Incoming...

[hardcorehusky]

We are a good destination- here is what we have in no particular order:
1. a good football conference - the names aren't there but the football is good
2. Access to a New Year's Day bowl - if we win the American, there is a good chance we are the G5 representative. Outside of about 20 teams, that puts us in the same boat as the rest of the P5.
4. As much TV exposure as anyone else
3. A coach who has put a lot of guys in the NFL
4. A coach who isn't going anywhere!
5. A strong academic institution
6. It's own little city now with Storrs Center

Here is what we are up against:

1. P5 designation
2. Playing in front of empty stadiums.
3. A fan base that has been decimated by ineptitude and a I'll come when they win or they have a name opponent from 10 years ago show up.

Also, let's talk about system- maybe Fiasco was smart enough to slow the game down so his defense wasn't exposed on the field. Maybe he is just a POS. But with a new system, guys who weren't hideous became exposed and bad in one year. So system and the players that fit into it matter. RE is looking for guys to coach up AND fit his system. I don't care who the offers are from. I stopped caring about that with RE about 10 years ago.

Even Pasqualoni was able to bring in a few guys who went onto the NFL - see Adams and Obi.

So, things aren't as bad on the recruiting front as some make it and we aren't a "*hole" school. Would we like to see guys choose us over BC, Cuse and Rutgers- of course. Remember , we need to get the fan base re-engaged so recruits see a program on the upward swing with its fans. Somehow, if UCONN and its fans do that, then we eliminate just about every obstacle but the P5 designation- until we become the Power 6!!

 

[LIUCHusky]

We are a good destination- here is what we have in no particular order:
1. a good football conference - the names aren't there but the football is good
2. Access to a New Year's Day bowl - if we win the American, there is a good chance we are the G5 representative. Outside of about 20 teams, that puts us in the same boat as the rest of the P5.
4. As much TV exposure as anyone else
3. A coach who has put a lot of guys in the NFL
4. A coach who isn't going anywhere!
5. A strong academic institution
6. It's own little city now with Storrs Center

Here is what we are up against:

1. P5 designation
2. Playing in front of empty stadiums.
3. A fan base that has been decimated by ineptitude and a I'll come when they win or they have a name opponent from 10 years ago show up.

Also, let's talk about system- maybe Fiasco was smart enough to slow the game down so his defense wasn't exposed on the field. Maybe he is just a POS. But with a new system, guys who weren't hideous became exposed and bad in one year. So system and the players that fit into it matter. RE is looking for guys to coach up AND fit his system. I don't care who the offers are from. I stopped caring about that with RE about 10 years ago.

Even Pasqualoni was able to bring in a few guys who went onto the NFL - see Adams and Obi.

So, things aren't as bad on the recruiting front as some make it and we aren't a "*hole" school. Would we like to see guys choose us over BC, Cuse and Rutgers- of course. Remember , we need to get the fan base re-engaged so recruits see a program on the upward swing with its fans. Somehow, if UCONN and its fans do that, then we eliminate just about every obstacle but the P5 designation- until we become the Power 6!!

Andrew Adams was recruited by Randy.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Andrew Adams was recruited by Randy.

Recruited by Randy- left and re-recruited and signed by Pasqualoni.

 

[uconnbill]

I am 100% behind Edsall, but I can't say I'm not a little worried about recruiting. We're in a league that continues to produce high flying offenses and I never like our odds in a shoot-out. I do like that we will probably see some varied tempo out of the offense and I think some more traditional passing and rushing concepts can be good for us. We need to be more physical and while we don't need to run the football often we need to run it well.

If you notice what he is going after to deal with those high powered offenses is more defensive backs which means more speed. I think he understands what he needs to compete. Of course the last so-called coach hadn't a clue.

 

[JMick]

If you notice what he is going after to deal with those high powered offenses is more defensive backs which means more speed. I think he understands what he needs to compete. Of course the last so-called coach hadn't a clue.

Yeah but it seems like we're throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Depth is good but how many DBs have we signed this class? 10? I have yet to look it up but ik it's a lot

 

[huskymedic]

Yeah but it seems like we're throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. Depth is good but how many DBs have we signed this class? 10? I have yet to look it up but ik it's a lot

Edsall stated he wanted 9 DBs in this class (and there is a variable on which side of the ball a few committed kids end up based on remaining commits).

