Long Range Bombers- Schools that went past their 360 to nab great recruits.

In any world, being able to recruit great players across the country is a useful skill for a coach to have, and can mean the difference between being a pretender and being a contender. It’s a little easier in less populated worlds, though. In a world like Wilkinson, it’s a trickier matter and requires a little luck, a good amount of risk, and a great deal of work. This list was originally compiled the day before signings, and was updated the day after, so it will include some signings that didn’t pan out, and some that weren’t on the radar before. Tip o’ the hat to all these coaches for their efforts. (Skip to the end if you want to see who gets the title “King of Long Distance Recruiting” for this season.) Ohio, PhilFulmer98 - 406m #14 QB Joseph Cooper, 63.96, Sidney, NY. 180 of Syracuse, Army, Rutgers, Temple, Penn St, UConn. Penn St signed the #7 QB, Army and UConn are fighting for the #8 QB. Syracuse went to the top of Maine for the #18 QB, and Rutgers and Temple locked horns for the #19. SIGNED. Oklahoma, blitziscomin - 1,389m #15 QB Philip Morris, 63.62, Piedmont, CA 180: California, Stanford, Fresno State Cal signed the #1 rated QB, Fresno went for a 2 star recruit, Stanford seems to have skipped QB. USC and UCLA were in his 360, but USC signed a local QB who many recruiting services skipped over, and UCLA went past his 360 to sign a 2 star recruit in Arizona. Morris is a well rounded QB with 54 WE, a nice reach and grab for OU. SIGNED Robert Morris, Sim AI - 2,131m #17 QB James May, 63.34, Los Angeles, CA 180: USC, UCLA Perhaps OU’s signee Philip Morris would have been a more poetic signee for DIAA Robert Morris, as we could assume it was a family thing, but May slipped past DIA radars (and DIAA radars) and fell to a DIAA sim. His 564 overall rating must have played a part, but that seems to be mostly from May’s slow speed of 39. The rest of his ratings are DIA quality with 65 ATH, 68 STR, 50 GI, 74 TEC and a 3.6 GPA for picking up the playbook. Sim AI doesn’t really deserve credit for long distance recruiting, but Texas A&M didn’t even notice this kid until after signing cycle. He’s included here as a reminder that even in Wilk a useful talent can still slip through the cracks. SIGNED Syracuse, hookemhorns7 - 469m #18 QB Melvin Schultz, 63.16, Fort Kent, ME 180: none, 360: none Fort Kent is at the top of Maine, and past the radar of nearly all schools. BC is the closest at 363m, but got a commit from the #3 QB in New Hampshire. Schultz needed a longer scanning coach to save him the ignominy of a Sim AI career, and coach hookem stepped up. A well rounded QB with a good WE, he’ll be a very solid starter in a few seasons. SIGNED Georgia, bama2448 - 2,047m #23 QB Chris Hill, 62.38, Fresno, CA 180: Fresno State, Stanford, California Hometown Fresno State liked a slightly lower rated QB in Oregon, Cal signed the #1 QB, and Stanford doesn’t appear to have been in the hunt. First year Georgia coach bama2448 went very long to land Hill, who should develop into a good QB. Hill’s strength is a little below average at 49, and his GI is only a 58, but his technique is extremely high at 80. A nice grab for the first year coach. SIGNED Wisconsin, paulsuberlak - 416m #1 RB James Robinson, 82.93, Elizabtethtown, KY. 180 of Louisville, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, MTSU, Tennessee MTSU has a commit from 79.85 RB. Louisville and Cincinnati’s coaches had no bowl money, 12 scholarships each, and were likely playing it safe (or not targeting a RB). Tennessee and Vanderbilt both had only 9 openings, and didn’t target a RB. That left the door open, and Coach paulsuberlak reeled in the big fish. Wisconsin gets the prize for the best long-distance grab. SIGNED LSU, mpmershon - 389m #2 RB David Lawrence, 80.85, Paragould, AR 180 of Memphis and Ole Miss Both Memphis and Ole Miss had 16 scholarships and bowl money. Memphis got commits from a couple of low-traffic RBs (rated 71.4 and 68.6), and Ole Miss seems to have been playing the long game: only 5 commits the day before signing, though they filled their scholarships by the day after, including a couple of decent two star RBs. Lawrence was likely less of a case of coach mpmershon seeing Lawrence was overlooked, and more a case of an elite targeting