Who Our Competition Is Targeting In Recruiting

MeanGreenZen · January 2, 2009

Kevin Sumlin, Houston's first-year black head coach who just won a bowl game and wrapped up a 8-5 season, had some interesting thoughts on recruiting in the Star-Telegram...

From the article...

Speed can cover mistakes, and Sumlin’s Cougars have plenty. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun called Houston’s players "gifted."

That is by Sumlin’s design. After spending the past five seasons as an assistant at Oklahoma preceded by two years on R.C. Slocum’s Texas A&M staff, he knows what Houston needs to do to attract its share of Texas high school athletes: protect the home turf, tap into the East Texas speed reservoir and grab the occasional player from other metropolitan areas around the state.

"I think we’re pretty realistic," he said. "We’ve got to go head-to-head with some of the Big 12 schools in the state, but we’re not going to waste our time. We’ve got to do exceptionally well in our own back yard, particularly in the Greater Houston Area."

And Sumlin is targeting speed.

"We’re going to be fast," he said. "If we’re going to make a mistake on a guy," Sumlin said, "he’s going to be a fast guy."

Green Mean · January 2, 2009

UNT is competing with the whole nation in recruiting because every school comes to Texas to recruit. Speed and athleticism is necessary these days especially being in the south. Texas, Florida, and California are states in which the whole nation recruits because of their loads of talent.

UNT90 · January 2, 2009

UNT is competing with the whole nation in recruiting because every school comes to Texas to recruit. Speed and athleticism is necessary these days especially being in the south. Texas, Florida, and California are states in which the whole nation recruits because of their loads of talent.

Lately we seem to be only competing with D1AA programs. I asked Santa for 3 HS defensive lineman rated 3 star or above. I'm beginning to think there is no Santa.

January 3, 2009

Lately we seem to be only competing with D1AA programs. I asked Santa for 3 HS defensive lineman rated 3 star or above. I'm beginning to think there is no Santa.

I suggest that you become a fan of Texas or TCU because they're the only Texas colleges that were able to garner 3 three-star HS defensive linemen. A$M did get two but Tech's only 3-star came from a California JC and their 2-star from Nashville, TN. They're just not available this year. The few that are sure-fire FBS prospects are coming from JUCOs.

I know that it's sarcasm but what 1-AA programs do you see us competing with?

UNT90 · January 3, 2009

I suggest that you become a fan of Texas or TCU because they're the only Texas colleges that were able to garner 3 three-star HS defensive linemen. A$M did get two but Tech's only 3-star came from a California JC and their 2-star from Nashville, TN. They're just not available this year. The few that are sure-fire FBS prospects are coming from JUCOs.
I know that it's sarcasm but what 1-AA programs do you see us competing with?

It was sarcasm, but Bean's only other offers were from 1-AA programs, therefore we were competing with 1-AA programs for Bean's services. That said, I really hope he comes in and contributes.

Troy seems to have no problem signing 3 star DLs.

It's still early in the recruiting season, but after everything that happened this year, I am concerned about this year's class.

UNTLifer · January 3, 2009

Troy seems to have no problem signing 3 star DLs.

With all due respect to Troy, I think acceptance requires little more than spelling your name correctly.

GreenMachine · January 3, 2009

With all due respect to Troy, I think acceptance requires little more than spelling your name correctly.

actually I believe you are allowed up to two errors.

H-towngreen · January 3, 2009

Troy seems to have no problem signing 3 star DLs.

They are Juco players. As stated 3* HS linemen are a hot commodity. In Texas, the hotbed of college football recruiting, there are only 12 DT's rated 3* and above. A couple of those are Jucos. Finding quality linemen is tough.

UNT90 · January 3, 2009

With all due respect to Troy, I think acceptance requires little more than spelling your name correctly.

So if thats the case, and these are below average students, how come Troy doesn't have an APR problem?

Sometimes I think we are so used to being who we are that we just grasp at any excuse out there.

MeanGreenZen · January 3, 2009

Finding quality linemen is tough.

And yet Dickey, the world's laziest recruiter, could find Brandon Kennedy, Adrian Awasom, Darrell Daniels, Michael Pruitt, Evan Cardwell, Jeremiah Chapman, among others on the defensive line. And guys like Nick Zuniga, Dylan Lineberry, Andy Brewster, Ian Hobbs, Jason May etc on the offensive line. I just listed 10 players: This is Dodge's third recruiting class and he hasn't landed a linemen close to the same caliber as ANY of those 10 Dickey guys. That is unacceptable and ridiculous.

Finding quality linemen is tough, but there are aspects of everyone's job that are tough. It is Todd Dodge's job to find those linemen and so far he has been a huge failure in this department.

Edited January 3, 2009 by MG Insurance Pro

oldguystudent · January 3, 2009

So if thats the case, and these are below average students, how come Troy doesn't have an APR problem?

Troy aside, I've always wondered how the big programs get around that. I doubt Lawrence Phillips was leading the way among NCAA Rhodes Scholars. We used to make fun of J.R. Rider at UNLV that he went be J.R. because Isaiah was too difficult to spell. UT is the top APR school in the Big XII. Given their recent history of chronic thuggery, you can't convince me that those kids are writing grade A research papers. I honestly don't know what academic standards UNT holds its athletes to. I do wonder what convoluted curriculum some of the big boys are coming up with though.

Mean Green 93-98 · January 3, 2009

And yet Dickey, the world's laziest recruiter, could find Brandon Kennedy, Adrian Awasom, Darrell Daniels, Michael Pruitt, Evan Cardwell, among others on the defensive line. And guys like Nick Zuniga, Dylan Lineberry, Andy Brewster, Ian Hobbs, Jason May, etc on the offensive line. I just listed 10 players: This is Dodge's third recruiting class and he hasn't landed a linemen close to the same caliber as ANY of those 10 Dickey guys. That is unacceptable and ridiculous.
Finding quality linemen is tough, but there are aspects of everyone's job that are tough. It is Todd Dodge's job to find those linemen and so far he has been a huge failure in this department.

Dickey had an incredible recruiting class once. Nobody denies that.

And you are going to tally up what Darrell Dickey did over nine seasons, and expect Dodge to have amassed comparable totals after two seasons?

And yes, it's a recurring theme, but you cannot fully assess the players' contributions to the team until they have completed their tenure. You don't know that he hasn't recruited a player that will make better contributions than most of those players by the time that player completes his eligibility.