Oh no he didn't - High School Coaches Weigh in UConn Coaching Search

[noeynox]

There aren't more than probably 5 CT high school FB coaches who could hold a jock strap of any coach located in Texas, Florida, Ohio or California.

To defend these buffoons, in any was is ridiculous. The CTHSCA still sits at the little kiddie table, at the national convention, along with RI and Alaska.

I heard the latest new rule change is going to be this: If a player rushes for over 100 yds in any given quarter, the other team is awarded 14 points and the coach will be suspended for one game.

This attitude is why you couldn't get the kids from the state with multiple offers from CT to even take an official visit to the school. Then people on this board would get upset when a kid would say were going to such and such school to represent CT football. You can't have it both ways, you can't out of one side of your mouth say "Fuhk them idiots" then out the other "send us your best kids", the Silas Redd types.

You can have that attitude, but if the HC and football staff at UConn do you got problems.

 

[Husky25]

Coach Marinelli is legendary coach in this state, he is entitled to his opinion.

That's a cop out everyone's entitled to their opinion. But when that opinion has zero basis in reality, it's better to be seen than heard. He was asked about the coaching search and he made it very personal. He of all people should know that if you don't have anything nice to say, then keep you F'in trap shut.

 

[sportsart]

This attitude is why you couldn't get the kids from the state with multiple offers from CT to even take an official visit to the school. Then people on this board would get upset when a kid would say were going to such and such school to represent CT football. You can't have it both ways, you can't out of one side of your mouth say "Fuhk them idiots" then out the other "send us your best kids", the Silas Redd types.

You can have that attitude, but if the HC and football staff at UConn do you got problems.

You can defend them all you want. The coaches run minor league football operations and want major league coaches to court them.

In other states the high school coaches know what is real and what is not. They grow thicker skin and know what the deal is all about.

Also, if you believe everything these high school coaches say as being gospel.....not much I can say.

 

[noeynox]

You can defend them all you want. The coaches run minor league football operations and want major league coaches to court them.

In other states the high school coaches know what is real and what is not. They grow thicker skin and know what the deal is all about.

Also, if you believe everything these high school coaches say as being gospel.....not much I can say.

Whatever, you can believe that having a HC at UConn that has a toxic relationship with the HS coaches is somehow productive for UConn, because that is how Saint Randy ran shat. It is not in any way beneficial to the school to have that.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Look fellas, it's simple people skills 101. If someone is reaching out for feedback in recruiting, I don't think we're the kind of program that can afford to ignore it. If there is wind of competition sniffing around locally, we need to make sure that we're in the game, and if we're not, it's probably a good idea to keep the communication channels open as to why.

It's that simple. Since we became division 1A in football as of 2000, under Edsall, through the following decade - There are multiple examples of players that did indeed go on to division 1A schools locally, that did reach out to UCONN but got no response whatsoever. There are others that go no interest from UCONN whatsoever, until it became known that other division 1 schools were recruiting. There are others that were recruited by other division 1 schools, that were never contacted in any way at all. Edsall didn't make friends that way, (Keep in mind that I mean, Edsall, and by extension his entire recruiting staff that he was responsible for) didn't do anything for the reputation of the school that way.

To be fair, we recruited PLENTY of local players that weren't getting interest elsewhere too much, and became fantastic division 1 players at UConn and went on to the NFL. Always two sides of a coin.

With regards to Pasqualoni - he started using the facilities for recruiting the way that Edsall had originally intended, and had built up in 2 short recruiting cycles, some high profile events for division 1 recruits at UCONN. Continuing that, I think would be a grand idea. Pasqualoni did it based on his connections alone to earn a paycheck and get kids scholarships and playing time for his connections. He was not invested in this programs success on the field, or he wouldn't have allowed players to run around on the game field partial effort and half speed and completely degenerate into a leaderless bunch with no direction. (I am so incredibly proud of what the players on this team were able to reach down, and look in the mirror, and accomplish to close out the season - and I was rough on them, very rough......but they needed it and I don't take back anything I wrote)

But we did get two decent recruiting classes out of pasqualoni.

DIaco - this guy has a plan, understands what UCONN is and needs to do with recruiting, and can talk. The plan makes sense, and he gives every outward appearance of being able to execute it successfully. It's just matter of getting the staff in place, and following the plan now.

I've blathered enough now. Have a nice weekend everybody. And please don't forget to honor the lives of innocents that were ended prematurely a year ago in our backyard.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Coach Marinelli is legendary coach in this state, he is entitled to his opinion.

