Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (When will the in-state recruiting momentum take off?)
- Thread starter Ketchum
- Start date
Not sure your thoughts, but I think the days of Texas dominating the Top 10, or even the Top 20, in the state are over. Doesn’t mean we don’t need to improve nabbing a few more than we have lately, but being in the SEC completely changes the recruiting landscape. Yeah, recruiting Texas has gotten tougher, but opportunities in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida are more realistic than ever.
What were you expecting when you say “momentum”? We are on just about every kid’a list, just no commitments. Getting commitments this early was never going to happen, CFP or not.
I think that language is too strong. These things move in cycles. The thing you're saying is also something someone might have said in the late 90s.
Needless to say, the Weiss locker room was a hot mess in the days leading up to their first round blowout by Cedar Hill
I mean, the top two in state are committed elsewhere already….three in the top 10. Having said that, Sark seems to have a big push in July so that’s why I mentioned that’s when we will find out.
Because like it or not they are 1 of the top 2 schools in the state, no matter what us Horns think of them. Most of these kids don’t view them through the same prism we do.
I believe he had an injury from his senior year in HS that lingered, but I might be wrong.
Cycles? I can’t think of a time since I’ve followed Texas football (1975) where for 3 years 1/3 of the recruiting classes were OOS kids. Also, we’ve never had a presence in the traditional SEC states (except maybe Florida) like we do now. That’s not a cycle. That’s a complete landscape change.
I agree, but I think that was going to be the case, even if we had won the NC.
If Sark pulls out another Top 5 class for 2025, I think it’s time to acknowledge what kids are saying in January/February should be taken with a grain of salt. Sark will have changed the narrative. We’ll see soon enough.
What’s the deal with Texas not being in on the very top recruits in the home state? Texas seems to look OOS before, or at least as much as, in-state.
I do wonder if the sense of urgency that other schools are showing before Texas in recruiting does have an impact.
For instance, there are big guys that Texas simply hasn't had on campus as much as other schools. It gives those schools some head starts.
Yes. My point is I don’t see Texas dominating the Top 20 in the state. You said the goal should be grabbing at least half of the 6.0+ guys. I would agree, but that is not as many as some OBs might think. Too many other big name schools in the mix with conference realignments, and I don’t think that changes. If anything, it becomes even more competitive with NIL and the Portal.
Maybe Texas doesn't dominate, but it can't fail, either. Getting only 3 of 20 is failure IMO.
Is huge failure? Maybe not, but it's some kind of failure.
Of the top 10 kids from the state of Alabama, all but one signed with Alabama or Aburn.
Of the top 9 kids in Louisiana , 8 signed with LSU.
There is room for improvement and in order for Texas to hit its ceiling, it has to do better.
That has less to do with not making them priorities and more to do with the preferred timeline the coaches like to work with.
Take Micah Hudson last year. They had that kid on campus last year by his own free will and the preference was for him to simply come back in the summer for an official visit. They lacked immediate urgency... not because he was from in-state but because they prefer to wait until June/July to make the big push.
Your point is that they are making OOS kids as much or more of a priority. That's just not the case.
Never said they are making OOS recruits as much or certainly “more of a priority” than in-state. Just saying staying in-state isn’t as big a priority relative to what it was under previous staffs. And if the staff prefers to wait to push for any recruit, regardless, then that’s their process.
* The word on the street is that Baker knocked it out in his interview with Sarkisian, which might help explain why Sarkisian isn't worried about Baker as a recruiter.
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@Ketchum If a coach has the "skills" to be a great recruiter, but he comes up from smaller programs to a huge program, in a different part of the country than he's used to, about how long does it take for him to get his feet on the ground in the new, more high profile environment? What's the typical adjustment period?
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@Ketchum If a coach has the "skills" to be a great recruiter, but he comes up from smaller programs to a huge program, in a different part of the country than he's used to, about how long does it take for him to get his feet on the ground in the new, more high profile environment? What's the typical adjustment period?
Is it possible that some kids don’t want to list Texas as there top school because it won’t be cool if Texas does not recruit them as a priority?
Texas doesn’t seem to tip their hat early and likes to evaluate them more throughly (character, leadership, determination, etc) than a lot of schools.
Not really IMO.
