Recruiting on the South Plains | C Jared Kaster
by Seth C on Jun 27, 2011 9:00 AM CDT
in Texas Tech Football Recruiting 2012
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We're starting chronologically with the commitments since I've been away. That means we'll have the following profiles in this order: C Jared Kaster; DT Anthony Smith; WR Dominique Wheeler; LB Ryan Flannigan; and OL Trey Keenan. I mentioned this when I left, but I had a good feeling that with the commitment of Kaster, there would be a handful of other commits due to the recent camps in Houston and in Dallas. I don't know how these commits would have played out had there not been a camps, but I really like the idea of coaches going to the players rather than the players having to go to the coaches. It's sometimes not easy to send a kid or drive to Lubbock depending on the family situation, but I really like what the staff is doing and I'd also imagine that they are laying some pretty deep roots as far as high school coaching staffs. And Kaster talked a bit about this with the Examiner's Jefferson Powell:
"Another factor was meeting Coach Moore who works with the offensive line; working with him at the Cy-ridge camp sealed the deal, Kaster added, he is an excellent coach and I can't wait to start working with him in college."
Yep, Moore working with Kaster sealed the deal. Let's get to it.
Initial DTN FanShot or FanPost: Hat-tip to Fileman G!
The Measurables:
JARED KASTER
Position: C
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1
Rivals5.6
Scout
ESPN
24/7 Sports
Ht: 6'4" | Wt: 268 lbs | Forty: 4.98
High School: Rice (Altair, TX)
Nationally, Kaster is the #5 ranked center according to Rivals. He's not rated nationally by Scout, but I think they're the outlier as ESPN has Kaster as the #8 ranked center.
The Player Speaks: LAJ's Don Williams talked with Kaster after his commitment to Texas Tech, who says that he's done with recruiting:
"No, I’m done," Kaster said. "I’m a Red Raider for life."
Kaster, a lanky center from Altair Rice Consolidated, visited the Tech campus over the weekend shortly after he pledged to the Red Raiders.
"One of the big (reasons) is, of course, it’s in the Big 12, and it’s a dream to play in the Big 12 and for Texas Tech," Kaster said. "The relationship I had with my recruiting coach, coach (Chad) Scott, was unbelievable. We hit it off from the start."
Kaster also talked a bit about OL coach Matt Moore:
"Just working with him, I could tell he was a phenomenal coach," Kaster said. "That kind of set it off, made me want to play there, made me want to get started. And the campus was beautiful. We drove around there, and it was unbelievably beautiful."
More after the jump.
The aforementioned Examiner article also talked about his de-commitment from Rice, which is never a good thing for any college, but I'm happy that Texas Tech has Kaster on its side of the ledger.
The Video: Film don't lie.
Scouting Report: There's a lot to like, and a lot of you mentioned this when Kaster committed, but he really finishes his block well, he's very mobile and seems to really attack his opposing defensive lineman. He doesn't get too upright it seems like that Kaster could probably switch between guard or center, but I thought that Dave Campbell's Greg Tepper had some interesting thoughts as to why perhaps Kaster would stick at center:
First of all, Kaster was an early pledge to Rice who recently decommitted and switched to Tech; that’s a relatively big loss for the Owls and a very big gain for the Raiders. And Kaster is quite a catch: a first-team All-State center, he’s used to running the show of the multiple-formation Rice Consolidated offense, meaning he has experience in running complicated offensive schemes. That’s got to be a big reason why he was so attractive to the Red Raiders, aside from his obvious size (6-4, 255) and ability (84 pancakes, and didn’t allow a sack last year).
One other interesting tidbit. Back in May, when Kaster didn't have a Texas Tech offer, per Recruitcosm's Tipsy Gypsie, Oregon made it a point to check out Kaster and had this to say about Kaster:
He’s a country strong kid – as opposed to a city strong one – with a big frame. He’s about 265 lbs. now but he’ll easily add 30 more and my guy thinks he has the chance to be good if he keeps his feet. Basically he’s a cross between Steve Prefontaine and Ndukwe Kalu. My guy says he’ll be starting at Rice by his Sophomore year if he sticks with them. Conversely, if he did go to Oregon, he could be doing the o-line’s homework as a true Freshman! Early studying time is big with Rice types.
