2017 Recruiting Thread

[Drew]

It doesn't matter whether it's the AAC or the MAC -- recruiting high end/elite kids in numbers to geographically disadvantaged non P5 schools will be tougher and tougher (... and Houston is in a talent rich/geographically advantaged state and their 5* recruit was from Houston not even just Texas. I believe only 1 or 2 of the 2016 class wasn't from Texas or an adjoining state.).

If you don't believe there is negative recruiting going regarding P5 versus Non-P5 then I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise until you hear it direct from a recruit. As far as Obi's brother (and I'm not saying he was not expressing his true feeling - but if he wasn't) did you really expect him to come out w/ a different reason why he's not going to UConn when his brother is still here? How about Foley's brother going to Rutgers?

I'll never say never but it is a steep hill to climb. The more CT kids that are evaluated and ranked- the faster tides will slowly turn (consistent winning helps too). I guess we'll just disagree what weight to put on "conference affiliation" in football recruiting. I'm one who would sure like that "excuse" to not be a prevalent factor.

First paragraph: I think we're on the same page here in our thought process, I'm just also of the opinion that recruiting high end/elite (i.e. 4*+ prospects) is something that wouldn't happen at UConn regardless of our conference affiliation. It never really happened with regularity in our Big East classes (although there were a few exceptions to the rule). UConn's recruiting strategy for the most part has remained the same since the inception of D1 football in Storrs- find local under the radar guys and develop them.

Bolded: that's not what we're discussing here. I absolutely believe/know there is negative recruiting going on with this. Doesn't mean we can't still land guys who have P5 offers as we did last year for example with Herring, Dixon, Hahn, etc.

Agree that things are not necessarily easy in the AAC, especially if you're talking about us going up against a school in the upper half of the P5. But when it comes to us going up against Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Illinois, etc I don't know that the conference affiliation has as big of an effect as we're making it seem. There's AAC teams that outperform mid/low level P5 programs in recruiting class rankings every year. Id rather be in a P5 and not have to worry about it either.

 

[jdb50]

The biggest problem at the AAC level is when you find a good coach who can attract some P5 talent and coach up other players so that you have success can you keep the coach? Look at Ferentz at Iowa. Stability in the coach position has paid off for a team not seen as a national blueblood. Cinci has been luckier than most in G5 with continued success through multiple coaching changes. Then for us you add the State's budget woes and how much the money would help the school stay competitive. We can be successful but it is going to get tougher each year. There are plenty of players that want to play and we can attract them to UCONN. Filling the stadium again on a regular basis would be our best recruiting tool IMHO.

 

[huskymedic]

@UConnFootball 41 mins ago
Red, White, and Bleed Blue! #UConnFootball has another Husky staying home to proteCT the Rent!

Sean Patrick Bowley@SPBowley2 mins ago
Another CT D1 recruit for 2017: Staples all-state TE Ryan Fitton has committed to play at UConn, via coach Marce Petroccio#cthsfb

Ryan Fitton is a 6-5 235lb TE/DE/P from Staples High School in Westport CT.
Ryan Fitton #87-Junior Highlights

 

[Stainmaster]

We broke down the FCIAC wall!

 

[huskymedic]

We broke down the FCIAC wall!

Nice job by Coach Corley:

H.S. Football: For Staples they have one goal: return to the postseason

>>Ryan Fitton, Junior, Tight End

During the offseason Fitton who already stands at 6 feet 5 inches added thirty pounds and is now 235 pounds. That should bode well for the junior who has worked extensively on his blocking in preparation for the season. Fitton is the returning leading receiver for the Wreckers and will be expected to step up contribute more this season, especially in the red zone.<<

 

[ktuck911]

The thing I really like, no love, about how we recruit is we get depth... HCBD doesn't focus on the media hyped kids, even though getting a few of those kids in our recruiting classes wouldn't be so bad. He's building kids with the potential to succeed a little different than in the past... He's like Edsall on steroids with his recruiting and player development... Under the radar kids, with the facilities, strength & conditioning, and staff in place to develop these kids into MEN... I don't think I'm reading into this too much either... I think we'll see a helluva football team on the field starting this year and beyond... We all know that our OL is still the Achilles heel, BUT we are now in year 3 of the re-build... with our schedule, we should take the next step. No excuse for less than 7 regular season wins and a bowl game (If our OL play is improved there's no reason not to see us at 9 or 10 wins... my opinion).

