Canales And Recruiting

FirefightnRick · November 7, 2010

One explanation given last night for all the HS players in the stands was that yesterday there was a special high school invite event(I don't know what it was called), maybe something that had to do with the UNT PREVIEW.

Regardless, not every kid walking around with a letter jacket in the stands was an official recruit because very few of them had recruit name tags on and were not being escorted by the Eagle Angels.

Rick

gangrene · November 7, 2010

As far as recruiting Texas, I don't remember Mack Brown having many Texas ties, and I don't think anyone can argue wiht is recruiting success (Maybe what he has done with what he recruited).

What he did have is what we have at UNT, an excellent University. The coach's reputation may help him get in the door, but once there he has to sell himself, his program and his university. I don't know if Canales can do this, but I don't think we should disregard him because he does not have Texas ties.

I agree that having "Texas ties" is not as important as some seem to believe. However, comparing the North Texas recruiting scenario to Texas is absurd. Texas football sells itself because of past success, history and tradition. Texas can afford to take a gamble on coaching hires. North Texas football is laughed upon and does not have the benefit of the reputation and respect that Texas commands. Do you think HS kids are proud to tell their friends and family that they're going to play football at North Texas? Outside of Blake Dunham, very few HS football players grow up wanting to play football at UNT. That's why we need someone with better name recognition and a better reputation for winning at the FBS level than what North Texas currently has. We need someone that can instantly restore credibility to North Texas football.

GreenMachine · November 7, 2010

He should be hired for the mere fact that he's got people formely on polar opposites of the thing like me and Lifer agreeing with each other 100% these days! The game last night should have never been. With as many injuries and losses as we've had, this team should have been mentally beaten and unconfident.

They were neither. They were competitive and believed they could win. Canales has given this team a boost.

I'd love to have his coast-to-coast recruiting connections in the high school and JUCO ranks with us. Unless we're completely blown out by MTSU and ULM, I think he's the guy.

Several weeks ago I was dead set against Coach Canales even being considered for the HC position. Last weeks win against WKU didn't sway my opinion in his favor at all. This week however I am beginning to agree with TFLF that he might be our guy. I don't think we can compare Canales with other coaching mistakes we've made in the past. Canales has been OC for a #2 ranked team, he has coached in the NFL and has extensive experience at various levels of college. Leavitt didn't build USF from the ground up all by himself. I'm not sure how instrumental Canales was in the whole process but you'd have to believe he was a big part of it. Having family members promote him as HC is a positive to me, not a negative. We as alum have griped about the Athletic Dept not promoting games, events, giveaways etc in the past and always pointed to not thinking outside the box, not thinking big time, not promoting the dept etc. Now we have a guy who is doing everything he can to promote himself (don't we do that every time we update our resume and send it to recruiters or other places of employment), promotes his players, team, dept, and university. I see nothing but pluses for doing that. Him walking over to Emmitt's daughter and giving her a ball probably made mom and dad much happier fans willing to support the team, was possibly seen by recruits and their parents and made a positive impact and shows that all the passion and drive is true, something like that couldn't have been scripted.

I'm still not 100% convinced that Canales is our guy. I have no way of knowing who has been contacted, levels of interest, salary requirements etc. I do feel like Canales not only wants to be HC but he truly wants to be HC at North Texas and won't be looking at this as a stepping stone to bigger and better paydays. The next several weeks will be very interesting regarding our coaching search and hire. I'm just glad I don't have to make this very, very critical decision.

Edited November 7, 2010 by GreenMachine

jimbob · November 7, 2010

So first and foremost...congrats to the team for playing their hearts out and scaring the crap out of Troy by the determination that the Mean Green played with. Their fan board for the first time in 4 yrs was crapping their pants with 3 minutes left to play and that says alot when you are playing the 4yr Conference Champs.

With that said...we can all see that the team reacts well to Canales and he is doing everything he can to restore confidence to the team and secure the wins (and esp an HC offer). What it all boils down to is recruiting though. How well will he be able to recruit in Texas? His name is a unknown to most Texas High School players. If we beat ULM and MUTS while putting a respectable showing against KSU......he will be considered and we all know that. I just have to interject that how much will his lack of recruiting power interfere with his chances of getting solid recruits? Esp with the first one or two yrs of recruiting classes(yrs we don't have to waste).

Open to thoughts by those more knowledgeable on recruiting than I...(which is 95% of the board)

Just like all good OCs Canales knows how to recruit. His credentials are quite good and his passion is obvious. The kids in Texas that get skipped over by the big name schools will all consider UNT and the recruiter is the key to getting the good ones to attend. Lefty was in charge of Central TX and was a good recruiter, so Canales would have to deal with that drop off in production because Coach Bryan doesn't seem to have the personality it takes to recruit. The best recruiting representatives any coach has are the kids. If they say they love Canales and we're gonna kick some butt from now on, the recruits will buy that.

