We’re in an awful place

[UConnNick]

It's not irrelevant when you are referencing the current recruiting cycle which you were. ("The fact that Temple is currently fourth out of 12 conference teams is really disturbing, considering one of the biggest excuses thrown around here for a lack of recruiting success is our geographic location compared with the rest of the league.").

We had one okay year since 2011 and are still in a prolonged down cycle not after one. Outside of the small subset of kids where academics really may matter - kid's want to play for winning programs. If you don't think being 3-9 in back to back years and being in the pit we are in this season doesn't effect recruiting against a team that went to a bowl three years row - I'm not going to be able to change your mind in that regard. We should be able to compete against Temple in recruiting - right now (which was the point) its a struggle.

BTW - Temple's football facilities on campus aren't that shabby anymore.

Four years ago Temple was 6-6. Then they had two 10 win seasons when Ruhle was still there, although they lost both their bowl games, and last year they finished 7-6 only due to a win over FIU in the meaningless Gasparilla Bowl. That's two winning seasons and two decidedly mediocre ones, and the coach responsible for the two 10 win seasons is long gone. Heck, we even managed to beat them once during that time.

BTW, after a 2-10 season (first year under Ruhle), they signed the second best recruiting class in the AAC.

I'm sorry, but trying to explain away how Temple is repeatedly kicking our ass in recruiting just doesn't fly. There's no excuse for it. If we can't recruit competitively against them, then how do we recruit competitively against anybody else?

 

[Chief00]

Four years ago Temple was 6-6. Then they had two 10 win seasons when Ruhle was still there, although they lost both their bowl games, and last year they finished 7-6 only due to a win over FIU in the meaningless Gasparilla Bowl. That's two winning seasons and two decidedly mediocre ones, and the coach responsible for the two 10 win seasons is long gone. Heck, we even managed to beat them once during that time.

BTW, after a 2-10 season (first year under Ruhle), they signed the second best recruiting class in the AAC.

I'm sorry, but trying to explain away how Temple is repeatedly kicking our ass in recruiting just doesn't fly. There's no excuse for it. If we can't recruit competitively against them, then how do we recruit competitively against anybody else?

I agree this excuse thing doesn’t work. The QB from Avon Old Farms and the STM kid are going to big time programs - and they are from CT.
I am afraid time may have past Randy by. Hopefully I am wrong. But his MD gig was a downward trajectory even with the Big10 and UnderArmour money.

 

[huskymedic]

I agree this excuse thing doesn’t work. The QB from Avon Old Farms and the STM kid are going to big time programs - and they are from CT.
I am afraid time may have past Randy by. Hopefully I am wrong. But his MD gig was a downward trajectory even with the Big10 and UnderArmour money.

So... at this point in time in UConn Football history, you expect/believe a kid w/ a Clemson offer, or a Penn State offer, or a ND offer or a Michigan offer to select UConn over them?

 

[Rewster]

Huskymedic

I have been harping lately on RE talking about UConns academic requirements making it more difficult to recruit. Being our resident expert in recruiting, do you know off hand if Temple taken more high risk kids or kids with academic records we would not be able to accept in the last 5 years? Perhaps more JUCO players. Was Matekavich(sp) or Marchi(sp) victims of our requirements? Have teams like Tulsa taken more JUCO players recently?

Like UConnNick I am particularly peeved about Temple being better than us.
I have said it before, UConn must take kids that any other program in our conference will take. We have no regional benefits like many other schools and lack the tradition. We can’t have higher standards academically. So tired of this being an issue.

 

[huskymedic]

Huskymedic

I have been harping lately on RE talking about UConns academic requirements making it more difficult to recruit. Being our resident expert in recruiting, do you know off hand if Temple taken more high risk kids or kids with academic records we would not be able to accept in the last 5 years? Perhaps more JUCO players. Was Matekavich(sp) or Marchi(sp) victims of our requirements? Have teams like Tulsa taken more JUCO players recently?

Like UConnNick I am particularly peeved about Temple being better than us.
I have said it before, UConn must take kids that any other program in our conference will take. We have no regional benefits like many other schools and lack the tradition. We can’t have higher standards academically. So tired of this being an issue.

I don’t consider myself an expert - just someone who has been following college sports and UConn for awhile. Some people deplore recruiting stuff till the class is signed and delivered. I like the chase (and it has become easier to follow multiple geographies/athletes in the Twitter/Social media age). We all have our opinions (some indeed more far fetched and unrealistic than others).

I was looking for Randy’s specific comment on academics since he’s been back (not recycling his old pre-Maryland concern) the other day and couldn’t find it (i know he referenced it when talking about global UConn challenges). There are kids currently on campus that may not have gotten in previously that have been admitted since he’s been back (and we’ve seen some anecdotal evidence of that without naming names). I think Benedict gets that component and can assist to smooth the road w/ admissions but I just don’t see UConn tossing all academic thresholds out the window for any sport (could be wrong - just my non-UConn alum opinion).

