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Talley hopeful about his last Villanova class

Next season will be Villanova football coach Andy Talley's 32nd and last with the Wildcats before he steps aside so that longtime assistant Mark Ferrante can finally get his shot. So by now he pretty much knows that when it comes to recruiting classes, you can feel as good as you want on signing day but you never really know for sure until they actually start playing for your program.

Villanova University head football coach Andy Talley is stepping down after the 2016 season.
Villanova University head football coach Andy Talley is stepping down after the 2016 season.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

NEXT SEASON will be Villanova football coach Andy Talley's 32nd and last with the Wildcats before he steps aside so that longtime assistant Mark Ferrante can finally get his shot.

So by now he pretty much knows that when it comes to recruiting classes, you can feel as good as you want on signing day, but you never really know for sure until they actually start playing for your program.

On Wednesday, Talley's 17 verbal commitments made it official. Many of them will redshirt next season, as usually happens. Some will be asked to contribute right away, mostly to provide depth. And you keep your fingers crossed that in time you will have made more good choices than not.

"I think Villanova is the land of the players who could go either way," Talley acknowledged. "So a lot of them are projects who, in the right environment with the right kind of coaching in the right system, have a chance to really excel. A lot of kids get lost in the shuffle (in the recruiting process). We've taken guys we believe in because they're our kind of kids. I think when you've been in a place long enough, you know what your kind of kid is.

"They have to fit in, in a lot of ways. Sometimes we don't always get the top kid. Maybe we don't take them for a reason. We only take the ones we feel can survive in our atmosphere. When you bring in a kid that's not a Villanova kid, he stands out like a sore thumb. You can almost tell on their visit (to the school)."

The reality is that Brian Westbrook didn't really have many other options coming out of high school. Neither did offensive lineman Ben Ijalana, who wound up starting every game for four years and became a second-round NFL draft pick. Ditto Matt Szczur, who wound up leading them to an FCS national title. And don't forget John Robertson, who like Westbrook was a Walter Payton Award winner.

And there have been others who came with high expectations, yet for whatever reasons never lived up to them. That's the way this can work out.

Talley needed offensive-line help. So he brought in five offensive linemen. He needed some wide receivers. So he got three. And he thinks the best prospect of all might turn out to be Aaron Seigle, a defensive tackle from Harrisburg. We'll see. It's a process.

The Wildcats also lost two players late, to FBS schools. Doug Costin, a defensive lineman from Bishop Shanahan, went to Miami of Ohio instead. And Noel Brouse, an offensive tackle who originally had committed to Syracuse, wound up at Connecticut. It happens.

"I think the thing that's kept me around is, I've never lost my desire for recruiting," Talley said. "It was always something I enjoyed. It's just my nature. The X-and-O part of it, I've left to the coordinators. I've really assumed more of a CEO role. But I still love the challenge of recruiting.

"I do the personal tour on campus. I put them on a golf cart and we go around in an hour or so. Nobody on our staff knows Villanova better than me."

Next season will be Talley's farewell on the sideline, even though he'll stay around through the 2017 signing day. Then he'll stick around for another year to help with whatever he can.

When the school announced the impending transition of power on Jan. 13, the first thing Talley and Ferrante did was get on the phone and call every recruit to make sure they knew the particulars.

"We just wanted them to able to synthesize the whole thing, reassure them that there would be stability," Talley said. "Everything was going to remain intact. There weren't going to be wholesale changes. The players were all great about it. They said they understood, and were pleased that we let them know what was going on. We just wanted to reinforce the fact that all is good. I'll be here to get them off the ground, and Mark knows the drill. He's established.

"I don't think they come to Villanova because of me. But I think the situation that we've created certainly is a part of it. And I have every confidence that will continue."

If it does, some of these kids will no doubt be among the factors.

"They'll certainly have the Andy Talley tag on them," he noted. "But we're all involved with making the decisions. I have the final say, but I'm a team guy. I stir the drink.

"This is the kind of class we always get, a good one. Now they have to do the work to get bigger and stronger and faster so that they can help us. The future remains to be seen."

Some things don't change. Hope to see you in a couple of years.

kernm@phillynews.com

On Twitter: @mikekerndn