Verbal Commitments for 2005 Class

Way to go Zak !!!!! :applause: :applause:

 

I've got a question-

Has anyone heard anything about college choices for these fine players?

Jake Kensmoe-LHP-Ragsdale
Garrett Sherrill-RHP-A.L.Brown
Jess Snyder-SS-C.B. Aycock
Carlton Floyd-LHP/OF-Waccamaw
Greg Munoz-1B-Tuscola
Patrick Ball-SS/RHP-New Bern
Alex Fairweather-LHP-West Caldwell
Rand Smith-OF-South Brunswick
Hampton Foushee-LHP-R.J.Reynolds
Matt Sanders-SS-New Bern
Will Davis-C/3B-North Stanley
Frankie Lewis-SS-Fuquay Varina
Cory Dunning-OF-Providence

 

I know that Will Davis (fullback) and Cory Dunning (wide receiver) are still in football season. College Baseball coaches aren't prone to recruit HS football players until AFTER the final HS football season is over and they have escaped relatively unscathed from career threatening injuries. I expect them both to commit this spring (if it's baseball ... they are both fine football players. Garrett Sherrill might fall into this category also.

This might be the case with alot of these players. I don't know if there are any Men's Soccer players (a.k.a. Communist Ball) on your list since if (obviously) don't follow the sport.

 

"College Baseball coaches aren't prone to recruit HS football players until AFTER the final HS football season is over and they have escaped relatively unscathed from career threatening injuries."

I don't know about that. I feel that if they don't recruit these kids in football season they might miss out. But, I understand your point. I guess that when I asked about these kids I was wondering about the buzz going around about their college choices. I would, if I were a college coach, recruit these kids in football season.

 

I believe that both players mentioned are waiting to see their opportunities in football vs baseball...scholarship wise

 

Andro, I hear what you're saying ... Will Davis in particular is one of my favorites to follow. He's going to be outstanding regardless of which sport he decides to pursue.

.... but then you go back to the numbers....

• Tier-1 Players: Probably only 1 in the state ... Maybin
• Tier-2 Players: Pretty rare: Drew Taylor, Adam Warren type
• Tier-3 Players: Relatively small group: Not quite as consistent as the Tier-2's. Make up the bulk of the fall signings.
• Tier-4 Players: The bulk of the college bound HS baseball players. There are more Tier-4 players than their are roster spots available and the differences in their talent can be minor.

These aren't neat, clean lines separating the groups either. On some days, a Tier-3 type player can outperform anyone in the Tier-2 group, but he may struggle more frequently or throws 2 MPH slower or gets 2-3" less break on his curve or only hits the ball 405 feet instead of 440. The same is true of the Tier-4 players and the Tier-3 players. To truly rank players and gauge where they fall, you have to see them often. This is where the two-sport athlete suffers.

Put yourself in a college coaches position. If you are looking at players and you have more players to review and scout for that late decision on who to recruit, how do you differentiate between them? Obviously grades and SATs come into play. The group is still large. Go watch them play? Well, player A and player B are tied up in HS Football ... can't see them now ... have to catch them in the spring when they are playing baseball.

If a college coach has narrowed his choices down to 2-3 players at a position that he wants to offer, he's constantly comparing players in his mind and the commitment to baseball is one of the basis of comparisons.

Remember, only about 15-16% of the NC players that will sign this year commit in the fall. There is still a lot of work to be done by a bunch of coaching staffs. The only schools in our area that may be done already are: Chapel Hill, South Carolina, Appalachian State. All 3 have signed large classes already.

A lot of the smaller D1's don't even crank up the recruiting efforts until the spring. They know that they aren't going to compete with the Carolina's and the NC States, so they wait and go after the best players left in the tier-3 type and work the tier-4 type very hard trying to differentiate the players and find the best one that their school needs.

Finally, depending on their situation, colleges are recruiting for different needs and no where is this more apparent than among the pitching staffs. Large Universities with established rotations may opt for the pitcher who is projectable, one who may be a major college star by his junior year but who is raw enough that he may not contribute for a year or two. A smaller college with a comparatively thinner staff needs a pitcher who can get outs now. They will look for a more polished performer. If a player has both, he's probably going to end up at a Top-25 D1 or going in the draft.

Most football players had to give up a large portion of their summer baseball seasons and about all of their fall baseball seasons in order to prepare for the HS football season. They just haven't been seen enough. You don't decide on an offer after seeing a player once. It takes multiple trips. You want to see how he reacts to failure and when he is struggling (yes, every player struggles and has bad games). That reveals a lot about his character.

 

Braves has a great point.

The average D1 college funds 85 full football scholarships split over about 100 players. That comes out to an 85% ride on the average. Throw in the fact that the remaining 15% will be receiving a bunch of academic money and possibly the entire team is attending college free or just for the cost of books.

Baseball has to split 11.7 scholarships (and most D1's don't fully fund so the average is closer to 9 scholarships) over about 36-40 players. Ouch.

If a player takes a football scholarship, then the football coach gets to decide if HIS player will participate in any other sport.

Two sport stars like Will Davis and Corey Dunning may not play baseball in college at all. Another that I'm reminded of in this situation is Nick Starcevic, Fullback at Catholic. He's signed at Carolina for football. He also has the nastiest left-handed knuckleball I've ever seen from the mound and can be nearly impossible to hit. You never see lefty-knuckleballers so he has a great advantage as a pitcher.

 

Another thing to remember .... Not every commitment is made public by the player. We may not hear about a particular guy (maybe they don't have a computer at home) signing until it is announced by the colleges after the fact.

Then, some colleges don't bother to update their websites either. The information is very hit/miss. The only people who will really know about the commitments from everyone is the NCAA and, the last time I checked, they didn't post on the board very frequently.

 

Man, NCBBallFan, you bring up a lot of good points. I really like the point that you made about waiting back for development. I guess that college recruiters are the ones that really decide the fate of players. More along the lines of who have you been contacted by? And what their needs are? Great answers to those questions you really bring up a lot of valid points.

I feel like Garrett Sherrill is a guy that would make a difference as a freshman. No matter what level he pitches at. I also left off of that list TJ Worrell. I very raw talent out of South Meck. He too could be a special player

 

Andro, you've chosen two of the best that haven't committed. I particularly like TJ and I don't consider him raw. He knows how to compete and how to win!!! The only reason he hasn't committed early is that he's recovering from an injury. I firmly expect him to be at NC State, Clemson, Miami or somewhere in the SEC. He's got too much talent to ignore.

Garrett has a huge upside. He's not as polished as some of the other guys who have committed early. I think he could log a lot of innings for a top level D2 or a smaller D1 next year. Most of the mid-size D1's need someone they can project to get significant innings as a freshman and he may be a year away from that. Garrett's overall athleticism may make him more projectable coming out of college than some of the more polished pitchers right now.