HCBD has set UCONN up for a successful run these next few years...

 

[ktuck911]

btw, would be nice to snag Pinnock, Thompson, Field, and Wise still.. Keep that in state train rolling...

 

[Drew]

Deon Jones #2 on the list to Maryland:

 

[huskymedic]

Mike DiMauro@BCgenius29 mins ago
New London HS D-End/tight end D. Major Roman commits to @Yale_Football per his dad, NL coach Juan Roman #cthsfb

... joining his brother Hunter.

 

[Drew]

 

[huskyblooz]

Who cares? We know it's not UCONN.
We bash Marinelli because a New Canaan kid wont go to UCONN, but CA has how many kids going elsewhere, with no intention of staying home?
I could care less where he goes. And I don't care if he ever sees the field. I hope he becomes a good citizen. That's it. I dont know the kid. If I did, I may root for him on the field. I'm a UCONN fan. I root for UCONN student athletes.

 

[Drew]

Who cares? We know it's not UCONN.
We bash Marinelli because a New Canaan kid wont go to UCONN, but CA has how many kids going elsewhere, with no intention of staying home?
I could care less where he goes. And I don't care if he ever sees the field. I hope he becomes a good citizen. That's it. I dont know the kid. If I did, I may root for him on the field. I'm a UCONN fan. I root for UCONN student athletes.

he has a UConn offer. Just technicalities at this point

 

[huskymedic]

Who cares? We know it's not UCONN.

We bash Marinelli because a New Canaan kid wont go to UCONN, but CA has how many kids going elsewhere, with no intention of staying home?

I could care less where he goes. And I don't care if he ever sees the field. I hope he becomes a good citizen. That's it. I dont know the kid. If I did, I may root for him on the field. I'm a UCONN fan. I root for UCONN student athletes.

Feel better?

 

[huskyblooz]

Feel better?

Yes. Thank you. I appreciate you letting me vent ... And I appreciate all your work!

 

[huskymedic]

Yes. Thank you. I appreciate you letting me vent ... And I appreciate all your work!

LOL... agree it's frustrating to see CT talent head out of state.

 

[Dynasty]

Darius Corbett committed to Toledo yesterday.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Without playing a snap Jasen Rose is my favorite player. Could have went to West Virginia or Wisconsin, etc. but chose to stay home. He's going to be a great player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make an immediate impact this season (especially now that Billy Williams isn't joining the team).

 

[BNich]

Without playing a snap Jasen Rose is my favorite player. Could have went to West Virginia or Wisconsin, etc. but chose to stay home. He's going to be a great player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make an immediate impact this season (especially now that Billy Williams isn't joining the team).

Where did you see Billy Williams is no longer with the team/?

 

[Exit 4]

Without playing a snap Jasen Rose is my favorite player. Could have went to West Virginia or Wisconsin, etc. but chose to stay home. He's going to be a great player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make an immediate impact this season (especially now that Billy Williams isn't joining the team).

Williams is still listed here:
UCONNHUSKIES.COM :: Billy Williams Bio :: University of Connecticut Huskies Official Athletic Site :: Football

 

[uconnphil2016]

Without playing a snap Jasen Rose is my favorite player. Could have went to West Virginia or Wisconsin, etc. but chose to stay home. He's going to be a great player and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make an immediate impact this season (especially now that Billy Williams isn't joining the team).

I watched Rose vs Glastonbury. The combination of size and agility is a sight to be seen.

 

[ZOOCONN]

Where did you see Billy Williams is no longer with the team/?

HCBD said his future is uncertain at this time, as far as we know he is still with the team but who knows in what capacity.

 

[ktuck911]

Aww crap! Was looking forward to seeing what Billy Williams could bring to our offense.

 

[BNich]

HCBD said his future is uncertain at this time, as far as we know he is still with the team but who knows in what capacity.

Future is uncertain as there are disciplinary reasons or he's considering walking away from football?

 

[huskymedic]

Future is uncertain as there are disciplinary reasons or he's considering walking away from football?

There is a copy of the Diaco interview where he talks about Williams "life change" in this thread. That's all that's been out there besides speculation.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Yea that was me drawing my own conclusions but it doesn't sound like he's coming here but I was looking forward to having him on the roster. At least Rose is poised to have a similar role so now he'll take on that potentially vacated PT.