Legends can be dreadfully stupid too:
"I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them, if that's what you're asking. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves." –John Wayne

 

[sportsart]

This attitude is why you couldn't get the kids from the state with multiple offers from CT to even take an official visit to the school. Then people on this board would get upset when a kid would say were going to such and such school to represent CT football. You can't have it both ways, you can't out of one side of your mouth say "Fuhk them idiots" then out the other "send us your best kids", the Silas Redd types.

You can have that attitude, but if the HC and football staff at UConn do you got problems.

Kids go to other schools for many reasons:

1) Get away from mom and dad (out of CT)
2) Go to a school they watched on TV for 10 years growing up
3) Are told by their coach they can play at ABC school (big name) and they sit the bench but the coach looks good having his player going to a name school over UConn
4) Really connect with a coaching staff, players, environment. Just feels right.

If a kid goes to a certain college because his coach told him he should then the kid is not bright enough to play for UConn, IMHO.

I want coaches telling their players to look at all your options. I want them to tell their players the benefits of playing in front of family and friends and getting a great education. Discuss what the probability of playing time at each school and will he have a better shot at playing at UConn vs another "name" program

Then I want the coach to tell the kid to go sit down with his parent(s) or guardian and make the decision that feels right to THEM. Not the coach.

Pretty simple really. If a coach has an attitude because a UConn coach brushed him off over a certain player, he does a disservice to his other players going forward if he does not tell them to look at all your options and explain the benefits of playing at home.

Coaches have a way of putting themselves first. That's what p.i.sses me off the most.

 

[freescooter]

I have to agree with Carl on UConn recruiting local players. Heck we had starters who were local kids on both sides of the football. We've had Connecticut kids who played for UConn and gone on to the NFL. that's why I never bought the whole "we ignore the locak kids" schtick. Lutrus, Trevado Williams, Hurd, Marcus Campbell all started on the Fiesta Bowl team. there were others who played as backups. Guys like Bryron Jones where also recruited by Edsall. Every single year UConn had Connecticut kids, as well as kids from 15 minutes over the State line like Shamar and kids who weren't from Connecticut but prepped here like Ryan Wirth. While it might matter to a guy like Marinelli that some of these kids happen to live 15 miles over the state line, not sure it does to most people.

 

[jackl]

That's just the same, lazy, rehashed stuff. His beloved BC has no problem coming into CT and grabbing players, most recently Outlow. No one. NO ONE, has ever even hinted that UConn's roster needs to be made up primarily of CT players. What he wrote there is meaningless.

I just liked the fact that he put the New Canaan Coach in his place nothing more nothing less. Go Huskies from a 11 year season ticket holder

 

[Yonick]

What this Marinelli clown failed to say is Conner Hanratty's dad is Terry Hanratty, one of ND's all time greats. UConn knew they had no chance to get him. For Marinelli to even mention that UConn didn't give him a look is Marinelli's way of trying to make UConn look bad.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Kids go to other schools for many reasons:

1) Get away from mom and dad (out of CT)
2) Go to a school they watched on TV for 10 years growing up
3) Are told by their coach they can play at ABC school (big name) and they sit the bench but the coach looks good having his player going to a name school over UConn
4) Really connect with a coaching staff, players, environment. Just feels right.

If a kid goes to a certain college because his coach told him he should then the kid is not bright enough to play for UConn, IMHO.

I want coaches telling their players to look at all your options. I want them to tell their players the benefits of playing in front of family and friends and getting a great education. Discuss what the probability of playing time at each school and will he have a better shot at playing at UConn vs another "name" program

Then I want the coach to tell the kid to go sit down with his parent(s) or guardian and make the decision that feels right to THEM. Not the coach.

Pretty simple really. If a coach has an attitude because a UConn coach brushed him off over a certain player, he does a disservice to his other players going forward if he does not tell them to look at all your options and explain the benefits of playing at home.

Coaches have a way of putting themselves first. That's what p.i.sses me off the most.

Dammit you made log in again.

Sort of. You're right on #2 and #4, the others not so much, and the order is backward.

The most common, important, and frequent reason that a recruit chooses a school - any school - is because they like the coach(s) that have recruited them. That's it. How that relationship is established, can happen in many different ways, but it's almost always about the kid liking the recruiter.

The second most common, important and frequent reason that a recruit chooses a school, any school, (and this is a huge drop off in frequency as to the reason a kid chooses a school) is that they are hell bent on attending that school based on pre-conceived interest and notions (most often which comes from family members dating back to early childhood) and the recruiter really doesn't matter much. (unless - say - the kid reaches out and is completely ignored - it's better to be turned down and given a valid reason, in a situation like this, than to be completely ignored - IMNSHO)

Once the relationship with the recruiter is established, and the player can get to the campus and meet his potential future peer group - that becomes the most important thing. Players always build programs, coaches just drive the bus. It's a match between player and insititution, and the players that are already at the school, are the institution.

