Wanted to start talking about the players leaving other ACC teams early. So far I've seen Lamar Jackson from Louisville, Sweat from FSU, Derwin James from FSU.
Also any big names from around the country coming out early.
It seems this may be another record year for the number of underclassmen declaring early for the draft.
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Haven't seen any official announcements yet, but Clemson has a lot of guys with decisions to make. Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant, Clelin Ferrell, Deon Cain, Hunter Renfrow, Ray Ray McCloud, and a few others are all eligible for the draft. It seems likely that about half or more of these guys will go, but I think Ray Ray has said he is coming back.
edit: Also possibly losing their LT Mitch Hyatt and LB Kendall Joseph
I feel like Renfrow has been there forever.
He was a r-Fr. I believe in that first Alabama game, so that makes a lot of sense, I feel the same way.
Ryan Switzer was like that for me too. He must have returned 5 million punts for UNC.
I feel like Hunter Renfrow's destiny is to be the white guy in the slot that Tom Brady throws to
Braxton Berrios would like a word.
The Patriots really have cornered the market on white receivers. I don't know what that's about.
/s
Renfrow will probably stay, Cain is 50/50, Wilkins and Ferrell gotta be gone, and I think Bryant should come back but wouldn't be surprised to see him leave
I agree Renfrow will stay but Cain, Wilkins, Bryant, and Ferrell will go. Also a chance O'Daniel and Joseph join them as well. With the way they are recruiting right now it won't matter too much though in terms of drop off.
O'Daniel is a rs-Sr. He was same class as Kendall Fuller I believe (and same hs too IIRC) so he is gone no matter what.
My bad your right, just meant Joseph then. Either way, their front 7 will be in reload mode next year which is nice to see after watching them shut down our offense this year.
Agreed, and I think their defense will take a step back without O'Daniel and IF Wilkins, Ferrell, and Bryant all leave. While they are recruiting well, they still hit a jackpot on having such an enormous and athletic line. A handful or more of teams recruit DL like Clemson has been and they had an elite unit even by comparison with that bunch. There will be step backs. Their secondary, while talented has always been Venables biggest weak spot. Evident both from his years at Oklahoma and from whenever Clemson plays a team that can throw the ball that their DL can't cover up for.
O'Daniel was a painful recruiting miss.
How the hell did we lose him when we had 5* Kendall Fuller (HS teammate) showing him around campus? I hated this guy going to Clemson but at least it wasn't Maryland. Fuck Maryland
Be glad we held on to Kendall. Clemson was after him hard.
FWIW, Mama Fuller told me that Kendall really liked Clemson but there was no way in hell she was letting her baby go to anywhere but VT. #MAMAFULLER4RECRUITINGCOORDINATOR
Maybe you've heard, Tim Settle from VT s/
I hadn't actually. Though, I do remember a Tim Settle :-P
Oops, Thanks, edited.
Josh will be Sweating day 3 of the draft
How is Sam Darnold not at the top of the list?
"ACC teams"
I miss read the thread :(
Sorry everybody!
I don't keep track of NFL players unless they are Hokies as for college players leaving this is why I started the thread so people in the know could post who else is leaving. Like Barkley from PSU how does that help Tech Recruiting Ford next year?
Quadree Henderson (slot back- really good on reverses but never did much versus VT), and Jordan Whitehead (their best defensive back) are leaving early.
* FROM PITT
Won't be sad to see QH leave. At all. You're right - he never got loose against us, but every single time he touched the ball I held my breath. Could be a solid punt returner/4th wideout for some team. Serious wheels, good hands and tough to tackle.
Glad to see Henderson go, seemed really under utilized this year without Canada.
Whitehead was between VT and Pitt. He's going to be a good pro.
CBS has a tracker here for all NCAA.
ACC names of note that haven't been mentioned (as of this moment): Mark Walton (Miami), Jaire Alexander (Louisville... I know nothing about this dude BECAUSE THANK YOU JOHN SWOFFORD), Ryan Izzo (FSU), Andre Smith (UNC), and probably some others I skipped over.
