Interesting notes about the Oregon and Texas A&M

[Coug1990]

Ryan Kelley, a QB from Chandler Arizona had been verbally committed to the Ducks for a while. This past weekend, he decommitted and reopened up his recruitment. Now, this is interesting because it leaves Oregon with only one verbal commitment right now, DE Langi Tuafua.

Isn't it interesting that Oregon, with such a long history of QB's, has been having such a hard time developing QB's the last couple of years (EWU developed Adams). I watched part of the Oregon spring game on TV, and Dave Yost just looks like he belongs coaching at Oregon. He just looks the part of Oregon flash.


Regarding Texas A&M, they also had a longtime verbal QB decommit and reopen his recruitment, (onetime uw husky verbal commit under Sarkisian) Tate Martell. Now, where this gets interesting is that Tate tweeted out his decommitment.

The coach, Aaron Morehead, who had recruited Martell tweeted back, "I feel sorry for ppl who never understand loyalty. I can't really even vibe with u. At the end of the day trust 100 & everything else is BS."

When people started to rip him for the tweet, Coach Moorehead tried to deny it was about Martell. Nobody was buying it.

Another Texas A&M verbal recruit, WR Manny Neatherly, saw what Coach Morehead tweeted and himself tweeted out that he was decommitting because he did not want to play for someone like that.

Another top uncommitted player that Texas A&M was recruiting hard, WR Jyjon Lyndsey, announced that he is no longer considering the Aggies.

Now, this may turn out well for Oregon, as the Ducks are one of the teams that Martell is now considering.

 

[BiggsCoug]

A&M is better off without those kids. I read a while back that Virginia Tech all but pulled out of Florida altogether because the kids would commit, decommit, commit, decommit all the time. It just wasn't worth it.

I don't think kids realize how much time, effort, energy and money goes into recruiting them. Then to have them decommit? It can be pretty frustrating.

Texas A&M is a great opportunity. Odds are, the position coach you have as a freshman isn't going to be there when you're a senior. Or vice versa. To rule a school out because of what you believe was said about another player is ridiculous.

If you find your recruits flipping or decommiting maybe it's time you look at who you are recruiting, how strong your pitch was or how strong your relationship was?

 

[Coug1990]

A&M is better off without those kids. I read a while back that Virginia Tech all but pulled out of Florida altogether because the kids would commit, decommit, commit, decommit all the time. It just wasn't worth it.

I don't think kids realize how much time, effort, energy and money goes into recruiting them. Then to have them decommit? It can be pretty frustrating.

Texas A&M is a great opportunity. Odds are, the position coach you have as a freshman isn't going to be there when you're a senior. Or vice versa. To rule a school out because of what you believe was said about another player is ridiculous.

If you find your recruits flipping or decommiting maybe it's time you look at who you are recruiting, how strong your pitch was or how strong your relationship was?

These are most likely 16 year old kids that are still in their junior year of high school. They are allowed to be immature. Coach Aaron Morehead is a grown man and he has been around the game long enough to know players change their minds. He is old enough to not write something inflammatory toward a kid. Understand, he was getting ripped universally for his tweet. This is not on the kid.

When you were recruiting, did you tell your recruits that you most likely would not be there in a year or two? I agree that Texas A&M is a great school. But, where ever these high end players end up will be a great school as well.

Mike Leach had three QB's decommit last recruiting cycle. He never once complained in public.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

A&M is better off without those kids. I read a while back that Virginia Tech all but pulled out of Florida altogether because the kids would commit, decommit, commit, decommit all the time. It just wasn't worth it.

I don't think kids realize how much time, effort, energy and money goes into recruiting them. Then to have them decommit? It can be pretty frustrating.

Texas A&M is a great opportunity. Odds are, the position coach you have as a freshman isn't going to be there when you're a senior. Or vice versa. To rule a school out because of what you believe was said about another player is ridiculous.

If you find your recruits flipping or decommiting maybe it's time you look at who you are recruiting, how strong your pitch was or how strong your relationship was?

I think that there's a bit of give and take when it comes to recruiting. Coaches that get pissed off because a kid wants to go visit some other school are fools. They use all sorts of pressure tactics and cohersion to lure these impressionable young men into the fold and then get angry when their eyes start to wander after six months. We are talking about kids here and it's just part of the game. What's funny is that the coaches that are bitching about kids lack of loyalty are the same ones that don't want an early signing period because they want the ability to poach from schools like WSU if one of their other targets doesn't work out. They are also the same guys that tell some kid that's been verbally committed for nine months that the situation has changed and they will have to greyshirt if they want to be part of the team. Hypocrisy is very strong in the coaching ranks.

I agree 100% that if some kid flips based on a twitter remark......you didn't do a good job in the first place.

