So, who do you recruit?

3,460 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by AgEngr12
AsburyAg
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AG
(For the tldr crowd a 3-star good kid or a 5-star bleeding hemorrhoid?)

Let's say you are a coach and the football fairy wakes you in the middle of the night and presents you with two candidates for recruiting.

Kid #1 is a 3-star quarterback. He's a good kid from a decent high school program. He will come in and redshirt his first year. 3rd string his RS freshmen year and run some scout team. Sophomore year a good quality 2nd stringer who gets some mop-up playing time as well as coming in to play a game and a half when your starter goes down with tweaked knee. Junior and senior year he starts every game. Junior year, he leads you to the SEC championship but loses. You go on to win your bowl game and finish with a 12-2 record. You finish in the top 10. Senior year you win the SEC championship, but lose in the first round of the NC tournament. He goes on to the pros and stays in the league for 5 years as nothing more than a clip-board holder and scout team QB.

This kid will never be a problem for you. He is a leader on field and off. He is an academic All American. He is a credit to your program. You look forward to the day that he will come back and be a mainstay "face of the program" because he is a credit to you and the school. He is the kind of kid you want your daughter to marry.

Kid #2 is a 5 star can't miss QB. He's a PIA from the word go. He led his high school team to three straight state titles his freshmen through junior years. (His senior year was spent in juvenile hall.) If you can keep him sober, out of jail, academically eligible and clean enough to pass scheduled drug tests, he will start every game his freshman and junior years. You will national titles both years he's playing, setting you up in the recruiting and coaching ranks for years to come. (His sophomore year he was on probation and suspended from the team for illegal drugs and domestic abuse.)

You can't wait for this kid to leave. You encourage him to go pro because you want him off the team so badly. He has been nothing but a locker-room and playing field cancer from the beginning. His tantrums and off the field shenanigans are the stuff of TMZ legend. You do all you can to keep this kid away from the media, donors and your family. You fail though, because he knocks up your 16-year-old daughter. You are going to be connected to the boy for the rest of your exploding-ulcer-shortened life.

Who do you recruit?
Aggie_Boomin 21
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Trying too hard
zooguy96
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This thread.
Meximan
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This thread was trying way too hard.

But the answer is: you look for the player who is the best fit culturally, academically, and philosophically, with regards to your scheme. You go after the best-rated kid (if you put stock in recruiting service evaluations), or you trust your own evaluations.

This is also a specious argument because the kid with off-field problems won't be highly recruited, no matter how talented he is. He will have to prove every step of the way that he can stay on the field and out of jail. In your example, this kid has already been to juvie; schools will be scared away by that and he will have a hard time making a juco squad because coaches will already see the red flag of jail time on him. Coaches are risk-averse, by and large, and certainly no top school will look at him unless they're getting a second top-rated player just in case this trouble kid doesn't pan out. They've seen that story too many times to not heed the warnings.
TxAg76
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Depends on how hot your seat is.
Your fanbase and administration mentality may not afford you the luxury of time needed to take on the developmental project.
Even if it were the right move, they may fire you before you're able to see it thru.

Lose lose.
AgEngr12
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Give me kid #2 with the dual natties. I doubt Sumlin regrets starting Manziel over Showers. Johnny made him millions.

Plus if your daughter has a boy, your grandson is probably a blue chip recruit going into college.
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