a player against who’s local teams had less leverage. Whatever the case, the #2 RB is a great signing. SIGNED Alabama, awags - 434m #11 RB John Keller, 78.67, Belleview, FL 180 of Florida, South Florida, and Florida State Florida doesn’t appear to have pursued a RB, USF doesn’t do RBs, and Florida St went after a lower rated RB (with 68 WE) 281 miles away in Georgia. Looks as if Florida St got tangled with Florida on a couple battles and RB was not a priority. SIGNED Alabama, awags - 654m #13 RB Bruce Fox, 77.87, Weatherford, OK 180: Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Tulsa OU signed 2 highly rated RBs, OSU may not have pursued one, but regardless seems mired in a few battles, including 2 with Tulsa, who is also mired in a few battles. Tulsa had 19 scholarships and the day before signing only has 6 considering, and is battling left, right, and center. UPDATE: Day after signings, Alabama hadn’t yet offered Fox a scholarship, and he appeared to be a clear backup. About mid-day, local team OU showed up on his list. Boston College, laswell - 1,072m #20 RB Joseph May, 76.75, Gainesvill, FL 180: Florida, USF, Florida State In UF’s hometown, but the Gators seem to not want an RB this season. Same story as #11 RB Keller regarding USF and Florida State. BC usually has a nice little fiefdom of talent outside everyone else’s 180, but no RBs in New England were as good as May. A good eye and good grab for the Eagles. SIGNED Rutgers, z32fanatic - 541m #22 RB Franklin Morgan, 76.54, Cincinnati, OH 180: Cincinnati, Louisville, Ohio State, Marshall, Ohio, Bowling Green It really wouldn’t be a long distance recruiting report without mentioning the king of long distance, coach z32. This one isn’t over yet, as of day before recruiting, with Marshall challenging for Morgan. There’s also a Sim still hanging on. It remains to be seen if Coach z32 has moved on, but there’s a good chance he has, as he’s also on a RB in his 180. It’s a battle, too, though, so time will have to untangle this knot. As for the other schools, Cincy, Louisville, and Ohio have first year coaches with tight budgets and, quite possibly, other priorities. Ohio State only needed 7, and Bowling Green doesn’t seem to be targeting a RB. Would be a good add for Rutgers or the local team. UPDATE: Looks as if coach z32 decided to put his money elsewhere. Signed by Eastern Michigan, Sim AI. Nebraska, jasonfreeman - 1,245m #24 RB Terry Palacios, 76.32, Cocoa, FL 180: USF, Florida The third RB on this list from the same area, with the same reasons for getting passed over by the locals. Palacios has 76 WE, and coach freeman is a pro at developing players, so this is by no means a throwaway signing. The Arcadecowboy Scouting Service report says this kid will be a stud. SIGNED NC State, go4itjim - 482m #8 WR Ronald Sullivan, 76.78, Port Orange, FL 180: Florida, USF If our research is correct, NC State didn’t pop up on Sullivan’s list until the day before signing. Coach go4itjim is entering his 3rd season at NC State, winning 4 games during each of his first two seasons. USF is local, and coach ebel has taken the Bulls to a bowl in each of his five seasons. Coach go4itjim is in a clear underdog position in this recruiting battle, and it looks like he was either hoping for the element of surprise, or gambling that USF would have other priorities keeping them from putting up a fight — or both. Sullivan is an explosive player who will be a great signing for either coach, and coach go4itjim may be gambling heavy for a player who will help him keep his job (or lose it, if he doesn’t get him). Texas Christian, devjorjas - 928m #11 WR Charles Latham, 76.58, Kingsland, GA 180: Florida, Florida State This one isn’t over yet, and a long distance ribbon may not be awarded to Coach Devj, as Troy State’s mcbethbr is challenging from 261m away, and there’s a sim still listed (as of day before signings). The north Florida elites are battling over the #4 WR, and passed Latham over. Good eye from Coach devj in seeing it and pouncing. UPDATE: Post signing day, Troy State dropped off Latham, having filled all 4 of their scholarships. It’s down to TCU and sim Oregon. If TCU can close the deal with Latham, he’ll be the highest rated WR to sign with any mid-major. Fresno State, ddeane1 - 480m #14 WR Robert Jenkins, 75.90, Peoria, AZ 180: