Past recruiting #s have hurt UConn this year

[UConnJim]

There have been threads on roster attrition, but there is another important issue: the number of commitments each year. In other words, is the team bringing in enough recruits to make up for all kinds of attrition such as injuries, academics, team violations, transfers, coaching changes...?

Using the Rivals database, I looked at the number of commitments to a school by year. There are some issues with the data such as JC transfers and some commits never signed or never showed up. But, the numbers provide some valuable insight.

I focused on the 2010, 2011, and 2012 recruiting years. These would be the RS Seniors, Seniors, RS Juniors, Juniors, and RS Sophomores this year. In other words, what should be the core of your team. The results confirm that UConn had a low number of commitments relative to other schools. In fact, I could only find a couple of FBS schools (although I didn't calculate every one) that had a lower number of commitments during the three years.

When I look at the numbers, it seems UConn did not bring in enough recruits to account for multiple coaching changes and general attrition. I think the lack of experienced players on the roster, as well as lack of player development under PP/GDL, has really handcuffed Diaco this year (and I am no Diaco apologist!).

Here are the numbers of commitments (not actual # of players that signed and made it to campus) of the AAC schools from 2010, 2011, and 2012:

Memphis 85
Cincinnati 79
Temple 76
Houston 74
SMU 74
Tulsa 70
UCF 69
ECU 66
USF 61
UConn 59

Here are some other schools for comparison: Miami 82, South Carolina 80, Oklahoma St. 78, Syracuse 78, Auburn 77, Miss. St. 76, Tennessee 76, Alabama 75, Clemson 73, FSU 73, Utah 72, Michigan 72, Iowa 71, Oklahoma 71, West Virginia 71, Louisville 70, Oregon 68, UNC 68, Vanderbilt 68, Virginia Tech 68, Baylor 67, Rutgers 67, UCLA 66, TCU 65, Texas A&M 64, Michigan St. 64, ND 63, Pitt 61, BC 61, California 61, Duke 60, Nebraska 59, Georgia Tech 59, Wisconsin 55, Northwestern 55, Wake Forest 54

 

[Hoophound]

With the exception of a few, generally speaking your better academic schools had less commitments across multiple conferences on average. That tells me admissions may be a factor in this.

 

[UConnJim]

UConn went to the Fiesta Bowl and won the Big East in 2010. The key recruiting years were 2006, 2007, and 2008. UConn had 73 commits during those three years which lead to a strong core of experienced players in the 2010 season..

You really need to average about 23 recruits per year if you are going to redshirt half the freshmen and experience 25% attrition over the 4 to 5 years a class is on campus. That means you need about 69 recruits over three years to maintain a full roster. UConn had 59 recruits in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and has had 4 head coaches in about 5 years which typically increases roster turnover. Thus, UConn has an inexperienced and depleted roster.

What kills recruiting #s is a coaching change: In 2011 (PP), UConn had 16 commits. In 2014 (Diaco), UConn had 15 recruits.

 

[SubbaBub]

UConn went to the Fiesta Bowl and won the Big East in 2010. The key recruiting years were 2006, 2007, and 2008. UConn had 73 commits during those three years which lead to a strong core of experienced players in the 2010 season..

You really need to average about 23 recruits per year if you are going to redshirt half the freshmen and experience 25% attrition over the 4 to 5 years a class is on campus. That means you need about 69 recruits over three years to maintain a full roster. UConn had 59 recruits in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and has had 4 head coaches in about 5 years which typically increases roster turnover. Thus, UConn has an inexperienced and depleted roster.

What kills recruiting #s is a coaching change: In 2011 (PP), UConn had 16 commits. In 2014 (Diaco), UConn had 15 recruits.

Not to mention that new coaches typically short recruit the transition season so they can offer sign 25 and maybe greyshirt a few more their first full recruiting season. Still trying to decide is PP recruiting was as bad as his development and coaching. I'm leaning he was hit and miss position by position, coming up way short in certain key positions like OL, QB, TE, DE and LB.

 

[UConnJim]

The two recent recruiting years that we did not bring in a QB? 2011 and 2014, the coaching transition recruiting classes. That has really hurt the depth development of the QB position.

 

[rich1122]

Edsall lost much of the 2009 class which started the ball rolling on this disaster. He saw the writing on the wall and told Todman to get out. The Difton year lost more than 50% and it continued to tumble from there. We lost Endres and Frey. Lang Oseiki Aiken disappeared.

Gone are the days when we got steals like Campbell Trev Williams Kendall Reyes, Twayo Martin, Bardzak

He left us with no QB and Johnny Mac won the job. Then PP had the audacity to eject Nebrich and Mike Box left. Many of PP's recruits never made it to the show. Went to Milford and got lost.

PP fought an uphill battle and so is Diaco. How many Juniors and Seniors are playing now??

It's not how many signed but how many are still there. Geremy Davis Mataeus, Gus Cruz Byron Jones may be the only examples.

It's been a mess. Credit Edsall for seeing the writingon the wall.

 

[J187Money]

Easy to see the writing on the wall when you are the one writing on the wall.

 

[whaler11]

So Edsall didn't leave for a huge raise, a better league and the opportunity to not work for Jeff Hathaway.

He left because he knew he had a bad recruiting class in 2009.

Is it that hard to know what Juniors and Seniors are playing?

 

[J187Money]

So Edsall didn't leave for a huge raise, a better league and the opportunity to not work for Jeff Hathaway. He left because he knew he had a bad recruiting class in 2009. Is it that hard to know what Juniors and Seniors are playing?

Come on. You want to operate on facts?

 

[UConnJim]

Edsall lost much of the 2009 class which started the ball rolling on this disaster. He saw the writing on the wall and told Todman to get out. The Difton year lost more than 50% and it continued to tumble from there. We lost Endres and Frey. Lang Oseiki Aiken disappeared.

Gone are the days when we got steals like Campbell Trev Williams Kendall Reyes, Twayo Martin, Bardzak

He left us with no QB and Johnny Mac won the job. Then PP had the audacity to eject Nebrich and Mike Box left. Many of PP's recruits never made it to the show. Went to Milford and got lost.

PP fought an uphill battle and so is Diaco. How many Juniors and Seniors are playing now??

It's not how many signed but how many are still there. Geremy Davis Mataeus, Gus Cruz Byron Jones may be the only examples.

It's been a mess. Credit Edsall for seeing the writingon the wall.

PP inherited a very experienced roster as the 2 deep at the start of the 2011 season had 14 Seniors or Juniors on offense and 13 Seniors or Juniors on defense. He inherited a QB lineup of Box (RS Soph), McCummings (RS Fr), Nebrich (Fr), and McEntee (RS Jr.). And, he inherited Nick Williams as a Returner and Teggart as PK. Don't forget, here were the Fr/Soph backups on the 2 deep: Greene, Bullock, Cruz, Tebucky Jones, Frank, McCombs, Geremy Davis, Stephen, McBryde, Smallwood, Byron Jones,... Seven on defense were drafted and probably Jones will be too.

PP ran off Box and Nebrich, who both had very good careers at lower level colleges, and he brought in Cochran (injury), Taylor (discipline), Lagow (lasted a week?), Boyle, and Whitmer.

PP inherited a much healthier situation than Diaco.