Grade the Littrell Hie V3 (Post NSD)

[UNT90]

C-

Would have been a D if there was an option. Class was Dan McCarney first year ok. UNT fired Dan McCarney. If you are grading on a scale for an upgrade from DMac, then AT THIS POINT it really shouldn't be any better than a D. 

Edited February 3, 2016 by UNT90

[outoftown]

7 minutes ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

He had a month to prepare that month. UTSA had considerably less time and is not really far behind. Tx States new crew had even less time. And guess what: they are ahead of UNT (yes they inherited some good ones but still... Tx State). It is not horribly bad, but Mac had some classes that were better. Need to let that sink in.

[Aldo]

Just now, outoftown said:

He had a month to prepare that month. UTSA had considerably less time and is not really far behind. Tx States new crew had even less time. And guess what: they are ahead of UNT (yes they inherited some good ones but still... Tx State). It is not horribly bad, but Mac had some classes that were better. Need to let that sink in.

Littrell inherited 1 player. UTSA and TxSt had over a dozen each at that point

[Dr. Seuss]

7 minutes ago, outoftown said:

He had a month to prepare that month. UTSA had considerably less time and is not really far behind. Tx States new crew had even less time. And guess what: they are ahead of UNT (yes they inherited some good ones but still... Tx State). It is not horribly bad, but Mac had some classes that were better. Need to let that sink in.

Wilson is a better recruiter than Littrell, those who didnt know that.. Now you do.  Littrell will get more out of his players than Wilson.  Getting a 4* recruit doesnt mean anything if you cant develop their skills. 

And UTSA was recruiting the whole time.. Unlike our coaches.

[MeanGreenTexan]

The news from someone who obviously knows Patrick Peek is particularly frustrating, considering Coach Littrell emphasized addressing "depth" in this class, yet our Safety depth is shaky at best.

Lucky I didn't bump him to a B-.   If Johnson didn't come in, I probably would.

[forevereagle]

I went from an B+ to an A- and now back to B+. I just am not sure that this class is enough given the instability at TSU and UTSA. I probably would have held him steady if we had poached a little more from those two, but we didn't. I don't see that rating changing until we play meaningful games again unless he goes out and gets a bunch of recruits on board over the summer, including a QB.

[Dr. Seuss]

38 minutes ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

I thought I was fair.

[MeanGreenTexan]

41 minutes ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

McCarney left him with 2 good recruiters who played major roles in getting all of the mid-term signees here... arguably our best players came from Perry's & Patrick's efforts (Morris cited Perry, and English cited Patrick).  And we know every TVCC/Navarro guy is Perry's.

[MGNation92]

Good lord I think yall need to temper some expectations here. Some of yall are like "Wow we got FIVE 3* recruits? Littrell is football Jesus! A+".

And on the opposite end of the spectrum we have "Wow he didn't sign any 5* recruits? Littrell sucks ass".

Damn people. Chill out. He had limited resources, and did decently with that he had to work with. There is no cure all in recruiting for sucking ass as a program for 40 years. He got guys to fit his system. He evaluated the talent we could get to fit his system. He could've done better, but I have no doubt he did better than what Mac could've done this year. Let's wait and see what the system looks like on the field.

[physics90]

45 minutes ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

I gave him a C for average.  Yeah,  today's grade inflation make it a B+ but I'm old fashioned.

[meangreenbob]

56 minutes ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

Agree.

[TIgreen01]

1 hour ago, Cerebus said:

The second poll had everyone except one coach in place, all the big names were already here.  

Well then.  That's not everyone, is it?  :P

I think I started out with a C or C+ on the first poll.  I've still got it a C.  Part of that is that I'm just flat out gun shy with our athletic programs right now.  Also, I'm generally not a fan of the air raid---not necessarily the system, but as entertainment.  Littrell looks like a winner to me, but he's assembled a so-so first year staff and I have a set ceiling I'm not willing to grade above until I see on-field results for the reasons already listed.  

I mostly give them a pass for this recruiting class.  The one player I really like is the RB from Arlington.  North Texas always has a top notch RB on the roster who can play anywhere.  I felt like Mac let that tradition slip a bit.  Glad to see Littrell getting that going again.  The LBer from Arizona could be a player, but when we have very little to go on as far as what kind of defense we'll run it's hard to get a feel for how anyone on that side of the ball will fit in.

[Mean Green 93-98]

1 hour ago, Got5onIt said:

 

Yeah, I was just reading academics may have played a big part in his decommit from Nebraska. I never thought Nebraska was an academically "prestigious" school, superior to NT. Am I wrong?

Historically, Nebraska's football program disregarded academics to build up a powerhouse.  But that has largely changed, especially now that they're in the B1G.  And the school overall is fairly highly regarded, right around #100 on U.S. News and WR's list.  They did lose their AAU status a few years ago.  But that they had AAU status to lose says something.

