Congrats to Vaughn Pemberton on a well deserved honor. https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/4...aughn-pemberton-loyola-all-area-football-team
SunTimes POY
- Thread starter lookoutforliam
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That is a great article...so many insights...have to imagine a lot of schools are kicking themselves on how they missed out on that kid...he was the best player on the field in every game he was in...
Great selection. Pemberton is one of those kids that needed camps, recruiting trips and a fall season to get the offers he truly deserved.
Not only was he snubbed by the power 5 plus the rest of FBS, PLUS the entirety of FCS, but the only offer he had coming into the year was from Northern Michigan which, in a good year for them, is no better than a middle of the pack D2 program.
It's not like he was a diamond in the rough of a struggling program that doesn't get any visibility. Either the overall caliber of high school football talent in Illinois is worse than we thought, or college football recruiters had a collective brain fart when it came to evaluating Pemberton.
It's not like he was a diamond in the rough of a struggling program that doesn't get any visibility. Either the overall caliber of high school football talent in Illinois is worse than we thought, or college football recruiters had a collective brain fart when it came to evaluating Pemberton.
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From reading the article, it sounds like he had some work to do in the off-season and did it, but coaches want to see that translate on the field or at least meet the kid in person for an eye test. FCS and FBS schools couldn't do that.
I'm with you on this ramblinman. Anyone who saw him as a junior could easily see that he was a different kind of player. No way he should have gotten out of the state of Illinois. And you make a really good point that he was coming out of Loyola...but maybe that is part of the reason why U of I hired somebody to focus on high school relations....
I get that, but it's not like he had a slouch season in 2019. In fact, he ran for 935 yards and 6.4 yds per carry in 2019 against some of the top competition in Illinois. Heck, he ran for close to 200 yards and 4 TDs against Rice, a team that was an 8A semifinalist in 2019. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see how those kinds of numbers should correspond to a single offer from an average at best D2 program.
I'm going by what was written and the advice given to him by Kreutz. I know exactly how that kid feels and likely what he heard. We also don't know what type of attention he was giving other schools. A lot of D2 schools weren't going to offer you unless you showed some interest back. I'm surprised that he didn't get a Valpo, Drake or San Diego offer.
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Look at what Pemberton himself said-in his junior year he had outplayed a lot of kids getting D1 offers and he was upset he wasn't getting ANY attention from any schools, D2 or otherwise. Every kid needs to improve and he certainly did but let's not use that as an excuse for the fact that these schools flat out missed on this player. Saw three of his games this year and his speed and power just jumped out at you...just shows you that recruiting is an inexact science....in any event I imagine Ball State is feeling pretty good about his commitment because they got a steal.
Those are all on non scholarship though. The instate colleges touch base with everyone. Its not like schools were unaware of him.
He only played very sparingly vs MC in 2019 and that was the 4th game. They were running with the two seniors to start the season, so 935 yards in probably 7 full games
then soph Maldonado played a lot that game. poor kid got smacked pretty good and fumbled on the 1
Comparing stats of kids in high school to determine how good they are is useless college is based more off projection instead of production. The other thing is having an extra six months to train before your senior year changes things I saw a lot of kids the looked much bigger, faster and stronger then in a typical year so it tough to compare him to other D1 players since many of this kids are already enrolled. Only time will tell if he was missed or not.
If you can't project a 6'0 210 pound running back who ran through the best defenses in the CCL Blue to compete at the D1 level then a new evaluation process is needed. I saw him junior year and there was plenty on film to warrant D1 interest. But it wasn't just him; they missed out on Gaughan from SR, too.
Yeah but every D1 program in the Midwest evaluated him and elected to pass. Maybe they are all wrong but they didn’t see something they were looking for. Being the best player on the best team doesn’t always translate to success at the next level and who is going to feel bad for kid that is getting a free ride to college.
There were some running backs I've seen rack up #s because their offensive line was simply better than the DLs and LBs they faced. And some that were really good and didn't have the dominating team around them. Not saying Vaughn is either one of them, just that the thing exists. Is there a highlight reel floating around?
You’re telling me that every D1 coach in the Midwest didn’t look at game film from his Jr year? LA produces a ton of D1 talent and coaches stop in or made phone calls and look for recommendations from the coaching staff, he got looks just no one offered.
VP was the best football player I saw this year and I think he suffered mightily at the hands of COVID. His lateral movement and quickness from the handoff warranted Power 5 looks. He simply ran over several of the best defenses in the state. Non "Blue Chip" seniors from Illinois were at a huge disadvantage this year. I spoke w several big time college coaches and they confirmed as much. Ball State will be a boulder on this kids shoulder (rhymes) and i for one look forward to following him in college. Additionally i will never again predict that he will be held to 50 yards or less. Burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice...you get the rest.
LA doesn’t produce a ton of D-1 talent. They really don’t. However, the first time I saw VP run I knew he was special. He reminds me of a combo of Brodner / Ty Isaac with a chip on his shoulder. He runs angry. Some kids are violent when they play the sport. Most kids aren’t. He’s violent. As a coach, I want angry and violent between the whistles. He’s special. And from what I’ve heard, a really nice and loyal young man.
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They seem to put kids into the P5 conferences every year. Some schools would die for that lack of product of D-1 talent
I'm curious how you know this. Do you know the player, the family or talked to the LA coaching staff?
First time I saw him in his junior year, I thought defenses should be allowed 2 extra players on the field vs. him.
More than most in the Chicago area.
Schools stop in everywhere. Most come down to one of three reasons a kid doesn't get offered:
1. Coaches do not think player is good enough
2. Grades
3. Lack of tape to be properly evaluated.
4. Coaches misjudge talent of the player. 486 players are currently playing in the NFL who went undrafted. If that happens at that level, you can certainly believe it happens in the college ranks, too. It's an imperfect process and it was made all the more so because of COVID.
Seeing how college coaches drool over lineman 6’5 and above then seeing how Many were drafted under 6’5 is eye opening as well.
There are only 7 rounds in the NFL draft and about 65 players per roster including practice squad. The average career length is six years for those who make the 53 man active roster as a rookie. That means you are going to have a lot of undrafted guys on teams.
