Recruiting.... Be patient

[HOOKEM1980]

So many questioning recruiting ... I don't see it. He salvaged the 2014 class and picked up a few gems.

2015 is going to be a big class. The lineman are falling into place.... The skilled people will follow. The horns show some toughness on D this year and that will take care of itself. Coach is a tireless worker and we seem to be getting more out of state talent looking our way for the future.... (Alabama took that approach with Saban), I'd be very surprised if we don't pick up some defections from tamu this year....

With all that said.... We stay healthy this year and we are a solid football team..... Good health and a few breaks........ You never know...... Hard work = Success and I don't believe any doubt Coach Strongs work ethic......

 

[monarch]

props, hookem1980!​

 

[BudreauReye]

So many questioning recruiting ... I don't see it. He salvaged the 2014 class and picked up a few gems.

2015 is going to be a big class. The lineman are falling into place.... The skilled people will follow. The horns show some toughness on D this year and that will take care of itself. Coach is a tireless worker and we seem to be getting more out of state talent looking our way for the future.... (Alabama took that approach with Saban), I'd be very surprised if we don't pick up some defections from tamu this year....

With all that said.... We stay healthy this year and we are a solid football team..... Good health and a few breaks........ You never know...... Hard work = Success and I don't believe any doubt Coach Strongs work ethic......

Good early post HOOKEM1980.  Your take is right on as far as I am concerned.  Our Chicken Little brethren are well meaning ... they just want what is best for our Longhorns ... it is just that it is the off season, and they do not have enough to keep themselves occupied.  They are our Longhorn brethren, though, so we shall have to do our best to keep them occupied until the season begins. 

 

[HOOKEM1980]

Truth is..... We pick up 2 or 3..... 5 stars and all of a sudden we are Texas again.

 

[BudreauReye]

With our recruiting in the trenches, we are already doing a lot better than given credit for.

By the way, HOOKEM1980, since you consider yourself an Oltorfian, I just thought I would tell you that my wife and I had dinner at Curra's Grill this evening ... it was excellent as always!

 

[Sejjr]

I still think Texas will end up with Malik and Sheffield. And after another miserable showing from the aggy "defense," I would not be surprised if we flip Mack as well. The story has yet to be written...win and show real progress and it all falls into place.

 

[primal defense]

Truth is..... We pick up 2 or 3..... 5 stars and all of a sudden we are Texas again.

Disagree, when we start winning on the field that's when were Texas again. I can't remember a victory in the last four years that excited the whole country. As Texas fans we had the last A&M and Nebraska game, but no one else cared. Any excitement of the OU victory last year was destroyed by the Manny Diaz meltdown against BYU.

Once we start showing it on the field against a UCLA, OU, or Baylor that's when were Texas again. That's when the five star recruits will be interested.

 

[Bevostuntdouble]

Finally the recruiting emphasis is as it should be... From the inside(OL/DL) out! Keep up the great work... Everything hinges on the OL! No quality QB wants to get beat up, RBs and WRs want to go somewhere they can shine and not get killed... A great OL fixes so many of our problems, not all, but so many.

 

[HOOKEM1980]

Primal d...,., I agree with that also..... It does all hinge on success.... I'm just saying Coach has done a job this far.... If they win next year, it becomes easier... I'm just saying, at this point, we are on the right path.... A good line on both sides of the ball is the starting point.

 

[Randolph Duke]

So many questioning recruiting ... I don't see it. He salvaged the 2014 class and picked up a few gems.

2015 is going to be a big class. The lineman are falling into place.... The skilled people will follow. The horns show some toughness on D this year and that will take care of itself. Coach is a tireless worker and we seem to be getting more out of state talent looking our way for the future.... (Alabama took that approach with Saban), I'd be very surprised if we don't pick up some defections from tamu this year....

With all that said.... We stay healthy this year and we are a solid football team..... Good health and a few breaks........ You never know...... Hard work = Success and I don't believe any doubt Coach Strongs work ethic......

There are excuses the players are not being allowed to use with the coaching staff to downplay lack of execution. If any player failed to execute their assignment, what would the reaction of the staff be if they told the coach he didn't understand how hard the assignment was? Or if the player replied that he hasn't been on the team long enough to reasonably be expected to execute. Or if the way player said his failure to execute is no big deal because by the end of the season he was going to be an All-American at his position?

If excuses like that are entirely unacceptable from the players, why are they absolutely accepted at all other levels of the program? The proper response to the players, coaches and staff in Bellmont is that if you want to be part of the program at UT, results are the only thing that matter. Not excuses and not promises of greatness after the season is over.

In my mind, the program should have the attitude that everyone knows the standard they will be held to, that they might as well not waste their breath on excuses and that until they deliver results, they haven't accomplished anything. Once we start using excuses to explain the lack of results at any level, excuses start becoming the norm.

