Why is recruiting so difficult?

[FLU]

I gotta admit, with each passing season I am becoming more and more frustrated with NU's recruiting. Yeah, I know there are people out there who say that stars don't mean anything, but I beg to differ. After watching LSU and Alabama play this past weekend, it's evident that without multiple 4- and 5-star recruits, NU's chances of winning a national championship in the forseeable future are slim and none. My question is, why is it so hard to land top recruits? And please don't play the geography card, because I've been to Tuscaloosa, and Lincoln is light years ahead. This staff needs to hire some proven recruiters, otherwise this team is destined for mediocrity year-in and year-out.

[broganreynik]

Well I'm not so sure it's geography so much as it is climate. When faced with 50+ degrees or snow in December, most kids will choose 50's

[jaws]

You need to offer the players more money than other schools.

[bigg10]

Well there are about 120 schools with around 100 players. Thats about 12,000 players. They avg about 4 years in a program so 12,000 divided by 4 is 3,000. At the same time most schools (not sec) avg what 22(?) recruits a year? Which is close, as 120 schools times 22 equals 2640 recruits.

For the sake of arguement we will go with 3,000. Now lets toss out a 1 and 2 star recruits, which leaves us with 3,4 and 5 star. 3,000 divided buy 3 (3,4 and 5 star) equals about say 1,000 5 star recruits and thats being way generous. Now figure, out of those 1,000 how many want to stay close to home? How many want to play where their parents went to school? How many want to play for their state? How many want to go where a freind or girlfriend of theirs is going? By the time your done, your lucky to get 1, maybe 2, 5 star and 3 or 4, 4 star. Then factor in the whoops clause of sometimes stars dont mean anything. Whats all that mean? You have to be good at developing talent.

 

I know those numbers are pry not even close, I was just trying to prove a point.

Look at Vandy, right now they are ranked 25th in recruits. They have (0) 5 star (5) 4 star and (10) 3star.

Point is there are not very many high star players and for the reasons I said they are hard to get.

[zoogs]

Well, it's not that we have bad recruiters, but we are in fierce competition. We need to drain every last resource we have for near the full 52 weeks of the year - without burning out the coaches. Maybe some more creative recruiting ideas would help, and we have some bright young assistants with a good recruiting reputation just added this year, that might provide that.

[teachercd]

1. Location

2. Population Base

3. Lack of great high school football

4. Climate

 

Look, schools like LSU and Bama don't have to go more then 200 miles from their campus to get all the kids they want (for the most part).

 

Mississippi has more players in the NFL per capita then any state (I think that is still true)

 

Then you have ties, think about it, if you grow up in Bama or Texas or Florida, you usually like that team.

[AustinHuskr]

Well there are about 120 schools with around 100 players. Thats about 12,000 players. They avg about 4 years in a program so 12,000 divided by 4 is 3,000. At the same time most schools (not sec) avg what 22(?) recruits a year? Which is close, as 120 schools times 22 equals 2640 recruits.

For the sake of arguement we will go with 3,000. Now lets toss out a 1 and 2 star recruits, which leaves us with 3,4 and 5 star. 3,000 divided buy 3 (3,4 and 5 star) equals about say 1,000 5 star recruits and thats being way generous. Now figure, out of those 1,000 how many want to stay close to home? How many want to play where their parents went to school? How many want to play for their state? How many want to go where a freind or girlfriend of theirs is going? By the time your done, your lucky to get 1, maybe 2, 5 star and 3 or 4, 4 star. Then factor in the whoops clause of sometimes stars dont mean anything. Whats all that mean? You have to be good at developing talent.

Or...........

Good at finding enough 4-5* AND borderline 4* aka 3*.

 

Case in point: Boise and OkieLite.

[junior4949]

TO was successful because he did something different. He never landed star power WR's because we mostly just used them to block. We were able to pick up high powered running backs because we were a run dominant team. QB is basically the same. We almost had our pick of the litter of running QB's because every other college was trying their luck with the fun'n gun. On offense we concentrated a lot of effort on the pipeline and running backs. I don't follow high school football at all, but I am wondering if the quality of players in Lincoln and Omaha just isn't what it used to be. We had a lot of in-state talent on those NC teams.

