'13 AZ DB Priest Willis (UCLA Signed LOI)

[IrishLax]

Scott Schrader, 247 USC reporter, posted something yesterday saying he thinks USC is in good shape here.

If that drives Redfield into our arms, that would be A-ok with me.

Redfield is just about a stone cold lock to not be at USC. Not quite a stone cold lock to come her, IMO, because it looks like he's going to take a couple more visits.

 

[Emcee77]

Redfield is just about a stone cold lock to not be at USC. Not quite a stone cold lock to come her, IMO, because it looks like he's going to take a couple more visits.

Yeah, Sapp said today that he thinks Redfield is the most likely of our remaining DB targets to come to ND, more likely than Moore at this point. which is consistent with what people have been saying lately in his thread.

 

[rtrn2glory]

really worried about losing redfield to oregon. they're having a solid year too and it's much closer to home.

 

[IrishLax]

really worried about losing redfield to oregon. they're having a solid year too and it's much closer to home.

Meh, he hasn't even visited there yet, no use being worried now.

 

[Luckylucci]

I am worried about Oregon for Redfield as well. He would need to fully decommit in order to visit with Chip's policy in place. However if we read into his take aways from his visit to south bend I think you'll notice this kid cares more about the ND experience vs. just big time football. Trust me when I say Oregon has phenomenal athletes but not a very high character university.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Meh, he hasn't even visited there yet, no use being worried now.

guess "really" worried isn't the right way to put it. just i think they're a big player for his services as well...my bad.

 

[Irishnuke]

really worried about losing redfield to oregon. they're having a solid year too and it's much closer to home.

Mission Viejo to Eugene is over 900 miles. Is it closer than South Bend? Yes. Is it CLOSE? No, not at all. It's not like his family is going to be driving to all of his home games if he goes to Oregon. He's not going to be driving home for a three day weekend either. I really wouldn't worry about distance when comparing Oregon and Notre Dame.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The degree value differential is much starker for Oregon than for USC. The Trojans can at least hope you aren't aware of their atrocious GSR and claim to offer competitive academics to ND; Oregon can do no such thing.

In other words, there's very little overlap between ND's sales pitch and Oregon's. If we lose a kid to the Ducks, we probably didn't have much of a shot at him to begin with.

 

[NewBrunswickIrish]

Isn't the rumor that Cole Luke got shut out of USC? Is Willis that much better than Luke?

 

[Luckylucci]

Yes, IMO Willis is that much better than Luke. Physically much more put together and has more versatility in that he can play both S/CB. Don't get me wrong would love to have either but Willis is Elite.

And I agree with Whiskey in that we'll never lose a kid to Oregon because they out did us in what we do well (Academics, tradition, experience, etc.) It'll be because of flash, football, and money in terms of how much Phil Knight is willing to spend on his team.

 

[rtrn2glory]

Mission Viejo to Eugene is over 900 miles. Is it closer than South Bend? Yes. Is it CLOSE? No, not at all. It's not like his family is going to be driving to all of his home games if he goes to Oregon. He's not going to be driving home for a three day weekend either. I really wouldn't worry about distance when comparing Oregon and Notre Dame.

thanks...didn't realize that...makes me feel better.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Yes, IMO Willis is that much better than Luke.

The ratings bear this out. Composite score for Luke is 0.9246, which is good enough for 174th Nationally and 15th CB. Composite score for Willis is 0.9812, which puts him at 35th Nationally and 7th CB.

Luke is a solid 4, but Willis is elite. He would be our 2nd highest rated recruit behind Jaylon.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Interesting.....

Priest Willis

 

[IrishLax]

Interesting.....

Priest Willis

Yeah, saw this yesterday. I would guess ND probably falls in that category.

 

[Emcee77]

Isn't the rumor that Cole Luke got shut out of USC? Is Willis that much better than Luke?

