AJ McCarron on Recruiting

[utisdabomb12]

http://jimrome.com/2014/01/30/mccarron-in-the-end-success-was-our-killer/

Good read and listen. Always been a fan of McCarron and he hit it right on the head here. The type of "entitlement" McCarron speaks of is exactly why we got rid of Mack IMO.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Good read and listen. Always been a fan of McCarron and he hit it right on the head here. The type of "entitlement" McCarron speaks of is exactly why we got rid of Mack IMO.

I agree. That's why Coach Strong advised us not to look at the players' "star-ratings". The 4 & 5-star guys expect to show up and play right away. Maybe not as hungry as the 3-stars.

Tough balancing act. You want to bring in top talent, but they've gotta buy into the program. Otherwise, more trouble than they're worth.

 

[coolhorn]

McCarron nailed it, and it eventually happens with every successful team and coach. The bad thing is this...once that entitlement sets in, it's hard as hell to get rid of without a coaching change. That's something UT understands all too well, and there are some other programs in the neighborhood that will discover it.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I agree. That's why Coach Strong advised us not to look at the players' "star-ratings". The 4 & 5-star guys expect to show up and play right away. Maybe not as hungry as the 3-stars.
Tough balancing act. You want to bring in top talent, but they've gotta buy into the program. Otherwise, more trouble than they're worth.

One of the things that skews ratings is the fact that Texas schools often have more money to put into athletics than schools (especially rural schools) in other states. A kid coming out of Katy, Carroll or any of the other well established programs who is 6'4", 250lbs is often going to be a much batter player than a similarly sized player from a number of OOS states. Reason for this is that the Texas player is going to have access to weight facilities, summer camps and quality coaching while a number of kids (especially coming from poor, rural schools) are ^'4" and the 250 lbs is mostly added weight from mama's cooking and he will need a year or so of real nutrition and conditioning. A 250 kid with a BMI of 35 may have a lot of ability but often won't be as highly rated coming out of high school. Hence, OOS recruiting is more difficult, but it offers more opportunities to get kids who weren't heavily recruited by top schools and come in with a different mentality.

I have been wanting to work on a piece about just what it takes to change a 250 lb high school kid into a 280 lb athlete. The nutritional conditioning side of the program is hardly ever written about. We can thrive on lower rated recruits if we have a system in place that keeps the kids focused, gives them an effective nutrition and conditioning program, allows us to redshirt these kids until they are transformed from fat high school prospects into conditioned college athletes and then keeps them focused. As much as any of us might be uncomfortable with Coach Strong so far, he certainly seems to be putting these pieces in place. Its easy to see what he is trying to make happen (get the local talent he can who wants to be in the classroom and focus during the off-season and then go OOS to find individual players to fit into the system). This is different from what Mack had in place (go with the star ratings and create a "family atmosphere.")

I like what Coach Strong is trying to put into place. It just takes time to get OOS prospects in and coach them up. I just wish the kids who are going to bail and transfer out declare their intentions quickly so the time and energy of the coaches if focused on the priority players.

 

[SlickStreet]

One of the things that skews ratings is the fact that Texas schools often have more money to put into athletics than schools (especially rural schools) in other states. A kid coming out of Katy, Carroll or any of the other well established programs who is 6'4", 250lbs is often going to be a much batter player than a similarly sized player from a number of OOS states. Reason for this is that the Texas player is going to have access to weight facilities, summer camps and quality coaching while a number of kids (especially coming from poor, rural schools) are ^'4" and the 250 lbs is mostly added weight from mama's cooking and he will need a year or so of real nutrition and conditioning. A 250 kid with a BMI of 35 may have a lot of ability but often won't be as highly rated coming out of high school. Hence, OOS recruiting is more difficult, but it offers more opportunities to get kids who weren't heavily recruited by top schools and come in with a different mentality.
I have been wanting to work on a piece about just what it takes to change a 250 lb high school kid into a 280 lb athlete. The nutritional conditioning side of the program is hardly ever written about. We can thrive on lower rated recruits if we have a system in place that keeps the kids focused, gives them an effective nutrition and conditioning program, allows us to redshirt these kids until they are transformed from fat high school prospects into conditioned college athletes and then keeps them focused. As much as any of us might be uncomfortable with Coach Strong so far, he certainly seems to be putting these pieces in place. Its easy to see what he is trying to make happen (get the local talent he can who wants to be in the classroom and focus during the off-season and then go OOS to find individual players to fit into the system). This is different from what Mack had in place (go with the star ratings and create a "family atmosphere.")

I like what Coach Strong is trying to put into place. It just takes time to get OOS prospects in and coach them up. I just wish the kids who are going to bail and transfer out declare their intentions quickly so the time and energy of the coaches if focused on the priority players.

good points. Ideally, I believe as Coach Strong gets to know the state better and becomes a little more entrenched (with some on-field success), he'll be able to recruit the four and five star kids that also possess a burning desire to be great. 'Bama obviously does it, so it is attainable.

Even so, if a kid is just a three-star but the coaches really like his motor and upside, then you may have an all-conference type player even then.

 

[mesoHorny]

Funny AJ. I don't think it was those 5 star freshmen throwing picks right and left. No I'm pretty sure that was the senior QB with the hottie gf in the stands.