[Treand3]

1. Location

2. Population Base

3. Lack of great high school football

4. Climate

 

Look, schools like LSU and Bama don't have to go more then 200 miles from their campus to get all the kids they want (for the most part).

 

Mississippi has more players in the NFL per capita then any state (I think that is still true)

 

Then you have ties, think about it, if you grow up in Bama or Texas or Florida, you usually like that team.

 

This. These teams mentioned don't have to go far to get elite talent. For a kid in FL, it isn't much of a stretch for him to choose a school in GA, SC or AL. Also, NU suffers from misconceptions and preconceived ideas that make it easy to negatively recruit against. Whenever I tell someone, I'm from Nebraska they can't believe it and the ignorance is amazing. NU has a lot to offer as a football prospect, its a shame that it doesn't get the credit that it should.

[Ty08husker]

We actually have a lot of instate talent in Nebraska. The way Solich got fired and the Cally years plus the success of UNK and UNO have helped change their minds to go elsewhere than UNL. I know of a couple of players that didnt go to UNL because of this exact reason. Pelini just needs to build that respect that Tom Osborne had with HIgh School players and you will see the top high school recuits go to UNL and also the next tier players go to UNL as walkons instead of going to a smaller school and knowing they will play. High Schoolers want to play for a coach. Its the biggest reason most players that are on the fence with one school or another.

[The Dude]

I blame Lil' Red.

[junior4949]

We actually have a lot of instate talent in Nebraska. The way Solich got fired and the Cally years plus the success of UNK and UNO have helped change their minds to go elsewhere than UNL. I know of a couple of players that didnt go to UNL because of this exact reason. Pelini just needs to build that respect that Tom Osborne had with HIgh School players and you will see the top high school recuits go to UNL and also the next tier players go to UNL as walkons instead of going to a smaller school and knowing they will play. High Schoolers want to play for a coach. Its the biggest reason most players that are on the fence with one school or another.

 

It could also be more a sign of the times. I knew of guys that had full ride scholarships to smaller schools, but instead they walked-on at NU. With tuition and such sky rocketing, it might not matter how much respect Bo builds with high schools.

[AustinHuskr]

Better question - aren't there 20 6'5" 300lb behemoths in NE that can be found? If WI can find them right there in WI (similar northern European Nordic race as NE) why can't NU?

[Hoosker]

The SEC is good at football because that's where all the football talent is.

The Big East is good at basketball because that's where all the basketball talent is.

 

We first need to establish a solid, consistent offensive scheme so we can recruit the players that fit the mold. I'm confident that Bo will get great defensive players eventually because of the defensive specialist he is.

[robsker]

People will probably jump on me for this one but... in answer to this question, if I were an opposing coach that was competing with NU for a recruit, I would tell that recruit a few things... like... a) NU has one conference championship in the last 12 years (I think that is right... it has been so long I cannot remember... but something like that), b) NU teams play flat, unmotivated football most weeks, c) NU loses almost every time to top 10 competition, d) players get berated on national TV, e) NU wastes redshirts often, and, recently anyway, have a bizarre manner re: who plays and who does not f) NU has not seemingly progressed overly with time. I'd then ask that kid... "do you really want to go there?" If you are a coach from any of 20 or so programs (those that compete for the top players... those that NU competes against for those players) you can readily refer to your own teams relative successes and NU will look... comparatively speaking... out classed.

 

NU can counter with tradition, academics for athletes, fine facilities, and a really nice town --- if one really looks closely and gives Lincoln a chance, it is a very nice place and the university is a wonderful place to pursue an education. But I do not think it takes much to envision how opposing coaches can easily recruit against NU pretty successfully.

 

The climate and all that factors in too. But it is not just that --- and probably not even primarily that. NU for a time now is fairly easy to recruit against.