[flameshaw]

Am I wrong to be concerned about the number of players we signed who did not have any other offers? Seems like we had several.

[BJWilliams]

Ehh...maybe maybe not.

[ludlpstudent]

It looks like a good overall class. I think flames fans should be pleased.

[Chris Lang]

My blog post updated with Gill quotes on each player:

http://www.newsadvance.com/sports/liber ... f6878.html

[Cider Jim]

Video of Coach Gill discussing his 2014 signing class:

http://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm ... 24&TeamID=

[SumItUp]

The class looks good, but don't they all. I have some of the same concerns about players that didn't receive other offers, but a few of them are raw with only one or two years of experience.

This seems like the smallest class of new recruits that we have had in a few years. Do we have more scholarships to offer? Could there be a few summer transfers coming our way?

[flowserve]

This link is a list of how Liberty and the other Big South teams did today.
http://www.bigsouthsports.com/entries/b ... 14-signees

[jinxy]

A lot of the guys with no offers had only 1 or 2 years experience making them high risk high reward.

[BJWilliams]

Sounds like TG is gonna give BJ a chance to get on the field this fall

[ballcoach15]

Looks to me as if we signed a low number (14). Is there a reason for this ?

[PAmedic]

we shouldnt need to re-build the entire team every year.

look at the schools that signed 20+

programs are a disaster

[jcmanson]

Looks to me as if we signed a low number (14). Is there a reason for this ?

We only get 63 scholarships. That's 15-16 per year IF no one redshirts. We can't sign 20+ every year.

[PAmedic]

I was more concerned @ the apparent quality.

It sure seems that many of the guys didnt get much, if any, attention from anyone else

I thought we did better as far as 2 star guys, etc, the last couple years.

could be wrong. no, I didnt research it.

[jcmanson]

I was more concerned @ the apparent quality.

It sure seems that many of the guys didnt get much, if any, attention from anyone else

I thought we did better as far as 2 star guys, etc, the last couple years.

could be wrong. no, I didnt research it.

Last year 7 of our initial 21 signees were 2-stars. This year 5 of 12 are 2-stars.

[Humble_Opinion]

I thought the class looks pretty solid. I like the additions to the OL with guys that are tall and already 270+. And I really like the fact that Passmore was a state champion in wrestling. As an OL that's a great 2nd sport to be really good at.

In fact, that's one thing I noticed about this class, is that a lot of the kids excelled at another sport that requires a different type of athleticism. I know some of the kids don't have a ton of HS playing experience, but with some time in the film room and some solid coaching - I think these kids have a chance to contribute to the future.

And I really like that we got Farrow... Here's hoping Woodrum has a better year throwing the ball than last year.

[Chris Lang]

Pretty sure Chima Uzowihe was a nothing recruit ... and he's turned into Liberty's best defensive lineman. Scott Hyland didn't get a look from anyone else. Nor did Des Rice. Both were/are extremely productive and steady players at this level. Star ratings are absolutely pointless. D'Brickashaw Ferguson was only a three-star and considered 29th in the country at his position. He ended up as the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft.

And as another example, not to pick on Grant Jones, because he's getting better ... but he was one of the highest-rated recruits Liberty has gotten in recent years and he's yet to crack the starting lineup on a consistent basis.

[jcmanson]

Transcribed a few quotes from Gill on each signee: http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/coac ... n-signees/

[jcmanson]

People love recruiting. We had more unique visitors and more pageviews yesterday than we've ever had before. 12% more unique visitors than the previous record.

[BJWilliams]

Im not all that worried about star ratings. Lang gave a couple examples of guys who werent even rated who ended up all conference at their position. A "no name" in recruiting season could end up an all time great by the time they walk off the field as a senior. not always but it does happen

[ballcoach15]

Anyone know where I can view tape on our new recruits ?

[jcmanson]

Anyone know where I can view tape on our new recruits ?

We have some video of each recruit on our site: http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/sign ... live-blog/

[PAmedic]

Last year 7 of our initial 21 signees were 2-stars. This year 5 of 12 are 2-stars.

Pretty sure Chima Uzowihe was a nothing recruit ... and he's turned into Liberty's best defensive lineman. Scott Hyland didn't get a look from anyone else. Nor did Des Rice. Both were/are extremely productive and steady players at this level. Star ratings are absolutely pointless. D'Brickashaw Ferguson was only a three-star and considered 29th in the country at his position. He ended up as the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL draft.

thanks to both of you for the spanking.

MANSON at least I wasnt that far off tho.

[sigmo7]

I'm not a fan of the star rating stuff myself. Most of the ratings come from spending money going to the combines and different things across the country. if you can run a fast forty, jump high and bench 185 a bunch of times it will help you will pick up the stars. not that they are not useful tools to have but it doesn't mean that much if you can't do it in pads against live competition. i know a kid that wasn't very good at all in the 3 categories that they rate you on and he's turned out pretty good. I was told by the fellow that used to run the UVA message board that Nick's name was out there enough to get an offer somewhere and that he would probably be better off not going to any more camps/combines because of his not so good showing in the big 3 events. he didn't say it to be mean just letting us know what the deal was. i know, i know it's not ALL about the combines but they play a major role in it. however Nick was the state AA defensive player of the year and looking at his RR number he was just barely a 2 star.

[Sly Fox]

Agreed, sigmo7. Combines and HS coaches pumping up their favorite kids are huge factors in recruiting rankings. But the biggest factors is generally the offers they are receiving. If a kid gets a bunch of offers and Rivals, Scout or 247sports hasn't seen the kid they will still drop some stars on them.

What I like about this class is that 3 kids were from Texas .... 3 from Florida ... 6 from the Virginia & Carolinas region. Nice mix of regional kids and the rest from the areas most ripe with talent in the Bible Belt.

[BJWilliams]

I decided to break out the blog again and take a crack at my own take on each of the 2014 signees (thanks to LFN and the athletic site for the information): http://flamesfootball2008.blogspot.com/ ... ortem.html