What do you say to the Recruits?

[bearcrawls]

So what does Collins say to potential new recruits? What does he say to their families? What is UNC's selling point for next year? The program hasn't been strong for awhile and although previous records are not his responsibilty, its still a reflection on the University. His coaching record is less than stellar and his staff is questionable at best. I just cannot think of any positive spin he can put on this for player recruitment. :?

If you were Collins and talking to a recruit, what would you say?

 

[Beardown]

Depends on how well he sales the program. UNC has a lot to offer someone. Good academics, a nice campus, good facilities (probably the best over-all in the conference) and some even consider Greeley a nice place to live. Greeley is slowly becoming a decent "College town." There's some cool restaurants and bars around campus. I was impressed last time we toured.

Plus, you have a coach who's passionate about this program. He's got a nice personality and I think that will appeal to recruits. He's not going to play the fight song in living room pianos like Joe did, but when he walks into recruits living rooms, I'm sure he will do just fine.

 

[Bearsfan24]

Depends on how well he sales the program. UNC has a lot to offer someone. Good academics, a nice campus, good facilities (probably the best over-all in the conference) and some even consider Greeley a nice place to live. Greeley is slowly becoming a decent "College town." There's some cool restaurants and bars around campus. I was impressed last time we toured.

Plus, you have a coach who's passionate about this program. He's got a nice personality and I think that will appeal to recruits. He's not going to play the fight song in living room pianos like Joe did, but when he walks into recruits living rooms, I'm sure he will do just fine.

I agree.

Yes winning does help with recruiting, but it's not everything. Sometimes kids have the stranges reason for going where they want to go. I think Collins will do fine with recruiting. If Downing could still get kids to come here after a few one win seasons, Collins should be able to as well.

 

[jars]

Sure. Try and put yourself in the shoes of an aspiring high school senior football prospect, then tell me what it would be that would make them come here..

#1 Coach tells them they are the perfect fit for his offense/defense and he could expect to start right away.

#2 They get no other full scholarship offers from other D-1 programs, but they can still get one here.


That would otherwise pretty much cover it, other than the kid lives in Eaton and does not want to get more than 7 miles from home.

 

[Brian]

I would point to what happened to our basketball program and tell them they can be a part of the same thing with football at UNC.

But in the end, it comes down to players not getting their 1st or 2nd (or 10th) choice school to offer them a scholarship.

 

[bearcrawls]

Depends on how well he sales the program. UNC has a lot to offer someone. Good academics, a nice campus, good facilities (probably the best over-all in the conference) and some even consider Greeley a nice place to live. Greeley is slowly becoming a decent "College town." There's some cool restaurants and bars around campus. I was impressed last time we toured.

Plus, you have a coach who's passionate about this program. He's got a nice personality and I think that will appeal to recruits. He's not going to play the fight song in living room pianos like Joe did, but when he walks into recruits living rooms, I'm sure he will do just fine.

I agree.

Yes winning does help with recruiting, but it's not everything. Sometimes kids have the stranges reason for going where they want to go. I think Collins will do fine with recruiting. If Downing could still get kids to come here after a few one win seasons, Collins should be able to as well.

Since there are far more athletes than scholarships, you will always "get" kids. It's how do you get them to come to UNC before they get other Big Sky type offers?

I think you start your recruiting asap and I think you start with loading up the team with as many JC players as you can. JC players are desperate and we need players with experience NOW! I would offer up to the O-Line and D-line players first. With good lines, you can be successful with average athletes and play makers at RB, WR and DB's.

I would then pursue California, Texas and Florida for the high school athletes. Guys who are a bit undersized for D1 but are football players! Similar to Patrick Walker....he came from LB Poly, a factory for college athletes, but was overlooked by D1 because of his size. And I would pursue hard a QB out of one of these 3 states to replace DO.

My offer to a recruit would be 15 days, and tell him after that there are no guarantees. I'd like to see all recruits committed by the end of the year. We can't beat em based on our program, so let's beat them to the punch and put pressure on the decision making by recruits.

