The Official "I Hate our Recruiting" Thread

[Confident Carl]

Edsall showed a consistent ability to find diamonds in the rough and coach them up. So far Diaco hasn't shown an ability to do either.

Offers matter. Sure its possible to find under the radar players and turn them into good players. But its not like any 6'6 300 pounder and be coached into a FBS lineman.

Not true, Matt Pert is projected to be a high NFL draft choice. He beat out Richard Levi this year.

"Now you're adding a really talented young player," Diaco said. "And it will look like he's a young player for a bit, Matt Peart. But he's a super, super talent. And with Crozier coming back — he was going to be a stalwart for us a season ago. So to have Ryan back anchoring that offensive line and to have a tackle [Peart] who is very special, who is GOING to be a very special player, it will be a little trial by fire there this year, which will be great for him and great for our team."

Pert entered UConn at 264 pounds, the body of a power forward. He certainly looks like a tackle now.

"What we wanted to do was bring him in so Matt Balis and his [strength and conditioning] staff could develop him, and we've tried to teach him a little football," offensive line coach Mike Cummings said. "You know when you have a good, big athlete. It might sound incredible [gaining 40 pounds]. But based on his size, his frame and so forth, he's a good-looking, lean 300 pounds."

Peart said he's more mobile.

"This summer, passing 300, it was a drill down to get used to moving at this weight and size," Peart said. "They wanted to make sure I put on good weight — muscle instead of a bunch of extra fat hanging around."

 

[Confident Carl]

Who besides Matt Schonvisky told you this?

Not someone from the Boneyard stretch!

Who besides Matt Schonvisky told you this?

You might find this hard to believe stretch but I do have my sources.



Also Consider what DesMond Connor had to say.

UConn Expects Big Things On Football Field From LT Matt Peart

 

[Stainmaster]

Not someone from the Boneyard stretch!


You might find this hard to believe stretch but I do have my sources.

Also Consider what DesMond Connor had to say.

UConn Expects Big Things On Football Field From LT Matt Peart

Great. My source told me that my uncle is the favorite to be named the next OC.

I cannot for the life of me imagine how you could take one article from Des Conner that doesn't even mention the draft and extrapolated that. Seriously. Walk me through your thought process.

 

[Stainmaster]

This is frustrating because I actually think Peart is the only "diamond in the rough" who has shown anything so far. Why do nutballs who aren't grounded in reality have to put me in a position to argue against the kid?

 

[jazyj]

I love when people get misinformed by "sources"

 

[Confident Carl]

This is frustrating because I actually think Peart is the only "diamond in the rough" who has shown anything so far. Why do nutballs who aren't grounded in reality have to put me in a position to argue against the kid?

Stretch I was told by qualified sources who I respect that Matt Pert has the ability to play at the next level and could go high in the NFL draft. I could give a bats pass whether you buy it or not. The kid has a VERY high ceiling.

 

[BlueMAB]

I'm realistic about the types of kids UConn can get to commit.

And people say those critical of the recruiting are being disrespectful. The "realists" hand out back-handed compliments left and right.

Congratulations to any kid good enough to make the team, scholarship or not, they are better athletes than 99% of the people here. That's not the point. They need to be better than the athletes on the teams we play. We play in the AAC, we need to outrecruit the AAC, not the Southland, or the MEAC.

I'm sick of the "we aren't getting 4/5 star commits" straw man argument. We aren't asking for us to beat out P5 programs. Is it too much to beat out ECU, USF and UCF more often than we beat our Army, Columbia, Fordham and Houston Baptist?

I don't think so. I have higher standards for the program. Not SEC standards, but AAC standards. I gave up the FCS, Patriot League, and Ohio Valley standards about 18 years ago.

 

[BlueMAB]

Not true, Matt Pert is projected to be a high NFL draft choice.

Got a link? Who, exactly has him projected to be a high draft pick?

And I'm not saying he can't be, I would just love it if you could back up your claims just once.

 

[Jimdish255]

Bad form boys. For those of you dogging this kid.
Don't use this kids thread to talk crap about him or your opinion about UConns poor recruiting . Probable one of the proudest moments for him and his family.
These kids do read these forums.