UConn and Temple offer a lot of the same kids and I can only think of one or two over the last 3-4 years that chose Temple over UConn head to head. Matakevich was missed by two UConn coaching staffs and Marchi (despite the transcript noise) was a victim of coaching change.

UConn has been chasing JUCO kids (especially on defense) for a number of recent years (including RE2.0). Are they selective to a fault and not going full Last Chance U mode - I’m sure they are to a point.

I thought I knew most east coast football schools by name fairly well. When Diaco was here I got an education looking up to find what other offers a kid we just offered had... I’d never heard of a majority of the schools. His recruiting killed us.

We can all cherry-pick examples to the contrary of a point but I think UConn’s biggest impediment in recruiting at this point in time is the G5 label foremost (w/ the level kids we are offering and to Randy’s other point that kids are waiting to see if they can pull in a P5 offer up till the end of the cycle) then the program coaching turnover/win/losses. Again, my semi-educated opinion.

“We” can only control the last two...

 

[Milo65]

It's not so much the geography in my mind - Look at Temple's record last 4 years... having a winning program helps cures a lot of ills.

Pennsylvania, Jersey and Ohio are decent recruiting areas.

 

[huskymedic]

Pennsylvania, Jersey and Ohio are decent recruiting areas.

No argument there... we need to do better in PA/Jersey (we had successes there in the past).

 

[Nextmanup]

No argument there... we need to do better in PA/Jersey (we had successes there in the past).

How about the prep schools in Jersey? Are we offering kids from the Laurencevill school, Blair, Peddie, Pingrey or The Hun School?
tons of kids being offered from other schools and going to Syracuse and Penn State from those prep schools..we should look there as well..

 

[huskymedic]

How about the prep schools in Jersey? Are we offering kids from the Laurencevill school, Blair, Peddie, Pingrey or The Hun School?
tons of kids being offered from other schools and going to Syracuse and Penn State from those prep schools..we should look there as well..

Historically we have - Nick Williams, James Atkins and Ryan Van Denmark are the first few to jump in my head. There have been others.

 

[Chief00]

So... at this point in time in UConn Football history, you expect/believe a kid w/ a Clemson offer, or a Penn State offer, or a ND offer or a Michigan offer to select UConn over them?

At some point you create change -or drown in the status quo.

 

[huskymedic]

So... at this point in time in UConn Football history, you expect/believe a kid w/ a Clemson offer, or a Penn State offer, or a ND offer or a Michigan offer to select UConn over them?

At some point you create change -or drown in the status quo.

Cute that you seem to be channeling your innner Randy w/ inspirational quotes but you didn’t answer the question...

 

[Rewster]

I don’t consider myself an expert - just someone who has been following college sports and UConn for awhile. Some people deplore recruiting stuff till the class is signed and delivered. I like the chase (and it has become easier to follow multiple geographies/athletes in the Twitter/Social media age). We all have our opinions (some indeed more far fetched and unrealistic than others).

I was looking for Randy’s specific comment on academics since he’s been back (not recycling his old pre-Maryland concern) the other day and couldn’t find it (i know he referenced it when talking about global UConn challenges). There are kids currently on campus that may not have gotten in previously that have been admitted since he’s been back (and we’ve seen some anecdotal evidence of that without naming names). I think Benedict gets that component and can assist to smooth the road w/ admissions but I just don’t see UConn tossing all academic thresholds out the window for any sport (could be wrong - just my non-UConn alum opinion).

UConn and Temple offer a lot of the same kids and I can only think of one or two over the last 3-4 years that chose Temple over UConn head to head. Matakevich was missed by two UConn coaching staffs and Marchi (despite the transcript noise) was a victim of coaching change.

UConn has been chasing JUCO kids (especially on defense) for a number of recent years (including RE2.0). Are they selective to a fault and not going full Last Chance U mode - I’m sure they are to a point.

I thought I knew most east coast football schools by name fairly well. When Diaco was here I got an education looking up to find what other offers a kid we just offered had... I’d never heard of a majority of the schools. His recruiting killed us.

We can all cherry-pick examples to the contrary of a point but I think UConn’s biggest impediment in recruiting at this point in time is the G5 label foremost (w/ the level kids we are offering and to Randy’s other point that kids are waiting to see if they can pull in a P5 offer up till the end of the cycle) then the program coaching turnover/win/losses. Again, my semi-educated opinion.

“We” can only control the last two...

Thanks HM
The RE article when he mentions the recruiting limitations I believe was in the Hartford Courant late September.I tried to go back to find it online but the articles only go back to 9/30.

It was a short mention about how he could not recruit the same kids as some other teams because of academic requirements at UConn.

