Just For Stallion
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 10:14 amJucos looking good to top teams
Defending national champions now tops in tapping junior college football talent
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By John Maher
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
When it comes to college football recruiting, juco has often been a four-letter word.
Some big-name programs -- including Texas -- rarely bother to sign junior college players. Some recruiting services don't waste many superlatives on them, heaping them instead on high school hotshots. Fans rarely buzz about junior college prospects on the Internet.
"Most of the recruiting experts are focused on high school guys," said Kevin Lustgarten, publisher of JCFootball.com, a Web site devoted to junior college football. "Sometimes these guys (jucos) are completely under the radar as far as the recruiting services are concerned . . . and the majority of fans look at J.C. guys as throw-ins. There's a stigma; they don't get the same hype."
But take a look at what's happening this year. It's cool to be juco. Recruiting them looks like the winning edge.
This year, it's not just quick-fix coaches and programs loading up with junior college players. It's national champions Southern California and Louisiana State that are using jucos to keep their edge on opponents.
On Wednesday -- national signing day -- USC is poised to land three of the top five junior college players in the country; LSU three in the top 15, according to one recruiting service, Rivals100.com.
Miami and Tennessee also are grabbing five-star juco players. In addition, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are getting heavily into the mix, with Tech bringing everything but the Reedley College campus to Lubbock, signing a star quarterback and probably three of his teammates from that one California team. Even staid Notre Dame has dipped into the juco ranks for one of its best recruits in a rather lean year for the Irish.
"Schools have different philosophies," said Bobby Burton, chief recruiting analyst for Rivals100.com. "USC is not afraid to go the J.C. route. One of the first things that Pete Carroll did when he arrived was he went out to J.C. practices. Nobody did that. But he puts an emphasis on J.C. recruiting."
Junior colleges and community colleges are two-year post-secondary schools that offer certificate programs where students can pick up undergraduate credits, vocational skills or other knowledge.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, there are 1,171 such schools in the country, educating more than 10 million students. The National Junior College Athletic Association has 503 members in 42 states, and 70 of those schools play football.
Some of the better juco programs have players steered there by four-year schools hoping that they'll make grades and become eligible. But there are also players who weren't recruited by big-time programs and some of those also blossom into very good football players.
"The J.C. player is the the most determined football player around," Lustgarten said. "He's not on scholarship. He may have to hold a job. He wants to play football and get an education."
The downside of recruiting such players is that they'll have only two years of eligibility left at a four-year school, and they may bring along some of the academic problems that kept them out of a four-year school in the first place. The upside is that they're older players who can be plugged in quicker. "Out of the box, these guys are going to be contributors," Lustgarten said.
While many big programs traditionally dip into the juco ranks, others -- such as Texas -- rarely do. USC, however, has been mining talent from that level for decades.
In the late 1940s, USC got Frank Gifford from Bakersfield Junior College. The Trojans later found Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson at San Francisco City College. Oklahoma plucked quarterback Josh Heupel from Snow Junior College in Utah and Heupel then led them to a national championship in 2000.
This year, the big catch from Snow is Taitusi Lutui, Rivals' highest-rated juco player, who probably will be using his 6-foot-5-inch, 370-pound frame to block for USC tailbacks. USC's other projected stars are Scott Ware, a 220-pound defensive back from Santa Rosa JC, and Ryan Powdrell, a 250-pound linebacker from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif.
The top skill player, according to Rivals, is Reedley quarterback Robert Johnson, who'll be at Texas Tech next year. "When the pocket breaks down he's really elusive, and he's got a decent arm," said Lustgarten.
Tech looks like it will sign at least seven juco players from California this year as well as coveted wide receiver Marquis Johnson from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. A&M figures to sign five juco players. Only one of those five will be from a Texas college.
Lustgarten and Burton said state requirements that junior college students pass a standardized test to receive their degree are a hurdle that other states don't have. In the past, those at Texas junior colleges had to either pass the Texas Academic Skills Program test or receive a B or higher in a college course that covered the same material. But starting last September, that's no longer the case. The individual institutions now have more discretion about how to use the Texas Higher Education Assessment test as it relates to degree requirements.
Lustgarten, however, said the NCAA is looking at measures that might make it harder for juco players to get into four-years schools. In August last year, NCAA rules went into effect that required greater progress toward degrees.
Lustgarten said there might be a dropoff in juco talent going on to Division I-A schools for a couple of years until students and educators adjust. Right now, however, the talent level is high enough that even the reigning national champs are looking there for help.