 

[BlueDogs]

If you notice what he is going after to deal with those high powered offenses is more defensive backs which means more speed. I think he understands what he needs to compete. Of course the last so-called coach hadn't a clue.

Still not bought into the load up on DBs strategy, but time will tell. Might work at 1AA against slower athletes on the line, but don't think it carries very far into D1. I don't think there are many 210 pound speedsters that also can get down hill and stop a fast, big back with little to no LB support or handle getting off OL blockers, except those elite that have already committed to upstream programs. Bringing DBs on pass rush proved generally ineffective as well. We've had a taste last year of what happens. The DBs in the field this season clock fine. They just are not very good football players and lack the physicality and size to provide interior run support, let alone handle pass cover without an 8 yard cushion. It will be interesting to see if some the youngsters mature this year into the physical players needed to execute this type of D. When it first was installed I was excited about its possibilities, but after seeing what happened at the football play level, I've got reservations.

 

[Hornet22]

Hornet cited 2 players with P5 offers and one with a Boise offer as recruits people are saying we shouldn’t have taken. It’s complete BS, and he deserves to be bashed for advancing such a fallacious position.

Moi?

 

[Hornet22]

I gave you the solution. If it turns out these guys can’t recruit find people who can.

Would you like me to recruit for them? I am available at 2MM guaranteed over 4 years. I’m pretty sure I’m out of their price range so my involvement would constitute violations

I haven’t said boo for 22 recruits.

Others were talking about it so I chimed in.

I’m not part of the orange cutting welcome wagon. Sorry this is FBS there are mean mean people with expectations.

Problem is we trust a recruit’s value by their offer sheet. So the little highlight tape that we see doesn’t do enough justice because there aren’t any offers behind it.
Save for lineman (you can see the difference between offered guys and non just by mere size) when I look at the tape of our skill guys and compare their highlights to similar highly ranked guys that are offered by everyone it’s not that easy to distinguish why there’s a major discrepancy in offer sheets. Logic will state that everyone who offered those other kids and not ours actually evaluated all tapes (including ours) and decided to offer them and pass on what we have. That’s a tough one for me to evaluate fairly. We have skill guys that have the size requirements for major offers and from what I can see on tape show similar P5 traits- speed, physicality, etc.
So the question remains why aren’t we getting guys that have other offers?
I firmly believe that offers don’t just fall out the sky. Interest from coaches start as early as freshman/soph year. These kids usually are the savvy ones (family or mentor support) that signed up with representation that actually got their name out there and on the desks of coaches. Next, these kids were invited to camps where they performed well. And so on until they get offered Junior Year because they’ve already developed a relationship with the coaching staff via camps and Junior Days. Some of these kids also have the benefit of attending a high school that is considered a feeder to a P5 program so coaches are constantly in and out of the school. For example, Erasmus Hall HS in Brooklyn, NY was a perennial dump for football. Then Curtis Samuels signed with Ohio State and now they live at their school because they realize that a place which nobody believed had talent actually does. You’ll be surprised how narrowly focused recruiting is nowadays. College coaches are creatures of habit. They stick with the same routine and get advice from the same people when they initiate coverage on a class. So if a freshman/soph somehow isn’t a part of any of these boats the offers just don’t come. Still doesn’t mean the player is suspect. Just means In most cases he didn’t align himself properly during the early years of his HS career. You’d be surprised how many families and kids have no clue on how recruiting works. They believe if they play well in HS that somehow that’s enough. But it’s not.
And we all know when one major offer comes other schools come out for reasons that I’ve mentioned in other posts.
Tyler Rudolph of St Thomas Moore (Safety) classic example. He’s represented by a service. He went to Waterbury High which is in a crap league. No offers or interest. He transferred and reclassed to More and suddenly everyone came calling. Mind you, he hadn’t played a single game in his Junior year yet. Syracuse offered because he reclassed then BC, Pitt and Rutgers followed. He was injured for most of this past season. But he went to the PSU camp then the Nike Camp and did well they offered eventually and now Michigan. So he picked up the ole momentum and will likely ride it to 20+ offers.
He’s a very good player and will do well at the next level but he’s no different than any of our skill guys on defense. He’s fast, nice size and loves to hit. His team was smart and he was marketed well.
I know this was a book. But there’s a lot more to offers than people think.
We have some really good players man. Let them develop.

