[2024] Recruiting Class Grades Batch 9

[tsweezy]

By now you know the drill. Leave some engagement so I'm motivated to do more and get to your team sooner

@kwheele and @nemolee.exe today

 

University of Wisconsin

Big Ten Conference

2023: 9-5 (8-2)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

WISC signed 2 5-stars, 6 4-stars, 15 3-stars, and 2 2-stars. They signed 13 players with B or better potentials and 3 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 1ST
Rivals: 21st
247: 4th

Composite: 6th

 

Signees below:

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Gerald Sloss	4	B-	B-	CB	Man Coverage	Roswell	GA
Stephen Wiesner	2	C-	C+	CB	Man Coverage	Minneapolis	MN
Curtis Marcroft	4	C+	B-	DE	Speed Rusher	Rockmart	GA
Joshua Kurek	4	C+	C+	DE	Run Stopper	Tupelo	MS
Nicholas Wall	4	C+	B+	DT	Pass Rusher	Amarillo	TX
Robert "Zippy" Wheeler	3	C	B	DT	Balanced	Whitewater	WI
Rolando Cantu	5	B	A-	FB	Rushing	San Bernardino	CA
Jay Chong	3	C	C	FS	Zone Coverage	Nashville	TN
William Gonzalez	3	C	B	ILB	Speed	Kingsburg	CA
Phillip Graham	2	D	C+	K	Accuracy	Mt. Airy	GA
Frank Geib	4	C+	B	OLB	Speed	Garfield Heights	OH
Clayton Lemus	3	C-	A+	OLB	Pass Rush	Gulfport	MS
Chadwick Davis	3	C	B+	OT	Pass Blocking	Chaska	MN
Jeffery Bernstein	3	C	C+	OT	Pass Blocking	Mandeville	LA
Steven Katich	3	C	B	OT	Balanced	Mableton	GA
Julio Camacho	3	C	B	OT	Pass Blocking	La Habra	CA
Tyrone Walker	4	C+	B+	QB	Balanced	Denison	TX
Virgil Madden	3	C-	C+	QB	Balanced	Kahoka	MO
Tony Simmons	3	C-	C	QB	Field General	Boca Raton	FL
Jimmy Stinski	3	C	B-	RB	Speed	Jefferson City	MO
Chad Palmer	3	D	B-	RB	Power	Montclair	NJ
David Grimes	3	C	B+	TE	Vertical Threat	Kailua	HI
Donald Felix	5	B	C+	WR	Red Zone Threat	Barberton	OH
Carlos Schmidt	3	C+	B	WR	Speed	DeLand	FL
Paul Grisby	3	C	A-	WR	Speed	Sicily Island	LA

 

