SD Further Look: Losing Heimuli
Recruiting is a fluid, fluid business.
We all know this.
Yes, it seems, as UCLA continues moving up in the recruiting world, fans are going to have to live with some major losses as well as some major wins.
By most accounts, Brighton (Utah) defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli was a UCLA lean for a long time. I'd heard some whispers that he was a silent at one point and generally that he was the Bruins' to lose for a while.
And then he picks Oregon.
We don't know if the Cassius Marsh commitment changed Heimuli's mind, but adding him to Flowers to Epenesa to Yates apparently scared Heimuli off.
Now, that being said: Was yesterday still a rousing success or does the loss of Heimuli dampen the mood?
Absolute success! Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good... very very good, in this case.
Jon, you're starting to get annoying. it's a great recruiting class....in fact it's a top 10 recruiting class. We got an elite DT in Cassius Marsh, and a few DT's who, at the least, gives the line depth. Considering there was no real DT depth in the class, you can't get greedy and dwell on "what ifs."
If we didn't get Marsh, then it would have been a disappointing class. But they did...
Losing heimuli for such a lame reason makes me sad. :(
Heimuli said that he felt more of a connection with other Polynesian players on the Oregon team. He also said that he likes the chance to play early and liked the coaching staff for the Ducks.
This is a top 10 class without him.
I don't think you can look at these things in isolation. The big picture is what counts. There will always be guys that get away for whatever reason.
Excellent recruiting class. I'm very happy. Great execution.
If he legitimately didn't want to come to UCLA because we had a lot of other good recruits, it would sound like he's afraid to compete. If that's the case, I'd say we didn't lose anything.
Losing Heimuli was not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. He doesn't have the impact potential that Sua-Filo had last year and he is likely to go on his mission after 1 year. No guarantee that he would come back to UCLA after his mission either. Being a four year player, Marsh was more important. Don't get me wrong, Heimuli is a great player, but not sure how much he would have contributed for just 1 year.
On the other side of the coin, Jordan Zumwalt committed to UCLA because he didn't want to compete with Hayes Pullard at USC.
I'm agreeing with Johnny here; these negative posts on recruits we lost are indeed getting annoying. No school will get every single recruit they go after (that includes Florida, USC, and UCLA).
I understand your 1st post about Nottingham because you're right, we didn't get a QB. But Heimuli? We recruited the best defensive class in the nation this year!
Offensively we got the Gatorade POY + 2 other great running backs and a great reciever. Plus for next year, we have our transfer WR and TE ready to go! Its going to be an excellent year for us!
This class was an amazing success speaking volumes for a 11-14 program on the rise under Neu and Chow.
BigTime Bruin
Agree with Jerzey...if it's a choice between Marsh and Heimuli, I take Marsh because he's there for 4 so we don't have to recruit someone else next year for the position and then re-recruit Heimuli after that. Would have been nice to get both, but I like the depth we pulled in this year at DT...no complaints here. Wine some (Riley, Shirley, Owa, Marsh, Zumwalt), lose some (Heimuli, Pullard)
Not a big deal at all. this guy is going on a mormon mission after his first year. freshmen dont have great impacts at DT as a freshmen. he is no brian price.. i would rather not have this guy and make oregon recruit another dt next year to replace him... the joke is on oregon.
This one made me the saddest by far, as a Bruin AND Ute fan... Oh well, if he was afraid to compete, that means I agree with RD and 1) he might not have that killer instinct and competitive nature that is vital for elite DTs and/or 2) we must have good depth/potential at this spot that many have pointed to as a weakness.
Not sure why you are criticizing Jon. He is not being negative toward the class at all. In fact I get the vibe he thinks it's a great class. He is trying to start a format for us to discuss what we think of the class.
Like I said, Are You Kidding Me is a trojan troll and a proven tool. Just ignore it and it'll go away.
Alec,
To set the record straight, Zumwalt never considered USC, as academics were clearly a priority for him. His choice came down to UCLA or Stanford.
Getting Heimuli, I guess, would have been nice. Apparently he's a good player. At the same time, I think the one and done type kids are worthless and not really worth the effort and investment. Yes, even if he does come back in two years. And who even says he'll come back in two years.....