 

[Hornet22]

Still not bought into the load up on DBs strategy, but time will tell. Might work at 1AA against slower athletes on the line, but don't think it carries very far into D1. I don't think there are many 210 pound speedsters that also can get down hill and stop a fast, big back with little to no LB support or handle getting off OL blockers, except those elite that have already committed to upstream programs. Bringing DBs on pass rush proved generally ineffective as well. We've had a taste last year of what happens. The DBs in the field this season clock fine. They just are not very good football players and lack the physicality and size to provide interior run support, let alone handle pass cover without an 8 yard cushion. It will be interesting to see if some the youngsters mature this year into the physical players needed to execute this type of D. When it first was installed I was excited about its possibilities, but after seeing what happened at the football play level, I've got reservations.

Fair point

 

[uconnbill]

Still not bought into the load up on DBs strategy, but time will tell. Might work at 1AA against slower athletes on the line, but don't think it carries very far into D1. I don't think there are many 210 pound speedsters that also can get down hill and stop a fast, big back with little to no LB support or handle getting off OL blockers, except those elite that have already committed to upstream programs. Bringing DBs on pass rush proved generally ineffective as well. We've had a taste last year of what happens. The DBs in the field this season clock fine. They just are not very good football players and lack the physicality and size to provide interior run support, let alone handle pass cover without an 8 yard cushion. It will be interesting to see if some the youngsters mature this year into the physical players needed to execute this type of D. When it first was installed I was excited about its possibilities, but after seeing what happened at the football play level, I've got reservations.

That's not college football right now. We are dealing with spread offensives with a lot of four and five wide. You need speed and the ability to get pressure on the quarterback. More speed means more press coverage, but without it we saw what happens last year

 

[BlueMAB]

He’s a very good player and will do well at the next level but he’s no different than any of our skill guys on defense. He’s fast, nice size and loves to hit.

Randy Edsall Says UConn's Lack Of Speed And Strength Is 'Alarming'

 

[Hornet22]

Randy Edsall Says UConn's Lack Of Speed And Strength Is 'Alarming'

I meant our incoming class.
You wasted your time on that Gif.
But it was funny

 

[Hornet22]

That's not college football right now. We are dealing with spread offensives with a lot of four and five wide. You need speed and the ability to get pressure on the quarterback. More speed means more press coverage, but without it we saw what happens last year

Agreed. And it seems like the DB’s he’s bringing in are long and athletic. Looks like you have field and boundary type corners. And Safeties that can come down and run support because they’re physical. All have to put on weight to reach their potential.

 

[BlueMAB]

I meant our incoming class.
You wasted your time on that Gif.
But it was funny

So your argument is essentially our class is full of kids who would be recruited by 20+ high-major programs if they were smart enough to go to a couple camps and reclassify?

 

[Hornet22]

So your argument is essentially our class is full of kids who would be recruited by 20+ high-major programs if they were smart enough to go to a couple camps and reclassify?

My point is if you’re not fully embedded in the process then it’s tough to get noticed. People say that coaches will find you. Correct! Via camps, showcases and tips from respected people in the business. You have to be in the know to get recruited. Most coaches don’t have time to go look for kids haphazardly.

Again, Rudolph has representation and was put in recruitable situations. He left his school to go to More because the HC coach there is connected. Once that happened the offers started coming. Prior to that, there was literally nothing. And if he didn’t reclassify he really would have been one of those undiscovered senior gems. His offers didn’t come until technically his senior year. So you mean to tell me that Michigan and Penn State and all the others knew about him all along and was jut waiting for what? He barely played what was technically his senior year. So no real film.

Recruiting is a business. You have to be in the know for the most part.

 

[Hornet22]

So your argument is essentially our class is full of kids who would be recruited by 20+ high-major programs if they were smart enough to go to a couple camps and reclassify?

Will Levis blew up Only after camps and the Nike Numbers. But you can’t just walk up in that camp. Somehow you have to be invited. That’s where representation comes in.

 

[JMick]

Edsall stated he wanted 9 DBs in this class (and there is a variable on which side of the ball a few committed kids end up based on remaining commits).