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	David Webb (the current starter) is a high B+ run blocker in his 5th year. Dude can definitely push the middle, albeit a bit weak to pass rushers. Behind him next year there's only 1 player on the depth chart: last year's signee Ketema, a 3 star A- potential who's already crossed into B overall status. Nice future prospect	0	Didn't sign any. Going to be *really* thin next year with only Ketema	D
CB	A-	Wow, this is a good looking room. Leathersich is their senior blue chip A overall guy who can lock down his side of the field. Canady is the A- in charge of the other side. (So) Trae Williams is a high B+ who is in line to be first on the depth chart next season and continue (next to projected B+ Beliveau).This is probably the last year they run zone coverage though as the last two classes have featured man corners (although not that deep there)	2	Wiesner is a random C 2-star with low potential. The real jewel is Gerald Sloss, a 4 star B-/B- man corner all the way from Georgia. This guy is the truth and has a chance to be CB2 by next season	B+
DE	B+	Matt Matthews and J.D. Story are A-/B+ guys who clamp the edges and are better at stopping the run than rushing the passer. Story is coming back next year and Denis Ni is another blue chip who will be a senior on the other edge. Also a couple 3 stars in the pipeline below them	2	Wowee, good haul for this room. A pair of 4 stars from the south: speed rusher and run stopper. B-/C+ potential respectively and now all of a sudden the future looks great as they can sit until (So) or Jr years and then jump right in	B+
DT	A	Damnnnn what a fricking room. Denver Litton is a MASSIVE stud. A 5-star who's in his 3rd year of being an A overall and is almost certainly going to be a top-10 pick in this upcoming draft. A+ in pretty much everything he's basically sim Aaron Donald. Next to him isn't any easier as he's paired with 5th year Dante Williams who is also an A overall (obviously not quite as good). Those two are scary as hell to play and will collapse so many pockets this year. Behind them are a 3 star from 2021 (B overall now) and a 3 star from last year: so kinda thin	2	Loaded up more for the future with a pass rushing blue star (B+ potential) who's the gem, and a rare WIsconsin 3 star recruit (Zippy Wheeler). Zippy has B potential so he could turn into a starter as an upperclassman if things go well.	B
FB	B	Good I guess. Senior blocking B+ FB and then signed two more last cycle	1	Uhhhh normally I ignore the FB position but I can't ignore this one. Rolando Cantu is the rare 5-star FB (and a rushing one to boot!) with A- potential. That makes him basically a Ryan Johnson clone which we know how that went. I'm assuming he moves to RB and starts very soon, but I suppose we'll see if coach agrees	A+
FS	B	Great pipeline here. Each of the last three cycles saw a 3 star B- potential, 4 star C potential, 3 star B- potential. Those guys have been progressing and now a high B+ into a current B overall are the solid top 2 options (both return).	1	Breaking up the pattern a little bit here with just a C/C 3-star. But Jay Chong is a cool zone dude from my favorite state of Tennessee. Hoping he manages to get some playing time at some point	C+
ILB	A-	Another room that's really well set. Brignac is the clear cut guy here. An A overall run stopper with another year of eligibility he fits perfectly and cleans up any runs that get past the DL. Behind him is just kinda meh, last year they signed a 3/C/C but he's the only guy in the pipeline	1	Added a slightly better version witha 3/C/B. I'm curious if he progresses fast enough to catch Crisostomo, but either way I'm not scared of this guy for 3 more years	C+
K	C+	McGowan has a booming leg on him, and is a B+ overall (Jr), but am I crazy to think he's anxiety inducing? His kick accuracy is D+! Anyways, they have an accuracy C+ Jr as the backup and that's it. This is a good time to get a new one	1	I mean Graham is a new kicker which is what they wanted? But he sucks.D overall C+ potential just doesn't look good to me. Maybe they'll have to get another one next year idk	D+
OG	A-	Wisconsin does have some studs don't they? A.J. Kanter is yet another 5-star on this roster, a (Jr) in his 3rd year of A overall, he's going to be a high first round pick next season. Anyway blah blah blah he's phenomenal at everything and locks down one spot. The other spot is more interesting. McGruder is the senior B- who probably gets it, and then last year they signed a 3 star C/B- who's just behind him. There's a trio of junior 2 stars who are mediocre so it's really Kanter + Clark as the only viable starters this year and next	0	... Surprising. They definitely need some high talent level OGs here because this room is very close to emptying out	D
