OklahomaIrish Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Yep, here's another diamond in the rough. Previous players I thought were underrated at this point in their careers were Tyler Eifert, Bennet Jackson, Devin Butler, Springmann and Corey Robinson. Now it's Blankenship. He played at 6' 5'' and 230 pounds last year. He was highly coveted by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State plus a boatload of other teams like Oregon, Washington, Arkansas etc... He is lanky and athletic and he is FAST. The only thing holding him back from a 4th star was girth and power. Guess what, according to Rivals he is now listed at 6' 6'' and 252 and maintains his 4.6 40. That is big time. When Oklahoma goes down into Texas they are looking at the elite athletes. This is one elite athlete. In fact, he is closer to Aaron Lynch than anyone on our roster. He's a Texas boy. He gets after it. (See Cam McDaniel). Barring injury the 4th star will come, easily. He will hit Notre Dame at 265 pounds and very explosive. OK. Bring on the doubters. As in the past, time will prove the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo88 Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Yep, here's another diamond in the rough. Previous players I thought were underrated at this point in their careers were Tyler Eifert, Bennet Jackson, Devin Butler, Springmann and Corey Robinson. Now it's Blankenship. He played at 6' 5'' and 230 pounds last year. He was highly coveted by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State plus a boatload of other teams like Oregon, Washington, Arkansas etc... He is lanky and athletic and he is FAST. The only thing holding him back from a 4th star was girth and power. Guess what, according to Rivals he is now listed at 6' 6'' and 252 and maintains his 4.6 40. That is big time. When Oklahoma goes down into Texas they are looking at the elite athletes. This is one elite athlete. In fact, he is closer to Aaron Lynch than anyone on our roster. He's a Texas boy. He gets after it. (See Cam McDaniel). Barring injury the 4th star will come, easily. He will hit Notre Dame at 265 pounds and very explosive. OK. Bring on the doubters. As in the past, time will prove the truth. Humility is a virtue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawton_irish Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Good scouting as usual Tim. Looking forward to watching this kid develop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OklahomaIrish Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 Humility is a virtue. Yeah Echo, I know. So is patience. I don't have much of either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OklahomaIrish Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Want to see some impressive film. Go to Uhnd.com and watch his highlight reel. This kid can run. He is very intelligent and has a lot of leverage. He tracks down those quarterbacks. Some project him as an outside linebacker. No way. This is going to be a defensive end. 247 Sports has him also at 6' 6'' and 252 but downgraded his speed to 4.75. His film looks like a true 4.6. He runs sideline to sideline from the defensive end position of a 4 man front. He takes very intelligent paths to the quarterback and running backs. He will redshirt. Tuitt comes back along with Springmann, Day, Jones, Hounshell and Ishaq. This kid could be a three year starter. Certainly deserves a 4th star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domer Dude Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Want to see some impressive film. Go to Uhnd.com and watch his highlight reel. This kid can run. He is very intelligent and has a lot of leverage. He tracks down those quarterbacks. Some project him as an outside linebacker. No way. This is going to be a defensive end. 247 Sports has him also at 6' 6'' and 252 but downgraded his speed to 4.75. His film looks like a true 4.6. He runs sideline to sideline from the defensive end position of a 4 man front. He takes very intelligent paths to the quarterback and running backs. He will redshirt. Tuitt comes back along with Springmann, Day, Jones, Hounshell and Ishaq. This kid could be a three year starter. Certainly deserves a 4th star. He's a stud and one of the reasons I like this class. Cannot agree more. He can almost play linebacker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OklahomaIrish Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 Trent Murphy is a kid that was in this exact mold. He was a 3 star and only 5.5 on rivals scale. Last night he was the best player on the field as Stanford busted Oregon State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangeruss Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 scouts has Blankenship as now the #10 rated DE in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishShamrock16 Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Wow 10? That's awesome, I love him. I think he's one of our top recruits by far. I check out scout when I'm desperate for happy ND news, but I don't trust their rankings. Still, its a good sign that they moved him up. What did scout have GB before they updated their rankings; just a 3 star right? I think he must have jumped big time. ESPN just updated rankings (finally) and they didn't move him up...still 79 grade...still highest 3 star rating. I thought he'd be a 4 star for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzenboyer Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Again (and I know I sound like a siren), this is the type of guy you fill out your class with in order to be successful. Same as Durham Smythe last year. Are you going to win the national championship with a roster composed of 22 Blankenships? No. But you'll win the games in October and November that will get you to the 'ship, and that's hugely important (and something the Weis staff never understood). If we're ever going to catch Bama, it's going to be five-star guys who put us over the top. But it's going to be guys like Dickerson, Blankenship, Smythe, etc. who get us there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parseghians theorem Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 so what magic stuff happens where a guy gets his fourth star? is he all of a sudden a much better player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katzenboyer Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 so what magic stuff happens where a guy gets his fourth star? is he all of a sudden a much better player? Usually the subscription services have the ability to review more film, or a guy comes on and straight dominates his senior year. IIRC, Omar Hunter (ugh) was basically a three-star with no offers the summer before his senior season. Then he came out of the summer adding 15-20 pounds of muscle, dominated, and was bumped all the way to a fifth star (and only then did he attract Urban's attention. Double ugh). I believe Tuitt had a similar rise -- he was outside the top 100 before his senior year (people thought he might play offensive line in college!) and then dominated a good league in Georgia, and got moved up to a five star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OklahomaIrish Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 so what magic stuff happens where a guy gets his fourth star? is he all of a sudden a much better player? The point about the 4th star is this kid is better than what you think. Kelly is pretty good at finding these guys. They include Eifert, Jackson, Cam, Robinson and Devin Butler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDhoosier Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 so what magic stuff happens where a guy gets his fourth star? is he all of a sudden a much better player? A lot goes into star ratings: Talent Stats College Potential Exposure Level of competition Camp showings (really can hurt a player if they are unable to attend) So when a player sees a bump, it could be because a lot of things. Obviously, players improve year to year, but it could also be due to more exposure on the national level, so more scouts are able to evaluate the player with more extensive video footage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portillodog Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Great thread....they posted some of Blankenship's senior highlights on Scout.com. Man-O-Man! Kid is well over 250 pounds and a beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.