I don't think Texas not rushing has to do with evaluating the intangibles as you suggest as much as they prefer to chase instead of babysit. This staff does better on the offensive than the defensive, which is why they'd rather not deal with early commitments a lot of the times.
Ok, let me put it a different way.
Since Texas is slower to determine whom they will prioritize, maybe kids will list schools that are being more effusive about wanting them are affecting how they list their favorites.
Perhaps I wasn’t being clear…I think sark did want the super blues but since he didn’t get them, he pivoted to oos kids rather than settle for the next tier of Texas kids (which is what Mack would have done).
Do you think Texas competes for a natty if Texas somehow acquired every Texas hs kid it wanted and eschewed oos recruits?
Alright I’ll talk about wrestling with you….brother.
-Kind of sorry this was your first experience back in a while because this Rumble was a C - for me at best. Very disappointing. There weren’t many real surprises and the matches were just ok. Not sure if all the hullaballoo took away from the product, but it just wasn’t a show I would tell anyone to run and watch.
-You nailed the KO and Paul match. The kid has some athleticism and he’s not an embarrassment but he kind of comes off as the kid who raided his dad’s closet and is playing wrestler, but I have heard he’s really thrown himself into the biz, so maybe he can continue to grow into it. I never thought Miz would make it back in the day either. Feels like they are setting up Paul and KO for a cage match or a no holds barred match after the DQ brass knucks thing.
-Don’t expect an attitude era lineup these days. Roman is the only real star/attraction they have going somewhat consistently (Punk is back but he’s meh for me) and Roman got there very unconventionally and won’t ever be Stone Cold or the Rock. Roman has evolved a lot and is doing good things with the tribal chief character, his best work ever. The bloodline storyline is the best storyline they’ve had in WWE in many years, maybe one of the best ever if you followed from the beginning. It’s kind of fizzling at the moment because there aren’t a whole lot of roads left, but there is the Rock thing in their back pockets. I can’t see Roman losing the belt at Mania. I just don’t think you can let him get this close to Hulks wrestlemania era record and not beat it, for Cody, who hasn’t ever quite had IT the way they’re propping him up now. He’s done some great things and I like him but I still don’t see mega star. So where and how does Cody finish the story because he kind of has to? Going to be interesting. I just don’t see Roman dropping the strap until late summer/fall-ish once he’s passed Hulk. Of course Roman wasn’t losing the 4-way. That’s why they put it in the middle of the card. It was a foregone conclusion.
-The women’s division has some real players in it.
-Thank god for R Truth bringing some comedy and entertainment to that show.
-Kind of sorry this was your first experience back in a while because this Rumble was a C - for me at best. Very disappointing. There weren’t many real surprises and the matches were just ok. Not sure if all the hullaballoo took away from the product, but it just wasn’t a show I would tell anyone to run and watch.
-You nailed the KO and Paul match. The kid has some athleticism and he’s not an embarrassment but he kind of comes off as the kid who raided his dad’s closet and is playing wrestler, but I have heard he’s really thrown himself into the biz, so maybe he can continue to grow into it. I never thought Miz would make it back in the day either. Feels like they are setting up Paul and KO for a cage match or a no holds barred match after the DQ brass knucks thing.
-Don’t expect an attitude era lineup these days. Roman is the only real star/attraction they have going somewhat consistently (Punk is back but he’s meh for me) and Roman got there very unconventionally and won’t ever be Stone Cold or the Rock. Roman has evolved a lot and is doing good things with the tribal chief character, his best work ever. The bloodline storyline is the best storyline they’ve had in WWE in many years, maybe one of the best ever if you followed from the beginning. It’s kind of fizzling at the moment because there aren’t a whole lot of roads left, but there is the Rock thing in their back pockets. I can’t see Roman losing the belt at Mania. I just don’t think you can let him get this close to Hulks wrestlemania era record and not beat it, for Cody, who hasn’t ever quite had IT the way they’re propping him up now. He’s done some great things and I like him but I still don’t see mega star. So where and how does Cody finish the story because he kind of has to? Going to be interesting. I just don’t see Roman dropping the strap until late summer/fall-ish once he’s passed Hulk. Of course Roman wasn’t losing the 4-way. That’s why they put it in the middle of the card. It was a foregone conclusion.
-The women’s division has some real players in it.
-Thank god for R Truth bringing some comedy and entertainment to that show.
