NCAA Recruiting

2009 Recruiting Early Look: Trojans off and running.

With the 2008 recruiting season all but behind us, with the exception of a few late signings, it’s certainly not too early to look at the class of 2009.

Here are a few early observations from the early going - we’ll be covering recruiting regularly, so keep checking back for more.

USC Loading Up Early

With not a lot of spots to fill for the 2008 class, the Trojans signed only 19 players (18 February, 1 December).

But, even with a relatively light class, Pete Carroll still pulled in a top-10 class. Four were five-star commits (according to Scout.com), including the nation’s top offensive tackle, Tyron Smith. Nine more were four-star commits, including cornerback T.J. Bryant, who they snagged on Signing Day from Lincoln HS in Tallahassee, where San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie starred in his prep days.

Carroll has already gotten a big jump on having the nation’s top class in ‘09, as he’s already snapped up nine commits.

One of those nine commits is from the nation’s top prospect, QB Matt Barkley. Seven of the other commits are in Scout or Rivals’ Top 100 list, and have garnered four-star ratings by either or both of the services.

Ohio State and Texas have also gotten off to good starts. The Longhorns already have seven commits, four from four-star rated players - QB Garrett Gilbert, RB Chris Whaley, and offensive tackle Thomas Ashcroft.

The Buckeyes have six early commits, five on the defensive side of the ball, including DT Johnny Simon (Scout.com five-star, Rivals 4-star) and linebackers Jordan Whiting (four-star by both Scout and Rivals) and Storm Klein (Scout four-star).

Florida State is also off to a good start, getting two commitments from top-notch players, in defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel (#5 on Rivals’ Top 100, and receiver Willie Downs (#37 on Rivals’ Top 100).

The Next Terrelle Pryor?

While we’re still talking about Terrelle Pryor and where he will end up going (I say Penn St. wins out in the end), it’s time to look at the top athletic QB in the 2009 class, Russell Shepard of Houston-area Cypress Ridge.

If you’d like to see why Shepard is so highly thought of, check out the highlight video of him currently on the home page.

In terms of size, speed, and playmaking ability, he’s comparable to West Virginia’s Pat White, though he’s a much more sought-after recruit than White was coming out of high school.

And, given that comparison, it’s not much of a surprise who could be the leader in the race to nab him.

Texas appeared to be the leader for Shepard early on, but it looks like Rich Rodriguez and Michigan have now surged ahead, or at least neck and neck with the home state powers.

Not only would he be a great fit for the spread-option offense that will be run there (the offense that he runs right now doesn‘t rely on him to throw the ball much, as would the case be in Rich Rod‘s run, run, run, pass offense), but he could also start right out of the gate.

One other factor helping out the Wolverines is that they snagged three top Houston-area players in their 2008 class, in RB Sam McGuffie, RB/WR Terrence Robinson, and WR Daryl Stonum. Shepard mentioned in a recent interview on Scout.com that he’s good friends with both McGuffie and Robinson, so if he decides to cast his lot with the maize and blue, he’d be around some very familiar faces.

Shepard, of course, isn’t without his flaws. He has a very strong arm, but he needs to improve in terms of consistency and accuracy. However, that’s something that should improve with time, and as long as he’s more White (whose accuracy has improved - 57% to 65.9% to 66.7% this past season) than Reggie Ball, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Family Ties

Wichita East HS produced one of the top recruits in the 2008 class, in linebacker Arthur Brown (who signed for Miami), and they’ll also have one of the top recruits in the 2009 class, running back Bryce Brown, Arthur’s brother. The younger Brown is currently rated the #1 back in the country by Scout.com.

Scripps Ranch (San Diego) QB Tate Forcier, who’s the #52 prospect on Rivals’ Top 100, isn’t the first highly-touted QB in his family, or the second. His older brother Jason (Class of 2005 - went to Michigan, now at Stanford) and Chris (Class of 2007 - UCLA) were both four-star prospects. There’s a good chance Tate could wind up in the Pac-10 (he’s got nine offers, three coming from Oregon, Arizona, and Stanford), so we could see a trio of Forcier QBs in the Pac-10 in 2009.

Shepard’s cousin, Craig Loston, is one of the top defensive back prospects in the class of 2009, and speed must run in the family, as the Aldine Eisenhower star has been timed in the sub 4.4 range.

A few other Houston QBs have some good bloodlines. Fort Bend Hightower’s A.J. Highsmith is the son of former Miami running back Alonzo Highsmith, who was the #3 overall pick in the 1987 draft, and Derek Carr of 23-5A district rival Clements is brother of former Texans and current Panthers QB David, who was the #1 pick in 2002. Broderick Thomas, Jr. of Elkins makes it a 23-5A trio, as his dad, Broderick Thomas, Sr., was a star linebacker for Nebraska, and the sixth overall pick in the 1989 draft by the Buccaneers.

Norman (OK) North QB Tyler Tettleton also has some famous ties, but in a different sport - his father Mickey was a two-time All-Star and had four 30-home run seasons in a 14-year MLB career.

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