 

[Brian]

Sotuh Park may have done us in:

:lol:

 

[bearcrawls]

Sotuh Park may have done us in:

:lol:

That is awesome! :rofl: :rofl:

 

[Brian]

We do get seen as a bit of a cow town but UNC has one hell of a nice campus and I got the fortune of living on the 10th floor of Turner looking West and got to see this almost every evening:

A nice University Center, and lots of green space:

And some brand new buildings:

 

[Brian]

And the with respect to Old Trafford, our Field of Dreams:

 

[jars]

The JC route is fraught with peril, yes it can fill a void, mainly in a difficult skill position, and especially cornerbacks, but you have to remember the recruit is at a JC for a reason, if not scholastic, behavioral.

All we need now is to bring in a bunch of jail birds for the GPD to chase around and give the program a reputation for harboring criminals on top of the current reputation for losing every game.

 

[bearcrawls]

The JC route is fraught with peril, yes it can fill a void, mainly in a difficult skill position, and especially cornerbacks, but you have to remember the recruit is at a JC for a reason, if not scholastic, behavioral.

All we need now is to bring in a bunch of jail birds for the GPD to chase around and give the program a reputation for harboring criminals on top of the current reputation for losing every game.

Wow what an ignorant and racist comment :thumbdown:

 

[anon22]

The JC route is fraught with peril, yes it can fill a void, mainly in a difficult skill position, and especially cornerbacks, but you have to remember the recruit is at a JC for a reason, if not scholastic, behavioral.

All we need now is to bring in a bunch of jail birds for the GPD to chase around and give the program a reputation for harboring criminals on top of the current reputation for losing every game.

Although not for football, I went the JC route, had good grades in HS and college, no behavioral problems, and went on to play for UNC with teammates from similar backgrounds and no behavioral problems. Our choice to go down the JC route was simply playing time and experience--Not academic, and not behavioral.

When I arrived at UNC we were in a transition-both from the Division II to D-I standpoint, as well as a newer coaching staff. Our roster was probably 75-80% JC guys, and because of our prior experience, the transition went well in my years there IMO. Now that things have stabilized a bit, I believe the coaching staff now has had the opportunity to recruit more highly-touted HS seniors because of that same stability, and certainly have had a better shot signing the top HS athletes than they did before. Like the previous poster stated before, recruiting JC guys might not be a long term solution, but it certainly can be a stop-gap measure to help add some stability, get some wins for the program, and strengthen recruiting down the road. There are still many D-1 programs that recruit heavily in JC's, and the thought that recruiting from these types of schools will bring "hoodlums" to the campus is irresponsible and disrespectful. At this point, I think the football staff should evaluate all options that will get the program headed in the right direction--EVEN if that means recruiting some JC players.

 

[Beardown]

I think we're going to have to go to the JC route at some positions. Maybe offensive line and wide receiver. I'm concerned at WR position because we lose P Walk to graduation and Jace Davis is NOT coming back - kicked out of school. So, go get a big WR from JC and we might be okay.

 

[Blofeld]

The one thing they can sell is the chance for lots of playing time early. :thumb:

 

[mountainbear]

There have been many solid points raised regarding what to say to recruits, and I believe all are accurate to some extent. Yes, we have a beautiful campus. Nothing here seems too big or impersonal. At this moment in time, the student body is exactly what you would expect at a University this size.
From what I have seen, the new facilities are not DI huge, but they are competitive or better with many other Big Sky schools. Class sizes are reasonable, and the academic oversight from the athletic department to ensure the best possible academic situations for athletes is comprehensive. As far as "winning" recruits to attend UNC, most of that happens with the current players. They are the first line of communication with both potential recruits, and players on visits. They generally present an honest picture of how things really are. Positive experiences, not necessarily victories but a positive atmosphere. I believe that these players genuinely like one another (for the most part). While you don't have to like your teammates to be successful, it helps. At some point, football at any level becomes work. Players typically play the game for themselves and their teammates (not the Coaches or school). Recruits are perceptive, most are bright enough to see past the words of Coaches on the recruiting trail, and shame on those who are not that bright. It is not uncommon for Coaches to tell prospective athletes that they are better than what's already here. Hopefully the kids will understand that Coaches who employ this technique will be talking them down when they recruit next years class.
What do you say to recruits? I would suggest honesty by the Coaches, let the facilities speak for themselves, and let our players do the real work of selling UNC. It's really an easy sell!