Old Friend

I don't agree with all of your schedule comments and I'll get to those in a minute, but this all means what? His numbers are inflated? Go watch a video and see how many of his yards are after contact. How many tackles he broke. It's not like Rutgers or Illinois have a roster full of kids who would physically overwhelm Spegal. He's not an NFL player; but a good college player?? Absolutely. Do we need every player we have to be an NFL guy, or as I believe we need gym rat, hard working tough, smart, willing football players? I only needed to see him in 1 game to know what I'm looking at, but regardless of whether or not you think they played a bad schedule, they went 14-0 and won the 5A state championship. They beat Center Grove 31-9. At Center Grove. Center Grove is a 6A team that beat Carmel (check me if I'm wrong, but Carmel was in the 6A state title game, yes?), Cathedral, Lawrence North, and Lawrence Central and Ben Davis last season. New Pal beat them by 22. With a lot of help from Spegal. Now...I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about Indiana high school football; and you might be able to find a better win than a 3-touchdown victory over CG at their building. But maybe not. And yes, they beat a whole lot of bad teams too...I get that. But....that has nothing to do with the kind of player Spegal is. I have zero doubt he'll have plenty of better D1 offers before long.

Just wait. My opinion is based on the eyeball test and experience. Your comment stands. Duly noted. SMH

You DO know I see your last as a challenge, right?? =) AT is a friend of mine. I wouldn't disrespect him for anything, and he is one of my favorite people. He was not much faster than Spegal is in high school. When he trained with Walter Payton? Yeah,....he got faster; but Spegal runs the same way. Through people. He gets lower than they are and he dares you to tackle him high. You brought up the height question (as I referenced....checking a box), so I used others as a reference; that's all. No direct comparison intended. Spegal just turned 17. But.....Spegal just put up some of the best numbers of all time against a better HS schedule than AT ever played. I'm not comparing the two, just giving you a reference. A BIG back does not have to have every box checked. The only one that's not with this kid is "explosive speed." I don't have to tell you there have been plenty of backs who've been very successful in the BIG without it. I'll simply close with this...and I think this one's tough to argue. Cole Gest is and was a very effective back. if you watched him before he got hurt, he was one tough SOB. Spegal is at least that good and I'd say better. So we have an example now within our own program. My examples to you were simply that 5'8" means nothing. Whatever his weight is means nothing. Heck, the best and toughest linebacker on my son's high school team weighs 155 pounds, and he tackles like a fish hitting a lure.

All due respect? (I know there is WAY too much arguing here...not my intent) Kid bench presses in the 400's, squats in the 600's, and averages > 10 yards per carry because good teams can't tackle him (you ever tried tackling a short guy who squats 600 pounds and has 4% body fat? I have. Good luck.) and because he is "fast enough." He's also a terrific blocker and incredibly bright as a football player. How tall, by the way is J'Shun Harris? Anthony Thompson was 5'10" 190 in high school. I don't know your background at all, but what don't you see? Do you remember Maurice Jones-Drew? I see a whole lot of him in Spegal. Barry Sanders was 5'8" 205. In the NFL. By the way. If I'm Tom Allen, I can't offer this kid fast enough. Hell, so what if you miss?? New Pal IS a machine. You don't think a school that close to IU's campus and that set records a year ago can't send kids who can help? I'm telling you, he will get big time D1 offers. There's a reason Michigan State and Wisconsin were there to watch him. This is a no brainer to me. I'd take 10 of him and dare teams to work harder or play harder than my team does. He doesn't get an offer from Indiana, I'll bet you a cold beer he ends up in the Big Ten somewhere and we'll wish we'd offer. And NOT said "he just doesn't check the boxes...." Indiana does not have that luxury. We need football players. This kid is a badass football player.

This kid is far better than a preferred walk on. He will be a great football player in college and I would hate to insult him by even making that suggestion. Other D1 schools with far more to offer than Indiana does will offer scholarships. We'd look ridiculous if we didn't. New Pal is a 5A football school. Look at those numbers. Come on now....walk on???

Absolutely THIS. Go to Memphis. I have no interest in a player with this mindset. I will never, ever, ever, ever understand why or how Indiana fans are excited this kid might accept his scholarship to IU and come to school here. Is it that someone said yes?? Surely those of you who are excited understand this mentality is 180* from any successful college culture that doesn't focus on one and done's, right?

Believe it or not, in that neighborhood, yes.

Here's a fact. Crean offered on average ~ 50 scholarships every season. Archie has offered around 12. Crean recruited with a shotgun. Anyone who'd say yes. It's why he spent 10x more on recruiting than Wisconsin did. It's why he never built a team, but rather just pieces thrown together. And...that single reason is the ONLY reason this kid is even palatable to me right now. I do trust Archie enough to believe he sees something he needs. Otherwise? Go to Memphis.

It's not only "okay," it's preferable. Losing a recruit to Memphis concerns me exactly zero.

I'd say this is accurate. My question (and this may sound odd) is whether or not Archie has moved on from what will be successful at Dayton to what will be successful at Indiana. The kids he recruits cannot be cut from the same cloth at both schools. I love the Brunk signing. I do not love Damezi Anderson. I love Franklin and Jackson-Davis. I do not love Quinones, and I really don't know what I don't know about Watford. But...at this point, I refuse to believe that ANY player is a make or break kid because we DO need to get old...and stay old. With the right kids. That's the trick in my mind, and I just don't feel it with Quinones. Hopefully, I'm dead wrong if he decides to come here; and I wouldn't fault a kid one bit for going to play with Penny. What concerns me? Memphis is a lot more like Dayton than it is like Indiana, which is in part why I made the comment above.

