Late battles in the dog days of Wilk recruiting

It’s DAY SIX of Wilk recruiting, if we count Thursday as day one, and only one day remaining of the grind. Little is going on in the recruiting trail, so here’s a little casual DIA recruiting reading. These are top battles that were still open on Day 5, and where they stand at 5pm EST on Day 6. #3 QB Ralph Winn, Richlands, VA. (68.26). Between Virginia Tech (bols, 75m) and Virginia Tech (dalailama12, 192m). Winn is a mobile QB, 78/76 spd/elu. Passer ratings aren’t bad either: 71 STR, 65 GI, 65 TEC. Good WE at 52. GPA is low at 2.4. Still a great add for either program, with top tier talent. SIGNED: Virginia Tech. #7 QB Jason McGee, Philadelphia, PA. (64.14). Between Rutgers (z32fanatic, 52m) and Maryland (PhilFulmer98, 114m). Also a fairly mobile QB at 87 spd 68 elu. Passer ratings of 64 STR, 57 GI, 68 TEC. WE is low at 39, GPA is low at 2.0. Not a top tier guy, and with the low GI, WE and GPA, might be prone to mistakes. Still, a team could do much worse. SIGNED: Rutgers #2 RB John Lucas, Moodas, CT. (80.19). Between Connecticut (gt_duece, 23m) and Boston College (laswell, 87m). Lucas could be an impact player right away with 89 spd, 90 str, 90 elu. Decent hands for an RB. Negatives are a low WE at 27, and athleticism is only 54. But he’s a ready-to-go talent that’s hard to come by in Wilk. BC in it’s sheltered recruiting is getting challenged by UConn, though, and that hasn’t happened a lot. SIGNED: UConn #6 WR Jesus Jackson, El Paso, TX (78.52). Between UTEP (timberdrive, 6m) and Houston (truedevil33, 672m). A great talent from the sparsely populated westernmost Texas. UTEP took a while to give serious attention to the kid, and Houston jumped on him in the vacuum. UTEP has a ton of scholarships open at 18, which probably combined with the distance disadvantage kept other big programs away. UTEP was presented with a unique opportunity at having the #4 rated QB, and the #6 and #17 WRs in the El Paso area. For their own reasons, they passed on the QB, letting the brand new coach at Arizona State sign him. They did sign the #17 WR early though, and made a play for the #6. Houston may have lost the edge when fighting for a QB with Texas, which they won. SIGNED: UTEP #18 OL Jay Ayala, Mercersburg, PA (81.16). Between Pittsburgh (cjl9652, 117m) and Temple (husker111, 147m). A very solid blocker, Ayala’s 80 Ath offsets concerns about low WE (36). Both of these teams need OL depth, returning only 6, with Pitt perhaps a little more desperate having 3 OL seniors ready to graduate. Pitt landed two other very good OL, including the #9 OL, and Temple had one other wrapped up. SIGNED: Temple #23 OL Joe Rivera, Sandy, UT. (80.81). Between BYU (leinbacker, 26m) and Colorado (cjsweat, 350m). Another highly athletic OL with 89 Ath. Rivera rates 87 Str, 82 Blk, 63 Tec. With a 53 WE and any potential at all, he’ll be a stud. BYU has the distance advantage, Colorado has the scholarship advantage. Both really have a need for OL depth, too. BYU returns only 5 from last season, but has three OL signed before Rivera. Colorado looks to prepare for losing 3 senior OL, and wants to avoid returning only 5 next season. Rivera would be the best OL either sign. SIGNED: Colorado #6 DL Nathan Webb, Homer, NY (78.36). Between Syracuse (pete_61, 27m) and Penn State (nortonis, 153m). Syracuse has played in an L5 bowl the last 5 seasons, narrowly missing the NC game last time. Penn State is Penn State, with 3 recent NCs on the resume. They also finished #18 and #19 the last two seasons. Prestige may be close to even for these programs seeking Webb’s services. Webb is a top talent, with 90 Str, 90 Til, 59 GI, 57 Tec. His WE is on the low side at 39, but he doesn’t need to grow a ton to be useful for either program. Penn State runs a 34 and only returns 3 DL. They’ve already signed the #19 DL, but are in bad need for the depth. Syracuse returns 5 and mainly runs a 34, as well. They also have one other signed, and could absorb losing this one better, but Webb is a home turf guy for Syracuse. ONGOING #9 DL Robert Ryan, Wall, SD (77.76). Between Colorado (cjsweat, 314m) and Nebraska (jason freeman, 357m). Both of these teams run a 3-4. Colorado appears in greater need, returning only 3 DL. They’ve signed one DL already, and are perusing another that is considering SimAI Washington State. Ryan is leaps above the other two, however. 