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Texas A&M Football Recruiting

Divining success: the crucial, inexact science of recruiting

January 30, 2017
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Thirteen victories in four seasons prompted a change after Texas A&M’s 1971 football season.

Enter new coach Emory Bellard, who immediately assembled a 1972 recruiting class that included future NFL players Ed Simonini, Bubba Bean, Garth Ten Naple, Glen Bujnoch, Richard Osborne, Edgar Fields and Pat Thomas.

Four years later, the Aggies were ranked second in the nation and national championship contenders until … well, you know.

The lesson here is simple: Great recruiting classes become great teams.

The curve ball, though, is that the strength of a recruiting class isn’t truly known until a few years after its arrival. For example, Texas A&M’s 2013 class was ranked sixth in the nation by many scouting services. Yet, taking advantage of hindsight, ESPN recently ranked that class last in the SEC for that year.

Recruiting is not rocket science. But it is an inexact science — as one of Texas A&M’s greatest recruiters can attest.

“What’s interesting about recruiting is you never hear a coach before or after signing day — especially after signing day — say we had a bad recruiting year,” said R.C. Slocum, the winningest football coach in Texas A&M history. “You obviously don’t give scholarships to guys unless you think they can help you. The reality is you really don’t know until you get them on campus.”

Typically, about a third of a recruiting class are guys who will quit, transfer or won’t make any significant mark on the field.

Another third will spend most of their careers as backups and/or play on special teams.

About another third will be reliable starters. Some of those may become stars.

A team that exceeds that ratio figures to have tremendous success. Teams that don't likely struggle.

For example, in 1983 Slocum helped then head coach Jackie Sherrill bring in a class rife with future NFL players like Rod Bernstine, Louis Cheek, Johnny Holland, Larry Kelm, Rod Saddler, Roger Vick, Anthony Toney and Keith Woodside. Two years later, the Aggies won the Southwest Conference championship and began a decade of dominance in that league.

Slocum, who was head coach from 1989 to 2002 and attracted some of A&M’s most talented recruiting classes, says he followed three simple guidelines in evaluating recruits.

Could they run?

Did they have potential to play in the NFL?

Would they fit in with the culture he wanted?

An affirmative answer to those questions made a recruit an A&M target.

“We had an old saying: if he can’t run, he can’t play,” Slocum said. “We always put a high priority on that. Let’s don’t recruit guys who can’t run.

“Second, in our overriding philosophy was, 'Can we project this guy to the NFL?' If this kid develops like we think he will, does he have enough talent and innate ability to have a chance to go to the NFL?

“Maybe he’s not big enough, but he has athletic ability, good character and toughness. If we bring him in and develop him, could we see him in the NFL? I we don’t feel strongly about that ability we shouldn’t take him. We had about 50 guys or more to play in the NFL. Those guys make a difference.”

Those guys aren’t always the five- and four-star rated prospects, though. Slocum tells a story about a quarterback on a winless team in East Texas who was originally turned down because he didn’t throw well enough to play at the major college level.

“Someone called me and told me to look at that kid because he was a great kid,” Slocum said. “I said I’ll look a the tape myself. I saw a guy who obviously wasn’t a passer, but I saw a really good athlete. So I called him up and said “I know we’re late. You’re obviously a gifted athlete and we’ll find a place for you.”

That kid, Terrence Murphy, left A&M as one of the most productive receivers in school history. He caught 172 passes for 2,600 yards and, as a freshman had two touchdown catches in a upset of No. 1 Oklahoma.

“When you see the list of guys that are five-stars, that means you’ve got to be sure to take a look at that guy,” Slocum said. “It doesn’t mean you need to be recruiting him. Somebody might be a two-star or a three-star, but you think this kid fits our culture and he’s our kind of guy. He has tools. We can coach this guy.”

Slocum said one of those guys was Reggie Brown, a lightly-recruited linebacker from Austin who eventually became a first round draft choice of the Detroit Lions.

Brown was part of a 1992 recruiting class that included future NFL players Aaron Glenn, Calvin Collins, Ed Jasper, Keith Mitchell, Detron Smith and Leeland McElroy as well as quarterback Corey Pullig. That class contributed to teams that posted 41 victories and three championships over the next four years.

But Slocum said he never took success for granted.

“I never had a class where I said, 'These guys are going to make a difference,'” he said. “I always operated under knowledge and awareness that you don’t know what you have until they get there.”

Top Ten Texas A&M recruiting classes of all time

Legend: * denotes all-conferece; @ denotes All-American; $ played in NFL or AFL

1. 1972
Bubba Bean*$
Glenn Bujnoch*$
Edgar Fields*$
Richard Osborne*$
Carl Roaches$
Bucky Sams
Ed Sinonimi*@$
Garth Ten Naple*@$
Pat Thomas*@$
Skip Walker*

2. 1983
Rod Bernstine*$
Louis Cheek*$
Kip Corrington*$
Johnny Holland*@$
Larry Kelm$
Jay Muller*
Rod Saddler*$
Roger Vick*$
Anthony Toney*$
Keith Woodside*$


3. 2010
Jarvis Harrison$
Luke Joeckel*@$
Malcome Kennedy
Ben Malena$
Jake Matthews*@$
Damontre Moore*@$
Cedric Ogbuehi*@$

4. 1954
Bobby Joe Conrad$
John David Crow*@$
Charlie Krueger *@$
Bobby Marks*
Roddy Osborne*
Jim Stanley
Lloyd Taylor
Jimmy Wright

5. 1992
Reggie Brown*$
Hayward Clay$
Calvin Collins*$
Aaron Glenn*@$
Edward Jasper$
Leeland McElroy*@$
Keith Mitchell*@$
Corey Pullig
Detron Smith$

6. 1987
Keith Alex*$
Larry Horton
Darren Lewis*@$
Matt McCall*
Bucky Richardson*$
Randy Simmons
William Thomas*$

7. 1991
Sam Adams*@$
Dennis Allen
Clif Groce$
Ray Mickens*$
Chris Sanders$
Antonio Shorter*@$
Rodney Thomas*$

8. 1988
Quentin Coryatt*?$
John Ellisor*
Derrick Frazier$
Patrick Henry
Mike Jones*$
Kevin Smith*@$
Robert Wilson$

9. 2011
Joe Cheek$
Mike Evans*@$
DeShazor Everett$
Drew Kaser*@$
Johnny Manziel*@$
Howard Matthews

10. 1965
Buster Adami
Edd Hargett*$
Billy Hobbs*@$
Wendell Housley*
Rolf Krueger*@$
Bob Long*
Tommy Maxwell*@$
Discussion from...

Divining success: the crucial, inexact science of recruiting

8,654 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by sbs
aggieland09
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sleepybeagle
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AG
Excellent read. RC!
Lateralus Ag
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AG
Saban seems to have figured it out.
TTTSDMF
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You left Henry Tracy off that #1 class. Stud duck Center out of Houston.
Ragnar Danneskjoldd
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AG
Ole Hank Tracy had his eye knocked out for the Ags and you leave him off?!
jmctamu90
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AG
Don't forget Todd Howard from the 83 class. He went to play for Kansas City and is coaching in the CFL now.
Meximan
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Is the question mark next to Quintin Coryatt a pass at the ambiguity surrounding the issue of who made The Hit?
dave parkin
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AG
When was Lester Hayes recruited? I thought he was part of that 72 class. He was one of those lightly recruited guys that could run. Boy, could he run! Became one of the best backs ever to play at A&M. Hate to see him overlooked if he was part of the 72 class.
sbs
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