travon Walker
Up from 16 to 7
Walker is raw and still a long way from being a finished product but he’s a three-sport athlete that excels in all three, is an elite level athlete and he has a frame that will naturally grow into a defensive tackle rather than trim down in college.
Hoping he visits July 28th but we are a major longshot in this race
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:40 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
DE, George Karlaftis (Purdue commit)
Up from 12 to 9
Whether he grows into a defensive tackle or stays at defensive end, Karlaftis is a fantastic athlete that is relatively new to football with a track, basketball and water polo background. We saw five-star film and athleticism prior to The Opening Finals but wanted one last look and he checked out for us.
Jeff Brohm doing work
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:40 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
LB, Owen Pappoe (Auburn commit)
Up from 20 to 10
Pappoe is a verified freak athlete. He’s a 4.4 40 guy as a 210-pound linebacker and he’s the type of guy every team wants in today’s game. He’s been on the scene for a while and the five-star tag is well-earned.
About damn time
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:40 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
WR, Kyle Ford
Up from 32 to 13
If you’re looking for someone that earned a fifth star primarily from his performance at The Opening, Ford is your guy. He went out and took it with a wide receiver performance that was historic at that event. Let’s not call him just a camp all-star, though. He had over 1,400 yards receiving as a junior.
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:41 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
OT, Wanya Morris (Tennessee commit)
Up from 62 to 14
Wanya is the same guy he was that dominated The Opening Charlotte Regional and the same guy that has elite film but the more we see his body type, his elite athleticism, the more we feel like he has a chance to be the best tackle in this class.
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:41 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
RB, John Emery
Up from 48 to 16
Emery has the most excited running back film in this cycle. He’s the best combination of size (206 pounds) and speed 4.42 40 in this class at that position. He missed some time due to injury as a junior but expect a big senior season because his skillset is freakish.
Cmon man you don't really wanna play in Starkville...
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:42 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
LB, Brandon Smith (Penn State commit)
Up from 33 to 17
This move is really based on film and traits than any single camp performance. Smith just feels like a can’t miss prospect because of the God-given length, verified athleticism and the ability to strike and play downhill as a 6-4 linebacker.
This dude is insane. He looks like a DE but plays LB. Has possibly most violent tape I've seen this class
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:42 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
New QB pecking order
Oklahoma commit Spencer Rattler is the new top quarterback and there wasn’t much debate about the move at all. He moves up to inside the top 50 despite a smaller frame because of his throwing instincts, arm talent and consistency he’s shown in person.
There was some debate on No. 2. Florida State commit Sam Howell and Auburn commit Bo Nix both merit strong consideration but ultimately Nix moves up to No. 2 and inside the top100 in part because of his command and accuracy but in part because he’s so athletic with a 4.60 40. Both are really talented passers.
The fourth name that enters what we feel like is the top tier of quarterbacks in this class is South Carolina pledge Ryan Hilinski. He jumps up to right outside of the Top100 and in the discussion with the other three because of what he did on film as a junior and the way he has dramatically and steadily improved his game over the last few years. He validated a jump with a really some really strong spring and summer showings.
Dual threat baby
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:43 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
The new arrivals
No. 49 TE Baylor Cupp (Texas A&M commit)
No. 102 RB Tyrion Davis (LSU commit)
No. 137 OT Andrew Kristofic (Notre Dame commit)
No. 156 S Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame commit)
No. 161 ATH Steele Chambers (Ohio State commit)
No. 170 LB Marvin Hamm (Boston College commit)
No. 179 CB Cameron Smith
No. 189 LB Cameron Williams
No. 193 DE David OJabo
No. 208 APB Giles Jackson
No. 209 CB Joey Porter Jr.
No. 228 OT Warren McClendon
No. 233 RB Daimarqua Foster (TCU commit)
No. 234 OLB Avery Huff (Miami commit)
No. 238 APB Wandale Robinson
No. 239 RB Kenan Christon
No. 246 TE Kyle Bilodeau (Purdue commit)
I really liked Hamilton but he never seemed that interested in AU
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:44 pm to TigerPaw1
Notable risers in the latest Top247 for the 2019 class (247)
quote:
The latest Top247 for 2019 rankings were released Thursday with a lot of movement following a busy camp season.
With The Opening circuit complete along with many 7-on-7 tournaments across the country, 247Sports reevaluated its 2019 rankings to better reflect the more holistic view of the prospects we now have. It's important to stress these rankings weren't based on camps alone. Junior year film still factors heavily into these changes.
There were some massive risers with this latest update, which is what we're taking a look at today with the help of 247Sports Director of Scouting Barton Simmons.
Most of these players were highly regarded before, but they've really managed to separate themselves over the last few months.
With in mind, here are 10 notable risers in the latest Top247.