The ratings bear this out. Composite score for Luke is 0.9246, which is good enough for 174th Nationally and 15th CB. Composite score for Willis is 0.9812, which puts him at 35th Nationally and 7th CB.

Luke is a solid 4, but Willis is elite. He would be our 2nd highest rated recruit behind Jaylon.

This stuff continues to confound me. 247 has Luke as the 65th best player in the country, 8th best CB. They rank him higher than Chris Hawkins, whom USC took. However, all three other services have Luke much, much lower, which is why his composite ranking is so low.

I've noticed this with a couple of our recruits, one service as a complete outlier. I wonder if anyone has opinions on which is the most accurate recruiting service? Just curious.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I've noticed this with a couple of our recruits, one service as a complete outlier. I wonder if anyone has opinions on which is the most accurate recruiting service? Just curious.

General consensus seems to be that 247 is the best by a wide margin. Rivals next, and then Scout and ESPN battle for worst/ most arbitrary ratings.

Regardless of which one you like best, these ratings are all extremely subjective. Since objectivity isn't possible here, the best we can do is to consider as many data points as possible. That's why I only refer to 247's Composite score.

 

[Emcee77]

General consensus seems to be that 247 is the best by a wide margin. Rivals next, and then Scout and ESPN battle for worst/ most arbitrary ratings.

Regardless of which one you like best, these ratings are all extremely subjective. Since objectivity isn't possible here, the best we can do is to consider as many data points as possible. That's why I only refer to 247's Composite score.

Ah, fair enough. It sounds like you'd agree that Luke is probably better than his composite rating though, if 247 is the most accurate service and it has Luke much more highly ranked than the other three, which have him out of the top 200. Anyway, it will give me some comfort to think so if we end up with Luke instead of some of the higher ranked guys.

I'm very sorry to hear about Willis's possible back issues though. Based on what I've read, Willis is a guy who does it all. Not just great in coverage but a great rover and tackler. Talk about your werewolves. It would be really sad if programs are afraid to take a chance on a guy with that kind of talent.

 

[Pa Golden Tate Fan]

Irish Sports Daily ‏@ISDUpdate

As we await Alex Anzalone's announcement, check out this story on another top #ND defensive target, Priest Willis ($) http://www.irishsportsdaily.com/recruiting/premium-football-recruiting/8046-willis-still-open …
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[GBdomer]

Still talking with ND to set up something. There are some rumors going around right now that some teams have backed off on his recruitment. Don't shoot the messenger

 

[greyhammer90]

Still talking with ND to set up something. There are some rumors going around right now that some teams have backed off on his recruitment. Don't shoot the messenger

Why would I shoot you for this?

 

[GBdomer]

Because its not positive on why teams have backed off presumably

 

[irishog77]

Isn't it his back?

 

[TheChosen1]

Because its not positive on why teams have backed off presumably

More of the Yuri Wright variety or Standifer?

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Interesting.....

Priest Willis

Here.

And his step dad said today that the rumors about his back are not true and that it was because his quads were stronger than his hamstrings so it was making him out of balance or something. All sounds bizarre.

 

[GBdomer]

Good find golden that's where I read it.

 

[Riddickulous]

Well, this is interesting.

 

[IRISHMAN]

after USC got pounded by Oregon is willis still a USC lean or do we have a shot now?

 

[Emcee77]

After getting Cole Luke, we are moving on from Priest Willis. Still want Redfield and Moore. Apparently we consider Willis more of a pure CB and we don't need another one of those. Per BGI.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

After getting Cole Luke, we are moving on from Priest Willis. Still want Redfield and Moore. Apparently we consider Willis more of a pure CB and we don't need another one of those. Per BGI.

That's very interesting.

 

[Irish#1]

After getting Cole Luke, we are moving on from Priest Willis. Still want Redfield and Moore. Apparently we consider Willis more of a pure CB and we don't need another one of those. Per BGI.

Sorry Priest, you snooze you lose. Although it never hurts to have a player on your team named "Priest".