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

I'm with Harry and will stick to my belief that the true grade of any recruiting class should be given a couple of years down the road.  I also prefer to let the man coach some prior to assigning grades, but I think we got a good one this time around.

[Monkeypox]

I generally have been giving C, C-, C+. And those are the grades I'd give no matter what. If he pulled in nobody or some amazing class. Because I don't give a shit and his team hasn't played a single down. 

Winning the off season is a big deal if you do it consistently... Which pretty much nobody at our level does, or they wouldn't be at our level. 

I like the coaching hire. I'm personally excited about next season. But I can't get too worked up one way or another about the coaching staff. So far, nothing has come in below or above expectations. 

[Green P1]

Absolutely ridiculous to try and gave a coach until he's had an opportunity to COACH!  Yea recruiting is the second most important aspect of his job... But his title ain't head recruiter... It's head COACH.  

 

Too early 

[LongJim]

He basically had no time at all to put a class together.  For that reason the staff worked a minor miracle.  I would say B+ at this point.

[Army of Dad]

28 minutes ago, Green P1 said:

Absolutely ridiculous to try and gave a coach until he's had an opportunity to COACH!  Yea recruiting is the second most important aspect of his job... But his title ain't head recruiter... It's head COACH.  

 

Too early 

Yep. Way too early.

[EagleMBA]

I upped my grade a notch to A- . I think he has done one helluva good job in lining up some incoming talent to blend with the kids already here. Let's see what he and his staff can do with what they now have to work with. My grade could slip higher after the spring game.

[Graddean]

Remember, our transfers, English and Morris, are not included in the rankings.  Both were highly rated.  Texas State is ranked on the basis of 23 recruits.  UNT is based on 17.  The number of commits affects the final rating as well as the number of stars.

[GrandGreen]

Nothing to change my rating of B+.    Good transfer recruiting offset disappointing high school recruiting.   Poor press conference,  with this AD; it is up to him to demand a better forum.  I don't want another McCarney or Trilli, but he  needs to work on his presentation.   Hint, if asked a question no one can hear; at least repeat the question and stir up a little more outward enthusiasm. 

What counts happens on the field, but every little thing you can do to elevate the program helps getting success  there.  

Edited February 4, 2016 by GrandGreen

[FirefightnRick]

45 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

Nothing to change my rating of B+.    Good transfer recruiting offset disappointing high school recruiting.  Poor press conference,  with this AD; it is up to him to demand a better forum.  I don't want another McCarney or Trilli, but he  needs to work on his presentation.   Hint, if asked a question no one can hear; at least repeat the question and stir up a little more outward enthusiasm. 

What counts happens on the field, but every little thing you can do to elevate the program helps getting success  there.  

RV speak?

 

Rick

[GoMeanGreen1999]

5 hours ago, Harry said:

i don't see how you guys could be hardsh on the grades.  Littrell had basically less than a month, and Mac left him a bag of .

Agreed.  I like some of the kids in this group and the social media stuff alone moves him up in my book.  Every time I turn around I am seeing things I like out of this group.  I am actually seeing the new coaches and staff out and around Denton.  I don't understand a grade of less than a B.

[akriesman]

6 hours ago, outoftown said:

Other than the lack of good QB recruiting, I would have to disagree. Yes 2013 and maybe also 2012 were horrible classes for mac. But 2014 was similar to this (more players, maybe less playmakers at the top) and 2015 was a better class than what we have in 2016 so far. We had 10 players that were rated 247 3*. Personally I think that 2015 class just came too late for Mac (plus all the stubborness etc issues). But this class has not merited praise through the roof yet. It is a lot better than it looked just a week ago. And I guess it is ok, given the late start. But it is heavy on JuCos and not rated any higher than the last two classes. We might be feeling its tiny high school size 3-5 seasons from now.

I would agree with you.    Considering what our staff had to do between december and now, they have been excellent.   But, this years class overall is only great compared to where we were a month ago.

Mac's 2015 class is also good news for Littrell.   In 2015, 24/7 had us 6th in CUSA (8th again in average).    So, the cupboard is not really bare and we should be able to rebound quicker than would be expected from a 1-11 team.   Maybe not this year.  But, 2 to 3 years out would be plenty of time to rebound with a couple top notch CUSA classes in 2017 and 2018..

 

Edited February 4, 2016 by akriesman

[eulessismore]

23 minutes ago, GoMeanGreen1999 said:

Agreed.  I like some of the kids in this group and the social media stuff alone moves him up in my book.  Every time I turn around I am seeing things I like out of this group.  I am actually seeing the new coaches and staff out and around Denton.  I don't understand a grade of less than a B.

Yep, I  may have been too generous with an A-, but I think they worked hard and got  players who can help us win.