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:44 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
TRAVON WALKER
Position: DT
New Ranking: No. 7 (16)
Commitment: NA (Georgia leads at 91 percent in Crystal Ball)
Simmons' Take: “He’s a three-sport athlete that’s still raw, but he has the film you want. He tests off the charts and he excels at everything he does. With his frame at defensive tackle, he’ll be exactly what you want.”
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:45 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
WANYA MORRIS
Position: OT
New Ranking: No. 14 (62) - New five-star
Commitment: Tennessee
Simmons' Take: “He has as high a ceiling as any offensive lineman in this class. He’s got the physical tools that are off the charts with a great frame and athleticism, and he’s showed us that his play backs up those measurable.”
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:45 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
BO NIX
Position: QB
New Ranking: No. 98 (177)
Commitment: Auburn
Simmons' Take: “Nix made a big statement at The Opening Finals. He’s a really poised, accurate and efficient passer — but he also tested extremely well in the combine portion of the event, which triggers a really high ceiling for his development at Auburn.”
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:53 pm to TigerPaw1
How Owen 'The Freak' Pappoe has remained true to himself (247)
quote:
FRISCO, Texas – Draped in Nike gear, Owen Pappoe stands in front of a reporter and fields questions with a smile on his face. One after the other, Pappoe happily expounds on his The Opening Finals experience and the bundles of swag he received at The Star (home of the Dallas Cowboys) upon arrival.
This isn’t abnormal behavior for Pappoe. Quick to flash a grin and good natured, he’s handled questions with grace throughout his recruitment. Yet, something is different.
Pappoe, only a few weeks removed from a May commitment to Auburn, seems free.
“You can’t even explain it,” Pappoe told 247Sports. “It’s a weight taken off your shoulders. I’m just relieved.”
Special recruits come along annually, but it’s hard not to view Pappoe as a generational story. The Opening Finals is the elite recruiting event each cycle. Pappoe, the No. 10 player in the updated Top247 , is both the youngest prospect ever to be invited and the first to attend three times.
A 6-foot-0.5, 209-pound athletic force at linebacker, Pappoe is capable of running a 4.54 40-yard dash and leaping 38.9 inches in the vertical jump. He’s arguably the most athletic recruit in the country with a nickname, “The Freak,” to match.
Owner of double-digit Power Five offers as an eighth grader, Pappoe is a teen so long in the spotlight that a full graduation cycle of prospects who received offers at the same time as him will have come and gone from college rosters by the time he reaches Auburn.
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:54 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
Pappoe’s football career began with a missed dunk.
This wasn’t just any rim-clanking deflection. It involved a man-child sixth grader running in the open court and attempting to jam over a defender, something few high school-aged prospects would even attempt. The miss caused former NFL player Kenyatta Watson to exclaim, “What the hell?”
Watson’s son, Kenyatta II (a Texas commit), had told his dad about Owen’s athleticism earlier that year. But when the elder Watson saw Owen standing on the curb waiting to be picked up, he just saw a “dorky” middle schooler. That image of Pappoe morphed with the missed dunk. Broad shouldered and unusually muscled, Watson’s mind flashed to the possibilities of Pappoe on a football field. He had a youth team, the Gwinnett Chargers, and he wanted Pappoe to play.
Only thing was, Pappoe knew nothing about football. Basketball was king in his house. His dad, Lorenzo, grew up in the Michael Jordan era and spoke his gospel. Super Bowl Sunday might as well have been one of 104 weekend days in a calendar year.
When asked, though, Pappoe agreed to give football a shot.
A few months later, Pappoe played in his first tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. Watson called Pappoe’s stance at defensive end “the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen.” Yet when the whistle blew, Pappoe flew through linemen to destroy ball carriers mostly on speed and power alone.
Once, Pappoe hit an opponent so hard he struggled to get up, which caused Pappoe to look on in horror.
“I just said, ‘No, no, no. That’s a good thing, you’re supposed to do that,’” Watson recalled with a laugh.
Thus, a terror was born.
The Freak moniker came shortly after. Watson decided to try Pappoe at running back in eighth grade. While Pappoe knew almost nothing about fits or blocking schemes, he had little trouble with the position’s mandate – run fast. Pappoe scored 16 total touchdowns that season, adding 50 tackles and 17 sacks to that total in his second year as a football player.
Most eighth graders don’t have a highlight video. The document of Pappoe’s eighth grade campaign is the origin of his recruiting legend.
Pappoe looks like a 25-year-old man in the highlight tape. He ran through, around and into comparably pint-sized opponents. It had the internet buzzing. That got the attention of then-Boston College assistant Al Washington, who called Watson (a former BC player) about his pupil.
Washington watched and responded: “Are you kidding me? That’s an eighth grader?” He decided to offer on the spot.
At a workout, Pappoe got a call from Watson saying Washington wanted to speak to him. When Washington told him the news, all Pappoe could manage was, ‘Uh, thank you.’ The football neophyte had no idea what an offer meant.
“That’s how it all started,” Pappoe said.
