In-State Recruiting is a MUST for Success

[Waquoit]

CT kids are great to get, but if UConn wants to compete they need to recruit NJ, PA, OH, TX and FL.

Both things can be true!

 

[hardcorehusky]

Lou Marinelli's comments about not recommending UConn to kids hits me the wrong way. His school and community benefited from state funding, but he is so much bigger than that he could steer kids away from the state school?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Edsall did leave quite a bit to be desired but one thing that he excelled at during his first run was identifying players who could be developed far beyond what most would have thought possible while they were in high school. He had no problem offering a scholarship if he saw something (even if it didn't end up being a recruiting success. There were quite a few misses to go with the hits).

Lou Marinelli stated that RE wouldn't offer a kid LM recommended if that kid did not attend RE's camp. There may have been quite a bit more to that than what LM offered. I would love to see a list of the kids LM recommended and where they ended up (I personally know of a couple who played college ball a few levels below where UConn is today). Is it possible that if RE had the opportunity to see some of those kids up close he would have said "I can work with this kid, he should come here on scholarship"? I personally believe that quite a few coaches wanted RE to accept their recommendations at face value and were offended when he told them their word and the limited available tape wasn't

EDIT: I won't even dive into the past. Just tell me where you would rank Zergiotis in our 2021 quarterback pool? If it's higher than 3rd, I'll know that I shouldn't have this discussion with you.

Zerg?

Kid strikes me as can’t play at fbs speed. He, by far, had best arm. But, he had no poise under pressure.

IMO, he never showed he deserved to Start. Just couldn’t handle game speed.

I like Tyler Phommachanh the best, and it wasn’t close even though he was the third best thrower.

Also, if you can’t block you need guys with running ability who can create runs, or extend plays and throw for big plays. No more pro-style qbs. Too hard a position to play these days.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Zerg?

Kid strikes me as can’t play at fbs speed. He, by far, had best arm. But, he had no poise under pressure.

IMO, he never showed he deserved to Start. Just couldn’t handle game speed.

I like Tyler Phommachanh the best, and it wasn’t close even though he was the third best thrower.

Also, if you can’t block you need guys with running ability who can create runs, or extend plays and throw for big plays. No more pro-style qbs. Too hard a position to play these days.

No argument here!

 

[Buffett10]

Ummm……I could be wrong, but I don’t think the state of Connecticut has ever had a 5 star football recruit, many four stars yes, but a 5 star, no. Connecticut has had several 5 stars in men’s basketball, at least one of whom went to UConn and had his picture on the front page of Parade Magazine, that I remember. If there were 5 stars given back in the 60’s or 70’s for football there were several, Bobby V certainly, Pete Demmerlee, Kurt Horton, Sandy Osiecki. Not sure about Andrew Pinnock or Dwight Freeney, from Bloomfield but they certainly could have been. I’d like to say Tim Boyle, but I think he was a three or four star.

Christian Wilkins was a 5-Star. He played at Suffield academy but was from Mass.

 

[Buffett10]

CT kids are great to get, but if UConn wants to compete they need to recruit NJ, PA, OH, TX and FL.

Why is it that we need to recruit D'Oh? How many players have come through the program since the FBS move have come from D'Oh? I'd say DC, MD and VA are more important than OH.

 

[gtcam]

There is not enough talent in CT to support the ones who want P5 and to give UConn enough quality players to be maintaining a real focus in CT
I would love to it to be a real focus but in reality - no way
Need to go national with an indy schedule

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Christian Wilkins was a 5-Star. He played at Suffield academy but was from Mass.

If he didn’t play for a CIAC sponsored high school team then he wasn’t from Connecticut. Is playing for a post grad prep school for one year in Connecticut real high school football?

 

[Buffett10]

If he didn’t play for a CIAC sponsored high school team then he wasn’t from Connecticut. Is playing for a post grad prep school for one year in Connecticut real high school football?

That’s interesting. Tyler Van Dyke never played for a CIAC sponsored school team so he’s not from CT?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Lou Marinelli's comments about not recommending UConn to kids hits me the wrong way. His school and community benefited from state funding, but he is so much bigger than that he could steer kids away from the state school?

I guess he didn’t like UConn’s coach at the time, now that said coach is gone his son is an assistant on staff at UConn, so go figure.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Not one kid since Nadzak was here? Sounded proud of it. Got his nose up his arse.

 

[businesslawyer]

Out of curiosity, if we had been able to land 16 if the top 18 in state prospects each of the past five recruiting classes (assuming each also redshirted one year, making this nearly the entirety of the roster) how good does anyone think the program would be?

I love the idea that we are mending fences in state but to think any year that we should offer more than a few scholarships to Connecticut kids would be anything other than an exception is ridiculous.

This, Is it necessary? No. But would it make life easier? Yes, of course it was.

 

[HuskyFan16]

Zerg?

Kid strikes me as can’t play at fbs speed. He, by far, had best arm. But, he had no poise under pressure.

IMO, he never showed he deserved to Start. Just couldn’t handle game speed.

I like Tyler Phommachanh the best, and it wasn’t close even though he was the third best thrower.

