Here is a partial transcript from the recruiting chat last night:
1. How many true freshmen are you expecting to play next year?
Embree said about 75 or 80% in his presser. I think (hope?) that his estimate is high.
OLs will have a tougher road getting on the field because they need usually need more development time and there aren’t as many opportunities on special teams. Same for interior DLs, so I would expect Samson Kofavalu, Johnny Stuart and Kory Rasmussen to spend a year putting on weight. At TE, Vincent Hobbs is raw. Shane Dillon, ideally, would redshirt at QB. At least one of the RBs should redshirt. Probably one or two of the cornerbacks too, with Walker and Mosley the best bets. All 3 WRs probably don’t need to play.
I think we’ll play about 2/3 of the true freshmen (18/27).
2. Which class should we be attributing Kelley to? CU has him in this one, but didn't he sign last year?
Kelley faxed in a signed LOI last year. Since he got hurt over the 2011 summer and grayshirted, he could actually have enrolled anywhere this January. He’s a true freshman and, from that standpoint, is part of the current class. But for NCAA counting purposes, I expect that Embree will put him in the 2011 class.
3. Who is going to have the most impact as a true frosh from our gaggle of DL recruits? And which one will have the most impact as a senior?
I think Solis may start and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jagne were in the DE rotation from day one (maybe the main DE for passing downs).
4. What's the real, behind-the-scenes story on Miles?
Conversations with coaches over the weekend along with Henington doing all he could to flip him for us. Miles got cold feet on Washington and was exploring options a bit, but CU was never close to being in the driver’s seat on this one.
5. With the last minute addition of Powell, how do you think staff will utilize Norgard?
As a fullback.
6. Who do you expect to not end up at their declared positions? We have multiple DL that could maybe move to OL. Maybe Hall or a couple others fill in at WR if needed?
I see Mosley on offense before I see Hall. Sean Irwin could eventually end up on the OL after being a blocking TE in 2012. And, as you mentioned, guys like Samson Kofavalu and Josh Tupou could end up on the OL.
7. How does this class rate with your expectations coming into Embo's first full recruiting season?
Going back to the spring, my expectation was to finish in the 30-35 range of the team rankings. <<attempting to pat myself on the back>>
8. How much does missing out on the high profile instate OL's hurt us next year?
None of them would have made an impact as a true freshman except for Miles (if he was at WR). Down the road, we could have used some of the OLs. I don’t think it hurts our recruiting efforts for the 2013 class in any way. We showed the love and were the first to offer in most cases.
9. What player will get significant playing time that many of us aren't expecting? Ala Tyler McCulloch.
I don’t think they’re going to be able to keep Sean Irwin off the field. I expect him to fill the blocking TE role that Bahr & Lewis did in 2011. Also, Alex Kelley might win a starting job at OG.
10. Having a class to compare with last year's shoot-from-the-hip-effort, were there any surprises in the method used to recruit this class? Do we, as fans expect major differences in approach between this year and future years - or should we expect much of the same and expect the anticipated wins to lure more top tier talent?
The biggest surprise to me (and something we probably won’t see again in future years) was that we put committable offers out to Plan B guys so early. Embree mentioned in his presser that next year the message to his coaches will be [paraphrasing] that offers will only go out to players if the coach would take the player if he was only allowed 1 recruit for the position.
11. What is the status of Crowder's injury -- will he be ready for fall?
He’s supposed to be ok. At his OV, he was walking around and didn’t have a brace on. On the same topic, Peyton Williams (whose injury was a few months after Crowder’s) said he should be ready to participate in summer drills.
12. Have we made significant headway in creating a pipeline to DC, Don Bosco, & the inland empire or was this a one time thing?
DC for sure. As Embo said in his presser, DC is now a CU recruiting territory. It can only help with Don Bosco the way that we stood by Yuri. And the Inland Empire, Upland’s area, is heavily recruited by CU. We’ve got at least 3 coaches who go there. It’s a big pipeline for us along with the area west of LA (Thousand Oaks/ Simi Valley / San Fernando Valley) where schools like Westlake are.
13. What is your biggest disappointment in this class?
The lack of interest from many of the in-state recruits. We need to get to the point where pretty much all of the CO kids are ours if we want them.
14. If you had the power to flip one player who signed elsewhere, who would it be?
Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick. We were so close, too. Walker Williams probably number 2.
15. What is your opinion of Lane Kiffin referring to a recruit by name today in response to an espin reporter’s question? (said, "We need Nelson").
Lane would never commit a recruiting violation. Way too much integrity. He may or may not have killed 5 hookers, though.
16. How many of our commits had an offer from Nebraska?
Mosley and Powell did. The Fuskers went hard at them. Beyond that, I don’t care enough about the Nubs to do the research.
17. Is there anyone specifically that the 1 pocketed scholarship is saved for?
As far as I know, we’re holding one back to be opportunistic. You never know who might qualify late or a team without room will ask to grayshirt and end up back on the market. Worst case, it’s an extra scholarship to give a senior walk on and use for the 2013 class.
18. Are we going to discuss the 13 class needs tonight or another time?
We need a balanced class in 2013. If there is a position we might need to play right away, it’s going to be linebacker.