Arizona; 360: UNVL, UCLA, USC, UTEP Arizona has a new coach with no bowl money, who may not be actively recruiting. He’s on 3 recruits despite 13 scholarships, and they all Sims on them. For the 360 schools, it seems Jenkins would have been an upgrade, but they went elsewhere with their money and got stuck in some battles. A great signing for a mid-major. SIGNED Miami (OH), Sim AI - 580m #16 WR Harold Erickson, 75.56, Elmhurst, NY 180: Rutgers, Army, Temple, Connecticut, Boston College The ACSS (ArcadeCowboy Scouting Service) didn’t see Erickson considering Sims before signings, so it’s likely another team dropped him. UConn, Temple, BC all have filled their scholarships at this time, so it may have been one of them, maybe someone else. Either way, a good reminder that sometimes very good players get dropped, and to keep your radars humming (if real life allows). SIGNED Houston, truedevil33 - 919m #19 WR David Singh, 75.30, San Carlos, AZ #26 WR Michael Navarro, 74.32, Gilbert, AZ 180: Arizona; 360: UTEP, UNLV See above on Arizona’s coach, who may be checked out. Kudos to Coach TD for seeing it and grabbing this pair. Signing day hasn’t arrived yet, and I’m sure Coach is hoping other Coach is busy in real life winning the curling gold medal or something else great that keeps him away. Would be a nice grab for the shotgun offense Cougars. SIGNED Hawaii, bjschumacher - 3,345m #1 TE Brian Dobson, 78.775, Aurora, CO 180: Colorado No other schools even in Dobson’s 360, and Colorado wasn’t targeting a TE. Excellent grab by Coach Beej. Though it should be noted, TEs were mostly ignored this season (see below) SIGNED Utah, sgawrys - 1,922m #7 TE George Marin, 74.66, Philadelphia, PA 180: Temple, Rutgers, Navy, Army, Maryland, Penn State With the state of the TE market, I’m not going to hazard why the above schools didn’t go for Marin. The #4 and #5 TEs are still sim only. The question may be why sgawyrs didn’t go for the cheaper option - the #4 TE is 743m away from Utah in Lubbock, TX (where are you, Texas Tech coach?), and likely $500 cheaper per CV. That one thing aside, it would be a great signing in an overlooked market, assuming he can knock the 3 sims off. UPDATE: Minnesota, kensei44 - 982m Marin signed with Minnesota, from 982m, so coach kensei44 gets the gold sticker for this long-distance signing. Not sure how it went down, but it looks like a coach with a pile of cash leftover went looking for an upgrade prior to signings. Of note, the #4 TE was signed by Texas Tech, the #5 in New Jersey was signed by SimAI SIGNED Washington, NatiDawg - 966m #27 OL Charles Dodd, 79.96, Playa Del Rey, CA 180: UCLA, USC; 360: Fresno State, UNLV, Stanford, California First, I’m going to say Playa Del Rey is a fantastic place in the world. If you live there, don’t leave. I don’t care if Washington is offering you a full ride. That said, a great snag by NatiDawg. Considering 5 OL are on the field, the #27 can be arguably as high ranked relatively as the #5 or #6 QB. A quick glance though, tells me something is keeping these western schools away, more than just Washington laying claim first. The #32 OL in California is all sims the day before signing. The #37 in SoCal is 3 sims and Rutgers (z32fanatic with his strange distance voodoo). UCLA has limited scholarships and a great OL lined up already. USC the same, with two great ones. It seems the 360 group of schools all got tangled early, and either didn’t see these OL, or didn’t have the luxury to commit the funds. Either way, a great job by NatiDawg of being aware and capable. For the record, NatiDawg went over 900 miles on 3 total OL. When pickins are slim, have a long arm. SIGNED Washington, NatiDawg - 1,117m #35 OL Samuel Lambert, 79.23, Santa Fe, NM 180: none; 360: UTEP, Texas Tech, Colorado Colorado has filled all their scholarships, so likely wasn’t shopping for another OL. Texas Tech and UTEP are still on the recruiting trail, but Tech signed a local OL, and UTEP only has 7 scholarships, so it’s not clear if Lambert was a target for either, though he would have been hard to pass up. Another great grab for the Pac10 Huskies. SIGNED Ole Miss, darryljones2 - 1,608m #37 OL Michael Michael, Mission Viejo, CA 180: UCLA, USC As stated above on OL Dodd’s report, on the day before signings, Michael was considering 3 Sims and long distance wizard-ninja