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Diaco. Wow

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Well, this thread pretty much sets the table again between the ever skeptical and ever hopeful. My sense is BD is after a very specific type of player and knows exactly what wants. If you notice, they tend to be big framed prospects. He is clearly aiming for a power football composition. This is smart and can carry a team a very long way. Obviously elite teams are looking for both power and speed. Those are your 4 and 5 star recruits and they are far and few between. But, many of those prospects wash out too. Who was the fastest and top 5 strongest OLineman in the NFL draft last year? Ali Marpet, Hobart College. He dominated in the Senior bowl, destroyed at the Combine and ended up a 13 game first year started for Tampa Bay. Moral: let's assume Diaco knows what he is looking for until proven otherwise.
 
hardcorehusky said:
Here is how the lame recruiting system works- each kid gets from no -5 stars. the more kids in a class, the higher the ranking. We had 16 kids, UMASS had 30. SO their class was ranked higher because the cumulative stars were more.
The next level is stars- if you go to Ohio State- you are automatically a 4 or 5 star. There was a 2 star who de-commited from UCONN and went to Ohio State and magically became a 4 star overnight. If you have a bunch of subscribers, you get higher ratings. Hence, Rutgers had a bunch of 3 and 4 stars that magically turned their program into a perennial 6-6 team over the last few years.

Randy Edsall had the worst recruiting classes year in and year out according to the services but magically had 17 kids in the NFL this past year. 2 stars like Kendall Reyes, Tyvon Branch, Darius Butler, Danny Lansanah, Robert McClain and others. Don't be embarassed by what they say, be embarassed by believing what they say.
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I want to buy you a beer. Outstanding!
 
Oh this again?

Stars matter. Quite a bit actually.

That being said, P5 offers matter a lot more.

Diaco, pulled in a very good class given the circumstances of the lack of recent success as well as conference situation.

If we want to be a bona-fide program he'll need to continue this #uptick
 
Not only was this a good class by the rankings (looking at average star, rather than number of kids, I think we were 4th in the American), but the small senior class highlights that Diaco went 6-6 and got to a bowl with a very young team. Many of those playing significant minutes were sophomores or younger.

I think he is still feeling his way through schemes, and in-game adjustments as a head coach. Honestly, so is Kevin Ollie. But both of them have enthusiasm that is simply off the charts, and are magnets for kids. As we win more games, and I am convinced we will, Diaco's energy and personality, and the family feeling he has built will bring in stronger and stronger classes. I'm not worried about his recruiting ability at all. UConn football needed more than a coach, it needed an evangelist. It got one.
 
i only read through about half of this thread, i like diaco. i know some on the field decisions have been suspect, but he's a first time head coach. The part i like the most about him is he is so visible, going to wood n tap during the season, getting on espn, radio shows, making videos for new uniforms. He is so much more engaging with the fan base than any other coach. i mostly just read through these posts, and i can never understand the very unreasonable expectations of uconn football. I love looking through the recruiting "rankings" (which i find ridiculous) and i know UCONN will never be even a top 50 program in those rankings, but i am ok with that if they can keep the trend of finding those diamonds in the rough, win 6-9 games, stay out of recruiting trouble, and produce NFL athletes. we are not alabama, ohio state, or USC.

i like where we are headed.
 
I have this weird and strange habit of judging a kids talent after they hit the field at the collegiate level. Stopped following recruiting a couple of years ago and it was a great decision. It's complete nonsense.

Diaco really is an upbeat guy and to an extent he has to be right now.

I thought he had a really rough first year but learned a lot and did a great job last year. He's turned me into a supporter.

Carry on.
 
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coachcap said:
I take the recruiting star rating with a huge Jimmy Buffet shaker of salt. Remember that 4 star linebacker during the Edsall years who decommitted from the tar heels & signed with UConn. Got injured early , never panned out. Then there was the 4-star midget receiver from Fort Lauderdale, who started as a frosh & was out the door to oblivion at the end of the season. Give me the hard working so called 3-stars who are moldable. Seems to have worked for UCONN in the past
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Jarrell Miller was the linebacker. Also, who can forget safety Kit Pommels from New Jersey. 4* who committed but never made it due to grades, etc.
 
