Keeping Tabs on Terrence Kerns

Last recruiting season, WVU received a commitment from a 4 star, 208 pound 6'1" running back from Frederick, MD - Terrence Kerns. I believe we mentioned him once or twice. Several weeks later, Noel Devine signed with WVU and, well, we all know how that's going.

We've seen Devine and another true freshman, Jock Sanders, share some second half time. Now that Devine is becoming a bigger part of the first string, I would expect to start seeing Jock Sanders on clean up duty in the fourth quarter. But what happened to this four star guy Kerns? I haven't seen him on the field yet.

Well, there ended up being some injury and academic issues and Kerns is taking the academy route. He is currently playing ball at Chatham Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. Since the spring, Kerns has rehabbed and hit the weights. He has put on 10 or so pounds (listed at 215) and ranked by Rivals as the 20th best prep school player in the nation. So what does he think now that WVU already has its "future back"?

That's gonna work out fine. One two punch. Plus, they like to run the double man back there - it'd be me and Noel back in the backfield just handling business. I like that.

Yes, Terrance, we like that, too. Think Ronnie Brown/Cadillac William circa 2004.

By the numbers

The Sporting News has an article up about Noel Devine and the hype surrounding him, although Devine is never mentioned by name. Writer Matt Hayes points out that 5-star recruits miss all the time and uses the names Brandon Barrett and Jason Gwaltney as examples. He claims that some unknown recruit will eventually mean more to WVU than Devine. Will Devine be the next Slaton or the next Gwaltney while someone like Terrence Kerns is the next Slaton?

First of all there is an excitement about Devine in Morgantown, but it is not as unrealistic as with Gwaltney. Gwaltney signed after Avon Colburn and Quincy Wilson had graduated leaving a vacuum at tailback with only Jason Colson left to fumble carry the ball. People expected Gwaltney to walk in and start. The same cannot be said for Devine. Devine is not expected to start, only to complement the offense this year. He could see time at returner, slot, and running back. Devine is a nice stereo upgrade package to the new car, but Slaton and White are the engine that runs the team. Therefore Devine doesn't have as much pressure coming in as other 5-stars have had. Instead of being Mitch Mustain he is more of a Tim Tebow.

As for Barrett and Gwaltney not being superstars, it wasn't because they didn't have the physical ability to play. The problem with both of them was in the classroom (which Hayes points out Gwaltney has found again) and not on the field. Gwaltney averaged 4.1 ypc and scored 3 times in his limited time on the field (mostly in short yardage) while Barrett was electric at the Spring Game last year. Meanwhile Reynaud, White, and Slaton were not 5-star recruits, but they were all 3-stars and would have been higher if not for question marks on their eventual positions. There is an interesting article at rivals that breaks down the NFL draft based on the player ratings out of high school. In the draft this year about half of the top 100 picks were 4 or 5 stars out of high school and the average ranking for a first round pick was 3.63.

There is a reason that USC, Texas, Florida, and Ohio State have been good recently. They have great recruiting beds and coaches that mine those beds effectively. Not every 5-star recruit works out for them either, but they have recruiting depth that most schools do not. Should player A not pan out they have 3 guys behind ranked nearly as good. For instance USC has Joe McKnight coming in who may have been the best high school running back in the nation, but behind him they have another 5-star and a 4-star running back should he not work out.

WVU usually doesn't have that luxury. Slaton was signed before Gwaltney was a done deal and had Gwaltney already been signed who knows what the feeling would have been about the recruitment of Slaton. Likewise WVU signed Terrence Kerns this year. Kerns is a 4-star out of Maryland and could be the next Slaton just as easily as Devine, but Kerns waivered when he thought Devine was coming and may not have signed if Devine had signed on signing day. Instead WVU got great depth at running back for the second time in 3 years, but that is not the norm for WVU.

WVU fans constantly point out that the Mountaineers win with players that aren't high in the star rankings. As if WVU would rather take a 2-star guy than a 5-star guy. That is ludicrious. WVU gets 3-star guys because the spread option allows them to take a 3-star all world athlete with no position and let him stay at quarterback instead of reciever. Smaller linemen are used due to a zone blocking scheme that utilizes speed over size. The stars are still granted based on projections into any system, not WVU's. So while Pat White is an all-american with us, he wouldn't be playing quarterback at USC. Reynaud is perfect for the screens and crosses WVU uses, but may have had trouble fitting into a deep ball offense. WVU takes players that fit the system or tweaks the system to fit the player. Other coaches don't have to do this because of where they are located.

