Addazio making Desmond Blue see Cherry

Bradenton Southeast’s Desmond Blue (10) dislodges ball from Manatee’s Quinton Bundrage (11).
“They want me to play safety up there, and that is fine with me.”
_Desmond Blue

Ask any college football expert and they will tell you that the state of Florida is a gold mine.
Florida produces more Division I talent than the next two states (Texas and California) combined.
Must be all the fresh orange juice.
That’s why it’s important for almost any school to not only have a presence there but someone who is expert in the mining process.
Temple has that in Steve Addazio. You don’t get named national recruiter of the year twice without a solid knowledge of the roads that lead to the gold.
Now Addazio appears to be building a pipeline from Florida to Philadelphia.
It’s only a 22-hour train ride away, two hours by air.
It looks like the first passenger to punch his ticket on Addazio’s underground railroad could be Desmond Blue.
Addazio, due to NCAA rules, can’t talk about it but Desmond Blue can and he’s already seeing Cherry. He looks about to become part of Temple’s football family. (Addazio also locked up Gulliver Prep’s Cedric Walker, but Walker was an Al Golden recruit who was waiting to commit.)
One of the interesting items in that story was that Addazio is already going up against Al Golden for two recruits, Quinton and Chris Pompey.
For his part, Blue appears talented enough to provide immediate help in a secondary that could be hurt by the graduation of senior Jacquain Jarrett.
With all the talent Temple has returning on both sides of the ball, there are only three major holes to fill as I see them: 1) Backup running back to Bernard Pierce (with Pierce ability); 2) Strong safety and 3) Impact defensive tackle to replace Mo Wilkerson.
Of course, I could always use a big-time JUCO All-American quarterback with this kind of talent but I think, with this past year of seasoning under their belts, both Chris Coyer and Mike Gerardi could be championship-level MAC quarterbacks and I don’t think that need is as pressing as it was in past years.
Plus, the JUCO ranks don’t produce a Cam Newton or a Walter Washington every year.

5 thoughts on “Addazio making Desmond Blue see Cherry

  1. I love that SA is using his connections in FL to get some under the radar type players. It seems like college recruiting relies too much on pure size and potential and often kids like Blue get left out because they are labeled a tweener. but if his stats are accurate he is a ball player who is always around the ball( 170+ tackles 87 solo)and i love those type of recruits who are told they are not good enough. Especially at Temple who cant compete for top national recruits. However, powerhouse programs are usually built with local talent. So while im excited to get some of the vast recruiting depth of florida I am curious what local players he has targeted and can compete for.

  2. Thomas,I was thinking the same thing myself.It is my fervent hope that the next big recruiting verbal is a kid from Owen J. Roberts named Ryan Brumfield.If you don't know who he is, as Mike Missanelli would say:Google me (I mean Ryan Brumfield).His high school career is absolutely jaw-dropping and he is totally under-recruited.He would come to Temple with a chip on his shoulders and, as much as I LOVE Bernard Pierce (I love the kid as a son), Ryan Brumfield has the kind of ability to make us all forget who Bernard Pierce was ….

  3. Temple is big, strong, and hits hard. Florida speed at the skill and DBs positions would make us the class of the MAC. If Daz starts his pipeline in FLA the way AG had his at Fork Union…….,

  4. TFF,I couldn't agree more about Brumfield. I live in his school district and have watched him over the years. The last 2 years, EVERY opposing school has prepared their game plan around stopping him, solely. But he still ran through them. The interesting thing about his stats – they could have been be higher! He sat out toward the end of most games. If he played a full game, his stats would have been even more impressive. He has great timing. he would wait for his blocks to develop, then take-off. When he ran, it looked like everyone else was in slow motion. The kid is also durable, he played both ways. Not to mention, everyone says he is a good student and just an all around good kid. I agree, why isn't Temple "stalking" him???? The Big 33 snubbed him, I hope Temple doesn't. He truly is a, "Diamond in our our backyard," as "old man" Conwell would say…

  5. Coach Addazio,Please listen to this man.He speaks the truth.Kid is a great kid, a great student, a great teammate, scores TDs like they are going out of style, runs a 4.4 40, has got great vision and ….TEMPLE CAN GET HIM WITH MINIMAL EFFORT.

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