OLB	B-	Royce d'Arnaud has a dope name, but he and Young are kinda just guys with a few strengths but relatively average across the board. They're both graduating this year and then the two juniors on the roster (C+ currently) are in line for a spot, but I don't anticipate them progressing enough to be an improvement.	2	Ok, Frank Geib was a really important pickup. A 4-star speed guy he probably snags a starting spot next year and offers long term talent and upside at the position (B potential too). They also signed a 3 star pass rusher with A+ potential and those guys are always intriguing to see how they develop	B/B+
OT	B	This was a little bit thin of a room but man is it consistent. All 4 players are 3 stars with B/B+ potential. The two (Jr)s are the starters: Run blockers with B+ overall. The other two are last year's balanced signees. Still need more players but this is a plenty capable starting group	4	FOUR signees is crazy. They also shifted styles a little bit with 1 balanced and 3 pass blockers in the set. Again all 4 are 3-stars so the room now has 8 players, all 3-stars with B/B+ potential (except one C+), and all 8 return next season. That's going to be fun to follow who breaks out but they are now pretty full	B-
P	C	Pretty normal setup here. Last two cycles they signed an average potential 3 star that progress as expected. The funny thing here is the players are Hodges and Hodge. Definitely a type huh	0	Didn't sign any, not that important	C
QB	C+	Is.. Adam Outman related to Will Outman? Probably not right. Anyways, Adam is their best guy by a wide margin and is a B overall stereotype pocket passer. I have faith in his arm but he may make some questionable decisions (and he'll return next season as well). They did sign a pair of 3 stars last season (A and B potential) a pocket and scrambler so they have some flexibility in how to go next	3	Wow, so pocket and scrambler last year and balanced x2 + Field general this year. So they could go with any archetype. I think the two 3-stars are fine but they are just way down the depth chart. Tyrone Walker is the prize. A 4-star balanced guy with B+ potential he's the obvious successor to Outman and looks like he'll be solid	B
RB	B+	A pair of top options for them, Peters and Jackson, both B+ players. Peters is the better option and has an extra year to boot (with A potential). He's actually a bit of a scary threat on the ground. Last year they signed another pair of high potential 3 stars as well so they have a continuous pipeline of high potential talent	2	Another two 3 stars with good potential, they definitely have a type huh. Stinski is the much better caliber guy but not gamebreaking (for now)	C+
SS	B	Two senior options: both B+ overalls. Man coverage or ball hawking and I guess we'll see which is more of a scheme fit or strategic play because they're both capable. They also have a pair of solid (SO)s and a (Fr) from last season. Interesting that they're flipping from man to zone guys so half this room may be scheme mis-matches at any given time	0	Didn't sign any	-
TE	B	Jesus Duffy? What a name. He's pretty good though, High B overall, receiving threat with plenty of skills. Ambriz is the other senior and is a B-. Last season they added a B+ potential 3-star too, so same story as most rooms: a pipeline of good talent with high potentials	1	Bing bang boom. Grimes is basically an identical player to last years signee Nelson. But if the formula works might as well keep at it right?	C+/B-
WR	B-/B	Good at the top: thin underneath. Bryan Reed is an ok WR1: Fast as hell and can take the top off the defense, but WR skills are a bit low for an A- overall. Bobo Quigley similarly is a B+ on paper, but as a RZT he doesn't have a lot of eye-popping WR attributes. After that they're down to a bunch of C+ players from last class who have high potentials, but are still growing	3	Really nice pick up here. Donald Felix gets his 5 star billing and is just a slightly worse version of Bobo (and 3 years younger). He's not WR1 caliber this year, but he rounds out their starting 3 and obviously is the future of the position. They also added a pair of track star 3-stars with high potential who can become forces in the future	A-

