NYCGOBEARS;842248521 said:

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I agree. Top half of the conference would be amazing considering our circumstances.

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Yep. Top half WOULD be amazing. Top 8 WOULD be amazing.

At this point top ten (out of 12) WOULD be amazing.

This guy continues to aggravate me. Just when the season is over..The Drive is over....I was hoping Sonny couldn't possibly mess up any more and now he does this.

What a joke.

MiZery;842248616 said:

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I'm guessing we get Tee and Mixon and some of our current JCs get bumped up some stars

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This is pretty delusional, imo. Though at least I can understand why you cant understand what is bugging a lot of people lately.

Stay on Dykes train. Somebody has to be last getting off. . . or stick around long enough to rub in his success when and if it comes.

ICanHaasCheezburger;842248928 said:

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Also don't expect Yenser to come up with any big O-line recruits. Been keeping an eye on the rankings and I just don't see many 3 or 4 star O-linemen that are a) still uncommitted, and/or b) in one of our recruiting areas (CA, west coast, TX, etc). Unless Yenser somehow gets someone to switch their commitment to us, just not seeing any hope for major OL recruits.

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You mean the guy who was fired at Henderson State and somehow wound up in the Pac 12 4 years later?

“It’s just funny: I look back on everything that led me to Troy, that led me to coach Franklin, that has led me to this,” Yenser says. “It’s crazy to think about being fired from Henderson State, and then four years later you’re coaching in the Pac-12 as an offensive line coach.” - ZACH YENSER, CAL


I'm betting my mortgage he's going to make it happen :rolleyes:

ultramantaro;842250693 said:

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You mean the guy who was fired at Henderson State and somehow wound up in the Pac 12 4 years later?

"It's just funny: I look back on everything that led me to Troy, that led me to coach Franklin, that has led me to this," Yenser says. "It's crazy to think about being fired from Henderson State, and then four years later you're coaching in the Pac-12 as an offensive line coach." - ZACH YENSER, CAL


I'm betting my mortgage he's going to make it happen :rolleyes:

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Cal. Where dreams come alive.

:headbang

MiZery;842248535 said:

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How do you know he doesn't have evidence? LOI is still a ways away

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I was under this belief last week too when I read Dykes quotes. My first thought was, "He must have a verbal commitment from a player or two that they want to keep quiet. Must be Joe Mixon."

Well, days later Mixon tweets out his Top 3 with Cal nowhere to be seen.

From the stuff that I've read this season has soured many recruits view of the program. If we're in the Top 6 I'd be extremely shocked and happy.

buster99;842248880 said:

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Two years ago, ASU took 24 players and ranked 9th in Scout's PAC12 team ranking. 10 of the players were JC transfers. Most were 2 and 3 stars, Marion Grice was the only 4 star. I imagine that class of lower rated players who filled specific needs helped fuel ASU's success. I'm crossing my fingers that Cal can duplicate that.

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Great point. But have you watched The Drive? Todd Graham is a real football coach, so for him to succeed with a mediocre class doesn't surprise me.

Dykes, on the other hand.....

GoBearsBert;842250722 said:

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Great point. But have you watched The Drive? Todd Graham is a real football coach, so for him to succeed with a mediocre class doesn't surprise me.

Dykes, on the other hand.....

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graham surprised me with how well his team played this season, winning the south.

his players must have bought into what he's coaching.


dykes on the other hand....

GoBearsBert;842250722 said:

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Great point. But have you watched The Drive? Todd Graham is a real football coach, so for him to succeed with a mediocre class doesn't surprise me.

Dykes, on the other hand.....

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I watched The Drive.

Sonny's lameness on the show notwithstanding, Graham seems like a B actor playing a stereotypical football coach, complete with generic mild southern accent and his OC seems like a young, stammering cliche machine.

[QU=Big CU&T_Cal;842250841]I watched The Drive.

Sonny's lameness on the show notwithstanding, Graham seems like a B actor playing a stereotypical football coach, complete with generic mild southern accent and his OC seems like a young, stammering cliche machine.

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Yet he wins and you keep trolling.

Big C_Cal;842250841 said:

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I watched The Drive.

Sonny's lameness on the show notwithstanding, Graham seems like a B actor playing a stereotypical football coach, complete with generic mild southern accent and his OC seems like a young, stammering cliche machine.

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I guess it must work. Including the segment where the players complain about having to hear the same thing from the coaches over and over again, but then admit that winning is really fun.

They played at home for the Pac-12 championship. And Graham is coach of the year in a conference with some good coaches.

And I think Norville is doing a pretty good job with the offense.

So IMHO they are doing a lot of things the right way.

My guess is that other Pac-12 coaches will also be very impressive when they are on The Drive.

Dykes and his staff, on the other hand.....