I have never said the sky is falling. All I have said is on the recruiting front, I am hearing more excuses for why there aren't results that seeing results. Of course, almost everyone reading this is rolling their eyes and has an excuse ready why we haven't seen a lot of results.

The players need to focus, listen to the coaches and deliver results. The coaches need to focus, put together a good season and deliver results to the standard that is expected at UT. As for Bellmont, they get a free pass and get to continue to deliver mediocrity. I don't think anyone really has expectations for them any more.

 

[doc longhorn]

Disagree, when we start winning on the field that's when were Texas again. I can't remember a victory in the last four years that excited the whole country. As Texas fans we had the last A&M and Nebraska game, but no one else cared. Any excitement of the OU victory last year was destroyed by the Manny Diaz meltdown against BYU.

Once we start showing it on the field against a UCLA, OU, or Baylor that's when were Texas again. That's when the five star recruits will be interested.

Au Contraire.

Have you forgotten 27-25?  The whole country watched this game, as I understand.

 

[doc longhorn]

There are excuses the players are not being allowed to use with the coaching staff to downplay lack of execution. If any player failed to execute their assignment, what would the reaction of the staff be if they told the coach he didn't understand how hard the assignment was? Or if the player replied that he hasn't been on the team long enough to reasonably be expected to execute. Or if the way player said his failure to execute is no big deal because by the end of the season he was going to be an All-American at his position?

If excuses like that are entirely unacceptable from the players, why are they absolutely accepted at all other levels of the program? The proper response to the players, coaches and staff in Bellmont is that if you want to be part of the program at UT, results are the only thing that matter. Not excuses and not promises of greatness after the season is over.

In my mind, the program should have the attitude that everyone knows the standard they will be held to, that they might as well not waste their breath on excuses and that until they deliver results, they haven't accomplished anything. Once we start using excuses to explain the lack of results at any level, excuses start becoming the norm.

I have never said the sky is falling. All I have said is on the recruiting front, I am hearing more excuses for why there aren't results that seeing results. Of course, almost everyone reading this is rolling their eyes and has an excuse ready why we haven't seen a lot of results.

The players need to focus, listen to the coaches and deliver results. The coaches need to focus, put together a good season and deliver results to the standard that is expected at UT. As for Bellmont, they get a free pass and get to continue to deliver mediocrity. I don't think anyone really has expectations for them any more.

Actually, RD, I agree with most of your premises.  Excuses are just that - excuses.  No matter the validity of some of them.

Charlie Strong was not a splash hire - Saban would have been.  I would wager, when Strong was hired, that the Texas HS player and coaching population said "Who"?   This would not have been the case with Saban.

I think the state of Texas knows who Strong is now and I think that will make a recruiting difference in the future.

Now, would Saban had done better on the recruiting front?  Sure he would have, he is Saban.  However, would that have diminished the aggy recruiting haul?  To a degree, but aggy had and has momentum going for it and they STILL would have a damn fine recruiting class - I promise you.

And I submit that if some recruits are balking at Strongs "discipline", they damn sure would have balked at Sabans. 

Yep, I think recruiting, as a whole, is in the wait and see stage - regarding the Texas Longhorns.  The blue chippers are now saying "I have heard Strong talk the talk, now let's see if he can walk the walk".

And it ain't gonna be easy, folks.  Our schedule is brutal for a first year coaching staff.

 

[Topstarr]

I am all in with Strong and group.....I do not NEED to say anything else.    Hook'em & #Lets Ride

 

[HOOKEM1980]

Personally I don't think the cupboard is bare. I believe accountability will be the key at all levels. I feel as if Coach Strong is accountable for improvement, but winning is the standard he will ultimately live by. I get the impression he knew that coming in and will accept that. He comes across to me as a guy that walks the walk...... Then again... I predict a a 11-2 season at worst..... I believe the talent is there....

It's about staying Healthy and a few breaks..... I also believe if he goes 11-2 and the D does what it's capable of.... They finish with a top 5 class every year in recruiting...... I was and still am a fan of Mack.... But as I have said in the past..... If the job was open, Coach Strong is a good hire.... He's tough, disciplined, and will accept accountability.....

 

[Randolph Duke]

Actually, RD, I agree with most of your premises.  Excuses are just that - excuses.  No matter the validity of some of them.

Charlie Strong was not a splash hire - Saban would have been.  I would wager, when Strong was hired, that the Texas HS player and coaching population said "Who"?   This would not have been the case with Saban.

I think the state of Texas knows who Strong is now and I think that will make a recruiting difference in the future.

Now, would Saban had done better on the recruiting front?  Sure he would have, he is Saban.  However, would that have diminished the aggy recruiting haul?  To a degree, but aggy had and has momentum going for it and they STILL would have a damn fine recruiting class - I promise you.

And I submit that if some recruits are balking at Strongs "discipline", they damn sure would have balked at Sabans. 

