...stopped waiting for NJ prospects? Not that I am upset about the quality of recruits we picked up today, but I wonder if this marks a change in strategy? Is he tired of NJ recruits say they have us on top (ie Harmon, Mitchell, Guarrantano, etc) only to watch them go elsewhere? I think that works as long as we win. If we don't win, then this will be the first thing people will point at as the reason for firing him.
Has Flood...
- Thread starter rurahrah000
- Start date
Firing him? This post is ridiculous. We just had one of the best days of recruiting ever in the history of the oldest program in the country and you found a way to call it in to question. No one besides you, cares where our recruits come from.
Well said at the end. We are one of the elite universities in the world to graduate from (#33 to be exact), we have an elite academic tutoring support system in place that actually assists the players in properly signing up for classes so that the workload is as balanced as possible while also being willing to be extremely hands on if the student desires/needs it! Oh AND WE ARE IN THE BIG10!!!
What does that all mean?!
It means that we are not just an in-state player. We can go ANYWHERE WE WANT in the country for recruits because of what we have to offer to them.... So while it is nice to see NJ players succeed, Rutgers is now a serious Regional player and an improving national player once it continues to spread/grow its brand with high school players around the country.
Now that's the mentality that we should have as a group. Believe it, the sooner we realize our worth the better we will be.
After watching Mitchell's interview today, it's safe to say we are not getting him. Didn't even make top 5. I'm really okay with this group of receivers because I think we do get Harmon.
Rutgers needs to move on from NJ football players just like it has/should move away from NJ'S top students. Both groups hold RU in low regard while their out of state counter parts think quite the opposite. My family thought I was going to an Ivy for grad school when I told them I had chosen RU for grad school (I am from SEC country).
Some of these guys of full of it. You want to go to somewhere like Michigan? Fine.. Newsflash. We've won more games than they have since 2006. Oh cool you thought about being the first top NJ kid to commit to us. Guess what ... I don't care. Because Mo Jabbie and Nick Krimin beat you to it. Sorry. But bye. Go to Tennessee. Enjoy that dumpster fire.
After this past week's run of recruits from New York, I took a look at Rival's Top 10 lists of New York recruits from the past decade. Most every year Rutgers got one and often two of the recruits listed. So far, this isn't really anything out of the ordinary.
Pretty much this. Time for everyone to better understand where this program was and marvel at where it will go in the next 10 years.
...it's quite evident that programs outside of NJ are just sooooo much more prestigious and that the players who leave always get everything promised to them- just ask Duwop Mitchell, Adonis Jennings, David Njoku (how's WR working out at Miami? Oh, you mean they moved you to LB (like we were upfront with you about) after about 2 minutes of practice? Shocker.)
Joe P.
These kids are advised by people that still remember RU as a doormat. Memories take a long time to fade. Also, let's face it, we are not a SEC football factory. I'm sure the awe factor is through the roof visiting 90k stadiums
^ they don't remember us as a doormat. 2006 was nine years ago.... And I mean that as a good way. For nine years we haven't been a doormat. These16-17 year olds were 8 and 7 at that time. Not saying we have a rich tradition or anything, because we don't. But was I'm saying is, these guys weren't watching us when we had 2 win seasons.
This.
NJ Recruits are overall typically ranked much higher than NY recruits and are much more sought after by P5 programs. Am I pissed off that we continue strike out Big time with NJ recruits , yes. But for now we getting recruits who want to play for RU. Even their offers are only Yukon and Wagner it's a start and a building process.
I think that in terms of ultimate impact, we've done as well (or better) with NY players than with NJ players.
I thought about it for a while and I believe this is a somewhat brilliant - and intentional - recruiting strategy on Flood's part. He has a high confidence level and a high success rate with NY kids. The top NJ kids are trying to wait us out and Flood has basically recruited ahead of them with NY players.
That will ultimately spark some competitive spirit between the two groups. In the end, I think recruiting NY heavily, and successfully, helps us bring in the top NJ kids.
I thought about it for a while and I believe this is a somewhat brilliant - and intentional - recruiting strategy on Flood's part. He has a high confidence level and a high success rate with NY kids. The top NJ kids are trying to wait us out and Flood has basically recruited ahead of them with NY players.
That will ultimately spark some competitive spirit between the two groups. In the end, I think recruiting NY heavily, and successfully, helps us bring in the top NJ kids.
We've done well with NY kids over the years: McCourtys, Rice, Greene, Grause, Girault, Valone.
Coaches can't wait forever on a recruit. If you wait and don't get them, your 2nd choice may no longer be available. Some players are good enough they will always find room.
And I like that message. If you want to be here, commit. If not well we're no one's saftey school. Mostly.
And there's someone else who belongs in that list......oh, damn, what was his name? I think his brother went here also. Didn't really amount to much if I recall, although he stayed for all four years before heading to the NFL. Man, what was his name?
Some people just can't seem to enjoy good news.
