So wait, now the spread offense HURTS recruiting?!?
So we’ve established that Gator receivers struggle in the NFL, and we already suspected that Florida’s foes could use that fact as a negative recruiting tool. But is Florida’s spread offense scaring away recruits who want to prepare for the NFL in a pro-style offense? Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post floated that idea in his blog yesterday, and he presented a sprinkling of interesting anecdotal evidence to support his case.
By "pro-style" you mean this, right?
Photo taken by S Manly, via WikiCommons
Volin points out that, of Florida’s 12 commitments for 2010, none play at running back or receiver. But the most damming quote comes from De’Joshua Johnson, a wide receiver from Pahokee who is a receiver in the class of 2010 (Rivals loves him, Scout notsomuch, but seeing as he has an offer from, like, everyone, I’ll err on the side of him being pretty darn good). In an earlier interview with the Post, Johnson said:
“I dropped Florida and West Virginia because of the spread offense … I don’t want to play in the spread offense. I’ve seen how it affected receivers in the NFL draft. They have to teach them to play in a pro-style offense.”
Alright, then. That quote is obviously a bit presumptuous. But let’s cut him some slack because we’re dealing with a teenage male here, and extreme confidence is a fairly common shared trait amongst teenage males, to say nothing of teenage males who are elite football players. So no hard feelings toward Johnson, obviously, who has pared his list of prospective schools down to Florida State, Alabama and, uh, Oklahoma State? (Someone might want to point out to Johnson that Oklahoma State operates almost entirely from the shotgun, runs the ball nearly 65% of the time and has a quarterback who tallied 146 carries in 2008. You know, totally different from Florida.)
To some extent, Volin is right. Johnson obviously dropped Florida based on the spread, and it stands to reason that there must be other players out there who share that sentiment. But recruits weigh dozens of factors when deciding on a school — everything from relationships with coaches to the size of the weight room. They all get taken into account, and each kid may end up having a different opinion. In fact, there may well be a recruit out there who dropped Alabama because they run a pro offense (wasn’t quite sure how to Google that one).
For some perspective, take a look at why some prominent Gators decided on Florida:
Andre DeBose: Coaching staff and playing time, according to Gator Country:
“It was the coaches,” he said. “Them and the opportunity that school has. They have a lot of seniors leaving. That’s all I want is a chance to play early.”
Brandon Spikes: Success against FSU, according to Gator Country’s Franz Beard:
“That sealed it right there,” he said. “It was nothing like I’d ever been a part of … the crowd … the game … the atmosphere … and then Florida just dominated. That weekend, everything said Florida.”
Tim Tebow: Faith, again per Beard:
“I prayed the whole time about it and I just felt comfortable (with Florida) and hopefully that’s the place that God wants me,” Tim said. “I think it is and that’s why I chose it.”
Chris Rainey: White girls:
“Every time you see a fine girl (in Gainesville), you see another fine girl better than her. (Some people) like different color girls and stuff like that. I’m a white girl man.”
OK, so maybe that last one wasn’t exactly why Rainey chose the Gators, but I’m sure it helped. If anything, it serves as a reminder that recruiting decisions ultimately hinge on the impulses and whims of 17- and 18-year-old boys. We can try to make sense of it all, but the supposed “rational actors” making these decisions literally do not have fully formed brains.
Florida fans, especially, should avoid any hand-wringing over “losing” recruits to teams running pro-style schemes. The 2010 class is so far devoid of playmakers, but past years have been very good to Meyer & Co.
Since 2006 (Meyer’s first full recruiting effort), the Gators have signed 15 wide receivers or running backs with a ranking of four stars or higher from at least one of the two main recruiting services. Four have since transferred (attrition comes with the territory) but those who remain make up a fairly impressive list:
- RB Chris Rainey, 2007
- RB Jeff Demps, 2008
- RB Mike Gillislee, 2009
- RB/WR Percy Harvin, 2006
- WR Riley Cooper, 2006
- WR Justin Williams, 2006
- WR Deonte Thompson, 2007
- WR Omarius Hines, 2008
- WR T.J. Lawrence, 2008
- WR Frankie Hammond Jr., 2008
- WR Andre DeBose, 2009
Yeah, that’ll work. I suppose some amount of consternation is to be expected following a few high-profile defections from what ended up being a small 2009 class. But unless a more discernible pattern develops, there’s no reason to think that the Gators will be bereft of playmakers a few years down the road. The Gators have plenty of scholarships available for 2010, and with the logjams that have existed for the past few years at running back and receiver expected to clear up, Florida will almost certainly be an attractive destination for kids who run really fast while carrying a football.
Side note: The subtext of all this is really a more macro-level discussion on how the spread offense is changing recruiting on both sides of the ball. Rivals High took an interesting look at the topic, particularly about how the pervasiveness of four- and five-receiver sets is creating opportunities for smaller, faster linebackers and safeties. The article is undated, but we know it couldn’t have been written before 2006, the year Giff Smith became recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech. In any event, it’s an interesting starting point, perhaps for a future post.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 8:55 am and is filed under Recrootin'. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.