Trad Beatty is the jewel of Geoff Collins’ second recruiting class here.
When I think of Temple football recruiting the words of Ronald Reagan come to mind:
“Trust, but verify.”
Reagan’s words came during nuclear armaments talks with Mikael Gorbachev when both the United States and the then Soviet Union were casting cautionary glances at one another.
It also helps to apply the same formula to judging Temple recruiting.
Al Golden never asked Temple fans to accept him at his word when he said he came up with a great recruiting class. He cited other sources as well. Golden was proud that both Scout.com and Rivals.com rated three of his five Temple recruiting classes as No. 1 in the MAC but even prouder when he could point out that at least five of his recruits each year were offered—not just getting interest—by Power 5 schools.
In just one month in his first year on the job, Golden—already having solid East Coast recruiting connections from stints at Boston College, Penn State and Virginia—convinced guys like Adrian Robinson to turn down Pitt for Temple and Kee-Ayre Griffin to turn down Boston College for the Owls.
Both of those guys are gone from this earth too soon, but certainly not forgotten to Temple fans. They were part of the core group of kids who stopped a 20-game losing streak and turned around a program many said could not be resuscitated.
That’s brings us to Geoff Collins’ second class of recruits and there are signs that this class is verifiably good. While we gave him a C for gameday coaching, we have to give him an A for recruiting based on the fact that other, even more highly-paid, staffs wanted kids who could have gone anywhere, but chose Temple.
It’s nice to trust him, but nicer that the trust can also be verified.
Think of it this way:
While Collins did not rely on East Coast recruiting connections, he certainly extended the circle of good recruits to areas where he was more comfortable recruiting: Namely, the South.
Getting quarterback Trad Beatty here from Ben Lippen High in South Carolina was a major coup because Beatty had solid offers from Mississippi State and North Carolina State. You don’t win in college football without a big-time quarterback and Beatty has that kind of pedigree. Let’s put it this way: He’s likely closer to Adam DiMichele and P.J. Walker in skill set than he is to Chester Stewart and Vaughn Charlton. Get me to DiMichele and I’m happy.
Running back Kyle Dobbins, from South Jersey, had offers from Rutgers, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Boston College and Virginia Tech.
New York City wide receiver Sean Ryan had offers from places like Purdue, Nebraska, Syracuse and Maryland and defensive end Dante Burke had offers from Maryland and Georgia Tech.
I think the biggest impact player could be defensive end Nick Madourie, a JUCO, who had an offer from Purdue and 15.5 sacks this past season. Nick because he could be an immediate starter opposite Quincy Roche (and ameliorate the losses of rush ends Sharif Finch and Jacob Martin). Khris Banks, the top two-way lineman in New Jersey, could play right away as well.
Dobbins could play right away at running back, providing some needed depth behind Ryquell Armstead and David Hood. (Here’s hoping Jager Gardner—who has the longest run from scrimmage in Temple history—returns to full health. Plus, Tyriek Raynor, a former Arizona commit, could be healthy next year as well.)
Collins worked hard on this recruiting class and deserves an A. That he was able to wrap almost all of it up by the first signing date even with prepping the team for a bowl win is all the more impressive.
We’ll be able to determine the true value of this class five years down the line but, if you want to beat Power 5 schools (the Owls have a few of them peppered on the schedule), you’ve got to beat Power 5 schools for quite a few players.
Don’t trust Geoff or me, trust the more higher-profile Power 5 coaches who verified much of this class. It helps ease any anxiety that a whole different set of professionals watched the same film and see the same things Collins and his staff does.
Monday: High Hopes
Wednesday: Stadium Thoughts
Temple Football Forever 
I give Collins a B in recruiting. If he can grab a 2nd running back, i’ll give him a B+ or A-. That’s because all of Kyle Dobbins’ offers were early on his sophomore year, no P5 program wanted him his senior year. We need a legit running back in this class by February.
First, excellent use of the word ‘ameliorate’, I may use that in a sentence over the weekend just to wrap up the year on an erudite note.
Second, and more importantly to some, I think the measure of a recruiting class much like a draft class takes 2-3 years. Temple has built its program on overlooked players who’ve risen to exceed high school expectations. At this early stage I’d also give Collins high marks, although an A might be generous, for this class.
He’ll certainly need a big class to ameliorate the rather pawltry size of last years crop of recruits.
Mike: You’ve been a tough grader all year, and justifiably. The results speak for themselves and your critiques have been consistent and upheld week in and week out.
Now that you are offering a higher grade on recruiting, no one can say you are riding the man hard.
Any idea on the mysterious injury Marchi suffered mid-season that rendered him unavailable the rest of the campaign? If he’s transferring then it must have healed. Shades of the Flyers.
Temple Football Forever has been tough on Collins but this above article also gives him his due when he deserves it. I think, in recruiting, Collins deserves it. Tough but fair is a little like trust but verify. Well done.
Was nosing around other sites and see USF had a very good signing class and FIU did very well also. But Cincinnati apparently was very active with the top-rated AAC group. Fickel made the most of his Ohio contacts apparently.
AAC is only getting better, so the bar keeps getting raised. Now to address the OC spot.
https://247sports.com/Season/2018-Football/CompositeTeamRankings
How does having the 71st ranked recruiting class equal an “A” grade? Hope is not a proven method for success.
Tulane, Toledo, and FIU all ranked higher. So do those schools get an “A+”?
Failure to distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy means either you are high or have mental challenges.
even Daz had better classes
We had more 3*s than we ever had, including Daz, and probably more guys who were recruited by Power 5 teams than any of the Rhule and Golden classes. To me, that Trumps anything Rivals.com or Scout.com or 247.com can say. They aren’t more expert than P5 coaches.
Before I make an assessment of the class. i want to see them play especially the QB, which we’ll be able to do in the Spring Game. If Collins and his OC insist upon running a read-option,the QB better have the ability to run, a skill which Marchi and Nutile lacked and a must for a read-option QB. It’s not speed necessarily but the ability to be decisive and be running at full speed almost immediately What little I saw of Centeio, he has that ability. The new QB’s size leads me to speculate that he’s more a drop back pro type offense guy like Russo rather than a read option guy who can run the ball. His highlight films were inconclusive because they emphasized his throwing ability. He appears to be able to make all of the throws (lobs, fades, outs, slants, and posts) and is very accurate. If he can run, he will be something.
Do want to see this quarterback’s wares in the spring game. Even though Toddy had a nice spring game, think this kid will be better but I hope this job is Juice’s to lose. Juice, Russo, Toddy is a nice troika. In a perfect world, Beatty doesn’t have to lead a team to an AAC title as a true freshman. Juice put in the time. It should be his time. (Beatty’s film reminds me of Chris Coyer and it’s not just because they are both lefties but because of similar qualities.)
This “commit table” offer thing is sour grapes bullshit often brought up by P5 fans who can’t believe kids commit to a G5 team.
Maybe sometimes but if you don’t think ‘conditional/ tiered/ time-sensitive’ offers are a ‘real thing’ you’re either in serious denial or you don’t know the recruiting process nearly as well as you think. They’re not just limited to P5 schools.
Joe P.