WR is a tough position to master when making a jump from one level to the next. This is why rookies rarely make a huge impact as pros, but you see a lot of vet guys coming out of nowhere. Hopefully some current guys develop. It's a bit too early to call any of them wasted yet. But there is much work to be done, that's for sure.
Remember some of the big name WR recruits of years past? Xavier Carter? Fred Rouse? Both were fantastic athletes, but they couldn't adjust to the college game. They were too raw - or immature - to translate their skills to the gridiron at WR.
I think thats why I'm hoping we get Butler, almost as much as Floyd. Floyd is in there, because he's among the first offers at WR, and said that ND is in the lead. But Butler knows proper technique. His Dad has helped him get the coaching he needs for the next level, and won't be a project.
That in mind, here's how I envision the rest of the class breaking down - even though I'd personally rather it be slightly different:
QB: 1 total, we're all wrapped up.
TE: 2 total, we're all wrapped up.
RB: 1 total, 1 more to go. Our RB's look to be at least 3 deep after this season is over. If Jabbie sticks around - which is doubtful, but possible - then its 4. Still, being 3 deep leaves us in pretty decent shape, and lets us be picky about who we bring in. Odds are we're waiting for the next recruiting season to go after more than 1 back, perhaps Golden Tate's little brother. That in mind, I'm guessing we bring in Carlton Thomas.
WR: 3 total, 2 more to go. While we have a lot of #'s here, nobody has taken advantage of Shark, Stovall, and McKnight moving on. We still don't have a ton of faith in the 1 guy we're starting, and the other spot remains unfulfilled. With the signal callers we've got, this shouldn't be, and Charlie looks pretty serious about amending this. Look for both Brice Butler and Michael Floyd to head to South Bend, as my predictions.
OL: 4 total, 1 more to go. Given the OL defections of Stewart, Nuss, and Nwankwo, I particularly wish we were going after more bodies here. I'd rather see us going after 2 more lineman, and maybe 1 less DL, but thats just me. We've got the center position taken care of with Golic and/or Cave, and have a tackle on board with Clelland. I look for Kenneth Page to be the last lineman taken in. Patchan would be nice, but we've only got two true offensive guards on the roster, something Page looks to translate as at the next level.
DL: 5 total, 3 more to go. Again, I wish that with Nwankwo and Nuss, they'd be aiming for 4 DL, but Weis has told at least one DL recruit (Goebel?) that they're hoping to land 5 guys, so I'll take his word for it. To fill out the rest of this group, I'm looking at Newman, Goebel, and I'll take a flier on Forston. If Forston does end up where most people expect him, however, I'm thinking Kapron Lewis-Moore comes in at DE, and Hafis slides to NT as his HS coach predicts.
LB: 4 total, 1 more to go. A lot of the guys we have on the roster at LB don't really fit the 3-4 mold. Tyrone recruited a lot of LB's that tend to look more like Cover 2 LB's in a 4-3: quick, small, and built for coverage moreso than pass rushing. So the #'s there are a bit deceiving, so two classes in a row with 4 LB's makes sense. I'll go ahead and pencil in Filer for now, but I won't be surprised if Corwin can work his magic, and land an Arthur Brown. Predicting who comes in here is looking much harder than a month ago.
DB: 2 total, 2 to go. I wish the #'s here were higher, and that we hadn't taken an extra verbal at TE (no offense to Fauria, he's a very impressive guy from what I gather), but whats done is done. If we go to 23 total scholarships, I think we take in a 3rd DB. We could lose up to 3 corners this year, with 2 looking like pretty solid bets to leave, so we may have some depth issues #'s wise. Blanton looks like a real good bet to come on board, with Slaughter and McCarthy being 2A and 2B, I just can't tell yet.
. This staff seems to really like interchangable parts and guys who have the ability to try more than one position and that can change what the numbers at each position look like from the outside.