As far as commitments go, this has been a very slow week. Spring practices are just beginning at high schools across the country, and most colleges have already finished up with their spring games. That means coaches are hitting the road during the evaluation period. Let’s catch up on some existing issues.
Josh Rosen would be a better 2016 NFL draft pick than Jared Goff or Carson Wentz
Welcome to The Crootletter (sign up to get this in your inbox every morning!). I’m Bud Elliott, SB Nation’s National Recruiting Analyst, and in this space I’ll be sharing news, rumors and musings on the world of college football recruiting.
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NFL Draft
With the NFL Draft approaching, I am taking a look back at some memorable recruits who are now likely to be high picks. In this series, I'll touch on memories of the recruits, scouting, projections and fun anecdotes. I previously looked at Jalen Ramsey and Derrick Henry, Chris Jones, Alex Collins and Laremy Tunsil and examined how offensive systems preparing QBs for the draft impact QB recruiting.
Every player says he’s bigger, faster, stronger in spring and in the best shape of his life, but I found it interesting that former five-star QB recruit Josh Rosen has put on 15 pounds of muscle after a great freshman year with UCLA and wants to add 10 more. He’s two years away from NFL eligibility, but this brings up some food for thought.
Here’s a question: If you ran an NFL team, would you rather have Goff, Wentz or, if the rules allowed it, the chance to draft Rosen after just one year in college football? Were he eligible, I think I’d take Rosen. Rosen is far beyond where the other two were during their first years in college, and him being years younger offers greater potential for future growth.
Do you agree? Let me know in the comments section.
Looking over the quarterback ranks coming up, and it’s not that promising. I like Deshaun Watson, Chad Kelly, Brad Kaaya and DeShone Kizer, but are any of those No. 1 overall types? I don’t know. The depth beyond them for 2017-18 doesn’t appear all that encouraging right now.
Satellite camps
I am tired of writing about satellite camps, but the Department of Justice is reportedly looking into the NCAA's recent banning of them.
The DOJ is reportedly looking into the camp ban to decide whether the ban limits opportunities for high school players to be seen by college coaches. Considering satellite camps were an excellent and efficient way for players to be seen by a number of coaching staffs at once, there’s no question that it limits their access. But the ban would not prevent players from going on visits to schools or being scouted in other ways, even if some of those visits are outside the financial reach of many families.
The NCAA Division I Council voted on the ban back in early April, but it must be approved by the NCAA Board of Governors on April 28.
There is some possibility that the governors table the issue for further review on Thursday, but I have yet to see any speculation on the chance that happens. Predicting NCAA administrative decisions is not an easy thing.
Quickly
What if Missouri’s depth chart was done by recruiting rankings?
Remember this name: Alexander Marshall. This is a Massachusetts tight end who schools think much higher of than his recruiting ranking. He’s a good example of why early recruiting rankings aren’t worth much. Ohio State may become the latest to offer him a scholarship.