Everything and pretty much anything else (academics, conference affiliation, etc. etc - whatever else you can come up with) - and with regards to this discussion, the relationship a player may have with their high school coach and guidance counselors, and by extension, those H.S. coach relationship with the coaching staff at say ---- UCONN ---

all of that stuff, is what gets the recruiter through the door to the home, and begins to win over the parents, who will have influence on that kid's decision as to whether or not he likes the recruiter or not.

In that respect, UCONN has plenty to offer, and the new coach laid it all out yesterday. But it always comes down to whether or not the player likes the coach that is actually in their face and their ear, and in today's world, where we find ourselves competitively in conference and who we're recruiting against, and where.......

it's a good idea that we do the best we can with establishing a culture for the UCONN program, such that those figures of authority that a recruit trusts, have no reason to be blocking the doors.

It's up to the university itself, and the football program, and the recruiters to establish the profile of the student athlete they are recruiting, and then go find them and work through the process. If the recruit fits the profile, once they get to the campus and meet their peers, the process usually accelerates pretty quick.

This is why the camps and clinics getting entire groups of potential players together and competitng, are very important to really snowballing and ramping up recruiting.

It's all people skills and being willing to do whatever it takes (within the rules) to win that kid's respect and trust.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

To J (I won't call you Joyce) on Marinelli having an opinion: yes he is allowed an opinion, not because he is a legend but because everyone is allowed an opinion. That aside, I dare anyone to attempt to defend his opinion on how P & GDL getting canned was the wrong thing for UConn to do.

To Scooter, If by 8 (as the bottom) 1A players per year you are including kids who as walkons should be able to remain on a roster, yes, I can accept that as the number during a low year. If you are claiming kids worthy of a scholarship from some 1A school, I wish it were true but there are years when four or five at the most would come out if here (although some years do have double that number).

As far as Hanratty goes, people knew from the summer after his HS freshman year (I amagine people close to him knew sooner) that even if it required his father footing the bill for tuition, if the kid was capable of making a 1A roster he was headed to Notre Dame. We did spend some time early on looking at CH (Marinelli is being less than forthcoming with many aspects of his statement) but gave up early on when we realized it would be a complete waste of time. It would not surprise me if Marinelli's beef is that he didn't receive constant backside kissing from RE in hopes that it would help land CH.

RE had at best poor and at worst horrendous public speaking skills. He was at his best in small groups with kids who were primarily overacheivers on the football field. I am fully convinced that Diaco on his worst day couldn't intentionally alienate HS coaches as well as RE could while trying to make a connection. That said, the only time during the presser yesterday (I saw it last night in its entireity) that I felt (what many pointed out at different points earlier in the day) Diaco sounded like a bit of a phony was when he was talking about in state talent. We normally produce some nice players but we will never produce a sufficient number to make landed them the priority that our HS coaches want it to be and there will be hard feelings because we will always have to turn down (no scholarship offer) some kids whose coaches believe shoulod be given a free ride at Old State U solely because in their eyes Old State U is the solely for their kids.

If the HS coaches have any vision and grasp of reality (I still wonder about this) they will see BD as an express train to take the football program to a level most could not have imagined a few months earlier and they'll spend their time making sure that they can have some association with this train before it gets too far out of the station.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I think that the younger generation of h.s. coaches (in CT, New England, and the I-95 corridor) are well aware of UCONN, and will connect just fine with the new head coach (and his staff that he assembles) at UCONN.

The reality, is that the more h.s. coaches that behave like a certain guy in New Canaan (and he's not alone) with regards to UCONN, the more foolish they will actually look to the younger generation of coaches and players.

It's a changing of the guard. UCONN, and I write this again, has not yet had a coach in the division 1A era, have the personality and drive, to put the full weight of selling the university itself, it's academics, facilities, and potential for student athletes - and put the full weight of Jim and Geno's Huskymania creation out of what Randy Edsall called on national TV after beating ND (quote "little old Connecticut") into recruiting for a football program.

If it's done right, it's going to be a lot bigger than CT, this isn't even up for debate. The younger generation of coaches will get it.

 

[BlueMAB]

Marinelli's claim that UConn mistreated PGDL is baseless and if he wants to badmouth the school because of it then f*$& him.

