Jonathan Rousseau commits to UB

[akcash]

Can UB jump up a conference to like the Big East or something?

[pennstate10]

2 hours ago, msw2112 said:

I love UB, but for him to commit there over Michigan State or Pitt is a bit of a surprise, given the relative prestige of the programs and conferences.  Perhaps he wants to be closer to his brother or he just thinks he'll get to start as a freshman at UB and might not get that opportunity at MSU and Pitt.  With the way the transfer portal is these days, I've read that a lot of guys are going to smaller, less prestigious schools as a freshman and sophomore in order to get early playing time, with the plan to succeed and then transfer "up" to a major program.  We'll see what happens with Rousseau, but I hope he does really well at UB and that his presence in town inspires his big brother to have a great season.

I follow college football recruiting a bit.  Offer lists are confusing.  It used to be if a kid had a scholarship offer from a team, he could call them up, and say I'm in.

 

Now, major Power4 teams send out literally 100s of offers.  But not all of them are "committable".  As in, a kids has an offer from Alabama, calls them and says he wants to commit to the team.  Turn out the offer may not be "committable".  If he's a top 250 prospect, then Alabama usually says yes.  But if he's a lower 3 star, only in the top 1000, they may say, "ah, we can't take your commitment right now".  If this sounds crazy, it is.  Teams offer way too many for various reasons.  Keep good relations with high school coaches, keep borderline kids "on the hook" until they see how things evolve.

 

So the Mich State and Pitt offers may not be "committable".

 

Also, NIL money has begun to skew things.  A MAC team like UB wont have the overall NIL money that Mich Sate would, but if they really like this guy, they can offer him more NIL money than Mich State will.

[wppete]

8 hours ago, 947 said:

6'1" 180, had offers from Michigan State, Pitt, Western Michigan, Eastern Kentucky, & Alabama State.

 

Hasn't played his HS senior season yet, but definitely a D1 talent.

Smart move. Stay with your millionaire brother, keep family close. 

[Behindenemylines]

8 hours ago, Putin said:

What’s his 40 time ??

 

8 hours ago, Putin said:

What’s his 40 time ??

Faster than Coleman so he must be slow still

[PromoTheRobot]

11 hours ago, akcash said:

Can UB jump up a conference to like the Big East or something?

 

Big East doesn't have football. Buffalo doesn't have the athletic budget to compete in, say, the AAC. Travel alone would break them.

 

You have to remember SUNY (the State University of New York system) does not put any value on athletics. They severely limit what coaches can make.

 

Also most states have only a couple of public universities with one massive flagship. New York State has 65 with 4 university centers (Buffalo, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook) designated as flagships. So the student population is spread wide. 

 

When you think about what they have accomplished over the years, getting ranked in football and men's and women's basketball, with all that going against them, it's pretty amazing.

 

The only way UB takes a big step is if one or a couple of huge donors step up.

Edited June 27 by PromoTheRobot

[akcash]

10 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Big East doesn't have football. Buffalo doesn't have the athletic budget to compete in, say, the AAC. Travel alone would break them.

 

You have to remember SUNY (the State University of New York system) does not put any value on athletics. They severely limit what coaches can make.

 

Also most states have only a couple of public universities with one massive flagship. New York State has 65 with 4 university centers (Buffalo, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook) designated as flagships. So the student population is spread wide. 

 

When you think about what they have accomplished over the years, getting ranked in football and men's and women's basketball, with all that going against them, it's pretty amazing.

 

The only way UB takes a big step is if one or a couple of huge donors step up.

Thanks for answering this for me. Makes total sense. Too bad I see now how it could be an uphill battle and yeah definitely it is amazing what they have accomplished with what is working against them.

[BigAl2526]

I have to think that choosing UB has a lot to do with his brother being with the Bills.  It would be interesting to see what his measurables turn out to be.