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02/01/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The axiom for college recruiting is for a particular university to keep the top high school players from its state at home in its signing class.
The Virginia-laden roster of James Madison University football speaks a lot toward veteran head coach Mickey Matthews and his assistants annually delivering on this notion.
But when the Dukes reach outside the state, they reach with big intentions.
This year's recruiting success both in and out of Virginia has given JMU arguably the best class in the Football Championship Subdivision. The CAA Football program has secured the highest number of two- and three-star recruits according to the nation's three main recruiting web sites, ESPN, Rivals and Scout.
"We're really doing a nice job," Matthews said in announcing the recruiting class Wednesday.
"We have a great group of salesmen in our assistant football coaches. These guys have been with me for a while, they know what I'm looking for, they know what our schemes are offensively and defensively. So we feel very good about this year's group."
Evaluating recruiting classes is an inexact science because it's all on paper. It could be four, five years before we will get the true answer of who has come up biggest this year.
Still, there's no disputing JMU has enjoyed recruiting success not just against the old CAA guard, but Old Dominion's rising program, which also is having a banner recruiting year.
The Dukes' 14-member class includes Virginia recruits Dylan Stallings, a 6- foot-4, 210-pound defensive end out of Yorktown and Grafton High; Justin Baker, a 6-foot, 255-pound defensive end out of Ashburn and Briar Woods High; and Rhakeem Stallings, a 6-foot, 210-pound outside linebacker out of Chesapeake and Oscar Smith High.
Matthews and his staff, whose team went 8-5 and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs this past season, rolled into Maryland to get 6-6, 245-pound quarterback Ian Fisher from Brunswick High and yet another defensive end, 6-4, 240-pound Silas Ademola from Bladensburg High.
The Dukes even went into CAA rival Delaware's hometown and grabbed 6-1, 185- pound quarterback Taylor Reynolds from Newark High.
In addition, Maryland transfers Titus Till, a 6-2, 200-pound safety, and Jeremiah Wilson, a 5-10, 185-pound cornerback - both redshirt sophomores - are enrolled already and will be a part of spring practices.
Oh, yes, they're celebrating in Harrisonburg.
James Madison 2012 Recruiting Class
Player (Pos) HT WT Hometown (High School) ------------ -- -- ----------------------
Silas Ademola DL 6-4 240 Bladensburg, MD (Bladensburg)
Justin Baker DL 6-0 255 Ashburn, VA (Briar Woods)
John Barillo LB 6-1 215 Ventnor, NJ (St. Augustine Prep)
Michael Birdsong QB 6-4 220 Matoaca, VA (Matoaca)
Xavier Crocker CB 5-10 175 Mechanicsville, VA (Hanover)
Ian Fisher QB 6-6 245 Brunswick, MD (Brunswick)
Mitchell Kirsch OL 6-5 265 Kensington, MD (St. John's College)
Taylor Reynolds QB 6-1 185 Newark, DE (Newark)
Dylan Stallings TE/DL 6-4 210 Yorktown, VA (Grafton)
Rhakeem Stallings LB 6-0 210 Chesapeake, VA (Oscar Smith)
Gage Steele LB 6-0 210 Front Royal, VA (Warren)
*Titus Till S 6-2 200 Upper Marlboro, MD (Wise/Maryland)
Kwe'shon Williams ATH 5-10 160 Norfolk, VA (Norview)
Jeremiah Wilson* DB 5-10 185 Winchester, VA (Handley/Maryland)
* - denotes transfer
OTHER TOP CLASSES
At Portland State, head coach Nigel Burton's recruiting class doesn't feature only key players from Oregon, it has some of the best within the city.
Portland's larger size helps increase the talent pool, but Burton clearly has been the man with a plan since arriving at the Big Sky school after the 2009 season. After a competitive first season with some tight losses in 2010, he led the Vikings to their first winning record since 2006 with a 7-4 mark this past season.
Portland State has done an excellent job of marketing itself within the city and the payoff includes this year's recruiting haul led by 6-1, 230-pound linebacker Daniel Halverson from Grant High. He's come aboard with high school teammate Jamarr Graves, a 6-3, 190-pound wide receiver.
Another Portland standout, 5-11, 205-pound wide receiver/defensive back Nicholas Rothstein from Jesuit High also is part of the class.
The Vikings' announced class didn't include, as expected, stud defensive tackle Tyrone Holmes from Eagle Point, Ore., but they should get an impact from seven transfers, including five from junior colleges.
Appalachian State has put together an outstanding class as it tries to reload following an 8-4 campaign that saw the end of a six-year run as Southern Conference champion. Since then, there has been a big turnover on head coach Jerry Moore's staff.
ASU added one of this year's top FCS running back recruits in 6-foot, 190- pound running back Tysean Holloway out of Asheville, N.C. He's enrolled already.
The Mountaineers also stayed in-state for 5-11, 175-pound cornerback Aaron Krah out of Durham and Hillside High.
Moore and Co., though, did some of their best recruiting in Georgia - sorry, Georgia Southern fans - with a haul that includes cornerback Dante Blackmon (5-11, 185) from Covington Eastside; defensive tackle Darian Small (6-2, 285) from Hampton Dutchtown; wide receiver Malachi Jones (6-1, 180) from Lawrenceville Central Gwinnett; and tight end Barrett Burns (6-4, 220) from Woodstock Etowah.
Villanova always does some of the best recruiting in the FCS, and despite suffering through their first losing season since 2005 - a 2-9 record - veteran coach Andy Talley should have another top group of newcomers.
The Wildcats had yet to announce their class by mid-afternoon Wednesday, but the talent is expected to be particularly widespread, including two key linebackers from Pennsylvania, Langhorne's Corey Majors (6-1, 230), who is spending a prep year at Worcester (Mass.) Academy, and West Chester Henderson's Ted White (6-2, 221), as well as wide receiver Mike Burke (6-3, 205) from Columbia (Pa.) Columbia Junior/Senior.
The Wildcats' recruiting reached into New Jersey for cornerback Mark Clements, a 5-10, 170-pounder out of Mays Landing and Oakcrest High. They also went north to Connecticut for Danbury linebacker Austin Calitro (6-2, 220) and south to Maryland for Clarksville River Hill running back Aaron Wells (5-9, 178) and to Florida for Orange Park Fleming Island linebacker Cameron McCurry (5-11, 215).
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BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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