Oh brother! This happens every year. We land an under-the-radar commit and immediately, people start groaning about the lack of stars by their name. Why do these little imaginary stars bear so much weight with people these days? Not to say that I don’t appreciate the work that some of these scouting services do, but they’re just not comprehensive. With hundreds of thousands of high school football players out there, they just can’t get to evaluating every one of them by the time their senior seasons start. Especially the kids from the small schools.
For that reason, everyone that’s complaining about the lack of star power in certain commits need to chill the heck out.
First off, all of this plays to our advantage. Why? Because we have one of the most pro-active staffs I’ve ever seen in terms of recruiting. They leave no stone unturned in the process, and when they find a guy they like, they have no hesitation in offering despite their lack of stars and other offers. Nine times out of ten, a player they offer that has no stars by their name will have at least two or three of them by the time signing day rolls around. Then as we all know, in come the poachers…
When looking at the current stars and rankings that is Scout.com for example, just remember that all of it was constructed before any of these kids took a snap as seniors. Which is why I’m pumped about the commitment of Pierson Villarubia. Read on…Villarubia is a kid that’s intrigued me for some time now. He definitely fits the bill of a Paul Wulff recruit. Under the radar, tall (6’5”), athletic, with a frame that can definitely add more weight, and a good student (3.7 GPA). In many regards, he reminds me of John Fullington. He’s from a small school in Louisiana, which opened only a couple of years ago. In fact, this year Villarrubia will be part of the first ever senior class at Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, LA.
So how did we stumble upon this big boy from the bayou? Well his mother, who also served as his recruiting coordinator, lives in Spokane. This summer Pierson’s mom hit the phones trying to get Pierson’s tape in the hands of coaches. Meanwhile, Pierson was showing up on campus doorsteps, one of which included a stop in Pullman. After touring the campus with a graduate assistant, he handed off his junior tape, which eventually made it to Steve Morton. An offer came shortly thereafter.
You can watch that same junior tape right here. I don’t know about you, but when I watch this I see a quality right tackle prospect. Although he plays a bit high at times, he is aggressive, engages with defenders well, stays on his blocks, and finishes until the whistle. My only real nitpick is that it doesn’t look like he was playing against particularly large defenders. Nonetheless, while he may not be as college ready as John Fullington was as a freshman, I think he has the potential to eventually become a legit Pac-12 starting right tackle. He fits in this class VERY nicely.
With all this having been said, although I played some football and have followed recruiting for years, I am NO scout. But I expect to see a few stars by his name by the time February hits and his senior tape is out. So to the select few Coug fans who have been groaning about Pierson’s commitment, CUT IT OUT! Because you’ll be the same ones complaining when he gets his stars and the poachers come sniffing 😉
Welcome to the Cougar family Pierson!
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