Riley’s Creampuff Recruiting

melscott62 said:
People need to lay off Jackson.  I've seen that poor kid called out by name way too much on this board.
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Yeah, it tends to become an angry mob on these boards and most of the time is proven to be inaccurate. I remember a linebacker back in the day who was "too slow" and "couldn't tackle", then went on to be an NFL starter.

 
I think the term "creampuff" gets used in many different ways, and not all of them (maybe none of them) necessarily refer to a player being a weak recruit.  Some examples;

#1- I think last year it was fairly safe to say our OL played like creampuffs. That describes how they played as a unit and maybe not each player individually. However this year I've seen that group get stronger and actually develope a push at times. But they've also struggled plenty this year and, when they fail at being the road graders of yestertear, it's fairly understandable how and why people might refer to them as being creampuffs.

#2- It really isn't arguable that Riley instilled a soft mentality in the team. S&C lifting and nutrition was not emphasized during Riley's reign. There were regular obvious shortages of effort and desire at various times (and some of that mentality has not yet been fully expunged). That may not translate directly to a weak creampuff type player but it is a creampuff mental state he instilled in the team. I can see why many refer to them as creampuffs, often unfairly, when the play and results aren't what is desired. 

Frost has a much bigger job on his hands than I think many of us realized. He has alluded to, or rather commented point blank numerous times, about the soft mental state of team. I think we've all seen improvement in the mentality, strength, effort and desire (common creampuff categories) but things still are not where they need to be. It doesn't matter to me who's recruit it is because it is all Frost's team now and it is all now his responsibility. But there are some very legitimate reasons why things this season haven't started the way everyone would like. There are lots of reasons and the creampuff mentality Riley helped foster is probably one of the toughest to try to remedy but it sure doesn't explain everything that has gone wrong. 

 
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This should be called Riley's creampuff coaching. Face it no one bought into anything that smiling jacka$$ was preaching and so the inmates decided to run the team. What was done about it? Nothing we smiled our way to what we have now. Frost has to get guys together (or get rid of them) on the same page that haven't been on the same page in their careers. It was very telling when Frost said "this is my team" 

 
Hayseed said:
Yeah, it tends to become an angry mob on these boards and most of the time is proven to be inaccurate. I remember a linebacker back in the day who was "too slow" and "couldn't tackle", then went on to be an NFL starter.
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If Jackson goes on to become an NFL starter I’ll eat crow, but nothing in his 3 years here shows any sort of support to that happening. 

 
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Hayseed said:
What then? WR or safety?
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He should get a look at WR.  Honestly, we don't have a third WR.  I'm not sure if he could do it, but he is not a defender.  He can't play S because he can't tackle.  He damn near gave up a TD when the RB jumped over him because he lowered his head to do the pansy-a$$ "roll your back into their legs" tackle.

 
roadrat said:
This should be called Riley's creampuff coaching. Face it no one bought into anything that smiling jacka$$ was preaching and so the inmates decided to run the team. What was done about it? Nothing we smiled our way to what we have now. Frost has to get guys together (or get rid of them) on the same page that haven't been on the same page in their careers. It was very telling when Frost said "this is my team" 
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His one sentence said EVERYTHING, basically.  The culture is still not there and it's got to be beyond frustrating to this guy who pours his heart and soul into this product, for some guys to just eschew what he's doing for THEM.  I'm glad he seemed angry.  It actually gave me hope that some thing WILL change for the better - THIS SEASON.  (Wins still won't pile up fast, mind you). 

 
Is it possible that neither Riley or Pelini recruited creampuffs but after 3 years of being fed ice cream they softened up?  I saw a lot of cream oozing out of the OP list while getting smacked around by MIchigan.  Maybe the purple cats are just much more talented than us.

 
St. Paul is right, guys.  He is saying that the kids weren't "creampuffs" when they were recruited.  If you go by how good our players were in high school, we have lots of talent.  The issue is that the upper classmen are YEARS behind other teams when it comes to development in college.

Star rankings are about how good they are in high school and how they "project" into college.  These projections come with an assumption of solid steady development by the coaching staff and strength program at their university.  Our guys didn't have that.

So in a nutshell, Riley (and Pelini) recruited good high school players.  They were developed into creampuffs.

That is not an ideal plan for success.

 
melscott62 said:
People need to lay off Jackson.  I've seen that poor kid called out by name way too much on this board.
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I'm in the camp that believes he's out of position (WR), but his poor effort, lack of awareness, and apparent lack of want-to are lightning rods for criticism. He didn't play the entirety of the second half yesterday, and his reaction to being benched really makes me wonder if he's going to be here past Monday this week. 

 
I don't agree with the when creampuff thing. 

My take away from this thread though is look at the number of starters in their 2nd or 3rd college scheme. Not to mention the majority of our starters were recruited by a coach long gone and another with a totally different scheme. That is bound to cause confusion and make players play slow or tentative which makes them look like creampuffs.

 
If we want to look into Riley's recruiting for creampuffs why look at starters instead of those that have left?  Barnett, that LB that left for Riley-ville (famous for their sprinkles).  There's a reason for lack of depth at certain positions.

 
People that are saying D. Young needs to sit must not be paying attention much.  He is currently tied with A. Williams for 2nd on the team in tackles with 25.  Mo Barry is leading with 37.

Young might not be the fastest or the flashiest but he get stuff done and will end his career as one of the top tacklers in school history.

 
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