[email protected]; 445-3956
Defending national champions now tops in tapping junior college football talent
ADVERTISEMENT
By John Maher
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
When it comes to college football recruiting, juco has often been a four-letter word.
Some big-name programs -- including Texas -- rarely bother to sign junior college players. Some recruiting services don't waste many superlatives on them, heaping them instead on high school hotshots. Fans rarely buzz about junior college prospects on the Internet.
"Most of the recruiting experts are focused on high school guys," said Kevin Lustgarten, publisher of JCFootball.com, a Web site devoted to junior college football. "Sometimes these guys (jucos) are completely under the radar as far as the recruiting services are concerned . . . and the majority of fans look at J.C. guys as throw-ins. There's a stigma; they don't get the same hype."
But take a look at what's happening this year. It's cool to be juco. Recruiting them looks like the winning edge.
This year, it's not just quick-fix coaches and programs loading up with junior college players. It's national champions Southern California and Louisiana State that are using jucos to keep their edge on opponents.
On Wednesday -- national signing day -- USC is poised to land three of the top five junior college players in the country; LSU three in the top 15, according to one recruiting service, Rivals100.com.
Miami and Tennessee also are grabbing five-star juco players. In addition, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are getting heavily into the mix, with Tech bringing everything but the Reedley College campus to Lubbock, signing a star quarterback and probably three of his teammates from that one California team. Even staid Notre Dame has dipped into the juco ranks for one of its best recruits in a rather lean year for the Irish.
"Schools have different philosophies," said Bobby Burton, chief recruiting analyst for Rivals100.com. "USC is not afraid to go the J.C. route. One of the first things that Pete Carroll did when he arrived was he went out to J.C. practices. Nobody did that. But he puts an emphasis on J.C. recruiting."
Junior colleges and community colleges are two-year post-secondary schools that offer certificate programs where students can pick up undergraduate credits, vocational skills or other knowledge.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, there are 1,171 such schools in the country, educating more than 10 million students. The National Junior College Athletic Association has 503 members in 42 states, and 70 of those schools play football.
Some of the better juco programs have players steered there by four-year schools hoping that they'll make grades and become eligible. But there are also players who weren't recruited by big-time programs and some of those also blossom into very good football players.
"The J.C. player is the the most determined football player around," Lustgarten said. "He's not on scholarship. He may have to hold a job. He wants to play football and get an education."
The downside of recruiting such players is that they'll have only two years of eligibility left at a four-year school, and they may bring along some of the academic problems that kept them out of a four-year school in the first place. The upside is that they're older players who can be plugged in quicker. "Out of the box, these guys are going to be contributors," Lustgarten said.
While many big programs traditionally dip into the juco ranks, others -- such as Texas -- rarely do. USC, however, has been mining talent from that level for decades.
In the late 1940s, USC got Frank Gifford from Bakersfield Junior College. The Trojans later found Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson at San Francisco City College. Oklahoma plucked quarterback Josh Heupel from Snow Junior College in Utah and Heupel then led them to a national championship in 2000.
This year, the big catch from Snow is Taitusi Lutui, Rivals' highest-rated juco player, who probably will be using his 6-foot-5-inch, 370-pound frame to block for USC tailbacks. USC's other projected stars are Scott Ware, a 220-pound defensive back from Santa Rosa JC, and Ryan Powdrell, a 250-pound linebacker from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif.
The top skill player, according to Rivals, is Reedley quarterback Robert Johnson, who'll be at Texas Tech next year. "When the pocket breaks down he's really elusive, and he's got a decent arm," said Lustgarten.
Tech looks like it will sign at least seven juco players from California this year as well as coveted wide receiver Marquis Johnson from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. A&M figures to sign five juco players. Only one of those five will be from a Texas college.
Lustgarten and Burton said state requirements that junior college students pass a standardized test to receive their degree are a hurdle that other states don't have. In the past, those at Texas junior colleges had to either pass the Texas Academic Skills Program test or receive a B or higher in a college course that covered the same material. But starting last September, that's no longer the case. The individual institutions now have more discretion about how to use the Texas Higher Education Assessment test as it relates to degree requirements.
Lustgarten, however, said the NCAA is looking at measures that might make it harder for juco players to get into four-years schools. In August last year, NCAA rules went into effect that required greater progress toward degrees.
Lustgarten said there might be a dropoff in juco talent going on to Division I-A schools for a couple of years until students and educators adjust. Right now, however, the talent level is high enough that even the reigning national champs are looking there for help.
[email protected]; 445-3956