where's the beef? err.... talent?

[TheDoggPound]

There's a list of players that looked prime to be impact players recruited by Diaco that end up bailing last second. Off the top of my head: Justice Pettus-Dixon, Nolan Ulizio and Jasen Rose.

 

[Stainmaster]

There's a list of players that looked prime to be impact players recruited by Diaco that end up bailing last second. Off the top of my head: Justice Pettus-Dixon, Nolan Ulizio and Jasen Rose.

Last two, maybe. Pettus-Dixon's ended up at Towson though - if he were "impact", his landing spot would've been higher up.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Last two, maybe. Pettus-Dixon's ended up at Towson though - if he were "impact", his landing spot would've been higher up.

Wasn't he a 3*? Thought he settled for Towson to stay close to home.

 

[cheech63]

Year after year UConn's recruits are ranked at the bottom of the conference..whatever conference.

Year after year UConn is pick to finish in the lower 50%-25% of league standings....whatever conference.

Year after year opposing teams frequently set individual, team, or program records when they beat UConn.

How often has UConn beat a program with a winning record?

UConn's FBS W-L record is well below 0.500....even when you count Edsall's record.

I've supported UConn FB for 50 years.

Let's trash the fan commentary that UConn lost to inferior talent.

Where's the #%@*^ UConn talent? I don't think you can find any with an atomic microscope...if there even is a microscope with that much power and magnification ability!

Sorry about my obnoxious rant, but I'm madder than H___!

Don't tell me we have better talent in the wings, either.

Bottom line is You can't improve the talent on the team with 2 star talent.13 years has proven this.Sure, we get the occasional 2 or 3 players that turn out to be better than average players.Worse than this is having a 1 star coaching staff that can't improve the play on the field, or coach players up.I can probably count on one hand how many games Uconn has won against teams with winning records.Even worse, how many wins this team has on the road.Pretty abysmal.

 

[Stainmaster]

Wasn't he a 3*? Thought he settled for Towson to stay close to home.

Fair, I seem to remember reading something along those lines. There are FBS schools closer to Baltimore though.

 

[zls44]

Look, the talent disparity between CT and these other huge states is well known but outside of the huge programs that pay $50,000/yr to be a HSFB coach, the coaching isn't much different. Go watch the featured HS games on ESPN and you'll see those coaches are no better than the Filippone's, Trifone's and Marinelli's of the world.

Yeah, but those games - either because the players have earned it or the school has invested to earn it - have actual good players in them.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Ryslik left and was rated our best recruit in the 2015 class per 24/7 and Nazir Williams who was rated 2nd in the class per 24/7 could be gone from the program this time next year.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Fair, I seem to remember reading something along those lines. There are FBS schools closer to Baltimore though.

True, but I remember him being top 3 on our list that year. The larger point is every guy that seems to be a real FBS player somehow makes his escape out of here before ever playing. It must have something to do with Diaco that eventually turns them off to him. Other than Ulizio.

 

[Stainmaster]

True, but I remember him being top 3 on our list that year. The larger point is every guy that seems to be a real FBS player somehow makes his escape out of here before ever playing. It must have something to do with Diaco that eventually turns them off to him. Other than Ulizio.

That I'm not willing to speculate about. Not defending Diaco, but there are plenty of reasons for players to leave a DI program besides the coach.

 

[gtcam]

UConn will never get the talent that you think it needs to be where you envision it. Football is way too cultural in this country, and the south won long ago. If you're school isn't located below the Mason-Dixon Line then you are automatically starting going against the current, uphill, with 100 lbs weights tied to your ankles.

Even if a miracle does occur where UConn has a staff that can bring in the talent needed to reach that level, the powers that be in the ridiculously political college football world would put an end to it. It's just been that way every time UConn as a program has taken a step forward. The P5 shift and movement for autonomy is all about traditional football powers lowering overall risk by making sure they never have to play teams that they consider "lesser" again.

I Kinda get what you are saying BUT what about the Michigans, Wisconsins, Utahs, UWashingtons, Oregons, West Virginias, Ohio States, etc?
Plus theres some pretty bad teams in the south
But again there is some credence to your argument

 

[BUConn10]

I Kinda get what you are saying BUT what about the Michigans, Wisconsins, Utahs, UWashingtons, Oregons, West Virginias, Ohio States, etc?
Plus theres some pretty bad teams in the south
But again there is some credence to your argument

Yea certain schools can throw a wrench in my argument but to be fair, Ohio and Michigan are outliers in terms of talent, consistently produce great athletes in all sports, especially Ohio, culturally they are very athletically inclined in that region.
Also having the financial support and resources of institutions with alumni like OSU and Michigan helps a great deal.

I don't think there is a more high school football talent devoid region of the country than New England.