 

 

Well, it certainly looks like Wisconsin has a consistent plan. A couple 5-star studs on the roster and a whole host of really high potential 3s. And honestly... it's working for them. All the positions have really good players and are chock-full of talent coming up. There's very little risk of a bust, and even if someone does there are plenty of other high potential players as option Bs. I think they're a scary team, and while they look like they're retooling the archetypes a little bit that they recruit (different gameplans in the future I guess), I think this is a top tier, sustainable crooting strategy that will get and keep them in the mix of ranked teams and conference contenders

 

Class Grade: B+

 

 

University of Illinois

Big Ten Conference

2023: 9-4 (5-4)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

ILLI signed 1 5-star, 3 4-stars, 9 3-stars, and 3 2-stars. They signed 13 players with B or better potentials and 1 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 189th
Rivals: 31st
247: 76th

Composite: 114th

 

Signees below:

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Thomas Keffer	3	C	B+	C	Balanced	Kennesaw	GA
Daniel Whitesitt	2	C-	B	CB	Man Coverage	Dover	OH
Jason Carneal	0	D	F	CB	Zone Coverage	Kendallville	IN
Allan LaCombe	5	B	C+	DE	Run Stopper	Evanston	IL
Timothy Huang	0	D	F	DE	Speed Rusher	Evansville	IN
Doug Mclean	0	D	F	DT	Nose Tackle	Culver	IN
Daniel Wilkins	4	B-	B-	FB	Balanced	Westlake Village	CA
Craig Baker	3	C	A-	FS	Zone Coverage	Saginaw	MI
Kerry Coates	3	C	C	ILB	Field General	Spokane	WA
John Adams	3	C	B	K	Accuracy	Cordele	GA
Michael Huss	2	D	C	OG	Run Blocking	New Caney	TX
Victor Reyes	0	D	A-	OG	Pass Blocking	Bloomington	IN
David Lombardi	3	C	C+	OLB	Coverage	Lisle	IL
Charles Anderson	0	D	C-	OLB	Run Stopper	Churubusco	IN
Javier Fuentes	3	C	B	OT	Pass Blocking	Tallahassee	FL
Jacques Lovejoy	0	D	F	OT	Balanced	New Berlin	WI
Sean Bier	2	D	B	P	Balanced	St. Louis	MO
Tommy Delvecchio	3	C-	B	QB	Field General	Glenview	IL
David Tran	0	D	F	QB	Balanced	Cary	IL
Luke Elsten	4	C+	A-	RB	Receiving	Antelope	CA
David Church	0	D	A	RB	Receiving	River Falls	WI
Maverick Greenway	3	C	B+	SS	Ball Hawk	Brownsville	WI
James Alexander	3	C	C+	TE	Receiving	Hasbrouck Heights	NJ
William Meadows	4	C+	B+	WR	Red Zone Threat	Tomball	TX
Gregory Ferrell	0	D	A-	WR	Red Zone Threat	Cassopolis	MI

 

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	C	One guy. Mahoney is a line captain from last year who's a 3/C/C still which uh.. isn't phenomenal and they have no depth. Yikes	1	Added another 3 star BUT this one has a B+ potential making him good long term. Still gonna take a few years to spool up	C+
CB	B-	The top-3 are actually pretty ok: B+/B/B- and the latter two return next year. The only qualm is that their #3 option is a zone corner while everyone else is a man guy. So they're just a hair above average here and need some croots	2	Added an... ok 2 star (C- overall, B potential) and a horrifically bad walkon (dude did you walk on to the right sport? You suck). Room didn't get better this cycle	D+
DE	B+	This is a pretty dang good room actualy. Awuzie and Steward are the A/B starters. Both run stoppers and both graduating, but for this year they're solidly above average as a unit. Also it's nice to see another 3 3-stars behind them with really high potential so there's a future here too	2	! LaCombe is a dynamite signee. The 5-star Run Stopper surprised everyone by staying true to his hometown school and while he's still a hair behind Stewart in attributes, he's a definite high bench player already and an easy starter by next season. They also took a walk-on but who cares in comparison	A
DT	B	Another solid group here. Contreras is the B+ guy who's the best in the room (and graduating) but they have a pair of returning B overalls in Dillard and Knox. Dillard is the blue chip in the room but may have a slight malus as a nose tackle (I'm assuming they're gonna run a 4-3 because their ILBs suck)	1	Took a walk on nose tackle, not that great	-
FB	B	Why do they have so many FBs?? I'm on record as not caring, but this is definitely a stocked room. Best player is last years redshirted Fr Carbonel - a blue chip blocking Hawaiian with A potential	1	Signed another Blue chip 4/B/B- guy who... could bounce to RB/TE or stay behind Carbonel for a few years I guess. Great pickup though	B+/A-
FS	B	Conforto is a good zone guy with A- overall as a senior. He's leaving and will be replaced by last years 3 star A+ potential Stephen Furst. I love seeing those A+ potential guys because they can jump up ratings quite quickly so this could be a future gem	1	Added another 3 star with A- potential. He doesn't have a quick path to starting so the high potential is nice to grow while being a backup	C+
ILB	D+	ROUGH group here. What's their best option, a senior 2 star C+ coverage guy? That's not who you want manning the center of your defense. I guess the best future guy is last years 3/C/C signee which is also not ideal as your long term alpha in a room. They need some better options stat	1	Meh. Coates is at least a field general but a 3/C/C is very, very average. At least get a guy with higher potential	C
