New Recruiting Philosophy?

[Husker_x]

Awhile back I was reading on another board that the entire Nebraska coaching staff has changed tactics when it comes to recruiting. More specifically, there were some bizarre allegations that Bo himself had to step in when he found out that as of last September we didn't have any official visitors scheduled. I can't confirm that the stories are true, but there was a lot of chatter early last season that the staff––and one would presume especially Gilmore––were not on the ball.

 

Yet here we sit with six quality commits and seventh almost certainly on the way for the 2011 class, and we're in on some of the top talent in the nation. Can any of the recruiting buffs shed any light on what was going on and what's changed?

[EZ-E]

This was a whole new staff. At the time most of them didnt know how they needed to recruit and didnt know that it was a 365 day a year job. Towards the end of this past recruiting cycle they got on it like no other. Hence Carnes, Heard, Cooper, Lavonte, Yoshi and the valient attempt at Owa. The staff at this point understood the time required to pull in the talent that they wanted. The strong finish to last cycle is the product of this staff's relentless hustle on the trail and what you can expect for the rest of Bo's tenure here at NU. As we can see we have had some early success getting some committments from some kids that were very high on our boards.

[dylan]

Awhile back I was reading on another board that the entire Nebraska coaching staff has changed tactics when it comes to recruiting. More specifically, there were some bizarre allegations that Bo himself had to step in when he found out that as of last September we didn't have any official visitors scheduled. I can't confirm that the stories are true, but there was a lot of chatter early last season that the staff––and one would presume especially Gilmore––were not on the ball.

 

Yet here we sit with six quality commits and seventh almost certainly on the way for the 2011 class, and we're in on some of the top talent in the nation. Can any of the recruiting buffs shed any light on what was going on and what's changed?

 

kids like to play for good coaches that win ball games.

 

while i think it's likely that this staff is getting somewhat better at recruiting, i think that more than anything we are benefiting from increased national perception. another factor is the amount of time they've had on the job to build relationships with schools and young prospects.

[teachercd]

There are some "fans" that think Bo and his staff either didnt want to recruit or didnt understand how to recruit. What those "fans" fail to realize is that coaches have to build relationships with players and high school coaches first. One of the reasons we are seeing kids giving their pledge to NU sooner is that there is a comfort level with the staff now, they have been out and about, meeting high school coaches all over and talking to kids for the past two (now 3) cycles, they have known lots of this soon to be seniors since they start of their sophmore year.

 

They have layed the ground work, they have had some success on the field, they have been on tv a lot and have gotten kids drafted. I would imagine that instead of a change in philosophy it is more likely that Bo's original plan is simply working like he had hoped/thought it would.

 

My guess is his plan was something like

 

1. Take care of business on the team first.

2. Get the current players to buy in and hold each other accountable.

3. Build relationships at very good high school programs.

4. Lay the ground work with current varsity studs and future ones.

[Husker_x]

There are some "fans" that think Bo and his staff either didnt want to recruit or didnt understand how to recruit. What those "fans" fail to realize is that coaches have to build relationships with players and high school coaches first. One of the reasons we are seeing kids giving their pledge to NU sooner is that there is a comfort level with the staff now, they have been out and about, meeting high school coaches all over and talking to kids for the past two (now 3) cycles, they have known lots of this soon to be seniors since they start of their sophmore year.

 

They have layed the ground work, they have had some success on the field, they have been on tv a lot and have gotten kids drafted. I would imagine that instead of a change in philosophy it is more likely that Bo's original plan is simply working like he had hoped/thought it would.

 

My guess is his plan was something like

 

1. Take care of business on the team first.

2. Get the current players to buy in and hold each other accountable.

3. Build relationships at very good high school programs.

4. Lay the ground work with current varsity studs and future ones.

 

I agree that recruiting was probably the least of Bo's worries when he first got here. The program was in shambles like it hadn't been since pre-Devaney. Yet from what I heard––and these were unconfirmed rumors, now––there were some serious effort issues on the part of some, or at least a general atmosphere of recruiting < game planning. Which of course is a death blow in this day and age where recruiting, like EZE said, is a 365 job. Commits are happening much earlier.

 

Whatever it was, lack of attention or different priorities, we really seem to have turned the corner. I was more than a little worried last summer, but I always said that the staff could easily turn around, and they did. Signing Owa would have been Rocky 1, but it was close. Now we're sailing right along.

[teachercd]

I just have a hard time believing that Bo and his staff would basically not understand recruiting or that its 365, you know? I think it was a lot of fans that were freaked out because we had been sooooo beaten down by BC and it was some BCers that were basically trying to call out Bo for anything. So they read that a kid says "I like Nebraska, I tried calling one of the coaches the other day but they didnt answer" and they turned it into a sky is falling thing.

