FSU New Coach

JacketForLife said:
Disagree completely. Guy could never beat UCF and in those games had horrible decisions.

Look, it's not hard to be successful at Memphis. They will get better players compared to other AAC schools.

Heard a few rumors about some scandals yet to come out with him, we shall see!
Click to expand...

I am a lurker and I would normally not bother posting but I could not let this one slide.

In my opinion, it is VERY hard to be successful at Memphis.

Like Atlanta, Memphis is a crossroads for the SEC. They have Ole Miss 86 miles away. The state of Arkansas, which the Hogs own, is across the Mississippi River - like the distance from BDS to Sun Trust Park - with a large Arkansas alumni base in Memphis. Speaking of which, Tennessee, the flagship school, was founded in 1794. Memphis was founded in 1912 - more than a bit of a headstart there in terms of alumni support and tradition - football or otherwise. Mississippi State is also not far away.

They play at an off campus stadium [the Liberty Bowl] with a 60k+ capacity that, if they're lucky, they draw 30k. There were 4,000 fans in attendance at their televised game vs. East Carolina in 2009. You thought there was alot of red in BDS in COFH this year? At Memphis, home games vs. the SEC opponents are road games. They sellout vs. Tennessee when UT comes to Memphis, which is not often, and that's about it.

Memphis doesn't draw on academics. Locals call it "Tiger High" due to low standards. And that's for kids who are NOT athletes.

They cheat but they even suck at that. The football program narrowly escaped the death penalty in 1989 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-08-04-sp-675-story.html.

Prior to the 2003 New Orleans Bowl, their only other bowl game in program history was the 1971 Pasadena Bowl. Remember that one vs. San Jose State? It drew 15,000 fans in the Rose Bowl(!). The most prestigious bowl the Memphis Tigers have been invited to before this season is a toss up between the Liberty Bowl last season (yes, their home stadium) vs. Iowa State and the Motor City Bowl in 2005 vs. Akron. Exciting!

The AAC per school member payouts are at a record high of just under $7m each. By way of comparison, ACC annual payouts were ~$27m prior to the launch of the ACC network. Think their recruiting braintrust is well funded? I think not. How about big money for a name coach and quality assistants? Nope. Neither Fed Ex nor the basketball program can bridge a $20m annual revenue gap.

So - given the above I don't see how it's not hard to be successful at Memphis. Your AAC peers are in the same spot you're in, EXCEPT Houston has big $$$, Navy has the TO and an elite education, UCF and USF have Florida. Cincy & Temple are in Big 10 land and lack a meaningful tradition, so maybe they're on equal footing. AAC is not a cakewalk for Memphis. So where are all those "better players" supposed to come from?

In my view, Memphis' most important asset is its small but loyal and passionate fan base. These people love Memphis football win or lose. I admire that given their long history of futility.

Norvell did an exceptional job at Memphis and at this rate I predict he'll also have great success at FSU.
 
Unfortunately Memphis gave us Josh Pastner to destroy what was left of our basketball program. We actually saved them significant dollars because they wanted to dump Pastner.
 
JJacket said:
I've never understood the draw of VT. UVA should be the dominant of the programs, but can't get it together.

As for FSU, Tallahassee is a pretty boring town.
Click to expand...
Zimas are in short supply in Va.
 
knoxjacket said:
vKcapba_d.jpg


Definite FSU fit.
Click to expand...
This picture should be tweeted to any recruit for whom we are competing against FSU.
 
Really no reason to talk about Memphis' success or not. FSU is a different beast. It take a different type of coach on and off the field to be successful at that type of program than one like Memphis.

His talent as a coach will either translate or it will not. No one knows at this time.

I would be worried about his lack of recruiting in the south and at the top 10 level and his coaching against top programs. He likely is an upgrade over Taggart so he should be able to "look" better than some of the trash that Taggart rolled out there.
 
Saw Norvell on ACCN the other day . Boy talks so fast he almost seems to babble. Gonna be a long haul for him, if not a short trip.
 
Being “successful” at Memphis is about how well you do relative to other members of the AAC - not the mega schools surrounding you. You don’t have to be the smartest guy at your school to get an A, just the smartest in your class.
 
