Deliverance: UT Recruiting

[The Ancient Enemy]

UT picked up 2 more commits today. One of them is a 4-star MLB from Irving, and MacArthur High is seriously about 4 miles from my apartment, so I'll def. be going to check that kid out in September. BUT.. the thing here is that UT is pulling another UT: for 2009, they 15 commits already, all from the state of Texas. I'm not bringing this up to talk trash, I'm just saying it because it seems that even though they brought in Muschamp and Applewhite, I guess old habits die hard.

[deliverance]

Mack is a die hard in-state guy. We have 3 guys from out-of-state on the radar. You have to take a look at Devon Kennard. He is an absolute machine. I do not see how we are going to pull him out of Arizona, though. We do have connections to him. However, it is almost impossible to steal someone from USC these days. Muschamp and Applewhite seem to be pushing for more out-of-state kids, but Mack is Mack. Muschamp has already shaken up the defense. He is one of the most entertaining coaches I have ever seen on the sidelines. I agree that UT needs to start looking for more OOS prospects. It's still going to be tough with Mack having such a great reputation with high school coaches in Texas.

[deliverance]

The biggest disappointment for me to the recruiting class to this point was letting Shepard slip away to LSU. He was a lock to sign if we offered him a scholarship at QB. Mack only offered to him as an athlete. I hope he pulls a Periloux and changes his mind by signing day. I think Texas will moves Chiles to WR before it is all said and done. This might change Shepard's mind about going to UT.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Well, welcome to our world, buddy. Because the Penn State fans have been dealing with this crap so long that it becomes a given. When a kid is a lock, and he's worth a 'crap', the PSU staff finds a way to chase LB's instead. I'll give Jay Paterno one thing: there's not many assistant coaches out there who are better than he is at screwing things up.

How is it even logical that you know you are losing a kid to graduation, you have no replacement on the depth chart for next season, a highly rated HS senior comes out and says he wants to go there, and you don't immediately offer that kid a scholarship? Why do you even want to risk another school saying "here's an offer, we know they're your top school, but look how they treated you"? You cannot tell me that that stuff doesn't go on. There are so many kids who commit to the first school that offers them a scholarship. Go and watch the recruiting process. Start right now and pick a few kids and do your own sample. When you offer a kid really early, it shows that you have been interested in him for a long time and you really want him. Why in God's name do you want to take the chance of winning the marathon for a kid? And you can't tell me that coaches don't badmouth other schools to get kids to commit to them. How do you think Carroll keeps these kids from Penn State and UCLA, and Stoops keeps kids from UT? You're telling me that there was no slandering of the University of Texas involved whenever Bob Stoops stole the top 3 prospects in the state of Texas a month ago?

It's dirty as hell and thats the way it is, and needs to be. Even though Herm Edwards doesn't follow his own philosophy, you play to win the game. You don't play to lose.

And as for only recruiting in your own state... what is happening now is that universities are looking at what kind of HS contacts these potential coaches have. That is exactly why Terry Bowden did not get serious contention for that West Virginia job. He's been out fo the game for 8 seasons and has zero HS pull. There is so much more going on in college football than what most people think, and I find it very, very fascinating. It has gone from a "who's the best candidate" approach to a "who is a good candidate and can recruit well" approach. There is so much money out there dangling like a carrot on a stick. Sometimes programs can grab it, and sometimes you get programs who are close like Penn State and Nebraska (and Tennessee will be next) who just can't seem to get it 100% right.

I got off track a little, but with the in-state recruiting thing, take a look at the top powerhouses in the game. They all recruit nationally. Over time, you build contacts with those HS coaches, who end up being unofficial lobbyists for your own school. You can't just recruit your own state and expect to win national titles. You got to get out there, man! Yes, Texas is a proud state and I know they generate a ton of talent each year, but look how much they lose as compared to how much they keep.

I agree with starting local to build your program. That does more than just create a buzz with local fans. It solidifies local contacts as well. It makes people root for a school indirectly. What I mean is, if we are living in Wyoming, and we're a small HS, and one of our players goes to play for Auburn or somebody, don't we root for Auburn? Don't impressionable underclassmen on our team also start to pay attention to how Auburn is doing? An example of this: 2 years ago, a 5-star QB down here in Texas committed to Georgia. He is from Highland Park, the ritzy part of Dallas. I have to drive through there sometimes to get over where my girl lives. There are people in Highland Park who have UGA banners on their porches. Now, do you seriously believe that there is just a coincidental cluster of UGA fans living in that neighborhood? Do you see what I'm saying? I'm sure they are not diehard fans, but they pay attention to their own product, i.e. QB Matt Stafford.

