Who is Sam Tai? A prototypical defensive end (and good quarterback too) that displays an impressive football resume. A strong and quick player, Sam possesses great lower body strength that matches up well against big offensive tackles. His quickness would afford the desired pressure on a QB that Borges needs to run his defense scheme effectively.
Scout rates Tai as a three star recruit and has him ranked as the 67th top defensive end in the country. At 6′4 and 234 pounds the athletically gifted Tai played quarterback last year as well as earning “All League” honors at defensive end. In 2009 he had four sacks and 32 tackles while playing both ways.
Sam Tai’s list of offerings is impressive (Table below from Scout.com). Although its highly unlikely that SDSU lands this coveted recruit he would surely compliment an emerging defensive strength in SDSU Football; a strength already powered by Perry Jackson (4-Star). Imagine Jackson and Tai up front-wow! We can all only hope…
Bryant Crowder is a big, athletic, high-flying, shot blocking machine. As the video shows he is remarkably agile for a 6-10 profile. He reminds of a a previous player by the name of Jerome Habel. At 6-10, 220lbs, Habel was quick and athletic; dominated the inside with his aggressive play and was always willing to put in a show when given an opportunity. I see similar traits from Crowder. he should provide an added dimension not seen since the arrival of Habel in 2006: a big yet quick presence on the court.
Chad Jeffries, a 6’3”, 195 pound QB prospect from Glendora High School (Glendora, CA). Jeffries shows poise in the pocket and agile and quick enough to elude the pass rush. His arm strength looks good; has a quick release and great accuracy and mechanics. These skill sets should continue to improve under the tutelage of Sipe and Hoke. Most notable skill is his ability to by time (looks similar to Donavon Mcnabb). Chad had his choices, most notably: Oregon State, UTEP, Utah and Boise state. Yet, he chose SDSU. A top prospect this one ends up as a good pick-up for SDSU. I give this recruit a B+: he needs some seasoning but there isn’t any reason not believe that he will emerge as a top asset in the 2011 SDSU football arsenal.
ESPN rates him a 3-star but he plays like a 4-star.
Rivals.Com said about Jeffires. Boise State is the main school showing interest in Jeffries and after Sunday’s performance it’s easy to see why. Jeffries looked good in his drops, scanned the field well, showed off a strong, consistent arm and usually seemed to hit the receivers right in the numbers. Jeffries won the MVP award and Los Angeles Loyola’s Jerry Neuheisel was right there with him. “He’s just the most solid overall,” quarterbacks coach Matt James said of Jeffries. “He and Jerry Neuheisel were the best two kids mechanically-speaking and depths in their drops, understanding of the game, their reads and throwing the ball, timing of throwing the ball. Jeffries and Jerry both had really good days.”
I guess it must be the latest mania: developing college basketball stars who let their ego and greedy parents do the talking and decision-making for them when considering when to enter into the NBA draft. However, entering into the draft too early isn’t necessarily the most prudent action by any college basketball athlete nowadays. The end result for most of these autocratic athletes is typically one of disappointment. These enterprising yet impetuously driven youths who see dollars over development are principally driven by bad advice. More times than not, that bad advice comes from a parent and/or money-driven motives. Take Marcus Slaughter for instance; a successful SDSU Basketball player who declared for the NBA after his Junior year. After a brief stint with the Miami Heat (I believe a couple of months) he was cut. Relegated to European basketball, Marcus has played for Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem; in France with Gravelines Dunkerque; and, in Turkey for Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir. Will he ever make it into the NBA? That will depend on his performance in Europe. Would staying one more year at SDSU have improved his chances: probably. If Marcus had stayed in College for his senior year, he would have gained more exposure, size and the additional time to develop his game to compete at the NBA level. Blame this half-witted decision on his father. Conclusion: Bad decision Marcus, you should have stayed your Senior year.
This years NBA draft is no exception for those who’s ego did the talking for them. Darington Hobson from New Mexico left early after successfully helping the Lobos get to the 2010 NCAA’s. After that he decided that the NBA was the best choice and declared early, getting drafted No. 37 in the second round. Bare in mind, now the NBA draft isn’t the NFL draft. That draft position isn’t great and I don’t see him going far in the NBA. It looks like he will have to lick his wounds and begin the long climb through the European Basketball league. Conclusion: bad decision Darington, you should have stayed another year.
I could go on with many more examples but, that would be a case of proverbial futility. Unfortunately, for all of us collegiate fans who embrace the tradition that no wine should be drunk before its time, the capricious college basketball athlete will invariably continue to make the reckless decision to leave college too early for the NBA.
Can’t say I am suprised: expectations were high for Shelley when he arrived with Malcolm Thomas. A transfer from Pepperdine, he was plagued with injuries last year and provided little production for SDSU. With James Rohan arriving along with the two highly regarded freshman guards, SDSU simply ran out of scholarships. Good luck to Tyrone in his future endeavors.
It wasn’t too many years ago that Tyrone Shelley would have been an exceptional commodity that SDSU could not afford to lose. Times have certainly changed and its clear that the level of talent that has landed on the Mesa has improved considerably.