Mark Walton declaring is baffling.
Guess he wants to get his money since he's coming off of injury.
Homer would cut his carries if he returned.
Man i still remember how upset i was when sweat picked FSU over us. I don't know how i should feel now that he's gone. What do i do with my hands??
Did he ever do much at FSU?
Just checked...he led the team this year in sacks with 7.
That's not saying much on that team this year
Still more than any Hokie had this season.
Womp.
not really.. 14.5 sacks in 35 games isn't what I'd expect from a 5-star DE playing in the ACC
Dons maroon and orange glasses, would have had better numbers here.
Dons maroonier and orangier glasses....Trevon Hill has performed just as well or better
I said it in another thread, but I think we got the bigger "hustler" in Trevon Hill.
Wilkins is returning to clemson. So they keep all 4 starters of their already nations best Dline, and add 2 5* DEs to rotate in.. Its like we're not playing the same game
It is crazy to me that Clemson can keep their studs and ours are checking out.
They reached the tipping point Bama did where they can legit feel like they're coming back for a championship
The NFL can't compete with that Clemson pay scale
Wilkins probably did not feel comfortable sitting down in front of NFL GMs and coaches while they played this and asked him to explain:
At Clemson, this is simply going #ALLIN
I regret seeing this again.
I wish I could say I have some inside info that this was some serious corruption but I think it's just the perfect storm for Clemson. They are all best friends, they all felt slighted by their 2nd round draft grades, they were all pissed about getting their asses whipped by Bama, and from what I understand, none of them have poor families. If they were encouraged to stay by the coaches, then I would say they were not acting in the best interest of these players, but I really think they just had the stars align.
On the bright side, they lose their entire starting DL next year and a few key backups.
#2019NattyHereWeCome! But seriously, this is the type stuff that happens with a cohesive unit that has been recruited and play under one coach. Once Fuente gets his guys as seniors, I think we will see more of this.
Like you mentioned Chris, the only benefit is it will provide Xavier Thomas, KJ Henry, Justin Driscoll, and Josh Belk with less game reps next year to learn from for when those 4 leave after next season. But with all 4 probably going 1st round, I have no reason to believe they won't sign 4 more 4/5 star DL in the 2019 class as well. They will be loaded for some time, but hopefully 2019 will be less formidable than next year.
This could be an instance where the early signing period hurt us. Would we have looked a little better to KJ Henry had he learned all these starters were returning and he might have to wait to see the field?
I didn't think about that angle before. Early signing period lets schools land recruits before their seniors have to declare for the draft so they can make any promises they want about early playing time without having to admit their whole junior class is staying.
If KJ cared about that he would have waited. He had a spot waiting for him at either school
EDIT: Deleted. wrong thread. DOH!
This is nuts. At most there are 256 draft picks. Most of these guys won't be drafted, a few won't make it past first camp cuts even.
They really need to implement a rule that if you don't get drafted as an undergraduate, you can return for your senior (junior in rare cases) years. For that to work, I think they would have to stay enrolled in school and not take a UDFA.
Then everyone would declare for the draft and would also be doing so with zero representation, as they couldn't sign with an agent.
Or agents would be more selective about who they sign, and tell players unlikely to be drafted, "sorry kid, come see me next year" and we'll have fewer try to leave early. Could be a secondary checkpoint if the agents start to lose out on money.
I admit it's unlikely, but the NFL is a business and agents want to make money. Are they going to be as willing to invest their efforts (and $$$) on a kid who's borderline and can just go back to school if he doesn't get drafted? As soon as profits go down, the business model will change.
which is why they're a lot more likely to string a guy along than turn him away from the beginning. I see what you're saying, but that strikes me as a very slow process.
That's not really how it works. These guys are sharks and will do anything they can to latch onto players and potentially sign them. I had a buddy who was a football player that had agents blowing up his phone, throwing him money, paying for spring break trips, etc. and he didn't even get drafted. I can't even imagine what it's like if you're a 1st or 2nd day pick.