[2024] Recruiting Class Grades Batch 6

[tsweezy]

It's that time of year again! Time to hand out recruiting class grades!

This year obviously progressions happened way earlier so it's a bit different of a read.

 

 

University of Houston

Big 12 Conference

2023: 11-4 (8-2)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

UHOU signed 1 5-star, 7 4-stars, 7 3-stars, and 10 2-stars. They signed 11 players with B or better potentials and 6 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 10th
Rivals: 6th
247: 5th

Composite: 3rd

 

Signees below:

 

School	Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
UHOU	Steven Morgan	2	C	B+	C	Pass Blocking	Winter Haven	FL
UHOU	Adam Centeno	2	C	B	CB	Man Coverage	Bountiful	UT
UHOU	Tommy White	2	C	C+	CB	Man Coverage	Daingerfield	TX
UHOU	Alan Kelly	2	C	C+	CB	Zone Coverage	Fort Lauderdale	FL
UHOU	Kevin Kirkland	3	C	B+	DE	Run Stopper	Chattanooga	TN
UHOU	Robert Bailey	3	C	A-	DE	Run Stopper	Mesa	AZ
UHOU	Joseph Vanacker	2	C	C+	DT	Nose Tackle	Lawrence	KS
UHOU	Brian Yoder	3	C	B-	FB	Balanced	Magnolia	MS
UHOU	George Schnarr	2	C	C+	FS	Zone Coverage	Montville	NJ
UHOU	Quinn Riley	5	B	C+	ILB	Field General	Katy	TX
UHOU	Martin Montero	4	B-	A+	OG	Pass Blocking	Paulsboro	NJ
UHOU	James Lamb	4	B-	C+	OG	Pass Blocking	Mansfield	OH
UHOU	Edward Conner	2	C	C+	OG	Balanced	West Monroe	LA
UHOU	Jose Landor	3	C	C	OLB	Coverage	Austin	TX
UHOU	Gerardo Delgadillo	4	B-	A+	OT	Run Blocking	Lucas	TX
UHOU	Francisco Torres	4	C+	B-	QB	Field General	Live Oak	FL
UHOU	Raymond Wooton	2	C	C+	QB	Scrambler	Plano	TX
UHOU	Jignesh Le	3	C	B-	RB	Balanced	Fort Lauderdale	FL
UHOU	William Long	2	C	A	RB	Receiving	Severna Park	MD
UHOU	Christopher Mikesh	3	C	B+	SS	Run Stopper	Mt. Angel	OR
UHOU	Peng Ayub	4	C+	B	TE	Receiving	Marshall	TX
UHOU	Ki Quan	3	C	B-	TE	Receiving	Plano	TX
UHOU	Alfonso Gundersen	4	B-	A	WR	Route Runner	Kennedale	TX
UHOU	Randall Kierce	4	B-	B	WR	Possesion	Gonzales	LA
UHOU	Martin Potter	2	C	C+	WR	Speed	Lakeland	FL

 

