Bo Pelini and JUCO defensive players

carlfense

carlfense

Heisman Trophy Winner
Pelini has only recruited (or gotten commitments from) four JUCO defensive players in four recruiting classes. We only know the results of the first two JUCO players and that is an admittedly shaky basis for drawing conclusions. That said, Bo is batting 1.000 so far. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues with Carter and Stafford. If they come close to matching the contributions of Gomes and David I'd say that Bo has an almost supernatural ability to spot defensive talent in the JUCO ranks.

2009 - Dejon Gomes :star :star :star (2 seasons: 145 tackles, 77 solo, 1 sack, 8 tackles for loss, 11 pass break ups, 7 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles.)

2010 - LaVonte David :star :star :star :star (1 season: 152 tackles, 6 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, 10 pass break ups.)

2011 - Joseph Carter :star :star :star (no stats)

2011 - Daimion Stafford :star :star :star :star (no stats)

Something to keep an eye on.

 
One of the recruiting gurus would have to help me here, but so far, have any of Bo's defensive recruits been busts, JUCO or not?

I think we're seeing that Bo's ability to put recruiting classes together is just fine, and certainly far better than many of us worried about when he was hired. I remember when he was announced, one of my major concerns was that he had never been that living-room closer kind of guy. I think it's pretty clear that's no longer a concern.

 
knapplc said:
One of the recruiting gurus would have to help me here, but so far, have any of Bo's defensive recruits been busts, JUCO or not?

I think we're seeing that Bo's ability to put recruiting classes together is just fine, and certainly far better than many of us worried about when he was hired. I remember when he was announced, one of my major concerns was that he had never been that living-room closer kind of guy. I think it's pretty clear that's no longer a concern.
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We've had a few that have left the team, but most of those were from Bo's first class.

 
saunders45 said:
We've had a few that have left the team, but most of those were from Bo's first class.
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Who were they? My memory must be going . . .

EDIT: I see that you mean defensive players in general and not just JUCOs.

 
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Daimion Stafford might be the steal of this class, and Joe Carter might be a starter/major contributor from day one. Taking 1-2 JUCO's per class is a good way to get play makers on the field while younger kids build up strength and get adapted to the mental side of the game.

 
Sure, a few of Bo's defensive recruits haven't seen much PT time yet. Just look at the names on the eligibility report. LINK But some of these where snake bit by injuries, like Chase Rome. As for the jucos on defense, it's pretty impressive that Pelini is batting 1000 so far.

 
THinking about this a little further, our offensive JUCO guys haven't been too shabby either.

Ricky Henry

Brandon Kinnie

Yoshi Hardrick

 
I think with any JUCO, you're either taking a guy who is as much of a guarantee as is possible or you're not taking him at all. There have been very few busts from JUCO, but that's how it should be - these are typically 2/2 or 3/2 guys, so the clock is ticking the instant he's on campus.

If any JUCO has seen less playing time than I would expect, it's probably Zac Lee. Lee, however, came into a situation where the offense changed underneath him after he arrived, and a potential phenom took the job after his first year. Plus injuries, blah blah blah. Other than Lee, I'm not remembering any JUCOs who played less than I'd expect.

 
knapplc said:
I think with any JUCO, you're either taking a guy who is as much of a guarantee as is possible or you're not taking him at all. There have been very few busts from JUCO, but that's how it should be - these are typically 2/2 or 3/2 guys, so the clock is ticking the instant he's on campus.

If any JUCO has seen less playing time than I would expect, it's probably Zac Lee. Lee, however, came into a situation where the offense changed underneath him after he arrived, and a potential phenom took the job after his first year. Plus injuries, blah blah blah. Other than Lee, I'm not remembering any JUCOs who played less than I'd expect.
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There was a couple TE's that were complete busts that come to mind. Tomerlin (sp?) and another one. I'm too lazy to look through the recruiting lists right now.

 
RedDenver said:
knapplc said:
I think with any JUCO, you're either taking a guy who is as much of a guarantee as is possible or you're not taking him at all. There have been very few busts from JUCO, but that's how it should be - these are typically 2/2 or 3/2 guys, so the clock is ticking the instant he's on campus.

If any JUCO has seen less playing time than I would expect, it's probably Zac Lee. Lee, however, came into a situation where the offense changed underneath him after he arrived, and a potential phenom took the job after his first year. Plus injuries, blah blah blah. Other than Lee, I'm not remembering any JUCOs who played less than I'd expect.
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There was a couple TE's that were complete busts that come to mind. Tomerlin (sp?) and another one. I'm too lazy to look through the recruiting lists right now.
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Are you thinking of Chase Harper? He never stepped foot on campus because he didn't reach eligibility requirements.

 
RedDenver said:
knapplc said:
I think with any JUCO, you're either taking a guy who is as much of a guarantee as is possible or you're not taking him at all. There have been very few busts from JUCO, but that's how it should be - these are typically 2/2 or 3/2 guys, so the clock is ticking the instant he's on campus.

If any JUCO has seen less playing time than I would expect, it's probably Zac Lee. Lee, however, came into a situation where the offense changed underneath him after he arrived, and a potential phenom took the job after his first year. Plus injuries, blah blah blah. Other than Lee, I'm not remembering any JUCOs who played less than I'd expect.
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There was a couple TE's that were complete busts that come to mind. Tomerlin (sp?) and another one. I'm too lazy to look through the recruiting lists right now.
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Tomerlin came and went before Bo, though. I suppose I wasn't clear, but I was intending my post to only include the Bo Pelini era.

 
saunders45 said:
carlfense said:
saunders45 said:
We've had a few that have left the team, but most of those were from Bo's first class.
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Who were they? My memory must be going . . .

EDIT: I see that you mean defensive players in general and not just JUCOs.
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Yeah, sorry. Mason Wald and John Levorson were the first two to come to mind, and I believe there were a couple of others.
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Even those guys aren't perfect examples...Leverson got the boot for smokin' the ganja. Mason Wald was homesick...and I heard he was having some party issues too.

The tight end I believe Saunders is thinking of was Tyson Hetzer. He enrolled early but I don't think he ever made it onto the team. Never heard why though...

 
knapplc said:
RedDenver said:
knapplc said:
I think with any JUCO, you're either taking a guy who is as much of a guarantee as is possible or you're not taking him at all. There have been very few busts from JUCO, but that's how it should be - these are typically 2/2 or 3/2 guys, so the clock is ticking the instant he's on campus.

If any JUCO has seen less playing time than I would expect, it's probably Zac Lee. Lee, however, came into a situation where the offense changed underneath him after he arrived, and a potential phenom took the job after his first year. Plus injuries, blah blah blah. Other than Lee, I'm not remembering any JUCOs who played less than I'd expect.
Click to expand...
There was a couple TE's that were complete busts that come to mind. Tomerlin (sp?) and another one. I'm too lazy to look through the recruiting lists right now.
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Tomerlin came and went before Bo, though. I suppose I wasn't clear, but I was intending my post to only include the Bo Pelini era.
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You were clear - I incorrectly thought Tomerlin was during the Pelini Era. I'll round up a list of JUCO's tonight and we can all take a look.

 
I think Bo recruits JUCO players when he thinks he might need someone to step up immediately. So maybe he saw an issue with the other DE spot and a Safety for the secondary. Kind of like he thought we needed a LB when David came in and Nickelback in Gome's case.

 
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