Thanks for the insight

 

[Chief00]

Thanks HM
The RE article when he mentions the recruiting limitations I believe was in the Hartford Courant late September.I tried to go back to find it online but the articles only go back to 9/30.

It was a short mention about how he could not recruit the same kids as some other teams because of academic requirements at UConn.

Thanks for the insight

He’s the head coach, his job is influence the removal of obstacles to success - not just complain and deflect blame.

 

[Cubbybear]

A little help in the area of recruiting.Are UC standards of admission that much different than BC ,Syracuse or Temple. Those teams don’t seem to have recruiting issues,

Thoughts?

 

[huskymedic]

A little help in the area of recruiting.Are UC standards of admission that much different than BC ,Syracuse or Temple. Those teams don’t seem to have recruiting issues,

Thoughts?

Semi-educated guess (hardest to easiest)...

BC

Syracuse
UConn


Temple

 

[champs99and04]

Semi-educate guess (hardest to easiest)...

BC

Syracuse
UConn


Temple

I thought somebody here a while back mentioned Temple explicitly as a school that signed a lot of players over us because of the lighter admissions - so that makes sense.

 

[Madmannsucks]

What Coach Edsall did with Uconn previously was develop many under the radar recruits. If that is the plan now, we will see another year of this. Not fun, but we have to wait it out.
I remember they tried to upgrade many many years ago and were getting hammered regularly. Building a football program is not a quick process.

 

[Stanyboo]

This defense is bad by epic proportions. I was concerned last season that none of the underclassmen where pressing seniors for playing time. It’s obvious why that was the case now. This group should be better next year, but from what base? Marginal FCS talent? Memphis rushed for 400 yards and at one point rushed for 5 straight TDs, 4 of which were all over 25 (1 for 61). Edsall threw in the towel in the second half to keep 80 or 90 off the board.

Next season the offense loses a good QB in Pindell and a bunch of our best receivers. I think Mensah can be a good back, but while passpro has improved we get nothing in line push for the running game. So why would the offense improve?

We’re two seasons away from fielding a competitive AAC team.at the earliest. Absent getting a couple of juco LB studs I see any defensive improvement as being so modest as to not improve overall competitiveness.

We’re in an awful spot and going to the games will be about socializing and enduring these games. I’m a big Edsall guy, but if his plans for rebuilding don’t work, this program will be a laughing stock for the next decade. Let’s hope he knows what he’s doing.

I agree, the team is brutal to watch. And there can do but post about it, and hope the righteous Coach Edsall will hear us out. We have to win sooner or later, and when that day comes the sun will shine. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[noeynox]

UAB scrapped their program, came back and is currently 5-1.

 

[FartMan69]

Program is toast

 

[Block C]

I agree, the team is brutal to watch. And there can do but post about it, and hope the righteous Coach Edsall will hear us out. We have to win sooner or later, and when that day comes the sun will shine. GO HUSKIES!!!

What happens if we are this bad next year will Edsall be on hot seat. I mean I like him as a coach but really how can he just be okay with this losing and not be fired up

 

[UConnNick]

What happens if we are this bad next year will Edsall be on hot seat. I mean I like him as a coach but really how can he just be okay with this losing and not be fired up

Because he's 60 years old and likely playing out the string on his last gig. You get what you pay for.

My guess is he's going to get next season for sure, regardless of how bad this season ends up, and very likely one more after that, all because he's a bargain basement hire. If we suck at the same epic levels as we have this season for two more years, I'd expect him to either get fired or resign by mutual agreement prior to year five.

 

[RedSoloCup]

I think that there is no easy answer when trying to sort out recruiting. Trying to pick the 'one' thing that affects recruiting is like trying to figure which leaf on a tree will fall first in autumn.

I think that all the factors that people mention come into play... and the weight/importance factors vary by the individual kids.

The school - where it is located, where they play, what facilities are available for training, what academics are available, who are the alumni in the pros... what the name means from a history/legacy perspective.

The Staff - who they are, how they approach kids, how they approach parents, what systems will feature the kids, what culture will they foster... What fame is attached to their name, how they sell their own opportunity.

The Conference - who do you play, where will you play, what is 'national exposure'.

The Kid - who else is interested, who else has offered, are they going to have the grades to get in, do they like the build challenge, do they have the work ethic to overcome all the barriers that our current status has raised?

and on and on... there are inputs from parents, coaches, family.

I refuse to believe that RE2.0 is riding out a string, and coasting along. It never has been his way. He's on the road, with his staff, and they are seeing who they think will fit the program.

All I can do is trust the process, get to any game that I can get to, enjoy a tailgate with my football family, and watch the game until it is time to go. I enjoy from it what I can, and keep it simple.