 

Look at the schools Bo was at, when you really think about does it make any sense that he would think that recruiting was a part time thing. I think he always had a plan, now hopefully that plan will just continue to cycle, which is what all coaches want. A solid plan that works well and starts to feed off its own results.

[Husker_x]

It's hard to say. There was a definite pattern of those 'couldn't get ahold of the coaches' articles. It wasn't just one player. All the recruiting analysts were facepalming on the radio.

 

But it's beside the point. The point is we're on track and it all worked out. Even last year's class was surprisingly good. If we'd landed Owa it would have been a top 15-ish finish. And with what Bo managed to do with O'hanlon, Dillard, Crick, etc., we're in really good shape moving forward.

[zoogs]

i don't think there's anything that wrong with acknowledging that the staff really dropped the ball last year, if that is in fact true. I mean, Bo has a reputation for being a little lazy at recruiting and there's a lot of inexpeerience, I would imagine, in that area. But it looks like they've definitely picked up the slack now, which is what's important. Nonetheless, stuff like this is interesting to know.

[teachercd]

i don't think there's anything that wrong with acknowledging that the staff really dropped the ball last year, if that is in fact true. I mean, Bo has a reputation for being a little lazy at recruiting and there's a lot of inexpeerience, I would imagine, in that area. But it looks like they've definitely picked up the slack now, which is what's important. Nonetheless, stuff like this is interesting to know.

 

 

See thats just it, Bo doesnt have that reputation. Well, I should say that some haters started that but find an article where he is called that. Find a quote where he is called a lazy recruiter. You probably can't, I know I can't.

 

Inexperience, maybe, but not really. Watson, Bo, Gilmore, Sanders (who I have heard could be the best closer ever), Cotton, Brown probably have what, 50 years of D1 recruiting experience?

 

Please know I am not calling you a hater or anything like that. I am just talking about my own encounters on other boards like bigredboard.com where most of that crap started.

[schuhbdoo]

This was a whole new staff. At the time most of them didnt know how they needed to recruit and didnt know that it was a 365 day a year job. Towards the end of this past recruiting cycle they got on it like no other. Hence Carnes, Heard, Cooper, Lavonte, Yoshi and the valient attempt at Owa. The staff at this point understood the time required to pull in the talent that they wanted. The strong finish to last cycle is the product of this staff's relentless hustle on the trail and what you can expect for the rest of Bo's tenure here at NU. As we can see we have had some early success getting some committments from some kids that were very high on our boards.

 

 

At the Red/White game we had (13) 2010 recruits and about (25) for 2011. That opened my eyes that this staff is on their game. 38 recruits at the game. Alumni is in full support, SUH, Nicks, Frazier, etc, etc. I am pumped that this will lead to top 10/15 classes going forward. You put that kind of talent in the hands of this staff and we will compete with anyone at anytime.

 

Players are giving back and telling everyone that will listen they owe their success and awards to the staff and teammates!!! (SUH, Asante most recently)

[zoogs]

i don't think there's anything that wrong with acknowledging that the staff really dropped the ball last year, if that is in fact true. I mean, Bo has a reputation for being a little lazy at recruiting and there's a lot of inexpeerience, I would imagine, in that area. But it looks like they've definitely picked up the slack now, which is what's important. Nonetheless, stuff like this is interesting to know.

 

 

See thats just it, Bo doesnt have that reputation. Well, I should say that some haters started that but find an article where he is called that. Find a quote where he is called a lazy recruiter. You probably can't, I know I can't.

 

Inexperience, maybe, but not really. Watson, Bo, Gilmore, Sanders (who I have heard could be the best closer ever), Cotton, Brown probably have what, 50 years of D1 recruiting experience?

 

Please know I am not calling you a hater or anything like that. I am just talking about my own encounters on other boards like bigredboard.com where most of that crap started.

 

I'm going off of what BigWillie said once. Actually, to clarify that, I believe he was correcting people who said Bo had a reputation as a bad recruiter. I think he said Bo was actually a good recruiter and the reputation was just that he was lazy about it. Mind you, this was before he took the reigns of a big-time program like Nebraska. So if that was the case, I don't think saying that is anything against Bo, especially since it seems clear that he isn't one anymore.

 

Good call on the inexperience. Some of the assistant coaches are first time assistants though, that was what I was thinking of. But there's not really an excuse.

 

I'm not criticizing the recruiting efforts right now, but at the same time, I think it's a stretch to say that the staff has consistently been all over it their entire time here. They haven't been world-beaters to date but we saw in the stretch last year that we really picked up some steam, and we have some fine momentum right now going forward - so the potential for elite recruiting in the future is definitely there.