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

Position	Current position grade	Current status	Number signed	Recruiting status	Croot Grade
C	A-	Jeff Walker is a very good run blocking center here. The 4-star (So) is already a B+ with B- potential so he's a plus player and has 2 more seasons. They do need to think about recruiting his successor soon though	1	Eh. Steven Morgan is.. a big downgrade. A 2 star B+ potential I guess he could blossom and he doesn't need to play for quite a while, but they'd be betting big on his progression if they see him as the future	C
CB	A-	Honestly they're pretty stacked here. A ball hawk / man team, they have 4 4-stars on the roster, 3 of whom are Sophomore eligible (all at least B overalls) which is a fantastic grouping for the future. Frankly they are not really in need of much, there's a bright future here	3	Well, again this was a startling drop in quality from the sophomores to the new freshmen. 3 signees here and all 3 are 2 stars with kinda average potential. They also took a zone corner for ? reason as he definitely does not fit their scheme.	C-
DE	B	A pretty solid room, if unspectacular. They have a couple 4th/5th year guys with B/B+ overalls who can hold their own. The only blue chip guy is also their first speed rusher they signed (last cycle). A B- sophomore, he looks in line for a redshirt this season though.	2	Another pair of 3-star high potential (B+/A-) guys are great for the future. I am curious what scheme they're going to try and run. They have 5 run stoppers, 2 balanced and a speed rusher. That seems to set up for a 3-4 but I'm really not sure. They should probably stick to a particular scheme here	B-
DT	B+	Another solid room. They've got a lot of balanced guys. Ogletree has an argument for being the best player on the defense and at worst is a top-3 player on the entire team. I'm... assuming they're running a 4-3 this year at least in which case they've got a nice 4-star (So) next to him and a B overall (Jr) as backup. Good unit and good projections for the future	1	A nose tackle? are they trying to transition to a 3-4? I'm confused. Also Vanacker isn't very good at 2/C/C+. Kind of a punt but last years class was good so it's not a big deal	D+
FB	-	None on the roster, let's goooo	1	Aw, they were doing so well but apparently decided they should roster at least 1 FB. Yoder is a fine porspect at 3CB- and is the only option now at the position	C+
FS	B+	A really good group here, frankly a bit crowded at the position. The nominal starter should be Junior Man coverage Leonard with B+ overall. Right behind him though (and likely redshirt) is So 4-star B overall Ball Hawk Dunlap. They have a few other B- guys on the depth chart so they are pretty loaded.	1	Another 2CC+. Man this is a big letdown from last years class. Also weirdly enough they took Schnarr as a zone coverage guy? Going against scheme isn't typically advised but I guess you never know	D+
ILB	C+	Kind of in a rough spot here. A senior run stopper is a B overall and best player. They have a few other 3 star Sophs who are fine I guess. Just not that inspiring but not horrible	1	Slam dunk. Quinn Riley is one of the all time best LB prospects and signed due to a special connection with Mahrowkeen. Potentially in line to be a day 1 starter that instantly upgrades the room for years and years to come.	A
K	C	Average here. A B overall senior is good enough, and then a 3 star C+ from last class to take over starting next year.	0	None signed	-
OG	B	The room is chock-full of talent, but not a lot of seniority. Only 1 player in Jr/Sr years, but 6 3/4 stars means they should be quite, quite good down the line. This is a building year for a more dominant next season	3	Another big crop headlined by Montero, a 4 star B overall with A+(!!) potential. He should grow to be a no-brainer first round selection when he eventually goes pro. They added another B overall 4-star too which makes this a pretty dominant signing group actually	A
OLB	B	Another room with a lot of speed guys for the outside. Again, a pair of B overall 4-star sophomores as the last 2 classes are starting to bloom. plenty of depth talent rostered as well	1	Meh. Landor is like the definition of forgettable. a 3/C/C guy he's not bad, he's just not really notable at all	C
OT	B+	Lewis is a really, really good run blocker on one side with A overall (and he'll be back next season too). On the other side is last year's pass blocking 4-star signee with a B overall. Great setup for the next couple years and some B- players backing them up	1	Only 1 signee but another superstar. Delgadillo is a B- 4-star with A+(!!!) potential. There are only a couple of these guys each year and Houston signed 2 of them on the OL. What a group	A-
P	C	Pretty average here, almost a carbon copy of the Kicker room. B- senior starter and C+ sophomore future starter. It's fine I guess, punters are pretty low on the importance list	0	Didn't sign any	-
QB	A	The best offensive player at the most important position. Cothran is a balanced QB (SR) who stuck around an extra year in hopes of being a top-5 QB in next years draft. More of a passer than a runner he's got a live arm and has all the control he could want over this offense. Behind him is A- overall (Jr) Kearse, a field general who can play fine as relief. Last year they signed Jim Kantor, a scrambling 4-star who's probably the future starter	2	Hm, I don't think they needed 2 here and Wooton frankly kinda sucks. Francisco Torres is pretty solid though. A 4-star Field general C+ overall B- potential he will have at least a few growth years before any chance of starting	B-
RB	B+	Three juniors on the roster is pretty crazy. B-/B+/A- means they're quite solid this year and going to be insane next season. Pryor is the leader here as a receiving back and should be one of the focal points of the offense	2	This is the year to replace that trio of juniors, but I'm a little unsure of the talent here. A 3 star B- potential and a 2 star A potential are fine as seniors but they just don't wow me like the current depth chart does	C
SS	B	Another 5th year starter, Barlow is an A- overall run stopper who can lay the wood. Behind him there are a couple 3 stars who are... fine I guess but I don't think they're superstars by any means	1	Mikesh is probably the future here as a 3 star with B+ potential. He has at least 2 years to grow before taking over but at least sticks to scheme with run stopping	C+
TE	B-	Not quite the best room here. Their best player is B+ vertical threat Lynch who's a senior this year. Behind him are a bunch of C/C+ players so they certainly don't have very good depth. Last year's 3 star signee is still a C overall too so not exactly imminent to get reinforcements	2	Signed another high potential 3 star which is fine, but Peng Ayub is the much better signee. A 4 star B potential receiving threat he already slots in as TE2 and should serve as a long term face of the position. Great pickup	B
WR	B	8 Guys rostered, only 1 is a senior. Nick Conner is their A overall speed threat with another year after this. They've got another handful of B overalls who will continue to bloom especially considering they snagged 4 signees last year including a 4 star B overall speed guy	3	Another 3 player haul makes this room very, very full of talent. A pair of 4 star B overalls (with A and B potential) are the headliners of one of the top-3 WR classes this year. I think this will wind up being one of their best position groups on the team	A