89 Str, 90 Til, 69 GI, 57 Tec, he’s physically ready to contribute right away. Nebraska returns 5, with two seniors ready to graduate, so will be looking to smooth that transition. The Buffalos have had great recent success, and may have prestige close to Nebraska’s, but the Cornhuskers were clear of any battles after signings. Colorado’s two other battles could lead to Ryan wearing Red for their rivals. ONGOING #27 LB Scott Wilkinson, Pompano Beach, FL (70.56). Between Miami (da_goat, 38m) and Florida (potter444, 272m). Wilkinson is fast, with 80 Spd, and also throws in 90 Str and 90 Tkl. His Ath is 55 and GI 57, areas for improvement, but still a great tackler with fast closing speed. Both teams run a 34. Miami is well stocked with LBs, returning 7 and having 2 already signed. Florida returns 5 and has one other signed, so need is a bit heavier for the Gators. Unfortunately, distance was not on Florida’s side, and Florida found itself tangled with Florida State for a DB as well. SIGNED: Miami #18 DB Phillip Powell, Andale, KS (69.64). Between Oklahoma State (chainsaw4, 118m) and Tulsa (Groobsauce, 148m). Powell’s a great looking DB with speed (90) and athleticism (77). His WE is on the low side, but he’ll make a contribution wherever he signs. Interestingly, both of these coaches are in the first season with their teams. Tulsa has two more scholarships open than Oklahoma State, which doesn’t translate to much, if any, advantage over a BCS team. Coach chainsaw has a reputation as a dogged recruiter who will go in heavy on a battle, but he may have met his bizzaro doppelgänger in that category with the new Tulsa coach. Of 16 scholarships open, Tulsa has signed only one other player, with no others considering, no other battles. He did spend heavy on a WR against Texas though, so his funds may have been depleted already. SIGNED: Tulsa #21 DB Travis Joyner, Raleigh, NC (69.36). Three way battle between NC State (go4itjim, 3m), North Carolina (genuvar, 24m) and Tennessee (deenhorvie, 297m). Joyner would make a great addition to any of these teams. 57 Ath, 90 Spd, 90 Tkl, 61 GI, 69 Tec. Tennessee is at a distance disadvantage, and may have expended a good amount of cash recruiting the #2 QB against Alabama. They return 6 DBs and have another very good DB already signed. UNC returns 7 and has two others already signed, including the #4 DB. NC State’s position is a little more precarious, with only 4 DBs returning, and only one other signed. The Wolfpack definitely will hurt the most if they lose out on Joyner. SIGNED: Tennessee Bonus: #43 DB Henry English, Albany, GA (67.1). Between Florida State (badaxe, 77m) and Florida (potter444, 170m). English has some weak points (56 Ath, 46 Str, 57 Tkl), but strong ones as well (87 Spd, 71 GI, 83 Tec, 3.7 GPA). The Seminoles return only 4 DBs, so this is a big need. They’ve signed two others, one a little better than English, one a little worse, but need to get 7 to keep from getting gassed in the defensive backfield. Florida returns 7, but with 3 seniors and 3 juniors, don’t want to miss out on English to keep some depth. And he’s their only DB target. This is the only battle either team is left with at this point. The Gators have five open scholarships, the Seminoles two, but the Noles have backups and the Gators don’t. Hard to tell if the Gators are out of gas or just all in on English. ONGOING. GL, all.