The Horsemonkey of Recruiting

The Fake Lonnie Finch · July 3, 2012

This is a game you have to win.

GrayEagle · July 3, 2012

This is a game you have to win.

To me, that's sort of a yes and no. We aren't winning many recruiting battles thus far. We had about five or six three-star recruits last year and none so far this year. Yet, I think that this staff can develop the talent that we are getting far in excess of those in the last ten years. And, who knows? Maybe this 'under the radar' talent is actually better than the so-called experts predict. It carried TCU for several years.

So, it's important to get better talent than your competitors but it's more important to develop what you do get.

SHOSS · July 3, 2012

To me, that's sort of a yes and no. We aren't winning many recruiting battles thus far. We had about five or six three-star recruits last year and none so far this year. Yet, I think that this staff can develop the talent that we are getting far in excess of those in the last ten years. And, who knows? Maybe this 'under the radar' talent is actually better than the so-called experts predict. It carried TCU for several years.

So, it's important to get better talent than your competitors but it's more important to develop what you do get.

During their senior years, these kids are gonna get rated by rivals and scout. Some may get bumped up as high as a 3 star. I believe a couple of our commits were upgraded during the fall last season after starting off either not rated or as 2 star recruits.... if memory serves...

SilverEagle · July 3, 2012

If McCarney and his staff are as good as Corky Nelson was in identifying and developing "under the radar" talent, then we are going to be much better off than we've been in a long time.

I really don't give a damn about the star system. It doesn't rate what is really important....which is a player's gut desire to get better every year.

Edited July 3, 2012 by SilverEagle

trussbussdad · July 3, 2012

The "star" system was created and now managed by a group of people who never stepped on a college football field and most on a high school field.

One of the best QB's I have ever seen was rated 3 star...barely and NO ONE in Texas except UNT offered him. He is now at Michigan and will be the heir to Denard.

Star system is for boosters to measure the success of the football team. Wins are the way the coaches measure the success of a football team.

Harry · July 3, 2012

The "star" system was created and now managed by a group of people who never stepped on a college football field and most on a high school field.
One of the best QB's I have ever seen was rated 3 star...barely and NO ONE in Texas except UNT offered him. He is now at Michigan and will be the heir to Denard.
Star system is for boosters to measure the success of the football team. Wins are the way the coaches measure the success of a football team.

Really glad to have your perspective on here Truss! I agree 100%

GreenFlag · July 3, 2012

Mac is doing what WKU did a couple of years ago - getting bigger. I watched them against UK and LSU last year and they weren't getting pushed around like Bama did us. Their QB alone cost them the UK game. The size issue had to be addressed.

Mac is recruiting what he likes - big and physical players.

GrayEagle · July 3, 2012

If McCarney and his staff are as good as Corky Nelson was in identifying and developing "under the radar" talent, then we are going to be much better off than we've been in a long time.

I really don't give a damn about the star system. It doesn't rate what is really important....which is a player's gut desire to get better every year.

You're absolutely right about the desire factor. Nothing measures that whether it's Rivals, Scout, ESPN, 247 or anyone else that evaluates talent. It is not quantifiable. You can have the biggest, strongest and fastest at a position and if he doesn't truly give it his best he'll be a bust (at least by premier standards). But, what if the four-star player also has a lot of heart? Advantage, talent.

There will be star players that will fail and there will be underrated players that will succeed because recruiting is not, nor can it ever be, an exact science. However, a much greater percentage of four-star players succeed than two-stars mostly because of their talent and work-ethic. If they didn't have the work-ethic they wouldn't be four-star players.

Corky Nelson succeeded mostly when he had talent because he was able to get the most from that talent. What if he'd been able to get some of that top talent to come to North Texas? He probably wouldn't have been here very long because the Southwest Conference would've gobbled him up. Dan McCarney and his staff inspire in a way similar or better than Corky and his staff did.

I think that SHOSS nailed it when he said that some of these young men will have their status elevated after their senior season and we may have some 3* players in this group. I'm hoping that's the case because I like the size of the players that have been selected. Furthermore, these players will fine-tuned by Coach Wintrich and inspired by the coaching staff. That, I don't worry about.

I suppose that I'm just disappointed that we haven't competed directly against some that I'd like to beat both on the field and in the recruiting arena. Also, I have been closely following recruiting for the last few years and most of my board is committed elsewhere. Thankfully, I didn't pay for insider information this year.

PlummMeanGreen · July 3, 2012

If McCarney and his staff are as good as Corky Nelson was in identifying and developing "under the radar" talent, then we are going to be much better off than we've been in a long time.

I really don't give a damn about the star system. It doesn't rate what is really important....which is a player's gut desire to get better every year.

And Bill Snyder did much of the same when he became Kansas State's new HFC and he also from the Hayden Fry Coach's Tree.

I found this on YouTube--not one of our Top 10 Mean Green football moments, but we did help a Big 12 (then Big 8) school break a 31 game losing streak and then begin their

football program's resurgence (if they ever "surged" at all in the old Big 8).

Of course, we would have all preferred that we hadn't helped their cause, even moreso for Corky Nelson. (I was at a Texaco station off Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, gettting a flat tire fixed when this play took place).

Edited July 3, 2012 by PlummMeanGreen

ntmeangreen11 · July 4, 2012

Another thing to take in to account is that rankings of players are dependent on their offer list, not rivals evaluators' opinion. Players can slide or go from 2* to 4* depending on who has offered. 247sports is the only website that does not do this. They stick by their evaluations. By the way, how do we not have an established recruiting website on either Scout, Rivals, or 247? I know there wouldn't be a huge demand and massive subscriptions, but most programs like ours have at least one dedicated site on either Scout or Rivals.

Edited July 4, 2012 by ntmeangreen11

UNT90 · July 4, 2012

And Bill Snyder did much of the same when he became Kansas State's new HFC and he also from the Hayden Fry Coach's Tree.

I found this on YouTube--not one of our Top 10 Mean Green football moments, but we did help a Big 12 (then Big 8) school break a 31 game losing streak and then begin their
football program's resurgence (if they ever "surged" at all in the old Big 8).

Of course, we would have all preferred that we hadn't helped their cause, even moreso for Corky Nelson. (I was at a Texaco station off Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, gettting a flat tire fixed when this play took place).

I was in the stands for this game. Manning (#58) was all over their QB the entire last drive. Just dumb luck by KSU to win that game. Really dumb luck.

NorthTexan95 · July 4, 2012

I was in the stands for this game. Manning (#58) was all over their QB the entire last drive. Just dumb luck by KSU to win that game. Really dumb luck.

We had two big sacks on that drive ... we hit the quarterback on four or five other plays ... and they still get the touchdown. Blah!