Haven't you already asked this question 10 different always already?
This is preposterous - I'm sure our DL commits were not a reason why Heimuli chose to go with Oregon - wow, we're starting to sound like the Toejams...anyone who goes elsewhere is b/c they didn't want to compete - just stupid. The kid chose to go to a school that's done extremely well in football recently, a program with some of the biggest deep pockets around, with a bunch of kids he feels comfortable with...what's wrong with that?
I, for one, wish we had him, one year or not. But, I am thrilled with our recruiting class - we are comin' on.
biggest loss may have been Di Paolo.
Who will play Center next year after Maiva graduates?
all those good running backs and receivers are only as good as the O-line blocking for them.
Innes is going to get a look at center
I'm not understanding how you guys claim to know how good these recruits really are? I mean even if you watch tapped games, most will not be on the D line or O line, so how are you judging them on ability? Just going off how they are rated, or written about them?
I'm not knocking you guys, just don't know what kind of players these kids really are.
I just read about some of them, and if it sounds good, Im happy. Sounds like coaches are getting better talent.
Go Bruins.
At this point I'm still skeptical of the LDS guys. He'd play in '10, but miss '11 and '12, and who knows after that. It's OK if you're doing well and have a logjam of players, but UCLA needs guys from this class to contribute in '11 and '12. And don't forget, after the mission this kid could basically end up anywhere.
Jon:
I don't know if it is intended by design or an oversight, but you tend to state many stories without providing sources. Therefore, we don't know if this is opinion or fact. For instance, what substantiating evidence do you have to state the following:
"We don't know if the Cassius Marsh commitment changed Heimuli's mind, but adding him to Flowers to Epenesa to Yates apparently scared Heimuli off."
This is very annoying and confusing at times.
That being said, I don't agree with Johnny or Big Time Bruin that Jon's post is annoying or inflammatory in and of itself. I think that Jon honestly tried to provoke meaningful thought here and that it's a valid topic for discussion.
Personally, I think losing Jackson and Moore were bigger, because we lost them for STUPID reasons and we really didn't have anybody to replace them. I also agree with Johnson and Big Time Bruin, that the addition of Marsh certainly tempers the loss of Heimuli.
Jon, I love the blog and come to it multiple times each day. However, I do have to agree with Bruinfaithful that at times it's very difficult to discern whether you are stating an opinion or fact. If it's a fact that Heimuli was scared off because of the other commits, then that would be a very interesting story. I find it hard to believe that's the case since he was generally considered the best DT recruit UCLA offered, including Marsh.
Davideski - Maiva will only be a junior next year, so we have him for 2 more years at Center.
Whenever I read that an athlete (who has pro aspirations) might be scared off by the competition on a college team, it makes me wonder just how much they believe in their abilities or in their press clippings and hangers-on.
If Mr. Hiemuli was scared off by 3-star players, best wishes at Oregon.
UCLA should want a 3-star with brains and tenacity (Alturran V) rather than 4-star prima donnas ('08's EJ Woods).
Jewin,
If Zumwalt was making his choice based on academics he would have gone to Stanford.
You're not actually trying to say UCLA has better academics than Stanford, are you?
Are you kidding me is a donkey
Zumwalt was making a choice of the best combination of athletics AND academics.. Thus, he picked UCLA.. Ricky H just liked Oregon better.. All these people saying that he didn't want to compete are really full of it. Oregon just won the PAC 10!! That means they have BETTER PLAYERS!! Look at Haloti Ngata and what he is doing in the NFL.. Obviously they can develop talent.. I love UCLA.. And we are on the rise.. But Oregon is on top right now.. Anyone who thinks Ricky went to Oregon to NOT compete, should be a USC fan.. Because thats something they would say.. Our O-Line was actually not that big of a priority.. We have a lot of good experience now and I would actually look to have the second or third best o-line in the pac 10 this year. In case you don't remember, we have two starter quality linemen that didn't play last year due to injury. And Chris Ward is a STUD! Kody Innes is also pretty impressive.