Sighing Day

Posted by DontBendDontBreak | Filed under Failing To Deliver

It’s been a week since Signing Day, but we’re not closer to sorting through the rubble.  Some overly optimistic sources rank USC’s incoming recruiting class as high as fourth, while the more realistic ones put it around seventh.  But at least there’s one thing they can all agree on:  As usual, Pete Carroll isn’t first.

USC did get the #1 overall player, but considering how long that’s been a done deal, it’s hard to get excited about it.  The kid is already attending the school and practicing with the team, for crying out loud.  Plus, he’s a quarterback, which is far from a priority right now.  Sure, it’s more of a priority now than it would been had Pete not scared Sanchez away, but there are two other QBs who will likely finish their careers before Matt Barkley plays one Rose Bowl winning season and uses that momentum to become the first QB taken in the NFL draft.

But even given the hidden potential of Barkley, he does little to make up for the players that Pete managed to lose on signing day, including three that went to schools the Trojans play every season.

First, there’s the number one linebacker in the country, Manti Te’o.  He chose the Fighting Irish over the Trojans, and it’s easy to see why.  Notre Dame has almost all of its players from an explosive offense (if you saw the bowl game against Hawaii, you know what I’m talking abut) returning.  The only thing keeping them from a championship run is a great defense, and Te’o will be able to contribute immediately.

With the loss of Maualuga and Cushing, USC could also have used him right away.  But no player deserves to be thrown to the wolves from the very beginning, which would have been the case with the Trojans.  Without Sanchez around, USC won’t have the veteran offense needed to support a shaky defense.  Carroll should have swayed Te’o by landing another great linebacker to compliment him.

But he failed there as well, losing number one ranked inside linebacker Vontaze Burfict to Arizona State. Now, there have been reports that he might not qualify academically to play, but something tells me had he come to USC, this might not have been a problem.

Regardless of whether or not he ever plays a down, the point is, Pete managed to lose him.  We’re talking about a guy who committed as a junior changing his mind on signing day.  The only possible scenario I can imagine is that Pete, being the jokester he is, switched Burfict’s USC letter with an ASU one, not correcting the mistake until it was too late.  Whatever the real reason was, it can’t be any less foolish.

Finally, Randall Carroll, a highly touted cornerback (a position USC will be sorely lacking in season after next), changed his verbal commitment from USC to ucla.  At first I was amused (but not entirely surprised) that Pete had managed to lose a recruit he was related to.  As it turns out, Randall and Pete are not related, much to Randall’s relief.  Don’t be surprised if he changes his name soon to avoid that stigma.  If not, it won’t be long before he’s the Carroll really making a difference in Los Angeles college football.

We could literally go on for hours about the other recruits that Pete lost or those that never had any interest in USC to begin with, but why wallow in our misery?  Instead, we’ll await the beginning of the season, when the new talent evaluates itself on the field.  Only then will we know whether Carroll’s inevitable loss (or possibly losses) will be a result of not knowing how to coach talent or not being able to recruit it.

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Permalink | February 11th, 2009

One Response to “Sighing Day”

  1. Annie, the little orphan Says:
    February 14th, 2009 at 1:55 am

    You really need to write a post about Pete not making up any ground in Bowl game appearances. Check out who is still NOT number one:

    Since 1936 Appearances
    Oklahoma 96
    Notre Dame 95
    Ohio State 93
    USC 90

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