No. The whole situation with this kid just feels off. I don't look at it as a grudge by his old school. I see it as a situation where this kid is no longer a student, and that's all there is to it. If I quit a job, I wouldn't expect that company to welcome me back to announce a promotion I got at my new place. Give me a ticket on the cranky old guy, too. And remember when we were kids and the "old" people didn't get it? Amazing now how wise they were, isn't it?

This line made me laugh : "Fans over 21 attending football games at Memorial Stadium this fall will be able to enjoy beer and wine to enhance the IU Football gameday experience." So....okay, let's pretend for a minute there's NOT an abundance of alcohol available for anyone who looks like they can carry a red solo cup within 200 yards of Memorial Stadium every Saturday....Let's also pretend there are NOT more people outside the stadium drinking than there are inside watching the game. Does Indiana University REALLY believe if they serve alcohol, there will be a drastic decrease in alcohol related incidents AROUND football games? The ratio (counting people 18 and older) of alcoholic beverages consumed on game day to actual people in the stands is probably close to 10:1. Seriously. I bet that's not far off considering the number of people who stay outside. At Ohio State, most people there GO to the games, so that 65% reduction number is meaningless in Bloomington. It just makes me laugh when they sell this stuff as an "enhanced game day experience" because other people are doing it. Personally, I don't care one bit; but the marketing spin based on IU's football game day reality is funny to me.

I'm going to either be right or die on this hill, but I think we need players INSTEAD of Quinones. It's a vibe for me. A feeling. The fit has to be right, and I just don't see it with him. Maybe I'll die on that hill alone, and I'm good with it, but I like this offer better.

Sh!t...I thought he was talking about (OF) me!! =) Thanks!!!

Basketball players need to be choir boys in public and quietly uber competitive kids who show up to beat you. Football players need to be cocky, tough as hell, and show up to kick your a$$ with no smile and no apologies. This kid looks to be exactly that. Good!

There are zero subjective truths in life about "everyone" or "everything." I know. But as a general rule? That place caters to the individual. There are plenty of great people and alumni from that place on the baseball side. Joe Mauer. Andrew McCutcheon. Joey Votto. Nomar Garciaparra. Ryan Zimmerman. Jamie Moyer. On the basketball side? Not so much. Michel Beasley? Taurean Green. Dwayne Bacon? Anfernee Simons? Erick Dampier? Ronaldo Balkman? Stop me when you see someone impressive. Like I said, I just know too much about the place and the basketball people there. My opinion? No thank you. Find a kid from the midwest who's got less ego, more team skills, and wants to win as a team instead of getting the most social media "likes."

It's an IMG thing for me, really. That culture and the desired and proven successful culture at Indiana couldn't be more different, and I'm just not a fan of "look at me" people. We don't wear names on the back of jerseys for a reason. That said, I also know Archie doesn't just offer scholarships under a blanket like Crean did, so there's something to your point, for sure.

I worry a lot about a self promoter playing at a place where they don't put names on the back of the jerseys.

My problem is I know enough about IMG and the way they do things to believe this is just who Lester Quinones is. Good luck to him, but in my opinion, he doesn't fit the culture in the Big Ten or for Indiana. This is a Memphis kid. A Houston kid. Not someone who wants to be physical and part of a team that doesn't wear names on the back of their jerseys.

I know a lot of people want this kid for whatever reason. I have little interest in self promoters and attention seekers. We've been down this road and I know where it leads.

Depends on whether it's a permanent condition or just a complication. An example : There is temporary condition when someone suffers from what's called a popliteal cyst...or Baker's cyst as a more common term. Ice, elevation, compression, and temporary blood thinners are used to treat it. It's common for people recovering from surgery to have these; and every patient who uses blood thinners to treat it eventually comes OFF of them. But..someone with a heart condition which requires continued maintenance would stay on them for an extended period or perhaps for the rest of life.

I 100% believe based on what I know he'll play. What he had (or so I've been told) is a complication, not a condition. I've been in medical sales for over 20 years, but never in that exact field. Have tickled it and been exposed to it just enough to believe he's ultimately going to be just fine. I'd bet on him playing; and I believe he'll be ready for the start of next season.

Absolutely. What's your point? Let me guess....you've never seen any of them play (I have); and you're doing nothing other than what you always do, which is to be critical. Real easy to be critical when nothing will be seen or known for sure for 8 months, and by then people will forget about the idiotic trolling. What's your point? Franklin less accomplished? How, exactly? Because of his ranking? Surely you're smart enough to know how meaningless those are outside the top 5 or so? Or maybe not. I saw him score an easy 30 against Lawrence North in LN's building in the sectional 8 weeks ago, and LN has at least two D1 players, and maybe 3. You can have your self important IMG kid. But....let's see if you have the sack to come back here next season when I'm right. Why am I doubtful? **Edit : Your last post quoting me was a very pompous correcting of spelling of a kid's name, so forgive me if I don't take you very seriously.

Give hopes a rest. This kid will not make or break anything. He's a player. There are other players. Lester Quinones is JAG (just a guy). Kids saying yes should not fire anyone up. Trayce Jackson Davis is a very good player. Arman Franklin is a good player who will get better and will help immediately. Jerome Hunter is a very good player who will surprise a lot of people. Lester Quinones is....just a player. A kid who will be in the rotation, but not any kind of difference maker. Good if he comes, just fine if he doesn't.

To me, this means he understands how to play the game, not just the sport. Positioning, angles, spacing, passing away from the defense, getting to spots and getting the ball to spots where he or a team mate can do something positive, things like that. May not stand out as the best athlete on any floor, but a basketball player. I'm tired of athletes who can't play the game very well.