USC Morning Buzz

COOKS Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks leads the nation in receiving yards (1,256) and is tied for first in touchdowns (13) and . . . did not even get offered a scholarship by USC. That shows the inexact nature of recruiting as the Trojans’ 2011 recruiting class included wide receivers George Farmer, Marqise Lee and Victor Blackwell.
Lee was not a can’t-miss prospect at the time, with questions over whether he would play offense or defense in college. USC actually did not even contact Lee much between his junior and senior seasons until assistant coach Kennedy Pola saw his tape at Serra and urged Lane Kiffin to offer him.
But it shows even if you have the nation’s No. 4-ranked recruiting class in 2011, you can still miss someone who is from Stockton, Calif., like Cooks.
“He’s a great player,” Ed Orgeron said.

23 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz

  1. Of course it does not hurt that Cook has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation throwing to him in a pass-happy offense.

    Lee was great last year with some SC guy throwing to him; not so great this year with a different QB.

    • If Bucket reads this he is going to go off on the Pious Passer again. Jeez, when does it end.

      • except for the wolfman, i have studied the Pious Passer closer than anyone and i know his tendencies better than Chip Kelly.

        PP has the tendency to choke!!!

        HAWR-HAWR!!!!

        5 turnovers, ZERO TD’s!!!!

        passer rating in the low 40’s!!!!!

        DELICIOUSLY CRUMMY!!!!

        But don’t worry, i hear the Philly fans are the most understanding and supportive in the country!!!

  2. Most of the 2011 recruiting class for USC are MIA (injured, transferred, under performed, off the field issues, not properly coached/developed?)…..Devante WIlson, Charles Burks, Cody Temple, Junior Pomee, Amir Carlisle, Christian Heyward, Greg Townsend, Jr. Cyrus Hobbi……

    • great recruiting Kiffin … and this was suppose to be his strength LOL. No wonder he is home watching cartoons.

      • It more or less confirms Wolfies point : it “shows the inexact nature of recruiting …..”

    • The 2011 class was the one where Kiffin took 29 or 30 people, and will be seen as the biggest resaon for his downfall. It is a terrible class, the worst since Paul Hackett’s classes.

      So far, the active “contributors” are Kessler, Madden, Blackwell, Heidari, Albarado, Tavai, Sarao, Lee, Dawson, Woods, Walker, Martin and Allen.

      Scott has said you get 6 or 7 solid contributors per class then you have had a “successful” class, but if your contributors are worse than every other teams’ contributors, then you have problems.

      Look at the list. Kessler would not start for any other Pac-12 team. And Wittek, who hasn’t sniffed the field since game three was also a 2011 class member. Heidari and Albarado are wasted scholarships — neither is better than any other kicker or punter in the Pac-12, nor much better than what a walk-on would provide. Tavai is a solid 2nd teamer, so are Woods and Blackwell. Dawson is decent, but not worthy of the “55” designation Kiffin created. Sarao is a “gamer” isn’t a fit for Pendergast’s defense, he is too small. Martin was a catch, a solid first team player, Allen was buried on the depth chart until Kiffin was fired, and Lee is the only difference marker in the entire class, nad he has made no difference this year.

      And here is Walker’s scouting report from Scout:

      “Doesn’t play with a lot of strength and leverage, but with his quickness off the ball and momentum, he’s able to steer smaller defensive linemen. Sheer mass allows him to be a decent pass blocker on the interior line, because he takes up so much space.”

      Some things never change.

      • Walker has been a major disappointment so far, no doubt…he was supposed to have made up for our losing Seantrel Henderson to Miami, not that he has been any prize for the Canes either….I think that Kessler could at least start for Colorado, no?….LOL

  3. You offer several, pursue a few and end up with a couple at the positions you need to fill. You never know what a kid is really made of and how he will develop until he is about done with his eligibility. So it’s all a crap shoot, go for the best and hope for the best.

  4. Maxwell Award semifinalists
    PlayerClassPositionCollegeTajh BoydSRQBClemsonTeddy BridgewaterJRQBLouisvilleKa’Deem CareyJRRBArizonaDerek CarrSRQBFresno StateBrandin CooksJRWROregon StateMike EvansSophWRTexas A & MMelvin GordonSophRBWisconsinSean MannionJRQBOregon StateJohnny ManzielSophQBTexas A & MMarcus MariotaSophQBOregonAJ McCarronSRQBAlabamaAaron MurraySRQBGeorgiaBryce PettyJRQBBaylorBishop SankeyJRRBWashingtonLache SeastrunkJRRBBaylorJameis WinstonFRQBFlorida State

  5. Really Wolf? This is a new concept for you? Another reason why losing 10 scholies per year hurts. You can’t make any mistakes in an inexact science. Is it starting to sink in?

    • Wolfie has always been a little slow to catch on to obvious concepts, such as this……

  6. So what you saying is Recruiting rankings of players don’t really matter?
    but I have heard so much negative talk about the kids SC is recruiting now!

  7. The one thing no troll has pointed out is that these highly recruited over-hyped kids do not always come with a complete set of skills. Some jump right in but most need to LEARN as in any other college subject. The point is, through a group of bad moves in assistant coaches USC has not been teaching football very well for the past few years. I mean last year they had a defensive coordinator who taught the bump out of bounds brand of tackling. It works in the NFL because if you get hurt in the NFL you are out of a job. It doesn’t work at the college level because student athletes want to get noticed by the NFL so they will take risks.

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