Kids That Leave.......Oh Well

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

I checked out some of the recent high regarded HS kids who left the Cougs early. These guys went JC route & didn't even sign anywhere last week.

3* Alex Jackson
4* Jeff Farrar
4* Sebastian LaRue
4* Thomas Toki (didn't officially transfer)

3* Rahmel Dockery at Oregon St 2014-16 (9 catches 199yds)

 

[Glad Cougar]

Interesting. Could it be that some of them had career-ending injuries? Maybe they weren't good enough academically to attain an associate degree? Given their star-status, I doubt it's the fact that they just weren't talented enough to play at a 4-year school.

Glad Cougar

 

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

Glad,

All of them outside of Toki qualified out of HS. So grades aren't an issue during their JC career. They all played through their JC eligibility and are still looking for a place to play.

Turns out, they just weren't that good at the next level. It happens.

Side-Note: Jackson, LaRue, Dockery were all verbally upset that Leach & Co turned them into DB's at WSU. Only Jackson played WR at his JC. LaRue played DB and I read last year that the Beavs moved Dockery back over to DB in '16.

In the end, Trust Our Staff. If a kid isn't playing at WSU, there's a reason. We don't have the depth or the liberty to not play anyone that can help us win.

 

[BiggsCoug]

Glad,

All of them outside of Toki qualified out of HS. So grades aren't an issue during their JC career. They all played through their JC eligibility and are still looking for a place to play.

Turns out, they just weren't that good at the next level. It happens.

Side-Note: Jackson, LaRue, Dockery were all verbally upset that Leach & Co turned them into DB's at WSU. Only Jackson played WR at his JC. LaRue played DB and I read last year that the Beavs moved Dockery back over to DB in '16.

In the end, Trust Our Staff. If a kid isn't playing at WSU, there's a reason. We don't have the depth or the liberty to not play anyone that can help us win.

By this time in his career you'd like to think Leach could watch kids play receiver and have a pretty good idea of who is gonna make it at the position and who isn't.

 

[ElComanche]

Some players react well to tough competition and others do not.The demands of football soon show a kids ability to adapt and compete. A receiver soon finds that the DB s are just as quick, fast, and hit hard. In some, it awakens a competitive spirit ,in others they wilt. In intercollegiate sports i have seen players with ability drop out when faced with players who may be just as good athletically. I guess the cliches of" measuring one s heart" and "the tough get going when the going gets tough" applies.

 

[COUGinNCW]

I checked out some of the recent high regarded HS kids who left the Cougs early. These guys went JC route & didn't even sign anywhere last week.

3* Alex Jackson
4* Jeff Farrar
4* Sebastian LaRue
4* Thomas Toki (didn't officially transfer)

3* Rahmel Dockery at Oregon St 2014-16 (9 catches 199yds)

What happened to the big 4 star linebacker who originally signed with Cal, couldnt get in , came to WSU and then transferred out last year? Can't remember his name but believe it was Chandler L something.

 

[BiggsCoug]

What happened to the big 4 star linebacker who originally signed with Cal, couldnt get in , came to WSU and then transferred out last year? Can't remember his name but believe it was Chandler L something.

Chandler Leniu... A google search didn't bring much up. Im guessing he's out of football altogether if his name doesn't come up on a roster. Unless I missed it???

 

[WASH ST A&M FAN]

Leniu situation is strange.

He left WSU and went to Riverside C.C. and was on the opening day roster. However, he didn't play in Game 1 and by Game 2 the following Saturday, he was off the roster and his #44 jersey a week later was given to another kid for the rest of the Tigers season???

 

[Coug90]

By this time in his career you'd like to think Leach could watch kids play receiver and have a pretty good idea of who is gonna make it at the position and who isn't.

True, but receivers worthy of a D1 scholarship typically don't have to think much in HS. They are most often playing against inferior DBs and are catching balls in wide open spaces, not reading DBs and changing routes, etc. when the competition ratchets up and you have to think and play at full speed and perform, it's a different deal. Some kids, as athletic as they may be, just don't adjust well.

 

[COUGinNCW]

Leniu situation is strange.

He left WSU and went to Riverside C.C. and was on the opening day roster. However, he didn't play in Game 1 and by Game 2 the following Saturday, he was off the roster and his #44 jersey a week later was given to another kid for the rest of the Tigers season???

I would suspect a lot of these 4 star flameouts are the kids who are old for their grades and or matured early, especially since most of them have that label after their junior year in HS while other class peers are a year and a half younger and haven't really started growing yet. That's one reason an early signing period isn't good. It reduces opportunity for those kids who really come on as a senior.

 

[BiggsCoug]

True, but receivers worthy of a D1 scholarship typically don't have to think much in HS. They are most often playing against inferior DBs and are catching balls in wide open spaces, not reading DBs and changing routes, etc. when the competition ratchets up and you have to think and play at full speed and perform, it's a different deal. Some kids, as athletic as they may be, just don't adjust well.

It's not just receivers that play against lesser competition. All BCS kids are gonna spend large chunks of game time playing against kids that just don't have competitive DNA.

You get the fastest, most agile, biggest and smartest kids you can and go with it. Not everyone is gonna work out. Just don't recruit nice, small, slow and dumb.