Is Cade Thompson D-1 Material?

[mhs]

As far as being a product of the system. Every QB Steve Spurrier ever had was a product of the system. How many of his guys have you seen excel at the NFL level? In fact I guess he was a product of his own system too since he also crashed and burned in Washington.

[RebelRaider]

I think cade is a great player and good luck to him at UNC, but he isnt SEC material, the SEC has been a great conference for years, and so has the ACC but UNC isnt quite at the top of the list in ACC contention, i think its great that he has gone there, and maybe he will turn some heads, but i dont think he is SEC material

[ClemsonDad]

Boy oh boy. I said again that I wouldn't respond, but this one hits too close to the heart.

 

Well said, Indian.

 

UT avoids the local kids for all the wrong reasons.

 

Who would you rather have, a local kid who grew up dreaming of wearing the (pale) orange or some kid from California that doesn't even know what a Vol is who only picks UT because he thinks it is his fastest ticket to the NFL.

 

If you don't think that is the case, then look at last year's Peach Bowl rosters. UT's roster was loaded with blue chip prospects while Clemson was loaded with kids who live and breathe Clemson football.

 

As for the SEC/ACC debate: it's hard to ignore the storied history of the SEC. For the past 60 years, it has been the country's premier conference. But those days are essentially over and the biggest reason is that the SEC's teams became so huge (100,000 seat stadiums and all) that winning has become TOO important. That is why you see so many penalties and sanctions and the like.

 

I said it on here last year: why would you sign a kid from Louisiana that was short, weak in the classroom, and who had a criminal record instead of Carl Stewart? It makes no sense.

 

UT doesn't give local kids a fair look and so then other SEC schools figure "if UT doesn't want him and he's in their back door, we sure don't want him either." Instead, you get lots of kids heading for other schools (Clemson, UNC, Michigan, Wake Forest, Virginia, Nebraska) who ignore the arrogance of the ACC and recruit good kids anyway.

 

The absolute best players in Tennessee go elsewhere. The BOwman kid from Chattanooga Notre Dame is at UNC and was the best player in Tennessee a couple of years ago. Cory Robinson from Knox Central was arguably one of the best high school players I ever saw and he ended up at Ol' Miss. Carl Stewart was absolutely the best high school running back I have seen since Al Davis, Sr. As we all know, Tennessee didn't want him. The Bullocks twins from Chattanooga left the state for Nebraska and have done very well. When they were in high school, if you ever saw them, you knew that they could play. Why wouldn't UT recruit them? Tyson Clabo had a solid career at Wake Forest and has a shot at the pro's. Tyson is from Farragut, his dad played at UT, and UT STILL didn't want him.

 

The list goes on and on and on.

 

All this BS about who deserves a D-1A scholarship or not obviously rankles me. Nobody wanted Chuck Prugh but it is undeniable that he was D-1A caliber.

 

I'm a UT graduate and personally like Phil Fulmer--he's a really nice guy. But I will not pull for UT until they start recruiting the local kids. As a matter of fact (just for your amusement), this is how I figure out who I am for in any game:

 

#1 pull for Clemson

#2 pull for whoever is playing UT

#3 pull for the ACC team

#4 pull for whoever is playing the SEC team

#5 if 2 SEC teams are playing each other, pull for the visiting team so more people go away unhappy.

 

'nuff said.

[Flashy1048]

Tenn is full of bull!! I've never liked them and I won't start now! I've always said that they let the best talent slip away and I don't understand it. Look at their roster and see how many players are from TN. You won't see more than ten and that's a shame! I think Cade is good enough and I wish him the best of luck!

[Longsnapper]

The SEC isn't the best in the southeast anymore? Last time I checked LSU and Georgia were 2 of the top 5 teams in the nation. Lets not forget about TN, FLA, and Auburn. You are crazy if you think the ACC can even compare. Yeah, Clemson did beat TN, but what did TN have to play for in that game? Clemson had nothing to lose. I'm not bad mouthing the ACC, but it is not the best conference in the south. Good luck to Cade at NC.

[Rebelsman]

I am appalled by this thread. If you were smart enough to answer the question you would not be posting on a high school web-site. Rather, you would be working for some university or professional team. You would be surprised what recruiters look for in players. I have spent some time with college recruiters and was surprised at the intricacies that they look at.

 

You are delving into a very personal, emotional, and intimate part of Cade's life. Deciding where you want to go to school and play ball is very stressful. Cade made the comment that he signed early to relieve the pressure of the recruiting process. Unless you have been through that you will not understand. He is still a seventeen year old boy. Parents can help guide the player, but it is ultimately his, and only his decision.

 

Now, give it a rest!