 

[UConnDan97]

Yea certain schools can throw a wrench in my argument but to be fair, Ohio and Michigan are outliers in terms of talent, consistently produce great athletes in all sports, especially Ohio, culturally they are very athletically inclined in that region.
Also having the financial support and resources of institutions with alumni like OSU and Michigan helps a great deal.

I don't think there is a more high school football talent devoid region of the country than New England.

How about Wyoming, which looks like a very competent football team right now. The idea that the 6 New England states are devoid of talent is ridiculous...

 

[JMick]

Yea certain schools can throw a wrench in my argument but to be fair, Ohio and Michigan are outliers in terms of talent, consistently produce great athletes in all sports, especially Ohio, culturally they are very athletically inclined in that region.
Also having the financial support and resources of institutions with alumni like OSU and Michigan helps a great deal.

I don't think there is a more high school football talent devoid region of the country than New England.

I mean, it makes sense. There are twice as many people in Texas than there are in all of New England.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

What great football players are going to play for a school in the northeast in today's world? Even great local talent wants to go where the football programs are better, and can you blame them? Is Diacco an attractive part of the program to play
For?

 

[JMick]

What great football players are going to play for a school in the northeast in today's world? Even great local talent wants to go where the football programs are better, and can you blame them? Is Diacco an attractive part of the program to play
For?

We could start offering players gold trans-ams and suitcases full of cash.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

We could start offering players gold trans-ams and suitcases full of cash.

We can't even offer them a football tradition and school rivalries,
We aren't even confident we want to even stay in our own conference

 

[BUConn10]

How about Wyoming, which looks like a very competent football team right now. The idea that the 6 New England states are devoid of talent is ridiculous...

Ridiculous? You really think that's ridiculous?

 

[UConnDan97]

I mean, it makes sense. There are twice as many people in Texas than there are in all of New England.

And more than twice as many D1 football programs...

 

[UConnDan97]

Ridiculous? You really think that's ridiculous?

Yes, I do. There are over 14 million people in New England. The issue is not that there is a lack of talent. The issue is that we lose those recruiting battles to ND, OSU, Michigan, etc...

 

[TheDoggPound]

2014:

2015:

Ulizio - 3* | .8343
Pettus-Dixon - 3* | . 8316
Ryslik - 3* | .8292 (1/21)
Williams - 3* | .8190 (2/21) [know he hasn't left yet but seems like a candidate to me though ppl probably won't want me to speculate]
Battle - 3* | .8076 (7/21)

2016:

Rose - 3* | .8261 (6/16)

We failed to retain our top 3 2015 recruits (with Williams no sure thing to come back next season so possibly 4) and lost a potential QB in Rose.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Yes, I do. There are over 14 million people in New England. The issue is not that there is a lack of talent. The issue is that we lose those recruiting battles to ND, OSU, Michigan, etc...

There is certainly a lack of talent compared to other parts of the country but u are right,
What little talent there is goes to a big program

 

[JMick]

We can't even offer them a football tradition and school rivalries,
We aren't even confident we want to even stay in our own conference

Look, the pitch is; do you want to come in and make an impact right away? do you want to help jumpstart a young program into the upper echelon of the college football rankings? Do you also want to attend a great public university?

But it doesn't matter what the pitch is unless you can get kids to believe it and buy into it.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Look, the pitch is; do you want to come in and make an impact right away? do you want to help jumpstart a young program into the upper echelon of the college football rankings? Do you also want to attend a great public university?

But it doesn't matter what the pitch is unless you can get kids to believe it and buy into it.

Right but, all they need to do is look at what is going on in the college landscape and where uconn is, I get they can come in and be a difference maker, but if ur qb sucks, u can't throw the ball for him, if the coach sucks, u can't coach for him, if the conference sucks, u can't go to a new conference.. There are schools that have a lot better situations right off the bat. That's what u are competing against.

 

[JMick]

Right but, all they need to do is look at what is going on in the college landscape and where uconn is, I get they can come in and be a difference maker, but if ur qb sucks, u can't throw the ball for him, if the coach sucks, u can't coach for him, if the conference sucks, u can't go to a new conference.. There are schools that have a lot better situations right off the bat. That's what u are competing against.

Of course all of that matters but being a CFB coach is part coaching and part selling. You can look at Utah as an example of that. There is no reason they should ever be good, yet they are. CFB may be the most coach-dependent sport in the world.

 

[UConnDan97]

There is certainly a lack of talent compared to other parts of the country but u are right,
What little talent there is goes to a big program

Just take the state of Massachusetts, for example. We average getting 2 of their top 20 players every year (according to 247). That's less than UMASS. This is the same state where we got players like Todman, etc.

If we were to get 2 or 3 more players from the MA top 20, along with 2 or 3 more of the CT top 10, that alone would make a big difference for our squad. We have to start winning those battles in our back yard...