 

I'm not sure what to think here. I'm just going to assume that Houston snagged their top of the board candidates and then mailed it in with AI? A lot of completely uninspiring 2 stars, but also more than their fair share of absolute steeze in other rooms. Luckily their last 2 classes were amazing across the board so it wasn't a huge issue but I am a little disappointed by some of it. Still, this roster is in contention for the conference (or would be if Baylor wasn't a fire breathing dragon) and a playoff spot again. I think they'll be even better next year too which is a scary, scary proposition

 

Class Grade: B

 

 

 

 

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Mountain West Conference

2023: 5-7 (3-5)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

UNLV signed 2 5-stars, 10 4-stars, 8 3-stars, 1 2-star and 1 1-star. They signed 9 players with B or better potentials and 3 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 34th
Rivals: 4th
247: 3rd

Composite: 5th

 

Signees below:

 

School	Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
UNLV	Adrian Galindo	4	C+	B	C	Line Captain	Sacramento	CA
UNLV	Anh Chuang	4	B-	B+	CB	Man Coverage	Bakersfield	CA
UNLV	Michael Fields	0	D	D-	CB	Man Coverage	Henderson	NV
UNLV	Adam Wheeler	3	C	B	DE	Balanced	Hagerstown	MD
UNLV	Gregory Taylor	3	C	B-	DT	Nose Tackle	Boonton	NJ
UNLV	Steven Kieffer	0	D	A	DT	Pass Rusher	Sparks	NV
UNLV	Kevin Bowman	3	C	D-	FB	Blocking	Richmond	VA
UNLV	Francisco Ramirez	4	C+	B	FS	Man Coverage	Dallas	TX
UNLV	Johnny Hayes	4	C+	B-	ILB	Run Stopper	Santa Maria	CA
UNLV	Milton Fudge	5	B+	C	OG	Run Blocking	Oberlin	LA
UNLV	Michael Licea	3	C	C	OG	Run Blocking	Solana Beach	CA
UNLV	Mike Zhao	5	B	B	OLB	Speed	Rancho Santa Margarita	CA
UNLV	Marvin Reeves	4	C+	C+	OLB	Coverage	Pensacola	FL
UNLV	Kendrick Bouzi	4	C+	C+	OT	Run Blocking	Solana Beach	CA
UNLV	Kenneth Burke	3	C	B-	OT	Run Blocking	Fayetteville	GA
UNLV	Michael Fullen	1	D	A+	OT	Run Blocking	Mansfield	TX
UNLV	David Parrish	4	C+	C	P	Accuracy	Mission Viejo	CA
UNLV	Michael Smith	3	C	B	QB	Balanced	Chattanooga	TN
UNLV	Barry Evans	0	D	D-	QB	Field General	Clovis	CA
UNLV	Thomas Lopez	3	C	B-	RB	Speed	Monroe	GA
UNLV	Raymond Redman	4	C+	B-	SS	Man Coverage	Livermore	CA
UNLV	Hrolf Bloodaxe	4	C+	A-	TE	Blocking	Las Vegas	NV
UNLV	Paul Gibson	4	C+	C	WR	Red Zone Threat	Canyon	TX
UNLV	Daniel Patino	3	C	C	WR	Possesion	Tulsa	OK
UNLV	Bruce Gabriel	2	C	C+	WR	Speed	Mt. Airy	GA

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

 