I think this is the problem with his stupid comment. As an isolated incident it goes by unnoticed. But taken in context with:

• a questionable coaching staff to begin with
  
• an 0-11 season with BAD losses
  
• no staff changes post-season
  
• defections within the team and within the recruiting list
  
• a class currently rated #11 in the conference
  

And then he says we are going to have a Top-3 class in the Pac-12?

What a joke. It's just one more symptom of how bad the disease is in the Cal football program.

I'm not sure how being a sourpuss would help. And I thought some liked his JC signings, most of which are on Defense, where help is needed the most.

movielover;842251189 said:

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I'm not sure how being a sourpuss would help. And I thought some liked his JC signings, most of which are on Defense, where help is needed the most.

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I don't think anyone is asking for Dykes to proclaim that the recruiting class is going to be bottom 3 either. He didn't need to say anything about it but he did, and now the expectation is out there.

I don't know how to judge JC recruits, but I see that they are at positions of need so I'm happy there. 3 on the defensive line and 1 DB. I'll be pretty happy if our class is in the top half of the conference. Thrilled if its arguably Top3.

Ace4eVer;842251194 said:

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I don't think anyone is asking for Dykes to proclaim that the recruiting class is going to be bottom 3 either. He didn't need to say anything about it but he did, and now the expectation is out there.

I don't know how to judge JC recruits, but I see that they are at positions of need so I'm happy there. 3 on the defensive line and 1 DB. I'll be pretty happy if our class is in the top half of the conference. Thrilled if its arguably Top3.

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if i were a betting man, id bet that there is a greater chance that this class will be in the bottom 3 than the top 3

Maybe he means our class would've been a top 3 haul back in the WAC.

Maybe he's being a good head coach and deflecting attention from the most outrageous comment our staff made this year: We love the rain. We hope if rains in Oregon like it's never rained before. Sonny saying we'll have a top 3 recruiting class doesn't sound so stupid now, does it?

82gradDLSdad;842251221 said:

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Maybe he's being a good head coach and deflecting attention from the most outrageous comment our staff made this year: We love the rain. We hope if rains in Oregon like it's never rained before. Sonny saying we'll have a top 3 recruiting class doesn't sound so stupid now, does it?

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Nah I think tTFS saying he learned so much from a 1-11 season, that he had to blow up Tedford's offense, and that we're on our way to a Rose Bowl -- as taking the cake.

We have more 2* than 4 stars and we have LOI's from 1/2 our recruiting class.Even if Sonny signs 10 more 4* ,(very unlikely) we would be closer to 6th best than 3rd best. The PAC-12 top 3 teams will all be in the Top 15 Nationally. If he gets to 6th best, it will be a miracle. The likely range is 8-10. :headbang:rant:hammer::gobears:

GoBears58;842250872 said:

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[QU=Big CU&T_Cal;842250841]I watched The Drive.

Sonny's lameness on the show notwithstanding, Graham seems like a B actor playing a stereotypical football coach, complete with generic mild southern accent and his OC seems like a young, stammering cliche machine.

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Yet he wins and you keep trolling.

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Not sure what you meant about me "trolling", unless I've accidentally happened on to the ASU board by mistake...

What I'm saying is that Dykes sounded weak on The Drive, but I wouldn't say that Graham and his OC sounded all that impressive. (Obviously, based on the team's performance, he seems to be doing something good down there.)

Why do these guys keep talking? SD sounds delusional and not really facing the actual situation. We aren't going to get a top 3 recruiting class so why even say that?

Clinging to criticisms like this makes no sense when you consider player quality is not just raw athleticism but fit, competition level, attitude, and development. Look at Michigan St. in the Rose Bowl 12-1. Beat all their better recruited league mates. Recruiting class in 2012 not top 25, 2013 class ~35? projected 2014 currently at ~40. And the other coaches he competes against aren't slouches either. Coach likes the prospects of his new players.

Big C_Cal;842251313 said:

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What I'm saying is that Dykes sounded weak on The Drive, but I wouldn't say that Graham and his OC sounded all that impressive. (Obviously, based on the team's performance, he seems to be doing something good down there.)

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I actually thought he was pretty impressive in how he prepped his team, his coaching staff, and how he seemed to understand what the opponents would do and how to counter it. His pregame and halftime talks were also IMHO pretty good. (e.g. He doesn't mention losing by 48 points as prep for the Big Game.)

My opinion is of course slanted by ASU's results on the field, and the comparison to our coaches.

It'll be interested to see other Pac-12 coaches in future seasons; maybe more of any apples-to-apples comparison.

upsetof86;842251397 said:

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Clinging to criticisms like this makes no sense when you consider player quality is not just raw athleticism but fit, competition level, attitude, and development. Look at Michigan St. in the Rose Bowl 12-1. Beat all their better recruited league mates. Recruiting class in 2012 not top 25, 2013 class ~35? projected 2014 currently at ~40. And the other coaches he competes against aren't slouches either. Coach likes the prospects of his new players.

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he liked to the team prior to the season last year and we went 1-11