Yeah, I keep forgetting to update. Winter is usually a slow time of the year (news-wise) for me anyway.
On to the infamous Cordova’s Ball State Report.
If you’re not a college football fan, you may want to skip this one.
I am pleased to see that second year head coach Pete Lembo has put together a better defensive class than his predecessor, and that he got some help for those red zone situations in 6′ 5″ WR Efe Scott-Emuakpor. Granted, the kid’s going to need to gain about 30 pounds before he’s truly effective (he currently weighs in at 180; I think my cat can tackle him), but there is a definite red zone threat right there. Nobody should beat him on a jump ball.
Down side of this year’s class? No speed. With the exception of the aforementioned Scott-Emuakpor, there is only two others on the 2012 recruiting class list who seem capable of running a 4.5 40 yard dash or faster. One of them is a DB which, while nice, means that he’s going to get burned by those guys who can pull a 4.4 or better. Think that’s stupid? First opponent of the year for Ball State is Clemson.
Their WRs are going to run circles around the DBs unless it rains.
Like, hurricane rain. Maybe even an earthquake or three might help.
Now, I do like the size on the OL. There are some solid blockers up there with good wingspans to stop that outside pass rush. You see a lineman standing at 6’7″, you think “Feed him. Then teach him to kill the DE and anyone else who tries to come through the gap.”
Overall, I’d give this class a better ranking than anyone else. On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 5.2. That’s not bad, but it could have been a lot better. Coach Lembo is making some improvements, and this is definitely a better recruiting class than the one from 2010 (2011 is a push, because Lembo didn’t have a full year to recruit).
One other good thing about recruiting who they do? The egos are a lot smaller. None of these guys played reality TV with the recruiting process (nor turned down an offer because there wasn’t a Chick-fil-A around), which means they will buy into the “team first” mentality needed to win.
Fear the chirp!
(Damn it, we still need a better slogan…)