Pitt is starting things locally and I am a little worried about how well they are doing in recruiting, but only because Pitt's success hurts Penn State right now, because Penn State is playing a waiting game. I think we can all agree that UT is well beyond the level of what Pitt is currently at. If Texas wants to contend for another national title, they need to expand that program. UT does not have HS underclassmen in Wyoming rooting for them because their buddy is on the team. They don't have that player calling his friends and telling them how great Texas is.

Once again, I understand that Texas produces a ton of talent. I also understand that not every kid can go play football for UT. It would be a different story with them altogether if they had the state of Texas on lockdown, but UT does not have the state of Texas on lockdown. They consistently lose the top players in the state to outside programs.

[deliverance]

I just saw today where Dre Kirkpatrick from Alabama has scheduled a visit to Texas. He's a 5-star cornerback. They have already offered him and a scholarship and he has a plane ticket to attend the U in June. So, at least they might be able to pull out one big name from a different state this year. I would still rather have Kennard than anyone. The other major addition they need to this class is in-state DE Jamarkus McFarland from Lufkin. If they could get Kennard and McFarland both to play DE for them, you would be hearing a lot more BOOM MFs out of Muschamp.

Also, to respond on having all of Texas on lockdown, that is virtually impossible since it's the biggest state in the US. They get the majority of the kids they want. Stoops always gets his share and so does LSU. They have to compete with Texas Tech and Texas A&M for almost every recruit. So, it is not the easiest state to gain commitments, which is why they need to open up their recruiting more like you said. They won a National Championship in 2005 with almost all in-state commits, so you can win a championship like that. You just need the major centerpiece like VY that comes around once in a lifetime. Notice I said once in a lifetime. I couldn't agree more that they need to start opening up the recruiting a little bit more.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Let's put that NC in perspective, though... was that, or was it not, a one-man show, and the best college football performance EVER? Its like you said, he comes along once in a lifetime.

Like I said, not everyone can go to UT. My point though was that they consistently lose the top players in Texas to LSU and OU and other schools. That right there is a major problem.

For all the hype Francione had, he didn't recruit all that well in Texas. I have a feeling Sherman is going to change that. LSU isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and neither is Oklahoma. Those programs are set up to be good for awhile. It is only going to get tougher for UT unless they change their philosophy. The same goes for Penn State, because all the schools that border them are getting better all the time. Art Briles is going to win games at Baylor, and already has a QB and a bunch of WR's in that 08 class: you saw what he did at Houston. June Jones is definitely going to steal 3-star talent from the big boys down here. Tech will always give everyone trouble. Arkansas just hired a guy who will definitely get players from Texas. Mike Gundy is going to do well at Oklahoma State. Kansas is taking alot of players from the state of Texas. I mean... virtually everywhere right now, you see programs going after that BCS money. It is unreal what that money can do for a university.

People are starting to come around to it, and realize that, and you see adjustments being made on staffs and with facilities. Take a look at the Big 12 South. Every single one of those teams has made decisions in this offseason in an effort to progress the football program. Look at the SEC: who the hell is going to LOSE? I mean, when you are talking about the SEC and you realize that Tennessee and Auburn are like the SIXTH and SEVENTH rated teams going into a season, that is ridiculous.

[deliverance]

Recruiting has gotten a lot more interesting over the years. I agree with all your points on the competition factor. You see schools like Notre Dame that completely fell apart. They came right back with a top notch recruiting class. Will they stay down? I guess we will see. It seems to me that some of the major programs are falling off. I do not see Texas being one of those with the additions to the coaching staff. However, I do agree that it could happen if they do not open up their recruiting to outside of Texas. Texas can't continue to bring in the Colt McCoy's of the world at quarterback. They are heading in the right direction with Gilbert. He's ranked 2nd in the Lone Star Rankings and is a 5-star QB.

[deliverance]

Major Applewhite is going to see Trent Richardson play in the Spring. He is a running back from Florida that has been receiving a lot of interest lately. It looks like they are starting to take your advice, TAE. Applewhite said "We don't leave Texas unless it is for a good reason."

[The Ancient Enemy]

Well, they just told every Texas RB in HS that that kid is better than them. For a "major" he sure chooses words like a sargeant.

[deliverance]

Well, they already have Whaley committed, so it was thought they had shut down recruiting at RB. That is why it was shut down, though, because they were going out of state to get another one.