Yep, I think recruiting, as a whole, is in the wait and see stage - regarding the Texas Longhorns.  The blue chippers are now saying "I have heard Strong talk the talk, now let's see if he can walk the walk".

And it ain't gonna be easy, folks.  Our schedule is brutal for a first year coaching staff.

In a way, it is similar to sitting in a restaurant, waiting for your meal and complaining the chef isn't cooking the meal to the standards you expect. You are there for the meal. You can complain about the slow service. You can complain the bread you were served isn't your favorite and every one of your complaints would be legitimate. If someone said the chef had a hard job or the chef hadn't been working at the restaurant very long, you wouldn't be satisfied with those responses because they were excuses. However, the reason to have picked the restaurant was for the meal. Anyone who knows good food will accept disappointing service for a meal that exceeds expectations. As for choosing Strong over Saban, the decision has been made.  It was decided what Saban was serving up wasn't what was wanted for Texas. It does no good to argue what decision should have been made. Once the decision has been made, you move on to the next issue. It does no more good to discuss Saban/Strong than it does to discuss Barnett/Brown. 

If Texas is going to get back to where it should be, one of the things that would have delayed that return is people's willingness to make excuses for failing to deliver results at any time, under any circumstances. We need to admit we aren't recruiting at the level we think the program should be. No excuses. Acknowledge the problem and put a plan in place to correct that problem. If those in charge get heat for the process taking time, so be it. I don't want to hear the problem wasn't theirs in the making, that the solution is hard or that they need more time. Needing more time was Mack's excuse last December. 

I absolutely believe the people running the program realize there have been problems and I am absolutely comfortable that there is a good plan in place to deal with the issues. I am also absolutely comfortable saying that performing to expectations (on and off the field) and delivering results are what matters. People offering any sort of excuse are part of the problem. If you want people to deliver, you don't make excuses for their failure not to. You find highly motivated people, you let them know results matter and you sear into their memories just how much it sucked when everyone on the team wasn't doing everything possible to deliver those results. I fully expect the program to be doing fine in the near future, but that time frame will be unduly extended if people make it the norm to accept excuses for whatever failure. Everyone needs to accept failures, find solutions, deliver results or move on.

Everyone except the staff in Bellmont, that is. As I have been saying for months, it's evidently unfair to expect them to deliver to the standard we expect from most others at the University of Texas. 

 

[Chris Flanagan]

Disagree, when we start winning on the field that's when were Texas again. I can't remember a victory in the last four years that excited the whole country. As Texas fans we had the last A&M and Nebraska game, but no one else cared. Any excitement of the OU victory last year was destroyed by the Manny Diaz meltdown against BYU.

Once we start showing it on the field against a UCLA, OU, or Baylor that's when were Texas again. That's when the five star recruits will be interested.

Exactly. Texas A&M's win at Alabama changed both of our programs. We have to win those big games. UCLA and OU are the big national litmus tests for recruits.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Exactly. Texas A&M's win at Alabama changed both of our programs. We have to win those big games. UCLA and OU are the big national litmus tests for recruits.

No doubt - and aggie hasn't done anything particularly impressive since.  They're only 1-6 versus ranked SEC teams.  A Chick-Fil-A Bowl win over Duke?  Please... 

They're still riding the Johnny Football media wave.  The hype bubble bursts if aggie's 111th ranked defense lays a 7-5 (or worse) egg this season. 

 

[doc longhorn]

IMO, if we gain some altitude and perspective, we remember that only 2 years ago we were saying that aggy, after their retreat from the Big 12, would have their rear ends handed to them by the mighty SEC.

As it turned out, we discovered the SEC was highly overrated and aggy was grossly underestimated.  Other than 2 or 3 top rated schools, the rest of the SEC was mediocre at best.  And, even though Manziel was frosting on the cake, aggy wasn't nearly as bad as most thought.  The Big 12 spread dumfounded the SEC and Bama in particular.

So, the point is everyone was just wrong about aggy and the SEC and they are just riding the crest of SEC dazzlement and, maybe, a little of Manziels antics. (although I am not sold on this being the reason of aggy's recruiting success).

However, call this an excuse or not RD, but the fact is (in comparison) nobody knew who the hell Strong was and everyone knew who Sumlin and Briles were.  These two had been recruiting the state for years and relationships were already established.

I like what I see in Strong.  I like his perceived ethics, work habits and accountability standards.  I don't like his communications "skills" and a lot of this comes frm the fact that Mack was such a silver tongued devil and I am spoiled.

What is unknown to me, and everyone else in the Longhorn Nation, is his player development and his COACHING ABILITY.  I think this is what the fans and, most importantly, the recruits will be looking at this year.

Hook 'em!

 

[streettopeschel]

Actuall duke it's like sitting in a restaurant in July and fretting the dinner party I'm planning for February will suck.