JJacket said:
I've never understood the draw of VT. UVA should be the dominant of the programs, but can't get it together.

As for FSU, Tallahassee is a pretty boring town.
Click to expand...

VPI is the University of Virginia. UVA is for the landed gentry. Pretty big disconnect between the common folk of the commonwealth and the ivy league wannabes at UVA. UVA just went an entire generation without winning its state rivalry. Hard to break that kind of bandwagon.
 
GT flunkout said:
VPI is the University of Virginia. UVA is for the landed gentry. Pretty big disconnect between the common folk of the commonwealth and the ivy league wannabes at UVA. UVA just went an entire generation without winning its state rivalry. Hard to break that kind of bandwagon.
Click to expand...
VCU actually. That’s their “State University.” I’m not even sure if they have a football team though.
 
I think the floor and ceiling are both higher under Norvell than they were with Taggart, who was just terrible.

Even if he ends up being rather average, like Fuente, that should at least get FSU back to being a top 15-20 program with the level of talent they can amass. Obviously their fan base is going to expect more over the long haul, and I'm skeptical that he can have them seriously competing for the division every year...unless the ACC moves Clemson out of their division.
 
brookhavenjacket said:
I am a lurker and I would normally not bother posting but I could not let this one slide.

In my opinion, it is VERY hard to be successful at Memphis.

Like Atlanta, Memphis is a crossroads for the SEC. They have Ole Miss 86 miles away. The state of Arkansas, which the Hogs own, is across the Mississippi River - like the distance from BDS to Sun Trust Park - with a large Arkansas alumni base in Memphis. Speaking of which, Tennessee, the flagship school, was founded in 1794. Memphis was founded in 1912 - more than a bit of a headstart there in terms of alumni support and tradition - football or otherwise. Mississippi State is also not far away.

They play at an off campus stadium [the Liberty Bowl] with a 60k+ capacity that, if they're lucky, they draw 30k. There were 4,000 fans in attendance at their televised game vs. East Carolina in 2009. You thought there was alot of red in BDS in COFH this year? At Memphis, home games vs. the SEC opponents are road games. They sellout vs. Tennessee when UT comes to Memphis, which is not often, and that's about it.

Memphis doesn't draw on academics. Locals call it "Tiger High" due to low standards. And that's for kids who are NOT athletes.

They cheat but they even suck at that. The football program narrowly escaped the death penalty in 1989 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-08-04-sp-675-story.html.

Prior to the 2003 New Orleans Bowl, their only other bowl game in program history was the 1971 Pasadena Bowl. Remember that one vs. San Jose State? It drew 15,000 fans in the Rose Bowl(!). The most prestigious bowl the Memphis Tigers have been invited to before this season is a toss up between the Liberty Bowl last season (yes, their home stadium) vs. Iowa State and the Motor City Bowl in 2005 vs. Akron. Exciting!

The AAC per school member payouts are at a record high of just under $7m each. By way of comparison, ACC annual payouts were ~$27m prior to the launch of the ACC network. Think their recruiting braintrust is well funded? I think not. How about big money for a name coach and quality assistants? Nope. Neither Fed Ex nor the basketball program can bridge a $20m annual revenue gap.

So - given the above I don't see how it's not hard to be successful at Memphis. Your AAC peers are in the same spot you're in, EXCEPT Houston has big $$$, Navy has the TO and an elite education, UCF and USF have Florida. Cincy & Temple are in Big 10 land and lack a meaningful tradition, so maybe they're on equal footing. AAC is not a cakewalk for Memphis. So where are all those "better players" supposed to come from?

In my view, Memphis' most important asset is its small but loyal and passionate fan base. These people love Memphis football win or lose. I admire that given their long history of futility.

Norvell did an exceptional job at Memphis and at this rate I predict he'll also have great success at FSU.
Click to expand...
As someone who grew up in Memphis I agree. They have a small, very passionate fanbase (they do a better job than any other school in the state of wresting fanbase control in their city away fron UT), but it is a smallish city that has academic issues and produces very good basketball talent. The football talent isn't deep enough there for them to create a successful mid major level program from SEC leftovers with no problems. Both Fuente and Norvell were goos coaches for them, but they have yet to prove they can translate that to the P5 level consistently.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top