We have had a lot of discussion about how slow the OL recruiting has been thus far under Marshall, but what about Greg Brown? He seemingly gets a pass because he found Jimmy Smith and [URL="http://www.allbuffs.com/entry.php/114-Jalil-Brown-Bio-and-Draft-Profile-2011-University-of-Colorado-Draft-Class]Jalil Brown[/URL] in the 2006 class, along with Chap Brown. You cannot do a whole lot better than landing those three CBs in one class. But what do we have to show for outside of those players? Here are the DBs signed over the last several years:
2006
Chap Brown
Jalil Brown
Jonathan Hawkins
Jimmy Smith
2007
Lamont Smith
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Wright
2008
Vince Ewing
Steven Hicks
Patrick Mahnke
Paul Vigo
2009
Deji Olatoye
Parker Orms
2010
Jered Bell
Terrel Smith
2011
Sherrard Harrington
Gregory Henderson
Kyle Washington
Not a perfect list because you could argue that Ray Polk needs to be added for 2008 and that Terrel Smith should not be on the 2010 list because he signed after Brown left for Arizona. Some players have switched positions and move around a bit (Ewing, Mahnke) and Anthony Wright has never been able to stay healthy, but overall, that group explains why we find ourselves in a precarious position at CB entering the 2011 season. Those 2007 and 2008 classes are really hurting us right now, Anthony Perkins excluded.
For the 2012 class, we are in good shape with Yuri Wright and... well, not sure which other players we actually have a good shot at.
So I ask again, does Greg Brown deserve a free pass?
2006
Chap Brown
Jalil Brown
Jonathan Hawkins
Jimmy Smith
2007
Lamont Smith
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Wright
2008
Vince Ewing
Steven Hicks
Patrick Mahnke
Paul Vigo
2009
Deji Olatoye
Parker Orms
2010
Jered Bell
Terrel Smith
2011
Sherrard Harrington
Gregory Henderson
Kyle Washington
Not a perfect list because you could argue that Ray Polk needs to be added for 2008 and that Terrel Smith should not be on the 2010 list because he signed after Brown left for Arizona. Some players have switched positions and move around a bit (Ewing, Mahnke) and Anthony Wright has never been able to stay healthy, but overall, that group explains why we find ourselves in a precarious position at CB entering the 2011 season. Those 2007 and 2008 classes are really hurting us right now, Anthony Perkins excluded.
For the 2012 class, we are in good shape with Yuri Wright and... well, not sure which other players we actually have a good shot at.
So I ask again, does Greg Brown deserve a free pass?