I think the better question is what is your plan to recruit assistant coaches. Canales needs an O-line coach that has experience in a big time school (I'm told he has one). Strength & conditioning needs an upgrade and he needs to replace himself with a good OC. The whole defensive staff needs an upgrade. We don't rush the passer well; we don't cover the middle at all and we're suspect on the long ball, although last night's adjustment was pretty effective. Special teams have stepped up since mid season.

So, Coach Canales; what's the plan?

Edited November 7, 2010 by jimbob

gangrene · November 7, 2010

Several weeks ago I was dead set against Coach Canales even being considered for the HC position. Last weeks win against WKU didn't sway my opinion in his favor at all. This week however I am beginning to agree with TFLF that he might be our guy. I don't think we can compare Canales with other coaching mistakes we've made in the past. Canales has been OC for a #2 ranked team, he has coached in the NFL and has extensive experience at various levels of college. Leavitt didn't build USF from the ground up all by himself. I'm not sure how instrumental Canales was in the whole process but you'd have to believe he was a big part of it. Having family members promote him as HC is a positive to me, not a negative. We as alum have griped about the Athletic Dept not promoting games, events, giveaways etc in the past and always pointed to not thinking outside the box, not thinking big time, not promoting the dept etc. Now we have a guy who is doing everything he can to promote himself (don't we do that every time we update our resume and send it to recruiters or other places of employment), promotes his players, team, dept, and university. I see nothing but pluses for doing that. Him walking over to Emmitt's daughter and giving her a ball probably made mom and dad much happier fans willing to support the team, was possibly seen by recruits and their parents and made a positive impact and shows that all the passion and drive is true, something like that couldn't have been scripted.

I'm still not 100% convinced that Canales is our guy. I have no way of knowing who has been contacted, levels of interest, salary requirements etc. I do feel like Canales not only wants to be HC but he truly wants to be HC at North Texas and won't be looking at this as a stepping stone to bigger and better paydays. The next several weeks will be very interesting regarding our coaching search and hire. I'm just glad I don't have to make this very, very critical decision.

Actually, Greg Gregory was the USF Bulls Offensive Coordinator in 2007, when USF was ranked #2 in the BCS. Canales was Pass Game Coordinator and QB Coach that season. He was not promoted to OC at USF again until Gregory was fired after the 2009 season.

GreenMachine · November 7, 2010

Actually, Greg Gregory was the USF Bulls Offensive Coordinator in 2007, when USF was ranked #2 in the BCS. Canales was Pass Game Coordinator and QB Coach that season. He was not promoted to OC at USF again until Gregory was fired after the 2009 season.

damn you and your facts! Is my ex-wife posting as gangrene?

Mean Green 93-98 · November 7, 2010

We are not offering anyone at this point until a new head coach is named so we do not have a top target. Canales is our interim coach -all recruiting targets will be finalized by the new coach. Air Force does not offer athletic scholarships, you have to meet certain academic criteria and be appointed by a congress person. It is a tremendous honor to get offered there but it is certainly not the same thing as a D-I football scholarship.

I understand the procedure is different regarding a service academy scholarship, and that all students receive a full scholarship. But that does not mean that Air Force's football team is comprised entirely of walk-ons. They recruit, they receive commitments, and they get some pretty good players. Just because it's different does not mean it's not a bona fide 1-A offer.

As far as saying we are not offering anyone, if you are correct, you need to straighten out Troy Phillips and the others at Rivals. The recent article on Cooper Jones implies that our offer to him still very much stands.

Mean Green 93-98 · November 7, 2010

Sorry you took offense. I wasn't spinning anything. You used the word "primary" which is defined as

I found that to be misleading when taken out of context and the context is that we've already lost out on 5-6 other "primary" QB prospects that were also being recruited by Canales. Cooper Jones may prove to be a great QB over time, but that won't change the fact that he wasn't even in our top 5 QB prospects for 2011, nor does it change that fact that he's not being highly recruited by other FBS programs (I think Harry answered the questions about Air Force very well).

Yes, according to that definition, Cooper Jones is our primary target at QB. To say that has nothing to do with saying he's the next Joe Montana. I didn't say he was the primary target in all the recruiting ranks, I said he was our primary target. If he is not, who is?

I assure you, I would never intentionally mislead anyone, and I don't appreciate your saying otherwise one bit.

gangrene · November 7, 2010

Yes, according to that definition, Cooper Jones is our primary target at QB. To say that has nothing to do with saying he's the next Joe Montana. I didn't say he was the primary target in all the recruiting ranks, I said he was our primary target. If he is not, who is?

