Are Juco Offensive Lineman the Way to Go?
3 comments so far
March 10, 2010 by
Nebraska goes into the 2010 season with a real possibility of starting two junior college offensive lineman. Ricky Henry will likely continue to start on the interior at either guard or center. Newcomer and early arrival Jermarcus Hardrick appears likely to be in immediate competition for a starting position at tackle. But does the fact that they went to junior college mean anything for their prospects?
Look back at the recruits that Nebraska has brought in from the junior college ranks, you'll find players that worked their way into the starting lineup, but not All-Americans. Carl Nicks might be the biggest success. He earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2005 as NU's starting left tackle and was part of the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl team. Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas started seven games in 2005 at left tackle but missed the last four games with an injury.
Then there were some complete washouts. Darren DeLone was part of Frank Solich's last full recruiting class. Brock Pasteur and Jordan Picou arrived as part of the highly touted class of 2005. Victory Haines arrived with the class of 2006. None became meaningful contributors in games. It's difficult to find an offensive linemen that played at Nebraska that came out of the junior college ranks under Tom Osborne.
So if you include Henry in the mix, then Nebraska is under .500 in finding junior college linemen that can start only one for seven in finding real standouts in the past decade. But then how meaningful is that history when Pelini's batting 1.000 so far with his junior college o-linemen? Even the best recruiting programs (in terms of how they get ranked) have found useful junior college players for the line. Deuce Lutui was an All-American at USC after playing for the same juco that Victory Haines did. Of course, he was also the largest player in Trojan history.
Putting junior college offensive linemen on the field isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't necessarily great either. You can add depth in a hurry, but then it means a shorter learning curve for the player, usually with just two years of playing eligibility. Henry has shown he can start and his reputation makes you think he could rise to an all-conference level this season (after an honorable mention in 2009). Hardrick could find himself playing but would likely really make his mark in his second year.
The three high school commitments Nebraska has at this early stage of recruiting for 2011 from offensive linemen makes you think there may not be another junior college offensive line recruit for a while. But if Hardrick and Henry live up to expectations, there will inevitably be more.
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darren Mar 10 10
You make it hard to argue with you, Steve. Dang it, don't you know the Internet is made for debate!
Seriously, I think part of JC lineman's success has to do with the complexity of the offensive system. The window of time to contribute is smaller. Time has more value. If they can't pick up the system quickly, valuable time is lost. Physically, it is usually the opposite. Having played in JC, they are more developed and ready for D-1 ball.
Of course, consider that many of "busts" you mentioned were all added later in the recruiting cycle, essentially as "Plan B" guys. So, their success rate was already in question - JC or not.
I guess I think of it a bit like leasing a car. Is it better to buy? Generally, yes. But, sometimes you make the short term deal you can afford to address an obvious need. If you get burned on the lease is then up to you.
Boz Mar 11 10
Congradulations BO. Now you are copying the Kansas State model. And where did that get them? Man up - get the recruits - and coach them.
Your Mom Mar 11 10
Boz...."Now your are copying the Kansas State model".
Seriously?
It got them nowhere under Rob Prince, but thats because he sucked as a coach. Bill Snyder proved time and time again that signing JuCo's to your roster can have an immediate impact and provide depth. He was the king of locking up talented JuCo players.
In the 2010 recruiting class we signed 3 JuCo players; Chase Harper, Jamarcus Hardrick, and LaVonte David.
In 2010 Alabama signed 2 JuCo players.
I think you should worry about the national champs signing 2 JuCO players instead of Nebraska signing three. They are the team that really concerns me!