Okay, my recruiting thoughts

Re: after the dust has settled

Half of our recruiting class is made up of 3 and 4 star guys? Half? And this in on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to something higher?

I know the SAT test has been dumbed down but have the recruiting ratings been adjusted also?
 
Re: There is also a huge sales aspect to recruiting

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I think that's partly how it works but a bigger part of it is convincing kids (who might otherwise not think so)that they want to attend a school like GT and play for a coach like Gailey...and that is a pure old-fashioned sales job. I think our staff has been laking in this area. We needed someone hired primarily for this purpose (rather than thier ability to coach a position).

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goldmember, I completely concur that the bigger task in recruiting is in "selling" a recruit and his family on the significant benefits or attending and playing for GT. And you are correct in that we need to have coaches who are expert at this task.

Going back to the sales model my suggestion is that our "inside sales reps" aren't getting our "sales executives" enough prospects to whom they should be selling. So if our "sales execs" (coaches, for those who aren't in the sales game or aren't sure of my analogy) aren't getting enough prospects to sell to then they can't make their number.

Chan made an interesting statement in the morning at the Edge on National Signing Day. He talked about hiring coaches, in general, and that he believed that with the exception of 4 coaching positions (I believe they were OL, OC, DC, and DB coaches) every other coach must be skilled at recruiting FIRST and then at coaching his position because we can always teach a coach to be a better position coach but you can't teach someone how to build relationships and you can't actively support them in the recruiting role when they are out on their own in the recruiting territories.

My point in bringing this up is that it would seem that Chan agrees with the point that you are making (as of course do I). You've got to be a superlative salesperson to recruit well. You also have to have a good product (which we have a good one and want to have a better one) and a good territory into which you are selling.
 
NCJ

Tidewatewr Va guys may be ok but I'd rather have Ga,Ala,Fla guys ESPECIALLY from a small private school.A quick observation on this guy is that he is also carrying extra weight.I don't EVER want for a Back to be carrying extra weight.He will be quick-linebacker fodder.
 
Re: There is also a huge sales aspect to recruitin

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He talked about hiring coaches, in general, and that he believed that with the exception of 4 coaching positions (I believe they were OL, OC, DC, and DB coaches) every other coach must be skilled at recruiting FIRST

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That's an interesting and impressive statement from Chan. I wasn't really sure if he really 'got it'. My reason for thinking this way is that he chose not to retain a couple of great recruiters from the previous regime and wasn't really confident that he had replaced them with similarly skilled coaches.

I like your analogy and we need to work hard to not only increase the skill of the sales force, but also the product and finally the territory. The territory can be increased both internally - convincing the hill to cut us a little more slack and externally - working harder to find more kids interested in GT.
 
Re: There is also a huge sales aspect to recruiting

[quoteMy point in bringing this up is that it would seem that Chan agrees with the point that you are making (as of course do I). You've got to be a superlative salesperson to recruit well. You also have to have a good product (which we have a good one and want to have a better one) and a good territory into which you are selling.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will pile on with optimism re Chan. It sounds like he does, or is getting the D-1 game in general, and at Tech specifically.
One of my long term beefs and opinionated observations was that I thought Chan was frustrated by the college game in regards to not having pro quality talent there to point and shoot.
If he demonstrates a grasp of what you guys started here, I think we will be fine with Chan in a role of mentor and general manager while serving as HC.

If anyone has heard CG talk like this in the past, let me know.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Actually watchpocket, I said what if because I'm not an engineer. What I should have said is that I was modeling what a larger class would look like based on the current facts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Are you asking a question longfordodd? We have 14 signees listed on Scout...6 3 stars and 1 4 on a 1-5 scale. That's half. Not sure what you're trying to get at.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

What I was getting at was that 3 or 4 stars are usually players that most Top 15 or so D-1 schools are eager to recruit. I just haven't seen where many of our top recruits were being chased after by the Top 15 or so schools. According to the Hive (I think it was) our top running back this year couldn't break a 4.6 forty.

Chan Gailey and Dave Braine have turned me into an extremely cynical Tech fan. And I've been an extremely loyal and loving one for going on 40 years. And had I not run out of eligibility when I transferred in from a major D1 school/program up the road I probably would have suited up - unfortunately it would have been under that clown Pepper Rogers. There's huge soft spot in my heart for Tech and its football team but Gailey and Braine (especially after those violations, the reinstatement of an alleged drug dealer, and that sorry bowl game) have hurt me bad.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Still don't get your point I guess. Scout rates 6 of our recruits as 3 star, and 1 as 4 star. That's not my rating, it's from the service. So are you saying you don't believe they're that good or you simply don't know anything about the kids we're recruiting?

Oh, and by the way, I assume you're talking about Jamaal Evana, our RB from TX. From Scout... [ QUOTE ]
Has produced steadily since his sophomore year with back to back 2,000 yard seasons.

[/ QUOTE ] BTW, he did list a 4.6 40 time, but he is still a 3 star recruit. I would expect PJ didn't run any faster but don't remember that for sure.