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:56 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
Time is a fickle thing. Depending on your mood or schedule, it can either trickle or rush by. For Pappoe, a junior high sensation, time did both. His offer list and friendship with Watson II set off a whirlwind recruiting experience. The elder Watson estimates Pappoe visited 34 different schools in a two-and-half year period.
That doesn’t include the weekly phone calls Pappoe received from coaches or the interview requests from reporters. Things have slowed some since Pappoe’s verbal to Auburn, but Lorenzo Pappoe insists the mail is still pouring by the day.
That leads to the idea of agency over one’s self.
“(Recruiting) is nuts, but you learn how to control it,” Pappoe said. “There will be some coaches that try to take advantage of you and pressure you into things. Like, there were times I almost committed to early and I’m glad I didn’t.
“You go through the process and learn this is a serious decision. You’ve got a lot of time to think about it.”
Lorenzo’s thoughts on Pappoe’s unexpected fame were pretty simple, in that it’s provided teaching moments for the rest of his life.
Answering questions from reporters at such a young age had Pappoe thinking of smart, measured responses. Building relationships with coaches – life is all about forming bonds and engaging with a variety of people. Difficult decisions — those are the moments that define a person’s path.
The Pappoes stressed individual thinking for their children, and Owen grappled with a lot quickly.
“Those are things that come with being a little high school football star and growing up,” Lorenzo Pappoe said. “As you grow older, it can get even more complicated for you. If you can handle it now, you should be just fine.”
Owen is somewhat of a rarity when it comes to players with a high number of junior high offers in that he’s committed only once. Other recent high-profile examples like Tate Martell (thrice) and David Sills (twice) each made at least one verbal pledge to a different school than they ultimately signed with.
In many ways that’s ordinary. Recruiting, by its nature, is a system designed to place pressure on a recruit to commit. When the offers arrive by the dozen in junior high, that pressure is magnified.
“It just shows (Owen’s) maturity,” said 247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong. “We’re in a culture now where so many of these kids commit so early. The process has barely gotten going for them. They get all their early offers, take early visits and they think they’re ready to decide. It seemed like Owen was close to decide a few times. But he waited.
“He didn’t make his recruitment a circus and he committed with his friends at the school. It was all pretty normal.”
Pappoe felt the pressure on more than one occasion. When thinking back on his recruitment, Pappoe admits he almost committed on three separate occasions to Tennessee (his original “dream school”), Georgia (his home state standout) and Florida State.
The latter most likely would have happened had Jimbo Fisher not abruptly left for Texas A&M.
“It’s just how the coaches were talking to me,” Pappoe said. “It just lured me in. You almost feel like you do (have to commit).”
Volatility can often define recruitment, and Pappoe’s was no different. When he released a Top 3 last season, the Tigers didn’t even crack the list. Given time, though, Auburn linebacker coach Travis Wilson built the strongest and longest-lasting relationship with Pappoe. It’s that bond that ultimately won out.
Given his family’s background and constant advice, Pappoe shifted ably through the noise.
Lorenzo constantly hammered home the idea of being an “individual thinker,” attempting to be a driving force in the back instead of the front. The family made lists of pros and cons, urging Owen to consider the large picture instead of a momentary relationship or post-visit feeling.
They also demanded responsibility. Watson, who accompanied Pappoe on almost all of his visits, said Pappoe’s parents would never allow Owen to back out of a commitment. “Your word is your word.”
Prodigious talents can come with equally ambitious parents (think Earl Woods or LaVar Ball). Thus, it’s worth noting this piece of advice Lorenzo would give any family in a similar situation.
“It’s not just the recruitment process, we were looking at it form a much bigger picture,” Lorenzo said. “There would be days where we’d have to face our bills or other natural occurrences. We wanted to be sure Owen could make that decision for himself. I would tell any parent, let the child out and have the experience. You could do all the coaching and talking on the back end.”
Posted on 7/12/18 at 1:57 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
The grin remains firmly fixed in place as fellow recruits come up to give Pappoe love.
Everyone seems to know Pappoe, and it’s not surprising since he’s the longest-tenured recruit on the circuit. You can occasionally hear calls of “Freak” as Pappoe fields interviews.
More than three years since receiving his initial offer from Boston College, Pappoe, at least in Watson’s view, remains that little dork he saw standing on the sidewalk. That’s complimentary, by the way. Pappoe still comes home and plays video games with his brothers. His name’s never come off the honor roll. The only difference is he’ll occasionally have to pose for photos when approached in the mall. Smiling, of course.
“He’s a perfect model for a recruit,” Watson said. “He got all that attention early. It never affected him. He’s never been in any trouble. He’s always a yes sir, no sir kid. He’s always remained Owen.”
Posted on 7/12/18 at 2:00 pm to TigerPaw1
quote:
Bama fans not too happy about these updates
Lulz Bama mods deleted the thread
Page 227 of 497
Latest Auburn News
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News