 

[billybud]

BC..."The mean SAT for accepted students was 1448. The mean ACT score this year was 33, one point higher than last year."

UConn..."For students applying to the class of 2021, the average GPA of admitted applicants was 3.67, the average ACT score was 28, and the average SAT score was 1300.

and, because I had to remind myself:

"Mean (or arithmetic mean) is a type of average. It is computed by adding the values and dividing by the number of values. Average is a synonym for arithmetic mean - which is the value obtained by dividing the sum of a set of quantities by the number of quantities in the set. ... The average or mean is 4."

 

[Chief00]

I think that there is no easy answer when trying to sort out recruiting. Trying to pick the 'one' thing that affects recruiting is like trying to figure which leaf on a tree will fall first in autumn.

I think that all the factors that people mention come into play... and the weight/importance factors vary by the individual kids.

The school - where it is located, where they play, what facilities are available for training, what academics are available, who are the alumni in the pros... what the name means from a history/legacy perspective.

The Staff - who they are, how they approach kids, how they approach parents, what systems will feature the kids, what culture will they foster... What fame is attached to their name, how they sell their own opportunity.

The Conference - who do you play, where will you play, what is 'national exposure'.

The Kid - who else is interested, who else has offered, are they going to have the grades to get in, do they like the build challenge, do they have the work ethic to overcome all the barriers that our current status has raised?

and on and on... there are inputs from parents, coaches, family.

I refuse to believe that RE2.0 is riding out a string, and coasting along. It never has been his way. He's on the road, with his staff, and they are seeing who they think will fit the program.

All I can do is trust the process, get to any game that I can get to, enjoy a tailgate with my football family, and watch the game until it is time to go. I enjoy from it what I can, and keep it simple.

I wish for just once Randy would say he’s got to do better, Rather than players, millennial posting stuff on social media, conference affiliation, admission standards and CT HS subpar football are all the reasons for his terrible results. Until he does that UConnNick is correct, he is coasting and not taking ownership to get better.
When I say coasting it’s not that he isn’t working hard doing the same thing that doesn’t work. It’s that he isn’t doing the even more difficult task of honestly determining what’s not working and changing drastically the way he does certain things. He’s a sub 500 career coach at this point - why is he so wedded to how he always does things?

To UConnNick’s point, change is hard, especially at his age for many people. What we have seen thus far was an inability to adjust to his two most talented assistant coaches who he perhaps did not select. His defense of a hand pick DC while the unit is the absolute worse in the country. How can you not by definition do better?
The hiring of former players and son (and I like Cory) who he can control rather than some coaches who will challenge and bring fresh ideas.
An example of coasting is Randy rationalizing that the optimal practice time is early in the day - it’s better for the players academics etc. Chief can guarantee you without asking that question to anyone, it is more a better time of day for a 60 year old coach than a 20 year old player.
Corker’s not selecting defensive players who kind of want to hit someone but are good for his scheme - what’s left of it - is baffling to me. Regardless of talent you should be able to find a few guys who love to hit and carry a decent punch doing so. I have not seen that play out on the field.

 

[Chief00]

Cute that you seem to be channeling your innner Randy w/ inspirational quotes but you didn’t answer the question...

That wording came from my thumbs/brain not some quote book. If someone else has already used those words it’s purely coincidental.

 

[History Geek]

Because he's 60 years old and likely playing out the string on his last gig. You get what you pay for...

This take is so hot it's melting my computer screen. He got the rare chance to repair and cement his head coaching legacy. He is definitely NOT playing out the string.

 

[huskymedic]

That wording came from my thumbs/brain not some quote book. If someone else has already used those words it’s purely coincidental.

You still didn’t answer the question - it was a yes or no question.

So... at this point in time in UConn Football history, you expect/believe a kid w/ a Clemson offer, or a Penn State offer, or a ND offer or a Michigan offer to select UConn over them?

 

[CL82]

So... at this point in time in UConn Football history, you expect/believe a kid w/ a Clemson offer, or a Penn State offer, or a ND offer or a Michigan offer to select UConn over them?

Expect? No. Likely? No. Possible. I guess, in the metaphysical sense.

 

[billybud]

WVU has a similar geographic recruiting handicap to Uconn...True they are a P5, and can admit lower level academic players, but they do have a geographic handicap.

West Virginia is a small population state, with a small number of eventual P5 commits.

They have the B1G directly north of them skimming the cream of Ohio and Pennsylvania, Pitt just north in Western Pennsylvania, Maryland in the state adjacent to their NE , and VT sitting just to their south in Virginia.

This year, the difference of having a quality QB in Grier (transfer from Fla. Gators) makes them better than last year.

They have mixed up an average roster with a few very good players that complement their schemes.

And that may be the best that the Mountaineers can hope for...

That may be all that UConn can hope for...grabbing a few very good players that can make a difference and fit a scheme...