Irish, Buckeyes and `Canes land 2008s expected to be rated highly
On the road for hundreds and thousands of miles interviewing the upcoming college football talent, Tom Lemming shares his recruiting-related thoughts weekly in `Ten With Tom.' His Class of 2008 rankings release in July.
-Notre Dame landing QB Dayne Crist and defensive specialist Darius Fleming...
I think we might see a quarterback transfer at Notre Dame which would make some room for him down the road. He's one of the top passers in the country. With Fleming, Notre Dame is desperate for defense and getting him gives them someone who can play either DE or OL. They're both Top 100 guys.
-Ohio State landing J.B. Shugarts and Michael Brewster...
They're huge catches for Ohio State since they're coming from out of state. That's been the Buckeyes problem if they've had one the past few years. Both are big time players who join a team with big time talent year in and year out at that position. I'd expect them to redshirt their freshmen years but will become impact players down the road.
-Miami landing 6-foot-7 QB Taylor Cook...
He was one of the first interviews I did on my trip out in southeast Texas and I really liked him as a kid. He's got a great arm and is more of a pro style QB. He's a Top 200 and a good catch for Miami.
-What players are raising their stock and popping up on the radar recently?
Graham Pocic from Lemont (Ill.) is the fastest rising offensive lineman and was great at the Purdue camp, Dejuan Miller from Metuchen (N.J.) was great last week when I saw him, and two guys from the same area making noise are Lamaar Thomas from Maryland and Reggie Ellis from Washington D.C.
-Who's having early success with the rising senior class?
The hare may get the head start, but the tortoise will win in the long haul. UCLA gets a lot of people early, but they don't get the ones that USC gets. But Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio State are already off to great starts.
-How effective are Spring Games for recruiting?
If they're done right they can be a great tool to land kids. One thing that's a must is good weather. Then they need to try and make it like a Junior Day, keep the kids interested.
-Since Signing Day, any developments or increase in feelings about a second period?
All the rage is past and it's like it's been gone and forgotten. We'll see the talk pick up again once de-commitments starts happening but nothing has been put in play to make another signing period as of right now.
-Are there any highly-rated recruits from the Class of `07 who are participating in spring sports?
Yes, a lot of them are. It's never frowned upon for thought of injury or anything like that. It's always encouraged and helps the players keep their endurance and just improve physically, usually through baseball or track. Terrance Toliver, who is headed to LSU, is a big time sprinter.
-Any developments with the incoming freshman class?
Well if Noel Devine is indeed qualified for West Virginia then they're going to have a tremendous backfield. Jimmy Clausen and Armando Allen are off to great starts at Notre Dame and so is Ryan Mallett at Michigan, they've all been big hits so far. That class was an average class overall, though. I think this next one will be better.
-Thoughts on the Class of 2006's No. 3-ranked player Mitch Mustain's transfer from Arkansas to USC...
He's in for some competition with Aaron Corp and Mark Sanchez, but it shows he's got a lot of confidence and hopefully things turn around on the field for him.
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