There has been much hand-wringing among recruitniks about our troubles recruiting defensive linemen. I share those concerns and certainly identify DL as our prospective weak link going forward. I thought I'd try to take a look at DL recruiting across the conference to try to get a sense of whether we're putting ourselves behind the 8 ball relative to our competition. Here is how Pac-12 teams have fared in 2014 and 2015 recruiting defensive players who were listed at 250+ pounds, with each players' Rivals rating:
Arizona
Marcus Griffin - 5.8
Jeff Worthy - 5.7 junior college transfer
Anthony Fotu - 5.6 junior college transfer
Finton Connoly - 5.5
Timmy Hamilton - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jerod Cody - 5.4 junior college transfer
Arizona State
Connor Humphreys - 5.9
Dalvon Stuckey - 5.8 junior college transfer
Tashon Smallwood - 5.7
Edmond Boateng - 5.6
George Lea - 5.6
Dillon Faamatau - 5.5
Cal
Russell Ude - 5.8
DeVante Wilson - 5.5 junior college transfer
Trevor Kelly - 5.5 junior college transfer
Luc Bequette - 5.4
David Davis - 5.4 junior college transfer
Colorado
Eddy Lopez - 5.5
Blake Robbins - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jordan Carrell - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jase Franke - 5.4
Leo Jackson - NR junior college transfer
Oregon
Canton Kaumatule - 6.0
Tui Talia - 5.8 junior college transfer
Drayton Carlberg - 5.7
Gary Baker - 5.6
Austin Maloata - 5.6
Rex Manu - 5.5
Oregon State
Kammy Delp - 5.7
Kalani Vakameilalo - 5.6
Sumner Houston - 5.4
Elu Aydon - 5.4
Luke Hollingsworth - 5.4 junior college transfer
Stanford
Soloman Thomas - 6.0
Wesley Annan - 5.7
Harrison Phillips - 5.6
UCLA
Ainuu Taua - 5.8
Jacob Tuioti-Mariner - 5.8
Matt Dickerson - 5.8
USC
Noah Jefferson - 6.0
Jacob Daniel - 5.9
Claude Pelon - 5.8 junior college transfer
Utah
Allan Havili - 5.6
Pita Tonga - 5.5
Kyle Christiansen - 5.4
Pasoni Tasini - 5.4 junior college transfer
Washington
Benning Potoa'e - 5.8
Greg Gaines - 5.6
Washington State
Thomas Toki - 5.8
Feaomoengalu Tapa - 5.6
Hunter Mattox - 5.5
Jeremiah Mitchell - 5.4 junior college transfer
Jalen Canty - 5.3
This isn't a very pretty picture. We're certainly not recruiting interior DL well compared to the conference. A lot of our competition benefits from junior college infusions at DL. We don't have that luxury, although hopefully we can get Brennan Scarlett. A majority of our competition has done much better than us with volume and a few of the teams that have recruited big nasties on defense as lightly as us (UCLA and USC) have brought in enviable talent. On the flip side, we're not last, not even in the North! Washington has struggled to bring in the beef too. The one
other note of optimism that I'd offer is that a healthy chunk of the teams we compete with (Washington, UCLA, USC) share our prospective concerns about interior DL depth, while a couple of teams (Arizona and Cal) are so dependent on junior college talent that their four year talent pipelines look inferior to ours when you strip out JC guys (not
that I would recommend overly discounting the value JC guys provide). Finally, I would offer the Washington, UCLA, and USC hauls as evidence against concerns that Stanford is somehow worse than our recruiting competitors at smoothing out
positional imbalances in recruiting classes.
This post was edited on 1/31 8:52 AM by msqueri
Arizona
Marcus Griffin - 5.8
Jeff Worthy - 5.7 junior college transfer
Anthony Fotu - 5.6 junior college transfer
Finton Connoly - 5.5
Timmy Hamilton - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jerod Cody - 5.4 junior college transfer
Arizona State
Connor Humphreys - 5.9
Dalvon Stuckey - 5.8 junior college transfer
Tashon Smallwood - 5.7
Edmond Boateng - 5.6
George Lea - 5.6
Dillon Faamatau - 5.5
Cal
Russell Ude - 5.8
DeVante Wilson - 5.5 junior college transfer
Trevor Kelly - 5.5 junior college transfer
Luc Bequette - 5.4
David Davis - 5.4 junior college transfer
Colorado
Eddy Lopez - 5.5
Blake Robbins - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jordan Carrell - 5.5 junior college transfer
Jase Franke - 5.4
Leo Jackson - NR junior college transfer
Oregon
Canton Kaumatule - 6.0
Tui Talia - 5.8 junior college transfer
Drayton Carlberg - 5.7
Gary Baker - 5.6
Austin Maloata - 5.6
Rex Manu - 5.5
Oregon State
Kammy Delp - 5.7
Kalani Vakameilalo - 5.6
Sumner Houston - 5.4
Elu Aydon - 5.4
Luke Hollingsworth - 5.4 junior college transfer
Stanford
Soloman Thomas - 6.0
Wesley Annan - 5.7
Harrison Phillips - 5.6
UCLA
Ainuu Taua - 5.8
Jacob Tuioti-Mariner - 5.8
Matt Dickerson - 5.8
USC
Noah Jefferson - 6.0
Jacob Daniel - 5.9
Claude Pelon - 5.8 junior college transfer
Utah
Allan Havili - 5.6
Pita Tonga - 5.5
Kyle Christiansen - 5.4
Pasoni Tasini - 5.4 junior college transfer
Washington
Benning Potoa'e - 5.8
Greg Gaines - 5.6
Washington State
Thomas Toki - 5.8
Feaomoengalu Tapa - 5.6
Hunter Mattox - 5.5
Jeremiah Mitchell - 5.4 junior college transfer
Jalen Canty - 5.3
This isn't a very pretty picture. We're certainly not recruiting interior DL well compared to the conference. A lot of our competition benefits from junior college infusions at DL. We don't have that luxury, although hopefully we can get Brennan Scarlett. A majority of our competition has done much better than us with volume and a few of the teams that have recruited big nasties on defense as lightly as us (UCLA and USC) have brought in enviable talent. On the flip side, we're not last, not even in the North! Washington has struggled to bring in the beef too. The one
other note of optimism that I'd offer is that a healthy chunk of the teams we compete with (Washington, UCLA, USC) share our prospective concerns about interior DL depth, while a couple of teams (Arizona and Cal) are so dependent on junior college talent that their four year talent pipelines look inferior to ours when you strip out JC guys (not
that I would recommend overly discounting the value JC guys provide). Finally, I would offer the Washington, UCLA, and USC hauls as evidence against concerns that Stanford is somehow worse than our recruiting competitors at smoothing out
positional imbalances in recruiting classes.
This post was edited on 1/31 8:52 AM by msqueri