 

Congratulations Cade, I am very proud of you!

Edited August 12, 2004 by Rebelsman

[Big Daddy]

Only time will tell if he is D1 material or not, but at this time UNC thinks so and that is all that matters.

 

I wish that UT recruited more local kids, but it is hard to argue with the caliber of QB's they have had in the Fulmer era.

 

If you want to talk about not looking at local kids the basketball program would fall into that category, but I guess that is another board.

[Indian]

The SEC isn't the best in the southeast anymore? Last time I checked LSU and Georgia were 2 of the top 5 teams in the nation. Lets not forget about TN, FLA, and Auburn. You are crazy if you think the ACC can even compare. Yeah, Clemson did beat TN, but what did TN have to play for in that game? Clemson had nothing to lose. I'm not bad mouthing the ACC, but it is not the best conference in the south. Good luck to Cade at NC.

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LSU and Georgia are great but Florida State and Miami are just as good or better, year in and year out. I'm talking about the depth of the league, compared to the depth of the SEC now. Maybe Alabama, Mississippi State will get back to where they were a few years ago but I still don't see the 1-10 (out of 12 when Boston College joins) depth like the ACC will have. And "not having anything to play for" is no excuse for getting drilled in two straight bowl games, by ACC midlevel teams.

[ReBeLfAnAtIc]

quarles developed cade thompson into a great quarterback. in 3 years there will be another stud quarterback from maryville. brent burnett. maryville has it and they always will.cade will take the smoke n mirrors package to north carolina with him. i saw some crazy maryville fans with shirts that said 825 lawrence and smoke n mirrors the other day.

[ClemsonDad]

Good, responsible post, 03. My point was definitely not that the heydays of the SEC were over, just that their days as the single dominant conference in the country are over.

 

As for winning being TOO important, I agree that winning is extremely important at all D-1A schools. It becomes "too" important when you are willing to break the rules to win.

 

I responded to this thread only when I sensed some of that old bull about a local kid must not be good enough if UT didn't want him. That's the foundation for my whole tirade. I obviously and transparently have a real bone to pick in that arena.

 

I wish all kids only the best and am thrilled that this young man and his fine family have the opportunity to experience UNC football. They will learn that there is a big, wide world of college football out there outside the SEC (which is all we hear about around here) and certainly beyond the (pale) orange.

[82cat]

Clemson Dad

 

Whats funny is when they do recruit a Tennesse product (Johnson From Smyrna)

Everyone says the same thing 'He isn't good enough'

 

So no matter what UT is wrong, if you don't recruit them you hear"they must not be good enough" and if you do recruit them you hear "he isn't good enough to play there".

 

My best friends son (Tyler Grisham Hoover High School Alabama ) has committed to Clemson. It was pretty cool I was playing golf with his dad when Bowden called and mad the officail offer.

 

I hear their recruiting class is shaping up to be one of the best in the country.

[TnVols23]

Maybe Tennessee will play North Carolina in a bowl in a couple of years and he will get a chance to show the Vols what they missed. With the projects Tennessee signs, and players that have virtually no chance of qualifying, it's amazing they aren't offering a player from that close, when a team that cleaned their clock wanted him. I'll be watching North Carolina close, with players like Adarious Bowman, Columbia linebacker Fred Sparkman and the Brummett kid from Scott County on the team this year. Maybe Thompson will never pan out, but I'd rather take a chance on a hard working local player who's wanted by top level teams than some of the garbage they've put out on the field the last few years. BTW, the SEC just doesn't have the depth of quality teams of the ACC. Their records won't all be good enough to qualify for bowls but it's because they'll be beating each other, the midlevel teams and bottom finishers. Even Duke, the worst team in the league for years, gave the Vols a decent game last year. Could Vandy or Mississippi State have given one of the top ACC teams any kind of game at all last year?

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The reason that all of you think that the SEC isn't the best league in the country, and the reason that all of the numbskulls from the north and west think that we are inferior to their conferences, is because the SEC beats up on itself year in and year out.

 

Now that the ACC has expanded into a more formidable conference, they will also be subject to this. There will be better competition by 100% but there will no longer be a dominant team, like FSU has been, that can just breeze through it's conference and be ranked on top of the Polls.

 

Think about it, who usually stopped FSU's title drives? Miami and Florida! Not a lame Big East team. Granted, occasionaly (sp?) does come out of nowhere and surprise FSU and hand them a loss.

 

What I'm trying to say, is that everyone thinks that the ACC is going to be so dominant, but what is gonna happen, is the same thing that happens to the SEC teams every year. THey are going to beat themselves up, and the rest of the country won't give them credit for subjecting them to competition like that.