2016 Recruiting Thread

[huskymedic]

hey huskymedic - one kid that I was wondering about that is another local kid, tht committed early to RU, but it seems we might not have pursued (or might've but it's not known publicly) is WR/DB Isaiah Wright (Kingswood Oxford)... Do you think he could be a potential surprise for us?

He had/has a UConn offer and it was reported that he took an official visit to Temple after being committed to Rutgers, so I guess ya never know...

It appears we moved on (and I can understand why based on #'s @ position)

TodderickHunt 10:46am via Twitter Web Client
#Rutgers 3-star wide receiver commit Isaiah Wright to make final decision Sunday #NJFootball #B1G
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...de_receiver_commit_isaiah_wright_to_make.html

 

[noeynox]

Valley/OL Football ‏@vrolfb 9h9 hours ago
Congratulations to Senior OL/DL Jack Giaconia on his official visit to UCONN this weekend! #warriorfamily #cthsfb

1 retweet3 likes

 

[noeynox]

 

[huskymedic]

Valley/OL Football ‏@vrolfb 9h9 hours ago
Congratulations to Senior OL/DL Jack Giaconia on his official visit to UCONN this weekend! #warriorfamily #cthsfb

Nice catch.

Tiny dude... http://www.zip06.com/sports/20151029/giaconia-proves-a-true-warrior-in-all-arenas

 

[uconnphil2016]

That'd be a solid pickup--a nice nose guard for the 3-4

 

[Sportsman5]

Tiny dude... http://www.zip06.com/sports/20151029/giaconia-proves-a-true-warrior-in-all-arenas

clearly under the radar, but his size and proven strength would suggest big things. the problem with a guy like this is his competition is so poor that it's very difficult to figure out how good he actually is by just watching film.

 

[sub legacy]

Tiny dude... http://www.zip06.com/sports/20151029/giaconia-proves-a-true-warrior-in-all-arenas

Valley/OL Football ‏@vrolfb 9h9 hours ago
Congratulations to Senior OL/DL Jack Giaconia on his official visit to UCONN this weekend! #warriorfamily #cthsfb

1 retweet3 likes

Diaco sure knows how to replace 'em, doesn't he?

 

[huskymedic]

clearly under the radar, but his size and proven strength would suggest big things .

Would love to see the first meeting w/ Matt Balis:

>>Speaking of being a powerhouse, Jack isn’t just a star on the football field—he’s also one of the strongest people to ever walk the halls at Valley Regional High School. Jack holds the total weight record at the school based on a weightlifting event that has four categories in the squat, power clean, dead-lift, and bench press. Jack’s combined total in the four is 1,600 pounds and he can squat an amazing 500.“He’s a weight room warrior and I’m a stickler when it comes to squatting, so his 500 pounds is legitimate,” says Valley football Head Coach Tim King. “Jack is a hard-working son-of-a-gun and an absolute pleasure to coach.<<

Moldable, coachable project it would appear.

 

[noeynox]

Would love to see the first meeting w/ Matt Balis:

>>Speaking of being a powerhouse, Jack isn’t just a star on the football field—he’s also one of the strongest people to ever walk the halls at Valley Regional High School. Jack holds the total weight record at the school based on a weightlifting event that has four categories in the squat, power clean, dead-lift, and bench press. Jack’s combined total in the four is 1,600 pounds and he can squat an amazing 500.“He’s a weight room warrior and I’m a stickler when it comes to squatting, so his 500 pounds is legitimate,” says Valley football Head Coach Tim King. “Jack is a hard-working son-of-a-gun and an absolute pleasure to coach.<<

Moldable, coachable project it would appear.

I was thinking preferred walk on, but maybe a scholly NG.

 

[cryjeremiah]

Video is a little like watching Gullivers Travels, but you can't teach size and natural strength like that. Give him a redshirt year with Balis to work on rearranging that girth and improving mobility/footwork..... Some Time to figure out a position.... You may have a XL diamond in the rough here.

 

[Exit 4]

I hope this kid is a PWO. Don't think the speed is there off the snap or on the field. Awkward runner.

 

[noeynox]

I hope this kid is a PWO. Don't think the speed is there off the snap or on the field. Awkward runner.

I was thinking the same thing. But he is large. Have to get weight off that midsection though.

 

[Exit 4]

I was thinking the same thing. But he is large. Have to get weight off that midsection though.