RedSoloCup said:
I really enjoyed hearing his staff too, putting some of their own take on the recruits.

It's good to see how the coaches are into the same mold as Diaco, and how they have great personalities that I never get to see.

The coaches seem like they are a great team together as well.
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I thought most of the coaches were funny and engaging on stage. Great stories and Cummings was Laugh out Loud funny.
 
uconntailgater said:
I just reviewed the national rankings for our recruiting class and it was pretty brutal assessment. It was embarrassing to see UMass ahead of us in some of these recruiting rankings. I hope a power five invitation come soon because we are not going to be able to recruit while we are in this conference.
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not sure if my issue is your logic or the fact you have Uconn's trajectory aimed at Umass.
 
One thing about recruiting rankings is that quantity and quality both matter. So if you have a bunch of signings, you have a better class. UConn didn't need a ton of scholarship players this year, as the team is quite young, so this may cause the recruiting rankings to look a bit lower than, perhaps, they should. Which is probably only a minor influence, but something to consider if you really want to get into it.
 
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Jimmy Serrano said:
Well the great thing about message boards is that we're all entitled to our own opinions.
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Exactly. I think Diaco is a great coach

I just don't buy the idea that he was the best assistant in American, came to UConn, forgot how to coach for a year, got better players and became a great coach again.

Year 1, he changed the culture. Year 2, he competed in almost every game and won more than we thought.

Year 3? I want a conference championship.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
I have this weird and strange habit of judging a kids talent after they hit the field at the collegiate level. Stopped following recruiting a couple of years ago and it was a great decision. It's complete nonsense.

Diaco really is an upbeat guy and to an extent he has to be right now.

I thought he had a really rough first year but learned a lot and did a great job last year. He's turned me into a supporter.

Carry on.
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This is a 3.5 star post. If you were an OSU supporter, I'd probably bump it to 5 stars.
 
All things considered we are lucky to have HCBD here at UCONN. Think of how disastrous the HCPP era was and how far that set the program back.

My enthusiasm for HCBD is largely based on this "successful" season as we plugged the holes in our previously leaking boat and we are now poised to sprint forward in a hopefully big way. We have "made the turn". This is a truly big thing for UCONN as another terrible season this year would have been near disastrous, with the CR / BIG 12 stuff going on.

I agree with the poster that HCBD has to be positive as its a requirement of the job and he has to motivate and inspire his players and keep the fans excited so that they support the team and buy tickets. However, HCBD positive attitude is particularly infectious and will lead to continued big things if we can continue to show on field improvement and progress.
 
sdhusky said:
Exactly. I think Diaco is a great coach

I just don't buy the idea that he was the best assistant in American, came to UConn, forgot how to coach for a year, got better players and became a great coach again.

Year 1, he changed the culture. Year 2, he competed in almost every game and won more than we thought.

Year 3? I want a conference championship.
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He was terrible as an on field coach in year 1 and improved to below average (at best) in year 2.

I'd agree and argue that the culture change was more important and year 2 results were a big success, but to say his on field is great or even good yet is bogus. We can barely get a play in half the time and our timeout usage and field goal/4th down calls are abysmal.

I still think he's developing and will be great at both but it's he's been bad in those areas.
 
Nobody will ever really know how well his strategy of focusing completely on the future during year 1 worked. It's anybodies guess whether playing so many guys, and focusing more on just the team than opponents led to 6 wins last year, or more successes in the future. But it doesn't really matter. Winning 4 games instead of 2 in year 1 means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Year 2, while there are certainly clock management and playcalling issues that can be cleaned up, I think they were overstated. I don't think they were more common than most teams around the country, or even most NFL teams. Doesn't mean they shouldn't continue to get better though.
 
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ConnHuskBask said:
He was terrible as an on field coach in year 1 and improved to below average (at best) in year 2.
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I bet as he gets better players, he will improve.

I remember when Calhoun couldn't coach big men.

