The straight scoop from
Colonel Mustard
Feb. 11, 2003
Sorry I am late with this post. The recuiting dinner was interesting on many fronts. Frank was assertive that he in fact had hired the new coaches in his way and at his pace. He spoke for an hour and discussed that he was going to give up the OC job last year but felt the team was too inexperenced for that. He is upset with the media and to me is too worried about what they think and how to approach them. He said that he hired coaches for X's and O's, communicators and recuiters. Downing handled the recuiting films and was very impressive. He talks like a scout and is a strong talent evaluator — the first step in being a good recuiter. As I said, getting Downing was a huge positive.
As for the recuits, the following comments are a combination of coaches' comments and my impressions from the films.
- Austin — Powerful, finishes blocks, good work ethic
- Birkel — Speed and explosion, catches the ball in traffic
- Brothers — Very fast
- Byford — Pulling guard, quick, good feet
- Craver — Played QB, the best player on the field playing in high-level Texas high school, great athlete
- Dailey — Quick feet, moves well in the pocket, strong arm, can throw on the run. The only running plays we saw were scambles, so his option ability is unknown, fine athlete.
- Defrand — Excellent cover guy and kick retuner
- DeLone — Mobile and agile
- Green — Great speed
- McKeon — The most impressive overall player, played safety and linebacker, all over the field, intercepting passes and a fine blitzer, great athlete
- Mueller and Patrick — Men playing against boys, both way too good for the competition
- Muhammad — Quick first step, sack machine, huge stats
- Phillips — Great blocker, all district at guard as a junior, fine hands
- Ruud — Excellent athlete, injured a great deal last year
- Schuler — Overpowering
- Teamer — Gets good bend, and uses his hands very well
- Turner — Fastest of the group, just lightning
- Dyches — Huge leg, punts and kicks
- Smith — Second most impressive, ran away from everyone in California juco games, quick and breaks tackles
- Neeman — Good leverage and did a good job of rushing the passer
- Pittman — Good speed and a fine open-field runner
Heal fast, Curt.
Keep the faith. GBR.
-- The Colonel