Also, if you can’t block you need guys with running ability who can create runs, or extend plays and throw for big plays. No more pro-style qbs. Too hard a position to play these days.

I think this was Dan’s point precisely. If we could all see that, how couldn’t Edsall? And if he did, what was the purpose of obstinacy and sticking with Jack Zergiotis?

As Dan said you can’t be a former QB and be that wrong about what the position requires in the current era.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

That’s interesting. Tyler Van Dyke never played for a CIAC sponsored school team so he’s not from CT?

He’s not from Suffield as most articles would lead you to believe. Are you saying he didn’t attend Glastonbury High his freshman year?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I think this was Dan’s point precisely. If we could all see that, how couldn’t Edsall? And if he did, what was the purpose of obstinacy and sticking with Jack Zergiotis?

As Dan said you can’t be a former QB and be that wrong about what the position requires in the current era.

Edsall did see it. Jack was his big recruit, plain and simple. Krajewski was not, Lashlee recruited Steven Krajewski. Pomachanh was not highly recruited at all, but to Edsall’s credit he did see that the kid had FBS potential in a spread type offense which Edsall hated playing. So Edsall’s warped depth chart ended up being #1 Jack Zergiotis, #2 everyone else.

 

[businesslawyer]

Edsall did see it. Jack was his big recruit, plain and simple. Krajewski was not, Lashlee recruited Steven Krajewski. Pomachanh was not highly recruited at all, but to Edsall’s credit he did see that the kid had FBS potential in a spread type offense which Edsall hated playing. So Edsall’s warped depth chart ended up being #1 Jack Zergiotis, #2 everyone else.

Edsall failed in his second stint, and Jack Zergiotis didn’t play nearly well enough this year. But I can’t be the only person who remembers him having some very good games at home two years ago as a true fresh.

 

[businesslawyer]

Lou Marinelli's comments about not recommending UConn to kids hits me the wrong way. His school and community benefited from state funding, but he is so much bigger than that he could steer kids away from the state school?

LOL at New Canaan benefitting from state funding.

But I don’t disagree that Fairfield County football coaches thinking they should be dealing with Edsall as equals says more about them than it did about Edsall.

 

[noeynox]

Edsall failed in his second stint, and Jack Zergiotis didn’t play nearly well enough this year. But I can’t be the only person who remembers him having some very good games at home two years ago as a true fresh.

Very good games? He showed some flashes cause he does have a strong arm but his throwing mechanics and feet are so bad he would never do well without a great oline. The head coach should see that.

 

[Waquoit]

LOL at New Canaan benefitting from state funding.

But I don’t disagree that Fairfield County football coaches thinking they should be dealing with Edsall as equals says more about them than it did about Edsall.

1. What are you LOLing? Are you saying they don't?
2. Totally correct about the HS coaches. If only they were as good at developing players as they are giving each other awards.

 

[businesslawyer]

1. What are you LOLing? Are you saying they don't?

I’m not a fan of New Canaan. But they contribute way, way more than their share of revenue to state coffers through income tax payments and take out way, way less than their share of payments from Hartford because they are a wealthier town.

Do they cash checks when sent? Of course. But we can’t consistently talk about how much more CT contributes to the federal government, while red states take, and then not think the same dynamics are at work within our (and most other) states.

 

[Waquoit]

But we can’t consistently talk about how much more CT contributes to the federal government, while red states take, and then not think the same dynamics are at work within our (and most other) states.

Yeah, we can. Comparing 50 geographic entities spread over a continent to 169 spread over a tiny fraction of that? As if the problems in cities aren't state problems? False equivalence.

 

[uconndogs]

.........
But I don’t disagree that Fairfield County football coaches thinking they should be dealing with Edsall as equals says more about them than it did about Edsall.

I totally agree with this. If a HS coach has the best interest of his kids as a priority he maintains a relationship and a dialogue with State U. That relationship may be valuable for some of the kids going through that HS program. If State U's coaches tell a HS coach that a kid isn't a good fit, then a HS coach needs to accept and respect that decision, even if they don't necessarily agree with it. Shunning Edsall feels like a whole bunch of bruised egos to me......and I'm sure Edsall was not the easiest guy to deal with, but that's really besides the point imo.

 

[JMick]

I totally agree with this. If a HS coach has the best interest of his kids as a priority he maintains a relationship and a dialogue with State U. That relationship may be valuable for some of the kids going through that HS program. If State U's coaches tell a HS coach that a kid isn't a good fit, then a HS coach needs to accept and respect that decision, even if they don't necessarily agree with it. Shunning Edsall feels like a whole bunch of bruised egos to me......and I'm sure Edsall was not the easiest guy to deal with, but that's really besides the point imo.

high school football coaches are some of the most ego-centric and insufferable people in the world.

 

[noeynox]

high school football coaches are some of the most ego-centric and insufferable people in the world.

Then they met their equal in Edsall.

 

[businesslawyer]

Yeah, we can. Comparing 50 geographic entities spread over a continent to 169 spread over a tiny fraction of that? As if the problems in cities aren't state problems? False equivalence.

O.K. I will avoid attaching an adjective to that theory. I will simply say I disagree.