z32fanatic - and USC and UCLA looked to have filled their OL bags already. Michael squared will be a great add for SEC Ole Miss. SIGNED Hawaii, bjschumacher - 2805m; DePaul, dukelegend - 2731m #19 DL Tommy Blackburn, 77.96, Valdez, AK 180: Nobody. NatiDawg at Washington is the only coach less than 1450 miles, which would be about $1500 a CV vs $2000. Nati got two local DL, so he was out before getting in. If Washington thinks they’re on a recruiting island, they can at least be thankful they’re not Hawaii. Coach Beej in Hawaii often has to go distance out of necessity, and went off-island this time for 6 targets. After their TE target, Blackburn is the best of the bunch. DePaul coach dukelegend had to reach just as far as Hawaii for this kid. A first season coach with no bowl money, this would be a great get. There’s also a Sim still on Blackburn. UPDATE: Day after signings, the Sim is gone, so one of these coaches has spent some cash on Blackburn. DePaul has one scholarship left, Hawaii has 2, though no other battles. Utah State, mrfortune3 - 600m #34 DL John Felton, 75.52, Portland, OR 180: Oregon State, Washington Oregon State only had 4 scholarships to fill, Washington signed 2 other local DL, and there were no other schools in Felton’s 360. A great grab for Utah State in the sparse recruiting grounds of the west, where 600 miles is arguably still local. SIGNED USC, ez37 - 383m #16 LB Alan O’Donell, 71.73, Gilbert, AZ 180: Arizona The AZ coach has no bowl money, and UA’s prestige is pretty low. There wasn’t much LB talent in southern Cal this season, so opportunity meets need, and USC meets the #16 LB. Of note: The AZ coach shows signs of absentee recruiting. Coach ez37 may have noted this and moved on a good talent. UPDATE: Day after signings began, O’Donell has yet to commit to either program. USC only has one scholarship left to sign, Arizona has only signed two of thirteen. If UA is actively recruiting and investing heavy to keep O’Donell in-state, then this could go their way (at the expense of other spots). If the UA coach missed most of recruiting though, there could be little choice left. Washington, NatiDawg - 989m #20 LB Ray Lopez, 71.32, Loveland, CO 180: Colorado Lopez was considering another school prior to signings (Colorado, if I recall), so Lopez looks like a prime example of being aware of who the backups are for schools, and acting at the right time. SIGNED Ole Miss, darryljones2 - 687m #22 LB Johnny Puckett, 71.28 ,Appleton, WI 180: Marquette, Wisconsin, DePaul Puckett was also considering another school prior to signings, likely a backup, and Ole Miss coach darryljones2 was ready to bring him in. SIGNED Rutgers, z32fanatic - 1,046m #23 LB Michael Wallace, 71.18, Plantation, FL 180: Miami 360: USF, Florida Miami and Florida are locked in a battle for the #3 recruit. It could have been that was the only one Miami was targeting, so Wallace went overlooked until z32fanatic, like the eye of Sauron, fixed his gaze upon him. Florida has a couple other LBs committed, and USF doesn’t appear to be targeting the position. Another long distance fish reeled in for Coach z32. SIGNED Houston, truedevil33 - 866m #19 DB James Brown, 69.56, Hilands Ranch, CO 180: Colorado No other schools in the recruits 360 after the Buffaloes, who targeted the #7 DB (and landed him) from Utah. Though not as notorious as Coach z32, truedevil33 has demonstrated an eye for long distance recruits as well. Would be a great signing for Coach TD. UPDATE: Long distance signing was denied by Colorado, who decided late that they’d rather have a DB than an LB. SIGNED BY COLORADO Washington, NatiDawg - 396m #33 DB Jason Schneider, 67.84, Nampa, ID 180: none; 360: Utah State, Utah, Oregon State The Utah mid-majors appeared a little hesitant in recruiting, and Oregon State only needed 4, so Washington snapping up Schneider comes almost as no surprise at this point. 54 WE and nice ratings all around, a great pickup. SIGNED TEH KING OF LONG DISTANCE RECRUITING NatiDawg, Washington. Congrats, you have won the opportunity to go down to your local Wal-Mart or Target and purchase yourself a trophy, or the closest thing you can find that resembles one. If that's too much effort, writing "Teh King Of Long Distance Recruiting" on a post it, and applying it to your person as a badge will almost as effective.