I kind of agree here. Nothing stopping everyone from creating another coaching thread or even a thread about recruiting challenges. Can the young man have 1 thread about him?

And good luck James, glad you chose UConn. We want the same success you want for yourself. Make it happen!

 

[Confident Carl]

Got a link? Who, exactly has him projected to be a huh draft pick?

And I'm not saying he can't be, I would just love it if you could back up your claims just once.

If I did I would be violating the trust of some people who trust me. I am not a name dropper.

When Mike Cummings was at Central Michigan he coached Eric Fisher who ended up the #1 overall draft pick in the 2013 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Do you know what he weighed when he came to CMU? 240lbs. He had 2 D1 offers.

CMU's Eric Fisher makes history in 2013 NFL Draft, picked No. 1 overall by Kansas City Chiefs

 

[Pudge]

I don't remember how highly regarded kids like Mike Hicks and Zach Hurd were coming out of high school but I'll takes like that on my offensive line as any day of the week.

I remember ... Zach Hurd has zero FBS offers and from small Waterford really only had FCS opportunity. But, I think you could see Mike Foley and Randy Edsall tracked him significantly throughout his senior year. He was ours because the right guys loved him and saw him grow his senior year. Mike Hicks from Seymour was an early commit; he really never went far in recruiting as he was one of the first to say Yes to UConn in that year.

Let's all remember ... with some Offensive Linemen, they are growing and developing throughout that Senior year of HS. It is a GOOD thing that some of the Maryland, Penn State and Rutgers are full of their quota by September of that last year. I do not feel the same way exactly about skill guys.

 

[BlueMAB]

If I did I would be violating the trust of some people who trust me. I am not a name dropper.

When Mike Cummings was at Central Michigan he coached Eric Fisher who ended up the #1 overall draft pick in the 2013 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Do you know what he weighed when he came to CMU? 240lbs. He had 2 D1 offers.

CMU's Eric Fisher makes history in 2013 NFL Draft, picked No. 1 overall by Kansas City Chiefs

Jesus Christmas.

I know who Mike Cummings is and who Eric Fisher is. Stop bragging about what he did at CMU because his performance here has been nothing short of an embarrassment.

So nobody, with any credibility, is willing to go on record, and say Peart IS (not could be, but IS) a future high NFL draft pick.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[UConnDan97]

Jesus Christmas.

I know who Mike Cummings is and who Eric Fisher is. Stop bragging about what he did at CMU because his performance here has been nothing short of an embarrassment.

So nobody, with any credibility, is willing to go on record, and say Peart IS (not could be, but IS) a future high NFL draft pick.

Got it. Thanks.

You beat me to it. The "Eric Fisher Mention Clock" had been at 1 month, 2 days. I knew we were due for another one soon!

Everything...EVERYTHING...that Cummings has shown us so far has been pure horse excrement. The fact that he still has a job is nothing short of criminal...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

A couple of things I want to point out:

1 - I can't speak for what anyone else has heard but I was told by more than one person that NFL scouts are very interested in Peart and at least two have been to multiple games primarily to get a read on him. The story is that if he continues to improve he can work his way into the first round of the draft after his senior year.

2 - At the picnic a year and a half ago I sat with offensive linemen (and directly across the table from Cummings) while we are. That was very shortly after we found out about Crozier's injury and I found out that Cummings was also on crutches that day. One of the linemen (I'll keep his name to myself) told Cummings he wanted a chance to be a starter (something you want to hear from all players). Cummings held up three fingers and said "are you there yet?". The kid responded "no, the last time they weighed me I was 287". Cummings responded "until you're over 300 you're not a starter". I don't get the obsession some have with size but it was clear that Cummings sees 300 lbs as some magic number (although I would wager at least a couple starters who were listed above 300 lbs were not really 300 lbs). I'm not sure what he is teaching these kids but weight, just for the sake of having weight won't make someone a better blocker.

 

[jdb50]

I don't know how highly rated the O-lineman were at WMU, Toledo and even North Dakota State, but they had very successful offenses and Lord knows we need help. I would like to thank James for signing up and hopefully helping to get us back on track.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Jesus Christmas.