Position	Current position grade	Current status	Number signed	Recruiting status	Croot Grade
C	B+	Pretty good shape here, Witherspoon is their (Jr) 4 star who's hit his progression marks as a current A- overall. They took a random 2 star last cycle who wasn't good, so it would be ideal to snag the future starter now-ish	1	Galindo is a solid blue chip pickup who answers the "who's next" question pretty emphatically. He'll sit for 2 years and then be the line captain starter in the middle for the next few years after that. Nice and clean	B-
CB	B+	I'm not at all sure what to think of this. On the one hand they have 4 B+ corners!! And only 1 is graduating, 2 are 4-star (So)! On the other hand… half of their corners are zone and half are man which is always an annoying split to deal with. Still, the 3 man guys are the blue chippers so the future is indeed very bright	2	I won't count the walkon, so Anh Chuang counts as their only CB but he's a great pickup, a blue chip B overall B+ potential who slots right in as a future all-conference or better starter. I like it, he'll be good, and the room is about right numbers-wise. Nice	B
DE	A-	A tonnnn of talent here, gonna be tough to decide the rotations imo. Tilson is the 5th year speed rusher and only A overall so he's got one spot locked up. They have another 2 senior B+ guys and a (So) speed rusher who will probably get the 2nd slot if I had to guess. They got a pair of 4 star guys in that (So) class so again a really healthy future	1	I'm not going to knock it too much because this room is pretty full so it's not a huge need Wheeler though just doesn't excite me much. On the good note, he's balanced so this 3-4/4-3 question mark should be fine to plug him in either way. Although I don't think he'll turn into a gamebreaker at any point	C+
DT	B+/A-	I'm… very curious what's going on here. Based on DE/ILB I thought they'd be going 4-3 but having 2 of your 3 DTs (the younger ones too) as Nose tackles is… interesting. They're really good though with an A (Jr) and a B+/B (So)/(Fr) so I guess they can make it work	2	Again, won't count the walk on. I guess i'm going to assume they are in fact moving to a 3-4 as they signed 1 nose tackle: a 3-star B- potential guy. That's good I guess. They signed some much better players the last 2 classes so he probably wasn't going to play until his last year on campus no matter what. Overall just kind of a depth pick up and maybe he progresses well	C+
FB	B+	They even have 2 underclassmen blocking FBs??? Dawg this roster is straight loaded. I don't really care about them but that's a nice flex on the rest of the country	1	I don't care about full backs. They signed a random 3 star blocking guy. They have plenty good ones on roster so his impact on this team will be near nil	C
FS	B	Finally an "average" room. Only 1 blue chip here (although they only need 1 starter). (So) John Junis is only a B overall still so not the highest progression but he's still a solid starter for 3 more seasons	1	This was a good pickup. Junis was 2 classes ago so taking a 4-star in alternating classes is generally a good strategy in my mind. Ramirez fits the scheme, has B potential, and 3 years to sit and grow and then hit the field as a good starter. Almost exactly what you want for a sustainable roster development in the long run	B
ILB	C+	Oof and another dud of a room here. They have a trio of B- Junior eligibility guys who are… not disasters but that's still not good. They did sign a better pair of field generals last cycle and Jones is now a B- (Fr) so he should definitely be a solid future option	1	Great pickup for the 3-4 defense with a run stopping 4-star with solid potential. Combined with last years signings there is a very good LB core in the middle coming up in future seasons. I like it	B-
K	C+	Another mediocre room. They've got a B- junior which is… resoundingly average	0	Didn't sign any	-
OG	B	They've got 3 great run blockers here and are hell bent on this identity of road graders. Arrion Lowry is the 4-star (So) from their first 2021 class who's become a B+ and the best player in the room. They also signed a pair of blue chip B overalls in last years class who are B overall (Fr) now and battling it out for the other OG spot. Great future, not really a need here for a while	2	Wow, I was really impressed with the OGs and now they're at another level. Milton Fudge is a high B+ overall who walks in as the strongest and best OG on the team. I'm assuming they'll want to start him right away to get the extra progression, get their best players on the field, and try to get 4 years out of him in case he declares early. The line now looks insanely good in the future. The only potential downside is that one of those 4-stars who redshirted last year are not going to ever play and will probably transfer out at some point which is sad for a player of that talent. Still though, UNLV gets to take the cream and they might have the best OG pipeline in the country now	A
OLB	B-	I was questionable on the defensive scheme, but I guess they can handle a 3-4? they signed a blue chip C overall pass rusher in the last 2 classes so now their pipelin contains a (So) and (Fr) B- pass rusher. Flaherty is the elder and is in line for a starting spot opposite B overall coverage backer Bo Hicks (who's been made fun of for his name until he hit his high school growth spurt and everyone decided they were too scared to keep saying anything)	2	Home run class here honestly. They already had some good pass rushers up the pipeline but decided to swap it up. Reeves is a 4 star C overall who follows the same trend as the last 2 classes blue chip signees. The real star though is Mike Zhao, a speed backer out of CA who's got the B/B combo. I think he's another candidate to immediately start and get his 3-4 years as a great player in UNLVs all time history. I doubt Reeves sees the field at any point though honestly. This class definitely turns OLB into a team stregnth for the future though, albeit they'll need to figure out what scheme they run with so many archetype possibilities	A