I assure you, I would never intentionally mislead anyone, and I don't appreciate your saying otherwise one bit.

Didn't say it was intentional. It was misleading, nonetheless. Jones is our primary QB target only because we lost out on 6 others that we wanted more than him. What's so hard to understand about that?

The point is Canales is and has been recruiting QB targets all season. That's part of his job. So far he's zero for six. Why does the fact that he's now recruiting our 6th best option at QB make him any more appealing as a recruiter or HC?

drex · November 7, 2010

Hey, Plumm, Fry was a project coach, too. He had just been fired at SMU after some success and we, the faithful, were skeptical of his hire, too. He was just another fired head coach looking for a job...luckily, it worked out for us.

SAM Coach · November 7, 2010

Hey, Plumm, Fry was a project coach, too. He had just been fired at SMU after some success and we, the faithful, were skeptical of his hire, too. He was just another fired head coach looking for a job...luckily, it worked out for us.

No way! You just ruined one of PMGs best support theories for the next HC :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

ADLER · November 7, 2010

Here's some background information and a lot of opinion on Mike Canales from Tobi Writes blog in The Bleacher Report when North Texas first hired Canales:

North Texas: Which Mike Canales Will Coach

Obviously there is quite a bit of debatable opinion being expressed, as is the case with almost any blog, but the writer does try to provide evidence to support his views.

Mean Green 93-98 · November 7, 2010

Didn't say it was intentional. It was misleading, nonetheless. Jones is our primary QB target only because we lost out on 6 others that we wanted more than him. What's so hard to understand about that?

The point is Canales is and has been recruiting QB targets all season. That's part of his job. So far he's zero for six. Why does the fact that he's now recruiting our 6th best option at QB make him any more appealing as a recruiter or HC?

Because you failed to comprehend does not mean my post was misleading.

Nothing else you say remotely addresses what I have posted. I was not trying to say Canales was a great recruiter. I have addressed that in another thread. I merely gave a side note on one of our recruits that I found interesting.

football fan · November 8, 2010

And you know this how? That theory doesn't exactly agree with Canales' history. He left USF for Arizona and only went back to USF because he could not find work elsewhere. Personally, I don't have a problem with Canales, or any other coach, using North Texas as a stepping stone and I think we should embrace that. For North Texas to be a stepping stone to a higher profile and better paying head coaching job means that HCs have been successful here and that, by being successful at UNT, get recognized and respected by top FBS programs and/or the NFL. I'd much prefer that to seeing former UNT coaches taking HS jobs or former HCs taking coordinator positions at schools like Utah State and New
Mexico.

Correct, I do not know for sure. But, based on what I have seen and learned from getting to know Coach C over the past two months,that is my opinion.

Edited November 8, 2010 by football fan

eulessismore · November 8, 2010

Actually, Greg Gregory was the USF Bulls Offensive Coordinator in 2007, when USF was ranked #2 in the BCS. Canales was Pass Game Coordinator and QB Coach that season. He was not promoted to OC at USF again until Gregory was fired after the 2009 season.

Not to take away from Greg Gregory's accomplishments, but Canales was named OC at USF before the 2009 season (in January, 2009, I believe). Anyway, here's an article in their student newspaper about it:

Canales and USF Spring Game 2009 article

ntmeangreen11 · November 8, 2010

After watching the game last night, I have moved Canales from #5 on my list to #2. If he wins at splits the MT/ULM games and then has a decent showing against K-State, I fully believe he will be the guy for the job.

What I saw last night was remarkable. We had the ball at midfield with a chance to beat Troy, not A-State or UL-Lafayette. If not for an unneccessary chop block, we could have easily won that game. Add to that the players out and the fact that we're playing with a QB who's arm is less than potent, it's truly astounding what took place last night, granted Troy is a little down this year, still given the circumstances that was a gutsy performance and I am excited for the future.

The only area of concern I have is what type of assistants he would bring in. We need to retain a couple of coaches already on staff and upgrade at others. O-line is one area that comes to mind, and the guys he needs to bring in need to have skins on the wall, and have ties in Texas. There's no doubt this guys is a great motivator, a great guy, and knows x's and o's with the best of them.

Here's my list.

1-Leavitt

2-Canales

3-Bower

gangrene · November 8, 2010

Not to take away from Greg Gregory's accomplishments, but Canales was named OC at USF before the 2009 season (in January, 2009, I believe). Anyway, here's an article in their student newspaper about it:

Canales and USF Spring Game 2009 article

Thanks for the correction. I meant the 2008 season. Canales was indeed OC at USF in 2009. However, it was in 2007 that USF achieved the #2 BCS ranking and Gregory was OC that season.