I know who Mike Cummings is and who Eric Fisher is. Stop bragging about what he did at CMU because his performance here has been nothing short of an embarrassment.

So nobody, with any credibility, is willing to go on record, and say Peart IS (not could be, but IS) a future high NFL draft pick.

Got it. Thanks.

Call me no credibility, but I'll go on record today that Peart is at worst a 3rd rounder. I think he may go first or second.

 

[BlueMAB]

Call me no credibility, but I'll go on record today that Peart is at worst a 3rd rounder. I think he may go first or second.

None of us have credibility. He could go first round, sure. Not even really the point. Using Peart (and Fisher) to defend Cummings is mornic. Look at the rest of his body of work. It's like using Noel Thomas' performance to defend Diaco.

 

[Exit 4]

I have no problem taking projects like Tunstall if we are winning some of the regular recruiting battles against AAC schools for other players. The problem here is that this is our weakest position and has been for many many years now and so the fan base is rightfully looking for the immediate solutions that we desperately need. Tunstall could be molded in a draft pick over 5 years, but I think its pretty clear to anyone watching the film he will need some additional development.

 

[Chin Diesel]

None of us have credibility. He could go first round, sure. Not even really the point. Using Peart (and Fisher) to defend Cummings is mornic. Look at the rest of his body of work. It's like using Noel Thomas' performance to defend Diaco.

I defend none of the coaches.

 

[BlueMAB]

I defend none of the coaches.

I know, I wasn't talking about you. Tired of hearing "but, but, Cummings and Fisher and Peart" as if one guy, who could probably be even better under different coaching, is going to turn this around. People are upset with recruiting and he points to one player. One, on a roster of 100+.

 

[#BleedBlueFam]

I know, I wasn't talking about you. Tired of hearing "but, but, Cummings and Fisher and Peart" as if one guy, who could probably be even better under different coaching, is going to turn this around. People are upset with recruiting and he points to one player. One, on a roster of 100+.

People are upset with recruiting because we aren't winning. The recruiting classes were never special even in our best years. Not to mention that playing in a conference with the champion playing in a BCS bowl game and annual games against West Virginia, Rutgers, Pitt, and Louisville helped sell recruits.

This thought that we can automatically recruit kids away from P5 schools 'just because' is wrong. And no new coach will have that ability too unless some guy like Nick Saban walks through the door. He isn't. If you want to say that the coaching staff isn't doing their job developing players that is a fair argument.

What people are currently doing here is trashing a 17/18 year old kid who has just devoted the next 4-5 years of his life to trying to make your beloved program better. Stop doing this, it is .

 

[CTMike]

This thought that we can automatically recruit kids away from P5 schools 'just because' is wrong. And no new coach will have that ability too unless some guy like Nick Saban walks through the door. He isn't. If you want to say that the coaching staff isn't doing their job developing players that is a fair argument.

Why are our conference peers able to recruit against P5 and develop players? Why is it not a problem that we do neither?

 

[#BleedBlueFam]

Why are our conference peers able to recruit against P5 and develop players? Why is it not a problem that we do neither?

It is a problem. It always has been one, and it most likely always will be one.

UConn suffers a serious geographical problems. We're not in Texas. We're not in Florida. We're not in Pennsylvania. We're not in Ohio. We're not in a big city.

This is not the only factor, but certainly is a big one. Every time we recruit a kid we have to convince him (and his family) to leave his state and come to CT. Look at Houston's top 10 commits: all from Texas. UCF's top 10 recruits: 8/10 from Florida.

 

[whaler11]

So based on a lot of comments in this thread why even bother to try?

If we aren't worthy of being more competitive in recruiting - why not shutter the program and see if the ACC wants an even 16 for basketball.

 

[uconnphil2016]

So based on a lot of comments in this thread why even bother to try?

If we aren't worthy of being more competitive in recruiting - why not shutter the program and see if the ACC wants an even 16 for basketball.

This may be in our near future if we don't right the ship very quickly. And by righting the ship I mean buying Diaco a one way ticket to Guam and hiring any other warm body.