[AndyDufresne]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see things slow down over the summer again. Obviously, Bo is listening to TO and both believe that family is important and our assistants need some time off during the summer to "recharge the batteries". Why do you think that Watson didn't join Saban in Tuscaloosa? At least part of the reason is that he didn't want to be subjected to the rigorous schedule that Saban keeps his assistants on. Bill Snyder was the same way. He obviously had some success with this in the late 90's, but his assistants left in droves partly because of other opportunities and partly because they were tired of working nonstop. The reason TO was able to keep his staff intact for so long was because he recognized this and took measures to keep his assistants happy and motivated. Now which philosphy works better depends on whether you can replace the assistants who leave with quality replacements. Obviously Snyder had problems doing this in the mid-2000's when KSU fell apart (also helped by the fact that he wasn't able to pick and choose players out of the Kansas Juco ranks anymore as he had competition for their services). Now things have obviously changed in recruiting since TO's day. Time off is certainly important, but hopefully last year the staff learned that they need to be more organized with scheduling vacations and do a better job of filling in for each other and keeping in contact with players that staff who are on vacation are recruiting. I think we will see a better effort during the coming summer months, but I also fully expect to see more "sky is falling" posts to accompany the slow down.

 

As for recruiting philosophies, I think that Bo realized that Callahan had a pretty good strategy for recruiting to a low population state. Watch a ton of film and throw out a ton of offers and see what sticks. Concentrate most of your efforts on those that show some reciprocal interest and hit the targets at the top of your board hard. I don't have numbers, but I would guess that the number of players that we've offered so far this year dwarf the number offered in 2008 and 2009 at a comparable time.

[Billyball]

Let's not get carried away. There are reasons unrelated to any love of this staff by recruits or any guaranteed long term effect.

 

There are basically 3 things that make the difference this year compared to the previous two.

 

1) SUH--the most dominant player in several years was N and should have been the number 1 pro pick. Rightly or wrongly many prospects see the current staff as responsible for Suh.

 

2) Success -- the first year we have played in the league championship in a while and we ended the regular season well. We destroyed our bowl opponent

 

3) We are ranked well-most hve us in the preseaon top ten. That may or may not be justified based on our returning personel. Nevertheless until the hype is proven one way or the other many prospects see us as an emerging power in the Big 12 whereas previously we were seen as a formerly good team in decline.

 

 

The problem is that before any of these kids sign a LOI, we will have to prove the perceptions of items 2 and 3 on the field. If we flounder, some of these commits will reconsider and some that we hope to get will pass us by. Kids outside Nebraska don't give a fig about what NU did in the 90s. They are looking at playing time on a contender.

 

We have a good start and a good story right now; before we get too giddy; we have to prove it on the field, win the North and go to a BCS game. Anything less and we won't be signing the kids we hope will come to Lincoln.

[zoogs]

I think that's definitely a factor, but it doesn't go very far, necessarily. Yeah kids like going to schools with big names they hear about on TV, but for most, I think the recruiting process, and the contact with the coaching staff and everything, is a lot more important. They want to go somewhere that's a fit for them. That's why ND consistently reels in great classes even when they suck, and that's why our 2007 class was fine until Callahan's job security wasn't.

 

Bottom line, kids want to go somewhere they believe they can succeed, more than they want to go somewhere where they've already seen success. Sometimes the two go together, but when they don't, the former trumps the latter.

[dylan]

Let's not get carried away. There are reasons unrelated to any love of this staff by recruits or any guaranteed long term effect.

 

There are basically 3 things that make the difference this year compared to the previous two.

 

1) SUH--the most dominant player in several years was N and should have been the number 1 pro pick. Rightly or wrongly many prospects see the current staff as responsible for Suh.

 

2) Success -- the first year we have played in the league championship in a while and we ended the regular season well. We destroyed our bowl opponent

 

3) We are ranked well-most hve us in the preseaon top ten. That may or may not be justified based on our returning personel. Nevertheless until the hype is proven one way or the other many prospects see us as an emerging power in the Big 12 whereas previously we were seen as a formerly good team in decline.

 

 

The problem is that before any of these kids sign a LOI, we will have to prove the perceptions of items 2 and 3 on the field. If we flounder, some of these commits will reconsider and some that we hope to get will pass us by. Kids outside Nebraska don't give a fig about what NU did in the 90s. They are looking at playing time on a contender.

 

We have a good start and a good story right now; before we get too giddy; we have to prove it on the field, win the North and go to a BCS game. Anything less and we won't be signing the kids we hope will come to Lincoln.

 

good post.

 

honest question for the board - can anyone provide some actual documentation for the great recruiting debacle of aught nine? i'm pretty sure i've asked this before, but it seems like we heard about a few kids that had little contact with the coaches over the course of a week or two last summer and it snowballed into your typical message board melt down. while i don't discount the possibility that a ball or two was dropped, it seems like way, way too much was made of it. so...can anyone tell me which kids? did we cool on them? did we later go after them?

 

as to the idea of bo being a lazy recruiter, i do find that hard to believe given his personality, his drive to win and his time spent in top programs.