2016 OLB Erick Fowler Commits to LSU

Discussion in 'LSU RECRUITING' started by old school, Jun 13, 2015.

  1. shane0911

    shane0911 Helping lost idiots find their village

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    Hope we somehow get to play them so he can meet 7
     
  2. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Momma don't let your babies grow up to be Longhorns
     
  3. tirk

    tirk im the lyrical jessie james

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    http://www.expressnews.com/sports/c...hp?t=b069fdb73ea2c336e3&cmpid=twitter-premium

    Strong’s gamble led to big recruiting finish for UT
    By Mike Finger


    AUSTIN — The strategy sounded preposterous. If it blew up in Charlie Strong’s face — and there was no guarantee it wouldn’t — he’d have been labeled either incompetent or insane. Strong understood the risk.

    But the way he saw things, a gamble was his only chance.

    In an approach that ran counterintuitive to everything people thought they knew about recruiting, this is what the Texas coach did over the past few months: He told players not to commit to the Longhorns. He kept wooing all of the top prospects, complimenting Erick Fowler’s mother on her pancakes and Jeffrey McCulloch’s mother on her ribs, but he never pressured them to announce their intentions.


    He wanted them to wait. Part of this, Strong admitted, was due to fear. He realized that as soon as a player declares a commitment, the competition knows which program to attack. And he knew UT’s 5-7 finish in 2015 left it particularly vulnerable.

    “After the season we had,” Strong said, “I didn’t want them attacking us.”

    Wednesday, Strong basked in the afterglow of a crazy plan that worked out even better than he could have imagined. With a down-to-the-wire flurry of announcements unprecedented at UT, the Longhorns added seven players on National Signing Day to finish with a class ranked as one of the best in the country.

    MORE INFORMATION
    Longhorns glance

    Team rankings: 13th Rivals, 8th Scout

    Analysis: For a class that was rated no higher than 33rd nationally as recently as two weeks ago, the Longhorns pulled off quite a finish. With seven new commitments on Wednesday and 11 in the final week, Charlie Strong signed the top-rated haul in the Big 12 for the second year in a row. Many of the most hyped recruits are on the defensive side of the ball, which should help a unit that gave up more yards last year than any team in UT history. But the class also provides needed help on the offensive line, and features a quarterback who might give new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert another starting option this fall.

    Top prospect: Brandon Jones, S, Nacogdoches — Rated by some services as the nation’s best safety, Jones was thought to be strongly leaning toward Texas A&M and was the subject of a documentary produced by TexAgs.com. But he announced his commitment to UT Wednesday, and should compete for playing time immediately.

    Best of the rest: Jeffrey McCulloch, LB, Aldine Davis — Another Wednesday addition for the Longhorns, McCulloch joins fellow elite recruit Erick Fowler and sophomores Malik Jefferson, Edwin Freeman and Anthony Wheeler to give UT what might be the best young linebacker corps in the country.

    Late addition: Jordan Elliott, DT, Houston Westside — In the last-day barrage of UT commitments, Elliott came last. But because he fills an area of dire need for the Longhorns, he and the other four new tackles will get opportunities to play right away.

    Sleeper: Shane Buechele, QB, Arlington Lamar — College football’s most important position has been UT’s biggest problem for six years, and the Longhorns didn’t land anyone guaranteed to be a superstar. But Buechele was ranked 116th overall by Rivals, and might assert himself as a starting option during spring practice after enrolling in January.

    One that got away: Patrick Hudson, OL, Silsbee — One of the few recruits to spurn the Longhorns this week, Hudson would’ve been UT’s top-rated offensive signee, but chose to play at Baylor instead.

    What Coach Strong said: “I don’t think you can have enough big-body guys. If it was up to me, I would’ve taken 20 of them.”

    Signing List

    Peyton Aucoin, TE, 6-5, 240, Metairie, La.

    Demarco Boyd, LB, 5-11, 240, Gilmer

    Chris Brown, DB, 5-10, 190, Houston

    Shane Buechele, QB, 6-1, 190, Arlington

    D’Andre Christmas-Giles, DL, 6-2, 292, Slidell, La.

