re: 2013 Fall Camp Discussion

some talent observations for the defense

Rival 4-stars+

DL
SR - 0
JR - 1 (Robinson)
SO - 0
FR - 4 (Golden, Manning, Walker, Hall)

LB
SR - 0
JR - 0
SO - 0
FR - 0

DB
SR - 0
JR - 2 (Matthews, Raven)
SO - 1 (Harris)
FR - 3 (Miles, Ellis, Garner)

Obviously we've had our issues in past years recruiting talent. Sherman's staff had a knack for finding hidden gems (Moore, Obioha, Porter, Everett) but it's hard to build depth that way. Our LB recruiting still lags but we did pick up four that were rated 5.7 (the highest 3*) last year. But based on recruiting, it appears the LB spots will be what holds us back from being elite down the line.

And for '14 we already have 6 commitments from 4*+ defensive players, more than the entire roster outside of the incoming class. The raw talent is increasing rather rapidly. The question for this year is how quickly we can assimilate the young kids into the system and whether we have enough Sherman gems to be average. IMO, we really only need to be average on defense because our offense is going to be pretty comparable to last year. But there is no question that the defense is going to see marked improvements in the coming years.