I get the philosophy. It's our worst position group. It would be nice to sign another RB, though. Whether it be a grad transfer, freshman or JUCO

 

[CTMike]

This is going to come across as personal against the kids, and I want to be clear up front that it’s not.

Edsall is a great talent evaluator, yes? Let’s go with that. And even if the kid has no other offers, as long as Edsall has evaluated and offered, trust the process the kid can play.

Here’s the thing.

Edsall has offered over 100 other kids that have committed elsewhere, including a lot of P5 schools. Kids with multiple FBS offers. And if, through some miracle, enough of them had committed to UConn? We wouldn’t be offering kids with no offers and convincing ourselves that’s a viable strategy.

Now, Edsall of course isn’t going to trash a kid (nor should he), and he has to make due and fill the roster spots best he can with who is actually available. But you aren’t going to convince me that he wouldn’t rather have 100 other kids because that’s exactly why they were offered earlier in the process.

All we can do is hope for the “diamond in the rough” scenario, but those are not slam dunks. It’s much more likely that the kid with no offers doesn’t pan out.

Again, none of that is personal against any kid. Kids can and do fall between the cracks and end up being players (we’ve had more than a few). But it’s the exception, not the rule, and all things being equal, Edsall would rather have the kids with multiple P5 offers too. There’s a reason he (and others) arrived at the same evaluation for them.

 

[huskymedic]

I get the philosophy. It's our worst position group. It would be nice to sign another RB, though. Whether it be a grad transfer, freshman or JUCO

You also need more depth @ DB if you’re playing a 3-3-5. No argument they need another RB this class and they are chasing a few.

 

[BlueMAB]

So you mean to tell me that Michigan and Penn State and all the others knew about him all along and was jut waiting for what?

No. I'm telling you that in order to prove your point, you're assuming that none of the other kids in this class did anything to get noticed.

How many other kids from More were given the same invites? They have connections to the coach. Why doesn't the whole roster have 20 offers?

Ignoring the fact that his coach at More saw the size, speed, and talent and was willing to put his neck out for him and make those calls to help get the invite for a second. You're basically assuming our recruits didn't have any connections, didn't get any opportunity to camp anywhere, and didn't do any of the things the average Temple recruit does. You mean to tell me they just magically appeared on Randy Edsall's radar and we hit the lottery without having to fight off 20 other schools.

Complete. Nonsense.

Either their coaches decided they only needed to make one phone call to someone on the UConn staff, or nobody else at our level was interested. Unfortunately for us, the latter is far more likely.

If @whaler11 was the Apologista president, I was the VP. I trust Edsall and his staff to develop some of these guys. I'm sure that some will surprise us, just as I'm sure some will never see the field. I just refuse to pretend that we're the only school in the AAC that doesn't need to bother competing with AAC schools for recruits in order to win the conference.

 

[JMick]

No. I'm telling you that in order to prove your point, you're assuming that none of the other kids in this class did anything to get noticed.

How many other kids from More were given the same invites? They have connections to the coach. Why doesn't the whole roster have 20 offers?

Ignoring the fact that his coach at More saw the size, speed, and talent and was willing to put his neck out for him and make those calls to help get the invite for a second. You're basically assuming our recruits didn't have any connections, didn't get any opportunity to camp anywhere, and didn't do any of the things the average Temple recruit does. You mean to tell me they just magically appeared on Randy Edsall's radar and we hit the lottery without having to fight off 20 other schools.

Complete. Nonsense.

Either their coaches decided they only needed to make one phone call to someone on the UConn staff, or nobody else at our level was interested. Unfortunately for us, the latter is far more likely.

If @whaler11 was the Apologista president, I was the VP. I trust Edsall and his staff to develop some of these guys. I'm sure that some will surprise us, just as I'm sure some will never see the field. I just refuse to pretend that we're the only school in the AAC that doesn't need to bother competing with AAC schools for recruits in order to win the conference.

not to mention Edsall always used to get beat up by the types of teams that are now in the AAC. I still think he'll make us respectable but the conference, while top heavy, is pretty damn good.

 

[Hornet22]

This is going to come across as personal against the kids, and I want to be clear up front that it’s not.

Edsall is a great talent evaluator, yes? Let’s go with that. And even if the kid has no other offers, as long as Edsall has evaluated and offered, trust the process the kid can play.

