NCAA Football
C-USA Recruiting: Southern Miss, Houston Top List
Often overlooked as just a weak non-BCS conference, the universities that make up C-USA have made changes recently that have started paying tangible dividends. Schools like Southern Mississippi, Houston and Southern Methodist University all feel they have upgraded their coaching staffs while other teams like 2007 C-USA champions Central Florida have added state-of-the-art upgrades to their facilities. These changes, among others, have sent a clear message to the college football world: C-USA plans to compete with the ‘haves’ of the NCAA and they mean to do it soon.
Still, with most media attention only focused on the elite BCS schools, the only real tangible change will occur when non-BCS schools consistently compete with their more lauded peers on the field. This has already begun to happen with teams like Boise State defeating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl 2 years ago, but many more wins are needed before an already clearly biased mainstream media recognizes the teams from the smaller conferences as true equals.
Nonetheless, the gap is definitely tightening and the best evidence of this right now is the way some of C-USA’s best programs are already competing with BCS schools for top recruits. While one could argue that C-USA teams aren’t loaded with 4 and 5 star recruits, it is important to note that the currently used star system is often biased towards which prospects BCS schools are interested in rather than actual potential.
So, let’s take a look at recruiting classes for each university and see how they rank within the conference. I’ll tell you WHAT is imporant to know and WHO you should pay attention to.
1. Southern Miss
WHAT: Southern Miss is the clear winner in this year’s recruiting battle. New head coach Larry Fedora focused his efforts at home where he reeled in many of the top talent in the state. Southern Miss nabbed 28 solid studs that should assist the Golden Eagles to getting back in the championship hunt.
WHO: DeAndre Brown from Ocean Springs, Mississippi is the best recruit to sign with Southern Miss (or any C-USA team) in a long time. He has the height, hands and speed to become one of the elite players in college football. The DL duo Willie Packer (Moss Point, MS) and Bo Tillman (Meadville, MS) should contribute early, also.
2. Houston
WHAT: The Houston Cougars are equally charged about the job their new coach did in reeling in commitments. Coach Kevin Sumlin nabbed lots of exciting talent on the defensive side of the ball as he corralled top talent in the talent rich city of Houston.
WHO: Superstar LBs Jarvis Smith (Chavez HS) and Anthony Lewis (Aldine HS) will provide immediate upgrades at the LB position for the Coogs. Meanwhile, speedster Isaiah Sweeney (Hightower HS) could find himself running free in opposing secondaries in Houston’s new pass happy offense real soon.
WHAT: The Knights rode a championship season all the way to the recruiting trail garnering national attention for their 19 player commitment success that spanned the country. Coach George O’Leary grabbed players from Florida, Texas, Ohio, New York, Georgia and California.
WHO: RB Brandon Davis (Peachtree Ridge HS) may be just what the doctor ordered as record-breaking Kevin Smith leaves for the NFL. He’s a powerful runner with good speed and exceptional vision. Meanwhile, DE Jarvis Geathers (Feather River) should be wreaking havoc on C-USA QBs assuming he can adjust to the higher level of play coming out of the juco ranks.
4. Marshall
WHAT: The Thundering Herd look to be on the rebound as Marshall grabbed several solid juco players they hope can make an impact on the club immediately.
WHO: Martin Ward (Mount Zion HS) is one of the best all-around RBs in the country. Not only can he run the ball, but he is an excellent blocker and solid pass reciever. He may be looking for running room behind behemoth juco OT Jimmy Rodgers (East Side HS) soon.
5. UTEP
WHAT: The price must have been right for former Alabama HC Mike Price. Price has guided the Miners to respectability and consistently gathers top-notch Texas-sized talent to help him garner respect in the West Texas sports world usually dominated by Texas Tech.
WHO: QB Tim Curry (Elysian Fields HS) is a can’t miss prospect in both football and baseball while DT Corey Wright (Jersey Village HS) should mature into a beast on the other side of the ball.
6. Tulsa
WHAT: Todd Graham looks to replace loads of graduating talent from a C-USA divisional champion. This class should help.
WHO: Juco QB Jacob Bower (Bakersfield) will seek to duplicate the perfect season he had with his last football team. He has all the tools to step in for graduating Paul Smith, but only time will tell if he’s ready for the next level. He’ll try to hook up with that other C-USA WR named DeAundre Brown (Seguin HS) early and often.
7. Tulane
WHAT: The Green Wave loaded up on key players to help make the Big Easy a little better place to win college football games. Coach Bob Toledo grabbed both meat and potatoes in his shopping spree, getting some talented linemen to protect a good passer.
WHO: Roadgraters Harris Howard (Blessed Trinity) and Rafael Vasquez (Edgewater HS) should develop into solid OL prospects with QB Ryan Griffin (Chaminade College Prep) hoping to do the same at his position. Griffin’s arm strength makes him a definite candidate for QB in the near future.
8. Rice
WHAT: The other less successful team in Houston has gathered a decent class under the direction of 2nd year coach David Bailiff. Will it translate into wins on the field?
WHO: OG Clay Hebert (Klein HS) has all the tools to be successful in college football.
9. Memphis
WHAT: The Memphis Tigers are trying to build a successful football program to go along with their elite basketball club. Coach Tommy West had success grabbing some highly rated juco stars to help in the quest.
WHO: The aforementioned juco stars are QB Arkelon Hall (College of Sequoias) and DE Demetrius Culpepper (East Mississippi). Hall is a strong-armed speedster while Culpepper is a bruising sack-master.
10. East Carolina
WHAT: It would seem that a Hawaii Bowl win over Boise State would have equaled more recruiting success for coach Skip Holtz but it definitely did not turn out that way on paper.
WHO: DE Allen Crowder (Eastern Alamance HS) is a solid performer at his position.
11. SMU
WHAT: Newly acquired coach June Jones was hired very late in the recruiting process and it shows in his first class.
WHO: TE Taylor Thompson (Prosper HS) has speed and talent, but he’ll be searching for a new position in Coach Jones double slot offense.
12. UAB
WHAT: Alabama-Birmingham recruited the bottom class in C-USA grabbing a slew of decent jucos and a herd of unheralded high school talent. Hopefully for the Blazers, there is more than meets the eye.
WHO: The Roget brothers from Tyler Junior College will see some immediate playing time for the Blazers. Kyle is a strong-tackling LB while Ryan is a prospect on the OL.
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5 comments for “C-USA Recruiting: Southern Miss, Houston Top List”
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Mr. McCarson
I believe Boise St. beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. I trust you were more diligent when researching the rest of your article.
Oops. I must have mistaken it as the Sugar Bowl in my original draft. Sorry for the misprint, though the important point is that Boise State won the game.
Thanks!
I think the SMU recruiting class is much better than many think. The TE from Prosper is a good Athlete that may play DE, Victor Jones outstanding linebacker. The QB signing of Bo Levi Mitchell is a nice pickup along with three or four other players that will develope into nice run & shoot receivers like Lee from Mississippi and the Little Elm QB they signed. This is better than whats on paper.
Gary,
The best part about recruiting is that it can only truly be judged by what happens on the field. One thing is sure, the best recruiting SMU did was getting June Jones from Hawaii. If I could factor that into the equation, SMU would be right near the top. Nonetheless, SMU looks like it will be a real power again soon.
[…] for Riverside North, rehttp://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-hsreport3apr03,1,2362828.story?track=rssC-USA recruitingSouthern Miss, Houston come out big winners on national signing day or so says Kelsey McCarson from […]