Also have to wonder why you would mention Gailey in connection with the probation? He wasn't even here when all that took place...if you want to point to a coaching staff it should be O'Leary. The reinstatement of Houston was mandated by a judge in case you missed it. The bowl game is his fault, there's no getting around that. But it still fascinates me how people manage to lump everything together with very little regard for timing. Now Braine is fair game for the violations, although the Registrar's Office was clearly the main culprit in that.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

NC I agree with your post except for one issue. Although the registrar's office made some mistakes, the athletic department made this whole thing a lot more serious with repetitive mistakes. I hope it was out of naivete but the NCAA doesn't seem to be looking at it that way.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Yeah, at best it's still muddled as to who actually did what. I still feel that we had a "keep them eligble" mindset from the academic advisors (is that GTAA or who?) during that period, witness guys like Burns who ran out of courses they could pass before they graduated. I don't think anyone purposely let them take classes that would make them ineligible, but we clearly didn't have them on a track to graduate either in at least some cases.
 
if the new 5 year rule is adopted the size of the class would seem to be even less important since redshirting as we know it would be of little importance{except for any injury exceptions which wouldn't seem to apply].Maybe someone who understands this 5 yr.concept can explain how it could help/hurt our recruiting.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

I guess the only thing I need to recant is my comment regarding the probation. Not Chan's fault, I guess.

Nonetheless, 4.6 from running back is kinda' suspect. I'll bet 4.6 doesn't get us much without gigantic holes to blaze through.

Who else do you think wanted a 4.6 running back? Texas, USC, Uga. (no offense Jamaal)
 
Re: after the dust has settled

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I don't think anyone purposely let them take classes that would make them ineligible, but we clearly didn't have them on a track to graduate either in at least some cases.

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I think you are using good decorum here. It's naieve to think that GOL did not have as his first priority to win football games. In doing so, I am sure that George hoped that his players were taking and passing the courses they needed to to graduate,....and stay eligible.
However, my opinion is that GOL thought he was a football coach first, and if his star players could only pass easier electives in order to stay eligible, that is something he would approve in a heartbeat.

I personally don't see anything sinister in this. I don't endorse what happened, but it was a reality.
Also, if Joe Burns or the other players had graduation on their minds, they certainly knew or could have found out what they needed to graduate.

The difference is that other places assemble a bunch of easy classes, and turn those into a "degree" program. The administrators do that just so the coaches can say the words..."in good standing, and on schedule to graduate" with a straight face.

We continually debate academics vs athletics at Tech. I personally have now come to opine that Management and other less stringent degrees are workable for all teams other than football. I am not sure why this is, but have sufferd brain damage from all the times I have banged my head against the wall over it.

I don't want to see Tech football fall into an abyss, and I believe offering more demanding but low impact calculus and science degree programs will serve the needs of Tech football, as well as the school.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

This is the first time I have seen a signed recruit being challenged before he got here.
Jamaal Evans might not be what you are looking for, but he was rated as the nation's #6 all-purpose back. With 6300 yards and 67 TDs in 3 seasons in the Dallas area, what don't you like?

Pay for another subscription to SI, and you can probably get a Texas Natl Champs hat.
I am thrilled to death to have Jamaal at Tech! GO JACKETS!
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Suspect like James Aldridge, ranked #7 in the country and a ND signee? Or maybe Cordero Eason, #12 who chose MS over AL, LSU and Texas A&M? Or how about Kyle Robinson, #15 and headed to Miami? Or Luke Schmidt, ND or Anthony Dixon, MS State? Had enough? FYI all those guys list a 4.6 or worse on their 40 time.

Jeez, so you don't know who was coaching when our violations occured, and you don't know any more about our recruiting class than we have a RB with a 4.6 40 time. Just what do you know about the Tech football program?

Oh, and by the way, Jamaal had offers that we know of from Minnesota, UNC and Okie State and interest from FK and K State among others. He was also ranked #35 in the country and ran for 4500 yards his last two years in TX. Don't know about you but he sounds like someone who can play to me.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

First of all, Jamaal ran faster times at other camps.
Secondly, most all backs claim 4.5 but were never clocked at a combine.
Thirdly, forty time in football means little, particularly for TB's where football speed is far different. Emmitt Smith was a 4.6 guy. Heck, Joe Hamilton ran a 4.7 at the NFL combine.
Change of speed, vision, burst, balance, technique all mean more than forty speed. A skilled, true TB knows how to take advantage of the defenders angles to change speeds and make them miss. A TB with excellent vision is required to know whether to go inside or outside the OT in a split second based on whether he decides to turn the DT inside or outside.
Can we move on from this silly subject of track speed.
 
Re: after the dust has settled

Jamaal will be expected to carry a football in the fall, not a baton in the spring. Just curious, what do you think PJ Daniel's 40 time was?
 
Re: after the dust has settled

I don't think I'll /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dead_horse.gif but I'd take yardage over speed everyday. Like a 2000 yard 4.6 guy over a 1200 yard 4.4 guy.
 
we can hold the accolades

until a guy shows COLLEGE ability.You seem to forget our last 2000+yds Texas can't miss running back-Jimmy Dixon.He gained about a total of 100 yds rushing in his career here, although learned to be a good FB.One of the most surprising TB disappointments in the last few yrs.
btw-he weighed 210+, so a guy at 180 had better have excellent speed or unbelievable quickness.
 
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