I just finished listening to the pod ... TSIO crew, there's one thing that hasn't been addressed re: Ford's recruitment - is the relational influence that Ford intimated himself.
“I know a lot of guys out there. Julius Irvin was my host but I know Austin Osborne, Keith Taylor and Marquis Spiker really well too and I was with all those guys the whole weekend. They all love it there and since we’re friends, they can keep it real with me and told me how things are and how happy they are with being at Washington[/b].”
This shit is really important, especially with regards to teenagers. Relational influence is a huge indicator. Peer influence is huge.
The above quote says a ton ... and as Biggins thinks that UW is a legit contender this quote is very telling.
That's what I was getting at with the other thread.
- look at the other schools Ford is focusing on. How many peer groups is he hooked up with? Did Colorado have it? I don't have access to his visit quotes.
- Oregon? If he has the same scenario they will be possibly the biggest threat.
- Michigan? They just took Daxton Hill today, bigtime recruiting year for Michigan and Harbaugh. Kids usually want to be a part of such shit. So, that's a threat.
- Ohio State? Well, they're Ohio State
- USC is imploding. Big question mark. Same with UCLA.
Look at all these schools and mash together a point system of location (r/t Cali), trajectory, football prowess and history and peer group, academics and coaching system.
Ford sees guys like Julius Irvin, Spiker, Osborne, Taylor etc ... guys just a year or two connected with Ford and who made the leap from California to Washington. Ford trusts what they say and thus the bridge really isn't that big anymore.
I've been saying for years now about how important the Poly Bowl is. Look at Tuli last year, he was hanging out with the UW croots ... look where he went to. We have Shelton back this year again and an honorary captain/ambassador again and he's a huge influence. Look at all the UW croots going this year ... it's going to be bigtime. That spills over to 2020 croots like Botelho etc ...
Hey, guess which UW targets are at the Poly Bowl this year?
Yeah, Ford, Foskey, Ika, McCoy, To'oto'o ... which of those guys have UW in their top 5 and no USC/UCLA? Which of those guys have UW as their only West Coast school? Interesting ....
We won't even mention Tuitele, Buelow, Kalepo ... and the rest of UW commits like Asa Turner etc ...