 

[Chitownhorn]

I agree. That's why Coach Strong advised us not to look at the players' "star-ratings". The 4 & 5-star guys expect to show up and play right away. Maybe not as hungry as the 3-stars.
Tough balancing act. You want to bring in top talent, but they've gotta buy into the program. Otherwise, more trouble than they're worth.

One of the things that skews ratings is the fact that Texas schools often have more money to put into athletics than schools (especially rural schools) in other states. A kid coming out of Katy, Carroll or any of the other well established programs who is 6'4", 250lbs is often going to be a much batter player than a similarly sized player from a number of OOS states. Reason for this is that the Texas player is going to have access to weight facilities, summer camps and quality coaching while a number of kids (especially coming from poor, rural schools) are ^'4" and the 250 lbs is mostly added weight from mama's cooking and he will need a year or so of real nutrition and conditioning. A 250 kid with a BMI of 35 may have a lot of ability but often won't be as highly rated coming out of high school. Hence, OOS recruiting is more difficult, but it offers more opportunities to get kids who weren't heavily recruited by top schools and come in with a different mentality.
I have been wanting to work on a piece about just what it takes to change a 250 lb high school kid into a 280 lb athlete. The nutritional conditioning side of the program is hardly ever written about. We can thrive on lower rated recruits if we have a system in place that keeps the kids focused, gives them an effective nutrition and conditioning program, allows us to redshirt these kids until they are transformed from fat high school prospects into conditioned college athletes and then keeps them focused. As much as any of us might be uncomfortable with Coach Strong so far, he certainly seems to be putting these pieces in place. Its easy to see what he is trying to make happen (get the local talent he can who wants to be in the classroom and focus during the off-season and then go OOS to find individual players to fit into the system). This is different from what Mack had in place (go with the star ratings and create a "family atmosphere.")

I like what Coach Strong is trying to put into place. It just takes time to get OOS prospects in and coach them up. I just wish the kids who are going to bail and transfer out declare their intentions quickly so the time and energy of the coaches if focused on the priority players.

I agree with both of these takes. Another thing that I think is going to be very interesting to watch and might cause a meltdown here and there by some is the fact that Coach Strong is recruiting for a very specific system, both on defense and offense. This is something that we haven't seen in a while and might mean that there are a few 4 & 5 star recruits that Texas does not make a big push for because the feel they don't fit into the offensive and defensive systems they are running.

I get the feeling that the staff knows exactly what type of player they are looking for and most likely will sink or swim with this thought process. It's going to be very interesting to watch the recruiting for the 2015 class unfold.

 

[Embrey]

One of the things that skews ratings is the fact that Texas schools often have more money to put into athletics than schools (especially rural schools) in other states. A kid coming out of Katy, Carroll or any of the other well established programs who is 6'4", 250lbs is often going to be a much batter player than a similarly sized player from a number of OOS states. Reason for this is that the Texas player is going to have access to weight facilities, summer camps and quality coaching while a number of kids (especially coming from poor, rural schools) are ^'4" and the 250 lbs is mostly added weight from mama's cooking and he will need a year or so of real nutrition and conditioning. A 250 kid with a BMI of 35 may have a lot of ability but often won't be as highly rated coming out of high school. Hence, OOS recruiting is more difficult, but it offers more opportunities to get kids who weren't heavily recruited by top schools and come in with a different mentality.
I have been wanting to work on a piece about just what it takes to change a 250 lb high school kid into a 280 lb athlete. The nutritional conditioning side of the program is hardly ever written about. We can thrive on lower rated recruits if we have a system in place that keeps the kids focused, gives them an effective nutrition and conditioning program, allows us to redshirt these kids until they are transformed from fat high school prospects into conditioned college athletes and then keeps them focused. As much as any of us might be uncomfortable with Coach Strong so far, he certainly seems to be putting these pieces in place. Its easy to see what he is trying to make happen (get the local talent he can who wants to be in the classroom and focus during the off-season and then go OOS to find individual players to fit into the system). This is different from what Mack had in place (go with the star ratings and create a "family atmosphere.")

I like what Coach Strong is trying to put into place. It just takes time to get OOS prospects in and coach them up. I just wish the kids who are going to bail and transfer out declare their intentions quickly so the time and energy of the coaches if focused on the priority players.

I would really enjoy reading that piece if you get to it.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

I agree with both of these takes. Another thing that I think is going to be very interesting to watch and might cause a meltdown here and there by some is the fact that Coach Strong is recruiting for a very specific system, both on defense and offense. This is something that we haven't seen in a while and might mean that there are a few 4 & 5 star recruits that Texas does not make a big push for because the feel they don't fit into the offensive and defensive systems they are running.
I get the feeling that the staff knows exactly what type of player they are looking for and most likely will sink or swim with this thought process. It's going to be very interesting to watch the recruiting for the 2015 class unfold.

Hey, I'm just relieved that Coach Strong and staff are gonna HAVE "systems" in place on offense & defense! I like the idea of recruiting to specific needs and skill sets versus trying to adapt to the players once they're on campus. It's a much more professional approach.

Plug & Play

 

[Topstarr]

All post in this thread are very good information and thanks guys for the writing.