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Past visitors in the Rivals era (2002-present)

Duff Man

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Hat tip to SD Buff and Adam over at Rivals for this info. SD occasionally posts past visitor lists and I was looking through them and noticed something pretty striking. When you look back several years, it makes more sense why we are so thin at the DE position. Leading up to Signing Day 2008, we hosted the following three players on official visits:

Dion Jordan: Jordan is listed as TE in his profile, but he turned into an All-PAC 12 first team DE in 2012.
Datone Jones: All-PAC 12 second team DE in 2012.
Kapron Lewis-Moore: He would have likely played inside for the Buffs, but he was a stalwart starter for Notre Dame in their 3-4 alignment during their national championship run.

So then I went back further just to see players we had brought in for official visits over the years. The result is both :wow: and :bang:.

2002
Selvin Young
: He had a decent career at Texas, fighting through several injuries. He ended up playing in the NFL for a short while.
Dominique Byrd: Middling career at USC and has bounced around several NFL rosters over the years.
Scott White: Multi-year starter for the Huskies and finished top 10 in the PAC-10 in tackles as a senior.

2003
Drew Radovich: Multi-year starter for the Trojans as they won several PAC-10 championships.
Joe Thomas: Yeah, that Joe Thomas. Consensus All-American at Wisconsin and currently one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL.
Carnell Stewart: Starting RT for LSU's 2007 National Championship team.
Maurice Jones-Drew: We all know the story here. Consensus All-American at UCLA as a returner and received All-PAC 10 accolades as a RB. Currently one of the top running backs in the NFL.
Leon Hall: Consensus All-American at Michigan. Very good cornerback in the NFL.
Lynell Hamilton: MWC Freshman of the Year in 2003. Injuries derailed his career from there.

2004
Remi Ayodele: Solid career at Oklahoma. Has bounced around the NFL for 7-8 years now.
Craig Steltz: All-American and Thorpe Award finalist as a senior at LSU. Just completed his fifth year in the NFL with the Bears.
Marlon Favorite: Middling career at LSU. Has bounced around the NFL over the past several years.

2005
Kevin Ellison: Multi-year starter for the Trojans as they continued their PAC-10 dominance.
Jacob Lacey: Multi-year starter for the Cowboys. Just completed his 4th year in the NFL.

2006
Greg McElroy: Two-year starter for Alabama, including their 2009 national championship team. Currently a backup with the New York Jets.
Jeremy Maclin: Consensus All-American at Missouri. Currently with the Eagles in the NFL.
Gabe Miller: Earned All-PAC 10 accolades as a defensive end for the Beavers. Currently with the Bears in the NFL.
Mike McNeill: Earned All-Big 12 accolades as a tight end for the Huskers. Currently with the Rams in the NFL.
Derrick Hill: Multi-year starter for the Bears along the defensive line.

2007
JJ Watt: Yes, that JJ Watt. All-American at Wisconsin. Odds-on favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award for this past NFL season.
Cameron Jordan: Multi-year starter for the Bears and was First Team All-PAC 10 in 2010. Drafted in the first round by the Saints in 2011.
Akeem Ayers: All-PAC 10 LB in 2010, as well as a Butkus Award finalist. Drafted in the second round by the Titans in 2011.
Garth Gerhart: First Team All-PAC 12 in 2011.

2008
Dalton Freeman: Multi-year starter for the Tigers. First Team All-ACC in 2011.

2009
Michael Clay: First Team All-PAC 12 in 2012 and one of the key players on Oregon's defense.
Markus Wheaton: First Team All-PAC 12 wide receiver in 2012.
Kyle Van Noy: Standout linebacker for the Cougars. Turned in a dominating bowl performance against San Diego State.
Bradley McDougald: Multi-year starter for the Jayhawks. Earned Second Team All-Big 12 accolades in 2012.
Emory Blake: Standout wide receiver for the Tigers and led the 2010 National Championship team in TD catches.
Nosa Eguae: Multi-year starter for the Tigers.

Somewhat meaningless now, but interesting nonetheless.
 
True, but you could argue getting visitors of their caliber is an important step.

One of the first things the new staff needs to change is the silly policy that Embree had of not having many in-season visitors. We need to be bringing in kids during a couple big weekends during the season.
 
JJ Watt's rivals page shows him as a two star committed to Central Michigan. He probably would have been heavily nay-sayed here.
 
JJ Watt's rivals page shows him as a two star committed to Central Michigan. He probably would have been heavily nay-sayed here.

He played ball at a small school in Wisconsin. Probably the reason why he was rated so low.
 
I would like to see some response from these kids that were just here? Only 1 commit since the recent visit? I guess I expect all of them wanting to sign as soon as they get a gander at the beautiful mountains and campus.
 
Landry Jones?

Technically never took an official visit.

I would like to see some response from these kids that were just here? Only 1 commit since the recent visit? I guess I expect all of them wanting to sign as soon as they get a gander at the beautiful mountains and campus.

We have some updates in their individual profiles. Numbers are tight and some of the kids that were just here cannot commit at the moment.
 
Probably. He doesn't show a Wisconsin offer. I wonder if he walked on initially.

If I remember right he started school at Central Michigan as a tight end. He left school all together and was a walk on at Wisconsin. Not sure if he came in as a TE or DL but I thought part of the reason he left CMU was something to do with not wanting to play TE or how the TE was used in the offense.
 
I would like to see some response from these kids that were just here? Only 1 commit since the recent visit? I guess I expect all of them wanting to sign as soon as they get a gander at the beautiful mountains and campus.

Need to turn the hookers back on......:lol:
 
How many of those listed would have prospered under Halk or Embo, I wonder?

Some of it is the system, but a guy like JJ Watt would have been a standout player anywhere. We did have guys flourish here from Dixon to TWheat and Abe Wright to Nate Solder. Nfl quality guys will be studs and the nfl loves to draft based on measureables alone; technique be damned. It's not the nfl quality guys that doomed us, but the lack of our coaching staffs ability to work with the guys who will never play another down after college that did us in. Unless you are a top tier program and getting five stars every single year then it's a different beast altogether.
 
Another interesting thing about our past recruits, specifically the in-staters. Of the 4*'s we landed:

Danny Spond
Mister Jones
Brock Berglund
Mitch Parsons

All four committed early and were all rock solid and recruiting other players. All four signed with other schools
 
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