He is large, he apparently is a weight lifter and reported to be coachable - all good stuff. He also swallows up players when he gets to the point. Not sure you can ever coach up speed though. The philosophy in the past, particularly under Edsall was speed first, body type second. I'm a little more interested in "football speed" than body type myself. You never have the chance to make the play if you can't get there. For instance, I feel our OL has been particularly challenged in this area - too slow off the snap.

While I'm at it, I'm not sure why Pulley is rated so highly by a couple of the recruiting sites. His highlight tape is not explosive. It mostly shows him making tackles with other players and often as the second or third guy there rather than the first guy. ...very little solo feats. Pulley has a prototypical body type and is playing better comp, so there is that.

At this point I would rather keep a couple schollies open and see if we can get a couple more transfers or a JC player. We shouldn't reach for projects.

 

[Sportsman5]

He is large, he apparently is a weight lifter and reported to be coachable - all good stuff. He also swallows up players when he gets to the point. Not sure you can ever coach up speed though. The philosophy in the past, particularly under Edsall was speed first, body type second. I'm a little more interested in "football speed" than body type myself. You never have the chance to make the play if you can't get there. For instance, I feel our OL has been particularly challenged in this area - too slow off the snap.

While I'm at it, I'm not sure why Pulley is rated so highly by a couple of the recruiting sites. His highlight tape is not explosive. It mostly shows him making tackles with other players and often as the second or third guy there rather than the first guy. ...very little solo feats. Pulley has a prototypical body type and is playing better comp, so there is that.

At this point I would rather keep a couple schollies open and see if we can get a couple more transfers or a JC player. We shouldn't reach for projects.

There are multiple ways to get guys faster and more explosive. Lose body fat, gain strength, train the central nervous system, increase mobility, increase stride length, etc. If this guy lost 15lbs of fat and improves in a couple of other areas then he can definitely be an effective lineman for uconn

 

[Exit 4]

There are multiple ways to get guys faster and more explosive. Lose body fat, gain strength, train the central nervous system, increase mobility, increase stride length, etc. If this guy lost 15lbs of fat and improves in a couple of other areas then he can definitely be an effective lineman for uconn

I'm a skeptic on training for increased speed - but not a deep skeptic. Hope you are right. We still need another OT prospect in my opinion.

 

[huskysupporter]

I'm a skeptic on training for increased speed - but not a deep skeptic. Hope you are right. We still need another OT prospect in my opinion.

For o and d line it is explosion, not speed that is needed, and I firmly believe this can be increased through training.

 

[cryjeremiah]

And it's different with 3-4 style nose tackles. In that case, strength/agility and the ability to eat up blockers and plug the middle trumps pure speed/explosion. The rare guy like Vince Wilfork might be the exception to that rule, though.

 

[FDNY99]

And it's different with 3-4 style nose tackles. In that case, strength/agility and the ability to eat up blockers and plug the middle trumps pure speed/explosion. The rare guy like Vince Wilfork might be the exception to that rule, though.

That guy is a straight up athletic freak.....what he does at his weight/size is amazing.

 

[Dynasty]

Donald Stewart to Stanford.

 

[gioff23]

In fairness, we are competing against CCSU and URI.

 

[huskymedic]

Donald Stewart to Stanford.

Donald_Stewart86:32pm via Twitter for iPhone
I'm excited to announce that I am committed to Stanford University #CardClass16 #NerdNation

 

[uconnphil2016]

Weird that we haven't been giving more attention to Kameron Pickett...did we lose interest in him? He's doing a bunch of OVs at lesser schools (New Mexico and Buffalo) but hasn't posted anything about us. Just weird to me seeing that we could probably use some more RB depth

 

[uconnflyer88]

Weird that we haven't been giving more attention to Kameron Pickett...did we lose interest in him? He's doing a bunch of OVs at lesser schools (New Mexico and Buffalo) but hasn't posted anything about us. Just weird to me seeing that we could probably use some more RB depth

We have two RBs in this class in Vickers and Hopkins

 

[ZOOCONN]

Video is a little like watching Gullivers Travels, but you can't teach size and natural strength like that. Give him a redshirt year with Balis to work on rearranging that girth and improving mobility/footwork..... Some Time to figure out a position.... You may have a XL diamond in the rough here.

I thought the same thing about cespedes when he was first offered but from what I have seen they have done a phenomenal job with him. in his case adding a ton of bulk/weight

 

[uconnphil2016]

We have two RBs in this class in Vickers and Hopkins

Not sure how I forgot about them...