Although it seems information is in shorter supply than most other times of the year because of camp and tight numbers here's a little more in the way of scoop and detail on several of the more interesting situations to follow.
Linebacker Max Richardson said recently that he could take other visits and we mentioned that in the last edition of the Rundown. Apparently he's since had a conversation with area recruiter Al Washington, who has a strong relationship with Richardson and definitely has the player's respect.
Richardson seems to realize that what seems like a harmless comment or even plan to take a simple visit, even just for enjoyment or with friends, can create some difficulties and tension for BC. Each situation is different but the circumstances would not be great for Richardson to visit other schools. The reasons are numerous. He's from the South meaning it's tough for BC to 'counter' by getting him on campus. They are already packed at linebacker with other linebackers that had shown interest, so it's not as though they're hurting for numbers at the position. And they want to send a strong signal to the rest of their commitments and other prospects that this class is rock solid. They hate setting precedent by allowing this except in unique circumstances, because a precedent of allowing it and not drawing a line when you can encourages it to happen en masse.
I've continued to ask around about Anthony Brown and maybe some here have stumbled into some information I'm missing, but the circumstances regarding his plan for school are pretty tough to figure out.
Brown told me he didn't think he was going to transfer, although there have been rumors he would. His old coach was fired and that's at the root of the talk. That said, asking the kid if he's going to transfer and putting him on record is putting him in a tough spot. He did not rule out the possibility so kudos to him for the careful legal wording, but if he has been less than 100-percent certain of a move it wouldn't necessarily be wise to talk publicly about it. Again, handled it well. Reflects very well on him.
BC's staff has no reason to believe Brown is wavering. In fact, he seems as solid as ever. They just want to make everything go as smoothly as possible. If he does transfer I think the BC staff would probably like to see him end up at St. Joseph's, which is a school the Eagle staff has a strong relationship with. The last thing they want to see is Brown transferring to a high school where they don't have a lot of connections and another school that might be interested in flipping him does.
I asked whether it's possible that BC could add another commitment to their current class and was told, yes, it is a possibility. There was even a hint from one source that something could happen during camp, which would mean in very short order. It wasn't the kind of comment that put me on 'commitment watch' or really set off an alarm that something's about to happen, but it is worth noting that there does seem to be room and it seems like there are possibilities.
Finally, where do recent commitments put in-state athlete Mike Dereus? I think his circumstances make him someone that's more attractive to BC right now than Tyler Coyle. I'm told that Dereus would very likely still be a take if he wants to commit soon. But I'm also told that there's not really been a move on his part to indicate that's where he's leaning.
The possibilities for this, in my estimation: He doesn't have somebody really steering him on how to do things (no clue on this), he might be one of the few players that's not just crazy enough about football to be sure he wants to continue (very rare in a player with offers; unlikely), or he might like the idea of going Ivy. I'm told this "could" be a possibility, from people that know a bit about his recruitment. I suppose there's a chance he could be waiting on grant in aid information since they don't offer scholarships, but I can't say that for certain. Whatever it is, Dereus has been a bit of a mystery and I doubt the staff will wait on him much longer.
Linebacker Max Richardson said recently that he could take other visits and we mentioned that in the last edition of the Rundown. Apparently he's since had a conversation with area recruiter Al Washington, who has a strong relationship with Richardson and definitely has the player's respect.
Richardson seems to realize that what seems like a harmless comment or even plan to take a simple visit, even just for enjoyment or with friends, can create some difficulties and tension for BC. Each situation is different but the circumstances would not be great for Richardson to visit other schools. The reasons are numerous. He's from the South meaning it's tough for BC to 'counter' by getting him on campus. They are already packed at linebacker with other linebackers that had shown interest, so it's not as though they're hurting for numbers at the position. And they want to send a strong signal to the rest of their commitments and other prospects that this class is rock solid. They hate setting precedent by allowing this except in unique circumstances, because a precedent of allowing it and not drawing a line when you can encourages it to happen en masse.
I've continued to ask around about Anthony Brown and maybe some here have stumbled into some information I'm missing, but the circumstances regarding his plan for school are pretty tough to figure out.
Brown told me he didn't think he was going to transfer, although there have been rumors he would. His old coach was fired and that's at the root of the talk. That said, asking the kid if he's going to transfer and putting him on record is putting him in a tough spot. He did not rule out the possibility so kudos to him for the careful legal wording, but if he has been less than 100-percent certain of a move it wouldn't necessarily be wise to talk publicly about it. Again, handled it well. Reflects very well on him.
BC's staff has no reason to believe Brown is wavering. In fact, he seems as solid as ever. They just want to make everything go as smoothly as possible. If he does transfer I think the BC staff would probably like to see him end up at St. Joseph's, which is a school the Eagle staff has a strong relationship with. The last thing they want to see is Brown transferring to a high school where they don't have a lot of connections and another school that might be interested in flipping him does.
I asked whether it's possible that BC could add another commitment to their current class and was told, yes, it is a possibility. There was even a hint from one source that something could happen during camp, which would mean in very short order. It wasn't the kind of comment that put me on 'commitment watch' or really set off an alarm that something's about to happen, but it is worth noting that there does seem to be room and it seems like there are possibilities.
Finally, where do recent commitments put in-state athlete Mike Dereus? I think his circumstances make him someone that's more attractive to BC right now than Tyler Coyle. I'm told that Dereus would very likely still be a take if he wants to commit soon. But I'm also told that there's not really been a move on his part to indicate that's where he's leaning.
The possibilities for this, in my estimation: He doesn't have somebody really steering him on how to do things (no clue on this), he might be one of the few players that's not just crazy enough about football to be sure he wants to continue (very rare in a player with offers; unlikely), or he might like the idea of going Ivy. I'm told this "could" be a possibility, from people that know a bit about his recruitment. I suppose there's a chance he could be waiting on grant in aid information since they don't offer scholarships, but I can't say that for certain. Whatever it is, Dereus has been a bit of a mystery and I doubt the staff will wait on him much longer.