 

[Coug1990]

I think that there's a bit of give and take when it comes to recruiting. Coaches that get pissed off because a kid wants to go visit some other school are fools. They use all sorts of pressure tactics and cohersion to lure these impressionable young men into the fold and then get angry when their eyes start to wander after six months. We are talking about kids here and it's just part of the game. What's funny is that the coaches that are bitching about kids lack of loyalty are the same ones that don't want an early signing period because they want the ability to poach from schools like WSU if one of their other targets doesn't work out. They are also the same guys that tell some kid that's been verbally committed for nine months that the situation has changed and they will have to greyshirt if they want to be part of the team. Hypocrisy is very strong in the coaching ranks.

I agree 100% that if some kid flips based on a twitter remark......you didn't do a good job in the first place.

These kids are all friends. I am sure that Martell being a QB and Neatherly being a WR had been in contact having both been longtime verbals to TAM. Lindsey and Martell were former teammates and are close friends. I am sure that Neatherly and Martell spoke before Neatherly decommitted, so the tweet itself was a part of the decommitment, but not all.

No matter how close these players are to a coach, they are closer to their friends. You write something bad about a friend, they take that personal.

Moorehead was the WR coach at Virginia Tech. He got offered a job at TAM and he accepted. By the same standard he is holding this kid, he should still be at VT.

 

[Coug95man2]

These kids are all friends. I am sure that Martell being a QB and Neatherly being a WR had been in contact having both been longtime verbals to TAM. Lindsey and Martell were former teammates and are close friends. I am sure that Neatherly and Martell spoke before Neatherly decommitted, so the tweet itself was a part of the decommitment, but not all.

No matter how close these players are to a coach, they are closer to their friends. You write something bad about a friend, they take that personal.

Moorehead was the WR coach at Virginia Tech. He got offered a job at TAM and he accepted. By the same standard he is holding this kid, he should still be at VT.

To throw another wrench into the soap, there were several, several recruits that came out supporting Moorehead, as well. 2017 recruits that are "committed" to TAMU.

Also something to consider, both the QB and the WR had been seen wearing other programs gear, even though they supposedly had closed their recruiting. It seems that even though they were "committed", they weren't. I'm not siding on either party, here. Just saying it's not as clear as it's been stated on this thread. As clear as mud.

 

[Coug1990]

To throw another wrench into the soap, there were several, several recruits that came out supporting Moorehead, as well. 2017 recruits that are "committed" to TAMU.

Also something to consider, both the QB and the WR had been seen wearing other programs gear, even though they supposedly had closed their recruiting. It seems that even though they were "committed", they weren't. I'm not siding on either party, here. Just saying it's not as clear as it's been stated on this thread. As clear as mud.

A 16 year old has a right to change his mind. Tell my why he doesn't and then I will agree.

 

[Coug95man2]

A 16 year old has a right to change his mind. Tell my why he doesn't and then I will agree.

Oh no, 1990. Like I said, I'm not "siding" with anyone on this one. I've never been a part of that process, either side. And that is a unique process only those that have been involved can attest to. A kid has every right to change his mind. But I don't care how old you are, your word is your bond, too. And if the kids were shopping around other programs, while telling TAMU they weren't, that's not real cool. If they have changed their minds, you open it up. You don't "sneak" around.

The recruiting of high school players has become sleazy. Especially when it gets to certain levels. What the coach said is not cool. If the players weren't holding to their word, not cool. Just not a cool situation, in general.

But in a general sense, I don't get why a position coach would go to social media like this. Lets even take his word that it was bad timing and wasn't about the QB… Why come back and tweet again!? Like any PR "control" situation, you just stop talking. Talking more only makes it worse. Always. So he was just plain dumb. Kinda immature, IMHO, as well.

But to your point, will Oregon benefit for the TAMU Twitter-gate? Possible. Strong possibility. But I hope not.

 

[MRICoug]

Recruiting is all about sleazy. I like to see where the dominoes fall, but at the end of the day I just like looking at the trends of the Pac-12 schools. I like where WSU is headed, Oregon seems disjointed, etc.

Oregon has hit a bump with their current coach. The only thing keeping it from looking pretty bleak is some outstanding play by VA last season. Had that been a season ending injury Oregon may not have made a bowl game......and who knows what they get out of the position this year? I like their DC hire, but at the same time the O is just not the same without a pretty dynamic force at QB. Will the D improve enough to make up for a slightly above average O? Not sure, but I think this year is very important for their coach, and any stumble will lead to a coaching search pretty quickly IMHO.

 

[Coug1990]

Oh no, 1990. Like I said, I'm not "siding" with anyone on this one. I've never been a part of that process, either side. And that is a unique process only those that have been involved can attest to. A kid has every right to change his mind. But I don't care how old you are, your word is your bond, too. And if the kids were shopping around other programs, while telling TAMU they weren't, that's not real cool. If they have changed their minds, you open it up. You don't "sneak" around.

The recruiting of high school players has become sleazy. Especially when it gets to certain levels. What the coach said is not cool. If the players weren't holding to their word, not cool. Just not a cool situation, in general.

But in a general sense, I don't get why a position coach would go to social media like this. Lets even take his word that it was bad timing and wasn't about the QB… Why come back and tweet again!? Like any PR "control" situation, you just stop talking. Talking more only makes it worse. Always. So he was just plain dumb. Kinda immature, IMHO, as well.