I'm an Edsall supporter, the guy did an amazing job here, but he screwed up royally with in-state recruiting. Pasqualoni on the other hand, repaired that relationship.

Diaco needs to build off Edsall's job on the field and in the classroom, and Pasqualoni's job recruiting, and we'll regularly win 8, 9, 10 games and go to some decent bowl games.

 

[Jax Husky]

I have to agree with Carl on UConn recruiting local players. Heck we had starters who were local kids on both sides of the football. We've had Connecticut kids who played for UConn and gone on to the NFL. that's why I never bought the whole "we ignore the locak kids" schtick. Lutrus, Trevado Williams, Hurd, Marcus Campbell all started on the Fiesta Bowl team. there were others who played as backups. Guys like Bryron Jones where also recruited by Edsall. Every single year UConn had Connecticut kids, as well as kids from 15 minutes over the State line like Shamar and kids who weren't from Connecticut but prepped here like Ryan Wirth. While it might matter to a guy like Marinelli that some of these kids happen to live 15 miles over the state line, not sure it does to most people.

lol, yeah, I can get from Hartford to Springfield in about 25 minutes on 91. It is basically the same state. Almost the whole roster is made up of guys from within 3 hours from the UConn campus. That is most schools' state basically.

 

[freescooter]

FCF, I got the 8-12 from a report, can't find the link or I'd post it, that looked at D1A LOI signers by state form 2008-2013. Florida, Texas and California averaged over over 310 each. Connecticut a low of I think 5 and a high of 18 I think but for the most part was in the 8-12 range. Not even enough to fill a typical roster. But our "state" as Jax points out isn't the same as Texas. It is basically New England, New York and New Jersey down to Washington, as well as parts of Pennsylvania. Like everyone else, we also recruit Florida and the southeast. And what always seems to get lost on the Connecticut Firsters is that you recruit based on needs. It might not matter if the best player in the state is a running back if you already have an all-conference running back and two other really good ones behind him. You might skip the local kid this year to get offensive lineman because you are thin there, or will be soon. Or it is just possible that the kid from Maryland is simply a better prospect.

 

[IMind]

I have to agree with Carl on UConn recruiting local players. Heck we had starters who were local kids on both sides of the football. We've had Connecticut kids who played for UConn and gone on to the NFL. that's why I never bought the whole "we ignore the locak kids" schtick. Lutrus, Trevado Williams, Hurd, Marcus Campbell all started on the Fiesta Bowl team. there were others who played as backups. Guys like Bryron Jones where also recruited by Edsall. Every single year UConn had Connecticut kids, as well as kids from 15 minutes over the State line like Shamar and kids who weren't from Connecticut but prepped here like Ryan Wirth. While it might matter to a guy like Marinelli that some of these kids happen to live 15 miles over the state line, not sure it does to most people.

I agree... Jordan Todman was a local kid, Donald Brown was a local kid, Robbie Frey was a local kid, Mike Ryan was a local kid... You should want to expand the brand not collapse it. We did very well locally with Edsall.

 

[ruskin]

What this Marinelli clown failed to say is Conner Hanratty's dad is Terry Hanratty, one of ND's all time greats. UConn knew they had no chance to get him. For Marinelli to even mention that UConn didn't give him a look is Marinelli's way of trying to make UConn look bad.

1,000 percent spot on. Time is an important commodity when recruiting, and Edsall & staff knew they would have been wasting it going after Connor. Same with the Golic boys -- whose Dad, by the way, seemed to have a good relationship with Edsall. Saw them yucking it up at a hoop game at the XL. Marinelli just wanted his ring kissed. Screw him.

 

[Carl Spackler]

You know, it just occurred to me, and I honestly don't know if it has any bearing whatsoever, but there is a big difference between in-state and out-state tuition. How the bookkeeping is done for athletic scholarships, I have no idea, nor do I care to know, but it's logical that if the cost of attendance for an out of state student is x amount $, than the budgeting/accounting for an out of state scholarship would be x amount.

I honestly don't have any idea how that works or if it means anything now in 2013, I suspect it doesn't.

BUt in ancient antiquity 30 years ago? .

If it is important somehow to athletic budgets, university budgets, etc. somehow big IF.....then it makes sense to me - going back to ancient antiquity history, that recruiting for UCONN in-state would be a big deal because it would keep the cost of athletic budgeting for scholarships down.

After all, the definition of 1-AA football, when it was created in 1978 was "cost-containment" intercollegiate football.

Anyhoo- just thinking. None of that would apply to UCONN now anyway in 2013. The athletic budget isn't going to be grossly affected now by a vast majority of out of state scholarship aid accounting vs. in-state.