But then Emeka Okafor showed up and Calhoun suddenly got really good at it :)
 
sdhusky said:
I bet as he gets better players, he will improve.

I remember when Calhoun couldn't coach big men.

But then Emeka Okafor showed up and Calhoun suddenly got really good at it :)
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I don't really see the parallel. If Diaco was coaching high school football the clock and downs are still the same.

Again, I'm a Diaco supporter and think he's done a very good job, but his on field decision making has been abominable.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
I don't really see the parallel. If Diaco was coaching high school football the clock and downs are still the same.

Again, I'm a Diaco supporter and think he's done a very good job, but his on field decision making has been abominable.
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Everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions. Personally, I still liked the fake FG call by Diaco vs Mizzou, it just didn't work out, unfortunately.

Look at what happened to Dabo Swinney vs Oklahoma this year with much larger stakes on the line:

" Swinney called a fake punt and threw the ball to a defensive tackle in the biggest game of his coaching career -- with a spot in the national championship game on the line..."

"...That play, perhaps more than any other this season, might have embodied what the Tigers and their 46-year-old coach are all about. Just like that... Swinney turned the table on one of college football's traditional heavyweights..."
 
ConnHuskBask said:
I don't really see the parallel. If Diaco was coaching high school football the clock and downs are still the same.

Again, I'm a Diaco supporter and think he's done a very good job, but his on field decision making has been abominable.
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If you don't think having Andre Drummond or Emeka Okafor in your line up doesn't clean up some "abominable" decisions, I have to disagree.

Sometimes your roster isn't good enough.
 
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I get a good kick that the two coaches we have had at the 1A level that were successful here brought in these "terrible" recruiting classes (judging by our rankings, that's what the services think of us) and yet we have done pretty well.

The one coach we had who was touted for his recruiting #uptick was able to lead us to our worst seasons in 1A.

So here's hoping to many more seasons of "terrible" recruiting classes.
 
sdhusky said:
If you don't think having Andre Drummond or Emeka Okafor in your line up doesn't clean up some "abominable" decisions, I have to disagree.

Sometimes your roster isn't good enough.
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What are you talking about? Whether you have Andre Drummond, Tom Brady or Scottie Haralson and Johnny Mac out there, the play clock/shot clock remains the same. The basic principles of clock management and when to punt, kick a field goal or go for it don't change either.

My point is completely separate from play calling, scheme, preparation and attitude.

We had problems all season, that talent and roster aside have nothing to do with.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
What are you talking about? Whether you have Andre Drummond, Tom Brady or Scottie Haralson and Johnny Mac out there, the play clock/shot clock remains the same. The basic principles of clock management and when to punt, kick a field goal or go for it don't change either.

My point is completely separate from play calling, scheme, preparation and attitude.

We had problems all season, that talent and roster aside have nothing to do with.
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Well, if I'm going for it on 4th down, I would rather make the wrong call and have Tom Brady and Gronk than make what you think is the right call and have Tim Boyle.

But thats just me.
 
sdhusky said:
Exactly. I think Diaco is a great coach

I just don't buy the idea that he was the best assistant in American, came to UConn, forgot how to coach for a year, got better players and became a great coach again.

Year 1, he changed the culture. Year 2, he competed in almost every game and won more than we thought.

Year 3? I want a conference championship.
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Completely disagree. Diaco in his own words learned from some of his mistakes. I was very consistent in his first year. I didn't care as much about the results because I knew where the the program was.

I didn't want to see the QB carousel prior to Casey getting hurt.

I wanted Geremy Davis on the field on 3rd & 7.

I didn't want to hear the BS he was trying to sell which, IMO, lead to the team quitting at the end of the year (and make no mistake, the team absolutely quit).

He's gotten a lot better with those things. I haven't ripped him for any of that. Some of the things that have carried over to last year: the use of TO's because we can't get a play in and the mind boggling in game decisions (last play at Mizzou).

I don't think he needed to do all those things to get to 6-6 last year. But whatever, I've moved on and thankfully the team has to.

Conference championship in year 3 is very ambitious. I don't think we're there yet but I also didn't see 6-6 coming last year either. So there's that.
 
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