K	A	I really like this room. Diaz is the rare A overall blue chip kicker so they feel in good feet from him. After he leaves they have an A potential and a B potential 3 star underclassmen so some options to try out. Good stuff	1	Added another 3 star B potential kicker. Solid piece but I don't expect him to play for a while	C+
OG	B+	Again, I really like this group. Chung and Kohn have grown a lot as high potential - average star guys and an A/B+ duo is well above average. They're graduating, but last years signee Reynolds (A potential) and current junior Gonzalez are more than good enough replacements. Nice future	2	Well punting on that future for another year doesn't help much. A bad 2 star and a bad walk-on don't make me feel warm and fuzzy. Gonna need real players next cycle	C-
OLB	B-	Denorfia is really solid - blue chip senior A- overall run stopper. Behind him though is notttt good. A couple C+ options aren't what you want as starters. Belcher at least is a blue chip signee from last cycle who will stik around. Nobody looks like a good pairing to him on the other side going forward though	2	Lombardi is a normal 3 star, and the walk on also doesn't matter. I'm not loving this room but it's being kept aloft from truly atrocious in the futureq	C
OT	B	Solid pair of A-/B+ starters this year and they'll be replaced by last years 3 star signees (who are already B- guys) next season. Not much numerically in the room though	2	A solid B potential 3 star is solid and I don't care about the walkon. Just ok, not much to say about those guys	C
P	B	blue chip senior punter = good. 3 star junior punter = also good. They didnt' sign one last year so this is probably the cycle to do so	1	They did add one... but he's currently a D overall. That's a steep spot to progress from and be ready for prime time in 2 years. We'll see	C-
QB	B-	Jalen Jenkins is the best option for sure. Senior blue chip field general he is smart as hell, but only an average arm. I think he's more than capable for this season. Moving forward, coaches are hoping Arroyo can grow and take the job. He was redshirted in his first year last season but B+ potential looks good. The other option is (Jr) 2 star Dahl	2	Delvecchio is a field general low 3-star B potential which isn't a recipe for a breakout star. Also a horrible walk on. Honestly next cycle I think they need to make a huge swing for a top-10 QB to lift this offense	C-
RB	B	Watson is a high potential B+ junior who comes back to be a bellcow next year. He's fast but not as good at the rest. McCain is a receiving back who's honestly probably the better RB1 option this year (and graduates this year)	2	Luke Elsten is a really good signee. 4 star receiving back with A- potential I think he's one of the brightest spots on the offense going forward and could be 1b RB next season.	B+
SS	B	Ward is a strong run stopper senior B+ player. He's going to deliver a good performance this year and then Drummond will be a similar B/B+ man coverage guy next year. They're the only 2 currently rostered players	1	Greenway comes in as a ball hawk B+ potential 3 star. I think with 2 years to sit he's a good long term pickup	C+
TE	D+	Klein is... ok. A high C receiving option he can mostly hold his own and then leaves after the year. The only other guy is 1 star Jarvis Lynn who is bad and always will be. Need more	1	Alexander is a good start (3/C/C) but they just need bodies. He's going to be the only real player in this room next season and that's just not enough	C-
WR	B-	A little thin here too. Asuaje and Cabrera are RZT starters A-/B overalls but neither have good hands and both graduate. Last year they added a really solid 3-star trio but those guys aren't quite ready to be B1G caliber starters qutie yet. They have a whole bunch of depth that I don't really care for too.	2	Meadows is another great addition. Blue chip guy with B+ potential (and a RZT that the staff seems so fond of). I think he slides right in as WR2 next season and frankly can get some minutes this season if they need him to. Future of the WR room looks pretty positive now	B-

 

 

Hm I'm not sure what the past was like but this has some hallmarks of an AI recruiting year. I do really like the current roster.. for this season. I think a couple of positions have some steeper drop-offs in the cards for next year. Last year they added plenty of good players though who should progress well but just aren't ready for the fire. This past cycle saw a couple really good pickups (shout out to LaCombe) but man they just took so many walkons. Only ~13 real recruits out of 25 scholly slots just won't cut it. I want to see them sign a full class this upcoming year and try and get some more high potential croots (those have been hitting at a pretty high rate so far)

 

Class Grade: C/C+

 

Next up: TLNE, CAL

 

School	Grade	Batch
Western Michigan	A-	Intro
Purdue	A	1
Northern Illinois	C+	1
Michigan	B-	2
Washington State	B/B+	2
Tulsa	B/B+	3
Temple	C+	3
Kansas	B	3
James Madison	C+/B-	4
BYU	C	5
Florida State	B-	5
Indiana	B	5
Houston	B	6
UNLV	B+	6
Georgia	B-	7
Bowling Green	B-	7
Florida	B	8
Stanford	B-	8
Wisconsin	B+	9
Illinois	C	9

[Taffyowner]

Wisconsin having a great class, love that for them

Edited March 25 by Taffyowner