OT	B+/A-	Again, they're VERY clear about what they want. Run blockers, and a lot of them. The only pass blocker is a (Sr) holdover 2-star who is actually an A- overall and their second best at the position so maybe 1 more year before it's all run game time. Again, they signed a 4 star B overall each of the last 2 years and have an A- on either side this year, so they're in a pretty good position for the long term	3	Their OTs were already pretty good (although not that star studded). They added a 1 star (don't care), a 3 star (depth piece, fine to groom for a potential 1 year starting role in the future) and a solid 4 star C overall. Obviously they're all run blockers. The only comment I would make is that this room is bloated. They have 11 OTs on the roster and only 2 are graduating. That's probably too many, and they didn't really need to sign 3. With all these bodies though, they're certain to have a steady stream of good options	B-
P	B	They're good. They have a B+ (So) so 3 more years of high end punter play and redshirted a 3-star last year.	1	They already had good punters and now they've signed another (low-end) 4-star for the future. They are completely set at punter and this is not a position that will need attention for a few years	B
QB	B-	They have signed a scrambler each of the last 3 cycles. As the oldest, Luke Young (Jr) is assumed to be the starter this year but they all seem pretty interchangeable. Rick Martes is next and Chun He from last cycle. I can't really decide if any of them are scary for the future but they're... fine to lead this offense. Just have to run the damn ball frankly	2	I guess they were satisfied with Chun He last year. Not counting the walk on, but now they have a balanced 3 star on the roster from Tennessee (good track record of QBs from that state). I don't think he'll play and I don't think he's seriously expected to. Not an important year for this position and treated as such. Moving on	C
RB	B+	This is what they care about on offense and they've got a good one. Mickey Brogdon is their A overall RB (Sr) who is going to handle the vast majority of the workload. B+ (Jr) Avery is behind him and can get some snaps, while (So) Pascal is a B overall and the only 4-star in the room. He's probably a year away from making noise but definitely the focus in the future. Probably this is the cycle they want to snag their next good back	1	I'm... surprised. They are CLEARLY trying to be a ground and pound run heavy team, but UNLV has had so much more success recruiting WRs than RBs and I don't get it. Have they just been super unlucky and losing flips? Their pipeline for RB talent was... fine but not exactly the focal point of the offense worthy. And now in this class they just grabbed one pretty average 3 star speed back. I definitely expect them to hit the trail hard this upcoming cycle for their next blue chip bell cow	C-
SS	B-	Only 2 guys, both with Jr eligibility. Woods is the man coverage B+ overall who's going to start. he's perfectly fine, he'll actually be pretty damn good next season too. The worry is who comes after that. They either need to get their pipeline player now, or swing big for a top-5 SS in next years cycle	1	Ok good. They had the juniors here and needed to start grooming a guy. Redman is a good player, 4 star, B- potential. He fits the bill perfectly for sitting 2 years and then taking over	B
TE	B-	They're moving towards blockers here too, but frankly this whole room is mediocre. The only guy > C+ overall is (Jr) Joakim Negron who's an A- overall receiving threat. I assumed they wanted to run some jumbo sets but aside from Negron everyone else in the room is a dud.	1	All-name teamer right here. Hrolf Bloodaxe has had quite a personal background (I won't spoil it for you readers, ask chiz). He's a blue chipper with A- potential and strong hands. It's a bit of a toss-up imo if UNLV gives him the freshman year start (he's certainly capable) or redshirts him for the future. Either way, he's going to be the best player at this position for several years after Negron leaves and filled a bit of a hole in recruiting	B
WR	B-	A good spread of archetypes, and 3 blue chips in the room (1 in each of the last 3 classes). They're all progressing well, Teheran is a really good player who'll be one of the best WRs in the country next year, and frankly they've got all the talent they need in this room. Good looks	3	Gibson was the obvious target, a 4 star big bodied red zone threat from Texas, he fits right into what they want scheme wise. The other 2 signees don't really move the needle for me. A random 3-star out of OK is fine I guess. The 2-star speed guy from GA is both not going to be good enough to play, and also is a total scheme mismatch so who cares about him. Overall, a good haul, albeit one that I didn't think was the focus	C+/B-

 

 

This is a really solid roster all around with a ton of talent. They've been near the top of the recruiting rankings for a while and it shows. I like the talent level overall. However, while they seem to have a strong offensive identity, the lack of a superstar RB is worrying, I absolutely do not trust any of their QBs to make a deep playoff run even with the supporting cast around them. On defense again they have oodles of talent but I'm still not convinced that there is a coherent scheme in place to put it all together. I'm curious to see how they navigate this season, and they can certainly change my mind (and have the flexibility to try a lot of things). I think my final assessment is that the whole is a little bit less than the sum of the parts, but damn do they have some nice parts.

 

Class Grade: B+

 

Edited January 23 by tsweezy