So what does all of this mean? Well, it means that Kaster is a smart kid who is able to understand various offensive concepts and make the right calls as well as being noticed by some pretty good programs, who has a good disposition for finishing plays and likes to flatten his opponent while not giving up any sacks. That sounds like a winning combination for a center.
Jared, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2012 Class: Not complete because I haven't added the other commits, but this class is rounding out nicely.
| Position | Commitment | Ht/Wt | School/State | Rivals |
Rivals Rating |
Scout |
ESPN |
ESPN Grade |
24/7 |
24/7 Grade |
| QB | CLAYTON NICHOLAS | 6-3/205 | Cooper (Abilene, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| RB | ||||||||||
| WR | REGINALD DAVIS | 6-1/185 | Tenaha (Tenaha, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 81 | 4 | 91 |
| WR | MARCUS JOHNSON | 6-1/180 | Clear Spring (League City, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| TE | ||||||||||
| OL | CHRISTIAN OKAFOR | 6-6/320 | Westbury (Houston, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 4 | 4 | 79 | 3 | 88 |
| OL | HALAPOULIVAATI VAITAI | 6-5/260 | Haltom (Haltom City, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 89 |
| C | JARED KASTER | 6-4/268 | Rice (Altair, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 2 | 3 | 78 | 3 | 87 |
| DL | J.J. BYNUM | 6-3/275 | A&M Consolidated (College Station, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 79 | - | - |
| DL | MICHAEL STARTS | 6-5/285 | La Vega (Waco, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 80 | 4 | 94 |
| LB | MICAH AWE | 6-0/210 | Mansfield Summit (Mansfield, TX) | - | - | 2 | 3 | 78 | - | - |
| LB | KRIS WILLIAMS | 6-2/200 | Bryan Adams (Dallas, TX) | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| DB | LA'DARIUS NEWBOLD | 6-1/180 | Lancaster (Lancaster, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 75 | - | - |
| ATH | KEENON WARD | 5-9/176 | Snyder (Snyder, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 78 | - | - |
| Averages | |
|
|
2.66 | 4.71 | 3.00 | 3.08 | 71.91 | 1.91 | 52.16 |
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Kaster
Puts them on their keester….
Sorry. I just had to say it.
TTpilk
"Never, never, never give up." Winston Churchill
RE: Value of Houston camps
In Kaster’s interview I find it telling when he says about line coach Moore, “Just working with him [at the Cy-Ridge camp], I could tell he was a phenomenal coach.” In watching the TT camp in Pearland the benefits for Tech recruiting were striking: 1) Lubbock is a 9-hour drive from Houston (while A&M is 2 hours and Austin is about 3 hours); it’s easy for a kid here to drive to A&M or UT to “check out” the programs and be back for dinner, but even if a kid likes Tech, that drive can be a deal breaker! For Tech to come here, and set up 2 camps at 2 of the top football schools, strategiically placed one in NW Houston and one in south Houston, allowed some of the state’s best to show their stuff in an optimum environment. 2) Based on what I saw, attendance at both camps, even in 95 degree heat, was quite good, and the talent level also ranged from wannabees to the clearly gifted athlete (a couple of whom we have since signed), athletes who quite probably would not have made that drive to Lubbock. 3) It is one thing to watch a kid perform on tape, or in high school game situations, or even for a kid to say “I’d be interested in playing for Tech,” but it is something else when you call a one-day camp, that costs, on a summer day in Houston, and then see who shows up and works to impress—I could see kids busting their tails to impress and I saw kids who couldn’t hack it. The stars shown, the others participated, and a diamond-in-the-rough or two were spotted.4) The Tech coaches ran this camp like Raider practice, position coaches taking their charges through drills and formations; clearly some teaching but more on the level of a real practice—“here’s what I want, I’ll show you once, now line up and let’s do it.” And “ran” they did—Brown and his staff had the Offense running patterns and drills; Glasgow was all over the D, yelling and motivating—they were coaching players, not campers. The kids got a big taste of what it would be like to be coached by these men—you don’t get that when they sit in your livingroom and discuss where you fit in a 4-2-5. Kaster really got to see what working with Coach Moore was like—and that couldn’t happen with just a visit to Lubbock. 5) Anyone watching from the stands could see that Tech coaches knew their stuff, the schedule was organized-everyone knew what to do and when, and Tech coaches were motivated; they clearly wanted to be there coaching up those young men—95 degrees didn’t matter, Glasgow, Brown and the rest never stopped—it was clear to the parents I watched in the stands, that these men cared about football and cared about giving their sons the real taste of what Raider camp is like. They impressed both players and bystanders with their commitment and hustle. 6) These campers brought their coaches along—I watched Glasgow and Brown schmoozing with several area head coaches as if they were old buds—the coaches were also using this as a coaching clinic of sorts—I saw them with clipboards taking notes and talking to Tech coaches after. Also, at the Pearland camp, coaches from LSU and Prairie View [and maybe others I didn’t see] showed up, taking notes from the sidelines. So, to wrap [sorry for the length]—for many athletes and parents, because of these camps Texas Tech is no longer an abstraction; the camps made it tangible, the coaches made it personal, and now to many of these players and their families,maybe ( 9 hours or no) Lubbock and Red Raider football are accessible
by Dr-Cane on Jun 27, 2011 10:34 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Thanks for the write up
That was good.