WVU will always be at a disadvantage due to the small size of West Virginia. The state produces a few DI players a year while California, Texas, and Florida are overrun with players. WVU is in a unique position. Not many big time schools are able to stay at a high level for a long period of time without either a huge recruiting back yard or a big time tradition. For example, Virginia Tech has gotten better as the Virginia Beach and Tidewater areas have grown and Frank Beamer has been busy soaking his goiter recruiting in those areas. WVU will never have number 1, but is trying to get to number 2. Will WVU be a Nebraska that can thrive for a number of years or a Kansas State that burns bright for only a few. Both are similar to us as far as recruiting, but Nebraska has a better shot at returning to glory than KSU based upon their name and history. However, even with that history Nebraska has taken longer than Texas or USC ever would due to the recruits those two can get in their back yards.

Another reason to party

Celebrate that NIT championship with a little extra flair tonight. Noel Devine, the Internet legend and possible number 1 running back in the country has picked WVU as his school and officially signed a letter of intent. It is not clear whether the incoming phenom will go to Hargrave for a year or be eligible this year, but either way Devine has decided to try and officially make WVU "running back U." This signing and Pat Lazear, who hasn't been arrested since signing, will probably bump the recruiting class into the top 15. And with running backs Terrence Kerns and Jock Sanders joining athlete Branon Hogan WVU has the best incoming class of running backs in it's history.


Defensive coordinators around the Big East should take tonight and have a drink to steady their nerves. I suggest lots of Jack. Straight. You can drink like a man and maybe not seem scared in front of the team for the next meeting when thinking about WVUs backfield for the next 4 years.

Devine mentioned that he signed for two reasons: 1. He really loves the Black Eyed Peas and couldn't find another program still using that to fire up the crowd before the game; and 2. He fell for that Cotton-Eyed Joe song. Just really got in his head during his visit and he loves watching white people get all excited and dance away to it. Anyway, time to celebrate a good week.

A Case Study

From the time signing day is over until the start of spring practice every good recruiter is doing the same thing, texting the next class more than a gaggle of 13-year old girls at the mall. We try not to get too involved in the seedy aspects of recruiting as you always feel like you need a shower afterwards and we Bastards simply don't like to bathe all that much. However, there is an interesting prospect from West Virginia that we will be keeping an eye on for our cadre of 6 readers. Josh Jenkins will serve as a case study in WVU and West Virginia athletes.

The state of West Virginia only serves up a handful of Division I football players per year. It is also not a secret that WVU seems to have the ability to pick and choose the players within the state that it wants to keep. The others either leave the state or perform the walk of shame to some other school in the southern part of the state (if West Virginia Tech doesn't offer). This past class was actually an exceptional West Virginia class with the top 3 in state players going to WVU, then 1 to Marshall and 1 to Ohio. 2008 could be another good year in state with a few players expecting offers soon as reviewed in this article from the Charleston Gazette.

Jenkins will be the one to follow because he may end up as a top 5 lineman in the country when the rankings come out. Jenkins committed to WVU as a Junior, but as recently reopened his recruiting when Florida, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame started sending hookers and money came calling. Vingle's article states that Jenkins is still committed to WVU, however, it appears from Rivals that Jenkins has WVU as the favorite, but has not accepted any offers.

West Virginia produces very few D-I football players compared to other states. In fact, Rivals only lists the top 5 from the state whereas most states have at least a top 15. Therefore, since WVU recruiting is a vagabond process, carpetbagging from state to state it is imperative that WVU keep any in state talent it can. This past year WVU had 17 West Virginia natives on roster including Max Anderson, Nate Sowers, Marc Magro, and Reed Williams. WVU shocked a lot of people with the signing of in-state WR Brandon Barrrett a few years ago and with his success Josh Jenkins would be a fool not to follow in his footsteps (this sentence may need some re-phrasing if it turns out Barrett is dead).

Recruiting nearing completion

With 15 days remaining until national signing day the 2007 recruiting period is almost over. While it is always somewhat unnerving to watch grown men fawning over 17 year old boys, writing non-stop about their size, length, and ability we will attempt to update everyone on the signings of WVU. Besides giving these kids a sense of entitlement, taking underage kids to drinking parties and strip clubs, paying recruits and bribing coaches, it is all exciting. And poor Maryland. When you cheat and get caught you should at least get the recruit. Friedgen tied to stop it, but when he said "Hey don't pay recruits" he had a mouth full of donuts and it came out "Hey, dome pee rerute." But as far as recruiting goes, what is the worst that could happen? The good news is that having been to the gentleman's establishments in Morgantown I can safely say we are keeping recruits as far away as possible if we don't want kids screaming and running (with hopefully 4.2 40 speed) into the night.

WVU will attempt to sign the maximum of 25 this year and currently has around 20-23 commitments. The variance is due to last minute changes in fancy of the young. Currently Rivals has WVU rated at the 31st best class while Scout has WVU 16. The difference, 15 spots. Ha, you thought analysis was coming. Sucker.