THE INSIDE VIEW
Barry Laminack: Early signing day changes things for college football
Dec 21, 2017, 6:28 am
Jimbo Fisher's first A&M class got off to a slow start. Tomahawknation.com
Yesterday marked the beginning of the early signing period in college football, and boy are teams already busy. This time of year is make-or-break for a lot of kids and programs alike.
For guys like new Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher changing schools weeks before this moment can be challenging, so we’ll see what he can do on short notice to get recruits to come join him at Texas A&M. And don’t look now but apparently Tom Herman has an outside shot at having the number 1 recruiting class in the nation this year.
Keep in mind, recruiting – and these class rankings – are an inexact science, so take that last statement (and pretty much any recruiting statement) with a grain of salt. Predicting how good recruits will be seems to me like being able to predict how good players will do when they are drafted into the NFL. It’s just hard to tell. Some guys you think will be really good and they’re not, an other guys end up being outstanding, and nobody ever saw it coming.
ESPN predicted that either Ohio State or Georgia would finish with the number one recruiting class in the nation. If that happens it will be the first time that a team not named Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Miami, or USC has done so in the last 12 years.
Here’s your top 10 list as of late yesterday evening (according to ESPN):
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Penn State
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- Notre Dame
Other Texas notables: Baylor (16), TCU (19), Texas A&M (26).
If you’re jonesing for a UH update rivals.com says they have the #52 ranked recruiting class for 2018.
Really guys?
All this recruiting talk got me thinking about something – and yes, I know that what I’m about to write is probably going to rustle a few jimmies, and that’s OK. I get it, it’s probably not a popular take (especially here in Texas) – but why are grown men out here watching high school football with no kids on the team?
I’ll never understand how a dude can get off work on a Friday, hop in the car, drive down to the local high school football stadium, grab a hot dog and a coke, and watch a bunch of kids that he has no idea about play football. I’m not talking about guys with kids on the team. I’m not talking about guys with kids in the band, or on the cheer squad, or JV.
Just regular ass dudes who go and watch high school football, just because?
I don’t get it.
Maybe I’m not “Texas” enough, but I just do not understand it. But to each their own, I suppose
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The New York Jets interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for their head coach position Thursday.
The meetings with Smith and Slowik gave the Jets 12 known candidates with whom they've spoken about their vacancy.
New York has also interviewed Aaron Glenn, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel for the job. Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its coach.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are also expected to meet soon with the Jets.
The 42-year-old Smith, who was the Atlanta Falcons' head coach from 2021-23, was considered one of the Jets' top candidates in 2021 when he interviewed with the team before New York hired Robert Saleh. Smith was hired by the Falcons the next day and went 21-30, with three straight 7-10 finishes, before being fired after the 2023 season.
Mike Tomlin hired Smith last offseason to run the Steelers' offense, which improved in several categories this season with Russell Wilson at quarterback as Pittsburgh made the playoffs.
Smith spent 10 years with Tennessee, including the last two as the Titans' offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He previously had a stint with Washington as its defensive quality control coach in between college stops at North Carolina (2006) and Mississippi (2010).
The 37-year-old Slowik met with the Jets in a video interview since the Texans remain in the playoffs and are preparing to face the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday.
He's in his second year running the Texans' offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was last season's AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been one of the league's most dynamic young playmakers.
Slowik, whose father Bob coaches in the CFL after several years as an NFL assistant, spent six years as an assistant under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco before joining the Texans. The Princeton, New Jersey, native started his pro coaching career as a video assistant for Washington in 2010 before being promoted to defensive assistant, a role he held for three years. Slowik then worked at Pro Football Focus as a senior analyst for three years before being hired by the 49ers.
The Jets are also conducting an extensive search for a new general manager. They have interviewed 15 candidates for that position, including Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan and Miami Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine on Tuesday.