"A job well done is better than a job well said."
by I bleed Red and Black on Jun 27, 2011 10:41 AM CDT up reply actions
Excellent recap
Thank you for that info, even if it was a bit long. This helps us all to understand the committment the coaches have and how hard they are willing to work to get the Tech image out there for as many kids (and their parents and HS coaches) to see as is possible. Expanding these camps to a couple of other big markets could reall help, like San Antonio and El Paso, to pull in kids that might otherwise look elsewhere. Being able to actually coach up the kids does have a much bigger effect than just a casual chat or telephone call.
TTpilk
"Never, never, never give up." Winston Churchill
Really like the camp idea . . .
but I have a feeling the tactic is going to be short-lived. For some reason, I think the concept will be squashed — or substantially restricted — at the NCAA or conference level. If not, you will soon have UT’s and OU’s intentionally scheduling similar camps on the same weekends to force players to choose a camp — and we know what most of the blue chips are going to choose.
Not so sure
From what I saw, the majority of players at the TT camp were not the Blue Chips—I don’t think many of those will feel a need to go to a camp since they are already “hot properties.” Regarding UT/OU scooping Tech—I also don’t see a major problem: 1) the UT’s of the world are egotistical enough to think they can get recruits without the camp concept 2) As to one of my points above, many will feel they can easily get to UT or A&M to see and be seen, so this might lead still to choose the Tech camp since Lubbock is not as accessible. plus 3) as word gets out that Tech runs a great camp, as it already has, more athletes will be attracted to it for the experience.
Sometimes ya gotta work a little harder ...
I have long felt that a big factor in the popularity of UT and A&M among athletes and students in general is simple geography – those campuses are located much closer to most of the large population centers in the state. So I like the approach: If the kids can’t/won’t come to us, we’ll come to them. Thanks for the report.
I don't know that it is 4.5 or no, looking at the film he does get onto the lb's pretty quickly.
Whatever the number he has good speed for what he is asked to do and has quicks and strength to go with it.
I like this guy at center…he could make a fine guard as well, I can see him pulling and getting in front.
Living large in Texas...Texas forever.
We need to keep in mind his smarts, that is part of being a great OL !!
Living large in Texas...Texas forever.
Sorry, forgot to change that with another profile. Most of the sites have him running a 4.98 to 5.00. Giving him the benefit of the doubt and going with 4.98 because I can.
Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation
Truth will out...
"do routine things routinely"
by centexraider on Jun 27, 2011 3:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Kaster Pancake
batter will be a big seller in Lubbock the next few years. I like the way this guy flattens anyone he can and bangs everyone else. He plays rough and seeks out someone to hit. Obviously his competition is at a disadvantage sizewise in most instances, but if he performed at camp, I asume the coaches were pleased with what they saw. I am thrilled with the coaching camps and think they will provide a big payoff.
CY Ridge camp
I saw Kaster at the Cy Ridge camp, he had a red underarmor on and definitly looks very authletic moves very well he and Smith were matched up several times probly by design. You could tell they both had what it takes and the coaches paid close attention to them. They new both by name and were excited about the matchups, it will be great starting 2012 in there practices watching these two go at it for 4 years. Great pickup Coach Scott and Tech
by GoogleRaider on Jun 29, 2011 8:38 PM CDT up reply actions
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