BOL Round Table

A lot of 5 star high school players don't pan out. Look back at the top 15 players in each of the last 5-6 recruiting class and you will see many misses

Not sour at all or homerish just stating that being postitive on what we have on the roster now, players can be shaped to contribute(Rashad Johnson). I don't mind the disagreements. The next Terry Conner may be next year for us.

If this same thread appeared on the Auburn board about this type of situation 95% of the people in this thread would be laughing hysterically at it.

Yeah, actually no.

Jai has a ton of friends/family/fans who are Auburn supporters. I've spoken to numerous Auburn supporters about this who are very close friends of mine and personally know Jai. They all say the same thing. They are going to be huge Jai Miller fans and can't wait to see what he does on the field....they'll cheer for him even though he's wearing Crimson, but also pissed that he didn't come to AU. I also know a guy who works in the UGA Athletic Dept who said the same thing. UGA was very disappointed that he decided not to go there. Georgia wanted him and aggressively pursued him.

I think you guys think the fact that he's "walking-on" means that nobody wanted him..and he's only good enough to "just make the team." Many D1 schools (UGA, AU, BAMA, UF from the SEC...I'm not 100% sure, but I think A&M too) aggressively pursued him in the last few months and wanted him to play ball at their school.
Hell, I'd love to be a "walk-on" with multiple years in the MLB under my belt and a nice savings account. Wouldn't you?

That doesn't sound like "95% of the people would be laughing hysterically" to me...

If the kid looked and performed like a Jake Holland or Rudy, then yes. But if the kid has height, weight, speed, athleticism, maturity, smarts and good hands, then people would think otherwise. Jai has all of that, and he's been on an MLB training regimen for years. The only question mark is if he can hit and/or take a hit...that and if he can learn Saban's system.

....Baseball was his third best sport, and look how that turned out. I know it may look like I'm building him up to be the next coming of Jesus, and it's not like that at all. I'm just saying that there is a better chance of him seeing the field immediately then 2 years down the line.

I'm not sure I understand the meaning of your post or how it's directed as me, but, if you are co fused by what I'm saying, I'm on the same boat as you are and have been since be decided to go to Bama...he will be an impact player for sure.

Was not arguing your post...simply "complimenting" it and adding on to it..if that makes sense.

Gotcha bro. Just making sure, I'm a huge fan of his.

Numerous research studies indicate a make is in his 'prime' from age 28-32. A high school athlete won't reach his prime until after he graduates; Jai is already there and ready to go all Jack Links Sasquatch.

1. MORE "prime years" is a different argument. Of course Conner has more prime years. He's younger, but Jai is at the "peak performance age" as studies have shown.

2. We are stating valid reasons of why it's NOT RIDICULOUS to think he's on the same page/better than Conner. You keep saying the same thing over and over without good reason.

3. Another poster did say that and that was shot down. For a FACT, both Auburn and Georgia supporters (both general fans and people who work in athletic departments) have expressed a strong desire for Jai to play at their college, but would also be big fans of him regardless of where he went. Multiple D1 schools wanted him to play at their school.

Why would we "admit" something like that when we've backed up everything we've said and you haven't provided a good reason from your point of the argument?

Shouldn't it be the other way around??
Shouldn't the question be: "Why is it so hard for YOU to admit that Jai has just as good a chance if not better to make an impact at Alabama over a 5 star DB?" We've supported our facts.

And let's go further. Let's compare the two:

Age: Miller 28 Conner 17/18
Size: Miller
Speed: probably a tie (Miller was an MLB centerfielder, so tie at the worst)
Tackling: Conner - no brainer
Smarts/Ability to acquire knowlege: Don't know how smart Conner is, but Jai is very intelligent. Turned down 2x scholly to Stanford. Great grades in school. Let's say tie (though I'm confident Jai has the advantage).
Football smarts: Conner
Maturity: Miller
Experience on the big stage / ability to handle pressure: Miller
Work ethic: unknown since we don't know Connor's work ethic, but Miller has been working out with professional MLB trainers for years.

So, again, why is this so far-fetched?

How would the Wheeden story not support what people are saying? He played baseball for 7 years and came back to football and became a 1st round draft pick ahead of many qbs who played from high school right through college.