Here’s the thing.

Edsall has offered over 100 other kids that have committed elsewhere, including a lot of P5 schools. Kids with multiple FBS offers. And if, through some miracle, enough of them had committed to UConn? We wouldn’t be offering kids with no offers and convincing ourselves that’s a viable strategy.

Now, Edsall of course isn’t going to trash a kid (nor should he), and he has to make due and fill the roster spots best he can with who is actually available. But you aren’t going to convince me that he wouldn’t rather have 100 other kids because that’s exactly why they were offered earlier in the process.

All we can do is hope for the “diamond in the rough” scenario, but those are not slam dunks. It’s much more likely that the kid with no offers doesn’t pan out.

Again, none of that is personal against any kid. Kids can and do fall between the cracks and end up being players (we’ve had more than a few). But it’s the exception, not the rule, and all things being equal, Edsall would rather have the kids with multiple P5 offers too. There’s a reason he (and others) arrived at the same evaluation for them.

Fair point. But that’s the nature of recruiting. You have a board with different tiers. When they guys in tier A go elsewhere you go down your board. Every kid that signs at a school wasn’t that school’s Plan A. But that doesn’t much matter.
The other side that you’re not noting is that Edsall has evaluated kids that he didn’t offer because he didn’t feel they were good enough. So whomever gets an offer whether it was Plan A or Plan B they were seen as kids who can compete at this level whether it was right out be chute or after a red shirt season.

 

[Hornet22]

No. I'm telling you that in order to prove your point, you're assuming that none of the other kids in this class did anything to get noticed.

How many other kids from More were given the same invites? They have connections to the coach. Why doesn't the whole roster have 20 offers?

Ignoring the fact that his coach at More saw the size, speed, and talent and was willing to put his neck out for him and make those calls to help get the invite for a second. You're basically assuming our recruits didn't have any connections, didn't get any opportunity to camp anywhere, and didn't do any of the things the average Temple recruit does. You mean to tell me they just magically appeared on Randy Edsall's radar and we hit the lottery without having to fight off 20 other schools.

Complete. Nonsense.

Either their coaches decided they only needed to make one phone call to someone on the UConn staff, or nobody else at our level was interested. Unfortunately for us, the latter is far more likely.

If @whaler11 was the Apologista president, I was the VP. I trust Edsall and his staff to develop some of these guys. I'm sure that some will surprise us, just as I'm sure some will never see the field. I just refuse to pretend that we're the only school in the AAC that doesn't need to bother competing with AAC schools for recruits in order to win the conference.

Nope. Wasn’t making that assumption at all. I’m just merely saying that there’s more to offers than meets the eye.
I will stand by my belief that after watching the tape of our skill kids they all have the potential to develop into really solid players. Will it happen? Time will tell.
But I see the potential.
There are some tapes that I watch and I say the kid flat out sucks. I’m sure you’ve seen a film or two like that. Can you say that about any of our guys? Cause believe me, there’s some terrible film out there

 

[Hornet22]

Here’s what I believe. Edsall identifies players with upside that are lightly recruited. We can say that about most of the guys that signed (save for Morrison who could have gone to ACC).
If he’s correct and the player only needs to be developed for a few years, what he’s getting is a very loyal player that will appreciate everything that UConn has to offer. You know why? Because the missing piece in all of this that no one mentions is Edsall is actually changing families lives. He’s providing a family (prospect) a free education at a darn good institution where before the lone offer arrived , the reality of staring down the barrel of student loans and parent plus loans and perhaps not be able to afford college was real. You can’t take that lightly. He meets the families and realizes that they value education. So if his calculation is correct about the athletic upside then he will have a pure soldier who not only with the support of his family will do whatever he’s asked of because he knows how much of a life changing opportunity that was handed to him but he will also have a chip on his soldier because no one else offered. That is a dangerous player out there because he’s coachable, talented and has something to prove but also wants to keep his parents happy. It’s not just about him.
Players like this who turn out to be gems check their egos at the door and buy into the team concept. When you have enough of these on your team you get what Edsall had back in his first campaign.
Yes it’s not sexy to have players with multiple offers. But the ones that only have this UConn offer will most likely run through a wall for RE. I like those kinds of soldiers.
My opinion of course.