TheChosenOne

Things have lined up perfectly for us on this one, so I think we can put him on commitment watch next weekend. Its almost like we are going to win his services by default at this point. If we get a commitment from French, the physical difference between the team Ford inherited and the team next season could not be much more different.

I have come around to the new logo. I really like the University wide type branding and initially did not overly care for the new Billiken logo, but am starting to like it. Unfortunately I don't think I will ever come around to liking the mascot. Not sure why they felt it had to match the new logo so closely (which they didn't even do a very good job of doing beyond the two tones and I guess the overall shape of the head maybe).

It doesn't matter at this point, but I had talked to an individual associated with the Eagles a short time after Ford was hired and at that point he was not aware of the new staff reaching out to any of their kids (everything else he told me about Goodwin ended up being true, so I assume this was as well). Ford would proceed to attend every Eagles game this spring/summer, so that obviously made up for any potential delay in reaching out. This certainly makes me take that sort of information with a grain of salt now since ultimately it comes down to building a relationship with the specific kid and whether you contact him the first day you can or two weeks later, that probably doesn't matter much. With Ford, I think everyone is going to be more willing to give the benefit of the doubt since he obviously has a good handle on that side of things. Maybe some of that information is true regarding Watson and Ramey, but at this point we are at least in relatively good position with Watson who has some interest in staying home (along with Gordon), so whether that info is true to some extent doesn't really matter. Plus it is obvious Tate already had a relationship with Watson since he had been actively recruting him when he was at Mizzou. There are some posters that have decent sources with regards to recruiting, so let's not go too far running every poster off who presents recruiting information that may end up not playing out (recruiting is constantly changing, so chances are nobody is going to always hit).

Nice! Thanks for the info. Corey Evans also picked the Billikens (on September 5th) and he is one of the more plugged in guys on that site. Of the 5 predictions, 2 for SLU, 2 for Minnesota (who appears to have pulled out), and 1 for Marquette. Definitely trending in a positive direction.

Right, you can't really have it both ways. If you put off that you have no interest in the local programs, you can't then complain when they don't burn their resources following you all summer. Clearly we are involved with Watson, so I don't think he feels the same level of disrespect (assuming there is any truth to that). It is still early with these 2018 kids.

My understanding is that it was pretty well known that Ramey has little interest in staying home (i.e. SLU or Mizzou and it has been that way from the jump), so I have a hard time saying we botched his recruitment. I don't know the kid, but would him and his dad be the type to kind of talk up being disrespected by the local programs? Frank seems to think we are in good position with Gordon and Watson for what it is worth (neither play with the Eagles). Here is a quote from him today on the radio "I'm getting good vibes from people close to the situations with Carte'Are and with Torrence Watson from Whitfield that they like their chances. Can you imagine if they get Goodwin, they have him there, and then all of a sudden in the next two or three weeks they get a commitment from these two. Boy, you talk about a buzz, wow." Anyone hearing such positive things concerning our chances with Gordon and Watson?

I don't know much about Tate's relationship with Gordon, but I thought I heard a while back (when he was at Mizzou) that the two Missouri 2018 recruits he had the best relationship with were Watson and the kid from Sikeston, Thatch (I am wondering if he kind of peaked). At the time Gordon seemed like a certainty to go to KU, but maybe that has changed a bit with some rumblings of him having a desire to stay local. It is interesting that the top St. Louis kids in 2018 don't play with the Eagles currently (Gordon, Ramey, and Watson) yet their program is still loaded. It is promising that Watson appears to be working out with Corey Frazier who is apparently signing SLU's praises now. Is there any chance with Ramey? I had heard he had no interest in the local programs, but that was prior to Ford. I am really curious to see whether Ford can make us a legitimate player with him.

With the CJ Roberts commitment, you can take Mizzou out of the race for Elijah Joiner and any of the other 2017 guards they were relatively in on (possible exception being a huge long-shot, Nojel Eastern).

Was that where you stayed with those fine Americans who were student managers for one of the women's athletic programs?

Doesn't this ultimately boil down to how big of a facade college athletics is and essentially why minor league basketball and football has no business being tied to Universities (at least academically)? Like we are to believe that these premiere basketball and football players who meet the minimum qualifications to play collegiate sports could survive academically at the finest academic institutions in the country (in addition to playing a sport and the time commitments involved).

Haha, I saw Clay was trying to unload those, but didn't think to purchase a pair for Billiken games. I assume they say Billiken blue on Outkick?😉

Interesting, I wonder if SIUC even offers that program. Although, he may be early enough in his career that he may not have taken many major specific courses. I would be curious what jobs kids from the SLU sports business program are walking into. Seems like a fairly niche major that may not be necessary.

I love football as a fan, but hearing about all of these former football players and the health issues they are dealing with, I certainly would not allow my son (if I had one) to play the sport in its current form. I know this probably makes me a *****, but some scary stuff. Just google Michael Keck. I shouldn't have brought any of this up to begin with since it is irrelevant to the discussion beyond thinking the wise decision for Goodwin at this point would have been to end his football career. At least he is playing a position and a role that is very low risk.

I assume T. Boone Pickens funded the locker room at Oklahoma State and it is said to be around a $5 million facility (honestly lower than I would have thought). Calling Dr. Chaifetz. 05, I will donate the XBox to get the ball rolling.

Bryant Allen, what an athlete. The last I heard was that he transferred to Illinois State to play just hoops, played the second half of a season, was a starter the next season, and then got dismissed from the team. Not sure where he ended up after putting up some nice numbers at Illinois State.