But to your point, will Oregon benefit for the TAMU Twitter-gate? Possible. Strong possibility. But I hope not.

I wasn't trying to accuse you of having a side. Like I wrote, Moorehead moved from VT to TAM because he thought it was a better situation for himself.

For all we know, Martell had told Moorehead by phone or in person and just tweeted it out to let everyone else know.

Anyway, probably like you, I was more interested in the Oregon angle. They lost their bigtime QB recruit in Kelley. They will be recruiting Martell hard, but he will have his pick of schools.

 

[95coug]

This is why I barely even pay attention to verbal commitments. They're meaningless. Kids change their minds, coaches/programs find someone else and pull offers, etc. None of it matters until the player sends in a signed LOI, so getting all worked up about a 4-star who says he's coming 10 months before he really has to decide is pointless.

I'd be all in favor of the NCAA bringing in an early signing period, so if a kid is really serious, he can send his LOI in Sept, Oct, or Nov. Until they do that, I'm not concerned with verbals.

 

[Coug1990]

Recruiting is all about sleazy. I like to see where the dominoes fall, but at the end of the day I just like looking at the trends of the Pac-12 schools. I like where WSU is headed, Oregon seems disjointed, etc.

Oregon has hit a bump with their current coach. The only thing keeping it from looking pretty bleak is some outstanding play by VA last season. Had that been a season ending injury Oregon may not have made a bowl game......and who knows what they get out of the position this year? I like their DC hire, but at the same time the O is just not the same without a pretty dynamic force at QB. Will the D improve enough to make up for a slightly above average O? Not sure, but I think this year is very important for their coach, and any stumble will lead to a coaching search pretty quickly IMHO.

I wonder how good of a recruiter Brady Hoke is. Honestly, I don't know. I do not think that Coach Yost is a very good recruiter. They are Oregon with the flash and dash, so they will always recruit fairly well. The statement Hodgins father said about Oregon said it well. There will always be players enamored with those things.

But, I wonder if their recruiting will take a mini step back because they do not have as many great recruiters on staff as they previously had. I know former OC/QB coach Scott Frost was known as an outstanding recruiter.

I look at a team like Arizona who fired half their staff. The reason Rodriguez said was they wanted to get younger and hungrier recruiters. So, Rodriguez went out and hired the best recruiters he could find. Arizona has done very well already this recruiting cycle.

 

[bogusto]

I wasn't trying to accuse you of having a side. Like I wrote, Moorehead moved from VT to TAM because he thought it was a better situation for himself.

For all we know, Martell had told Moorehead by phone or in person and just tweeted it out to let everyone else know.

Anyway, probably like you, I was more interested in the Oregon angle. They lost their bigtime QB recruit in Kelley. They will be recruiting Martell hard, but he will have his pick of schools.

You think it was an accident Kelley left Oregon when he did and Martell A@M? I think the two are closely tied together and Oregon is getting Martell.

 

[wazzubruce]

A verbal by kids today isn't worth the paper its written upon..... Signing day matters.

 

[Coug1990]

You think it was an accident Kelley left Oregon when he did and Martell A@M? I think the two are closely tied together and Oregon is getting Martell.

On the ticker on the front page, it appears that the Martell's did not like A&M's new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone.

 

[425cougfan]

You think it was an accident Kelley left Oregon when he did and Martell A@M? I think the two are closely tied together and Oregon is getting Martell.

When Kelley decommitted, Martell tweeted the "eyeball" emoji (as loathe as I am to report on that kind of thing). I wouldn't be surprised at all if these are connected in some way, although I'm not sure Oregon is getting him. I hope not.

 

[fingerdisco]

Is Oregon still paying big $$$$ for those "scouting reports" (wink wink) from that slimy scout out of Texas? Maybe he "evaluated" Martell and fast-tracked him to the schmucks.

 

[BiggsCoug]

These are most likely 16 year old kids that are still in their junior year of high school. They are allowed to be immature. Coach Aaron Morehead is a grown man and he has been around the game long enough to know players change their minds. He is old enough to not write something inflammatory toward a kid. Understand, he was getting ripped universally for his tweet. This is not on the kid.

When you were recruiting, did you tell your recruits that you most likely would not be there in a year or two? I agree that Texas A&M is a great school. But, where ever these high end players end up will be a great school as well.

Mike Leach had three QB's decommit last recruiting cycle. He never once complained in public.

At the small college level where scholarships aren't involved, whether or not I was there really never came up. You wanna know what did come up? Money, campus, was your school in a crap town, did you have a history of winning games? Whether the coach was there or not was rarely mentioned. I don't know that d3 compared to FBS is apples to apples. However, if someone did ask, my response was always the same. "I look at all options that are in front of me. Odds are my coaching career won't always be here."

 

[Fab5Coug]

The A&M coach needs to shut the heck up. Weather he's right or wrong, that's a battle he isn't going to win.

And if he's going to pull a Wulff and get all bent out of shape when a kid decommits, then maybe an SEC coaching position is a little over his head.