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'20 GA OT Jake Wray (SIGNED to COLORADO)

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Serious questions for those who know offensive line play: From the photos, this recruit does not look like he's been exposed to a conditioning/nutrition program. I can certainly see that he looks athletic and pretty nimble on his film. How do coaches evaluate a kid like that has not yet developed his body? Can they tell that he's "country strong"? Is it all about quickness? I'm just curious since I never played the position. Thanks
 
Boom! Welcome, Jake!!

Great pickup at a position of desperate need!

I love what I've been hearing from Coach Tucker and his staff about the emphasis on recruiting. Awesome to start to see some tangible results like this one! Seems like kids are also liking the message from our staff.
 
Serious questions for those who know offensive line play: From the photos, this recruit does not look like he's been exposed to a conditioning/nutrition program. I can certainly see that he looks athletic and pretty nimble on his film. How do coaches evaluate a kid like that has not yet developed his body? Can they tell that he's "country strong"? Is it all about quickness? I'm just curious since I never played the position. Thanks

Others are more qualified to answer, but I can give you the canned response...

I think you answered your own question in there. Obviously, a good offensive line prospect will need the requisite size for the position, but it isn’t all about height and weight. Coaches look for athleticism/nimbleness that you mention and a frame that can hold good weight. You hear this in somewhat overused terms like “good length, long arms”, “good knee bend”, or “lateral quickness”. And on the negative side, “plays stiff”, “can’t move in space”, etc. Good coaches manage to determine this from high school game film (or in person camps), but projecting out linemen is an inexact science for sure with lots of hits and misses. Some of CUs best linemen have been can’t miss recruits like Chris Naeole, and others have been lightly recruited like Nate Solder or David Bahktiari.

Buffstampede has a film breakdown of Wray ($$ behind paywall):

https://247sports.com/college/color...man-Jake-Wray-Buffaloes-recruiting-132251335/

Kids lift weights in high school, but few are exposed to a strength/conditioning programs and that’s not expected. Coach Kap is a really solid line coach, probably my favorite assistant hire by Tucker, and he will develop his recruits. This means adding strength/mass in the weight room under Wilson, and teaching good technique in practice.

Starting the recruiting class with the likes of Carson Lee and Jake Wray is simply huge. If I’m QB Brendon Lewis, I’ve got a big smile right now knowing these two are in my class. If I’m a CU football fan, I’ve also got a big smile because this is the best start to a class we’ve had in at least a decade.
 
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Others are more qualified to answer, but I can give you the canned response...

I think you answered your own question in there. Obviously, a good offensive line prospect will need the requisite size for the position, but it isn’t all about height and weight. Coaches look for athleticism/nimbleness that you mention and a frame that can hold good weight. You hear this in somewhat overused terms like “good length, long arms”, “good knee bend”, or “lateral quickness”. And on the negative side, “plays stiff”, “can’t move in space”, etc. Good coaches manage to determine this from high school game film (or in person camps), but projecting out linemen is an inexact science for sure with lots of hits and misses. Some of CUs best linemen have been can’t miss recruits like Chris Naeole, and others have been lightly recruited like Nate Solder or David Bahktiari.
All true and all fails the test that Maxidouche on 247 has been pedaling for some time. It's all about the 300lb plus boys, which I have never bought. Yes our OL has been too skinny and undersized. But if the kid has the right frame, and mentality (i.e. desire to be great), adding good weight and achieving that requisite size is not an issue in a D1 weight program. The difference comes to athleticism which most OL experts focus on feet (the ability to move them), ability to bend, and things like length of arms (keeps DL from getting into the body of the OL). These are things that can't be taught. The last 30lbs of muscle and the proper techniques can be added at the college level.
 
Then don't.

Why? What’s wrong with wondering what caused him to drop from a consensus top 300 player all of a sudden? This a discussion were not allowed to have?

Regardless he’s still our highest recruit in some time but I’m curious what goes into just dropping kids so far in the off-season.
 
Why? What’s wrong with wondering what caused him to drop from a consensus top 300 player all of a sudden? This a discussion were not allowed to have?

Regardless he’s still our highest recruit in some time but I’m curious what goes into just dropping kids so far in the off-season.
It’s a fair discussion for sure, but theres just not much to talk about. They’re arbitrary rankings that we know are self fulfilling prophecies in many circumstances, but it’s not going to change. Until CU starts winning consistently, a player isn’t going to look quite as good when committing here, rather than tOSU, Bama, Clemson, etc.
 
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