    Eric Cuffee, DB, 6-0, 187, Waco

    Davion Curtis, WR, 5-11, 178, Temple

    Chris Daniels, DL, 6-4, 328, Euless

    Jean Delance, OL, 6-5, 299, Mesquite

    Jordon Elliott, DL, 6-3, 322, Houston

    Andrew Fitzgerald, DL, 6-5, 255, Flower Mound

    Erick Fowler, LB, 6-1, 240, Manor

    Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, WR, 6-1, 171, Houston

    Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR, 6-4, 210, Grapevine

    Tope Imade, OL, 6-4, 322, Arlington

    Collin Johnson, WR, 6-5, 203, San Jose, Calif.

    Brandon Jones, DB, 6-0, 195, Nacogdoches

    Jeffrey McCulloch, LB, 6-2, 234, Houston

    Denzel Okafor, OL, 6-4, 295, Lewisville

    Kyle Porter, RB, 5-10, 207, Katy

    Malcolm Roach, LB, 6-3, 257, Baton Rouge, La.

    Zach Shackelford, OL, 6-3, 296, Belton

    Marcel Southall, DL, 6-1, 287, Dallas

    Gerald Wilbon, DL, 6-2, 327, St. Rose


    As recently as a week ago, the Longhorns’ haul was listed no higher than 33rd nationally by the major recruiting services. But by adding 11 players — including eight in ESPN’s Top 300 — over the last seven days, their 24-player group soared to No. 8 in Scout’s ratings, No. 9 in ESPN’s, No. 11 in 247Sports’ and No. 13 in Rivals’.

    For Strong, it was the second year in a row he finished with the top-rated class in the Big 12. Both times, he accomplished the feat after ending a season with a losing record.

    “We needed some positive vibes,” Strong said. “There was so much negative energy around the program. We needed to dispel it.”

    In what proved to be a brilliant maneuver, Strong and his staff chose to dispel it mainly in private. Instead of seeking the temporary public-relations bump that might have come with having recruits announce UT commitments in December and January, they toughed it out.

    Of the players who committed to the Longhorns over the final week, Strong said he knew all but “about four” were coming to UT all along. With the others, he said, it was all about persistence.

    “I don’t take no for an answer,” Strong said. “I’m going to keep riding you until you tell me you’re not interested.”

    And by saving the announcements, it meant other schools couldn’t poach recruits by going negative against UT. Strong joked about telling players if they waited until signing day, they could “do backflips” at their ceremonies if they wanted.

    In the end, Strong wound up flipping several elite prospects who’d been committed elsewhere, a group including Manor linebacker Fowler (from LSU), Houston Westside defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (from Michigan) and Euless Trinity defensive tackle Chris Daniels (from Oklahoma). Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones was thought to be leaning toward Texas A&M before picking Texas.



    It also made UT one of the biggest national stories of the day.

    “All of the drama, I liked it,” Strong said. “We had everyone’s attention. That’s what we want.”

    Now, of course, comes the chore of holding onto that attention by winning football games. Preaching patience in recruiting is one thing, but Strong realizes he won’t be able to keep people calm if the Longhorns don’t show significant improvement from their 11-14 record in his first two seasons.

    What’s clear is the 2016 Longhorns will be his, through and through. After his first two teams were split between his signees and Mack Brown holdovers, UT figures to start as few as three or four players signed by the previous staff.

    Strong will be judged by the results. But just like in recruiting, he’s confident in his plan.

    “I don’t panic,” he said.

    Not even when patience seems crazy.
     
    ParadiseiNC likes this.
  4. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Who is Malcolm Roach, LB fr Baton Rouge? I never heard of him.
     
  5. ParadiseiNC

    ParadiseiNC don't worry, be happy

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    I wondered the same thing. @bhelmLSU , @islstl ?
     
  6. 1BIGTIGER

    1BIGTIGER Founding Member

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    Listed as DE- 3 star -film does not look to shabby wonder why we did not offer?
     
  7. bhelmLSU

    bhelmLSU Founding Member Staff Member

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    O was on the radio yesterday saying they had to stop receutitng a number of DL targets due to fit in Aranda's defense. O was excited about it. This is why Giles disapperaed at the end and Martin was bumped ahead on the board. Don't know the specifics with this recuit. Never heard about him during the year.
     
  8. Bengal B

    Bengal B Founding Member

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    Played for Madison Prep in Baton Rouge. I had never heard of Madison until LSU started recruiting Jarrel Martin but apparently the new school has come on like gangbusters in basketball and football.
     

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