NJ recruits are full of themselves. There is a difference between being a Diva and being a quality player with blue collar work ethics. You can't tell me most of these guys don't have clue already about the type of school they are interested in by now. I know from experience and when I went through it there wasn't as much info available on schools. What most of these Divas are waiting for is someone to kiss their *ss and fight over them. These guys have been going through the process for more than a year, so how much do they expect things to chance in the next few months...VERY LITTLE. Sh*t or get off the pot.:angry:
It could be a coincidence, but if the plan is to more closely associate Rutgers with NYC than New Jersey I think that's kind of cool. New York City is awesome, it's possibly the most famous city in the world. The Giants are in every way a New Jersey team and I know that's perhaps a sore subject, but on the other hand they are one of the richest and most powerful teams in the NFL because of that NYC connection. Short of getting the Empire State Building to light up in red and have ESPN show those shots during a big game, a really good way to make that connection is for people to see all those kids from Brooklyn and the Bronx being listed as starters with their hometowns right next to their name. Slowly the kids are going to realize, oh wait I could play for a conference really on the rise right now in the largest market and coolest city in the US. Plus, the Heisman ceremony is in NYC. I mean, I think if Rutgers had a guy in the running for that with our schedule and with our proximity, he'd probably win it simply because his face would have been up in Time Square for the past 3 months.
I love the way people are trashing NJ recruits here? Our team still has a strong majority from NJ. It amazes me how posters cast this negativity agains NJ based on soem strong results in NY. I am sure the team will get a good showing from NJ, maybe not the ones you hoped for, but dont lump all into one statement
Win they will want to come because of the positive publicity attached to the RU FB program.
Once RU proves it can hang with the best, beat the rest, bandwagon fans and recruits will flock to the Banks.
Right now recruits from NJ hear just as much negativity about RU FB as the positives about it.
So going to RU isn't as much of a big deal as going to the State U is for recruits from other states.
Once RU proves it can hang with the best, beat the rest, bandwagon fans and recruits will flock to the Banks.
Right now recruits from NJ hear just as much negativity about RU FB as the positives about it.
So going to RU isn't as much of a big deal as going to the State U is for recruits from other states.
They can come from North Korea for all I care. If they can play, Im happy
It has nothing to do with a few NY recruits committing. I'm voicing my opinion based on my experience as highly recruited player out of NJ back in the day and as a coach (15 years) who saw several D1 players go though this same process.
It's not all NJ recruits... It's a certain group of NJrecruits from a particular area that feel they are above us. We all know what area this is. A certain WR, DE/DT, safety, and a few others actually bought in and are/will succeed here. As I said before, if you don't want to buy in that's fine. Go elsewhere. It's okay, go enjoy you career down south. But don't give us some bs about how you want to "be the guy." And I hate to say it, but these NJ recruits are full of themselves. And it's because of the way the HS football system is set up. If coaches are kissing their a$$ and recruiting them in 8th and 9th grade to come play HS football, they expect the same treatment when being recruited for college. RU simply doesn't do that. Sorry, but you should be begging us. We'll go out and find hard nosed guys from Fla and NY who are dying to tear someone's head off. Not some kid who makes his announcement with a live stream from time square.
I think one of the unspoken issues we're dealing with isn't what Rutgers era the current crop of recruits has grown up with (for 12 years we've been no worse than 4-7/4-8, whereas the 5-6 years before that 4 wins would have been one of our 'top' years); it's the era of Rutgers Football their coaches/advisers/'handlers' have grown with. Many of these people are probably my age (mid-30's and up) and primarily remember us on the fringes of decency in the late 80's/ early 90's and then being the worst team in the country during the CFB explosion/ dawn of the Information Age. These impressions die hard and I bet many of them are still convinced we'll revert back to that any day now, and that's what they're telling these kids, along with how 'prestigious' going to the 'names' is.
Joe P.
Joe P.
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Rutgers has three problems that are difficult to overcome
The snobbery effect. I know RU grads that wouldn't even consider having their children go to RU.
Lack of Marketing. RU needs to put a lot more $$$ into marketing the school and tell the world why it is the top public school in the area.
Have to be more selective with admission. See point one.
This goes for all students including the athletes!!!!
The snobbery effect. I know RU grads that wouldn't even consider having their children go to RU.
Lack of Marketing. RU needs to put a lot more $$$ into marketing the school and tell the world why it is the top public school in the area.
Have to be more selective with admission. See point one.
This goes for all students including the athletes!!!!
This is gonna be one hot topic that all recruits in the state are gonna read along with their parents on this board. A lot of them are gonna feel insulted about what's being said about them...good... WTFC! They should feel insulted; and I hope this thread goes to 60 pages and drags for months. Somebody needs to start telling some of these prima donnas and their parents how full of s**t they are.
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Doug, would you be willing to share with us your experience as a sought-after recruit? How did you wade through it? Did you get much help? Did it go to your head at all? I am glad you decided to come back to RU.
For guys like me, it would be really informative. I also realize the recruiting landscape was quite different back then.
Yes, recruiting was completely different. There was no internet with 24/7 coverage. Any coverage was all local. Anyway, my recruiting was going well. My first offer was from UCLA, but all along I wanted Rutgers. I spent many of weekends on campus because my older sisters went to Rutgers. Rutgers didn’t offer me until I had received offers from Syracuse, ECU, Tennessee and Ohio State. Only then did they offer me and that was just before I went to camp at Penn State. I did well at PSU and earned offer, but shortly after that’s when I started to have problems with schools in the northeast. I didn’t have a problem with PSU at the time, but I wasn’t too excited about the offer. All of sudden PSU and Rutgers (Dick Anderson) pulled my offers. Even SU pulled back. My HS coach (Ralph Calise), who could sell ice to a polar bear, knew college coaches all over. He called everyone he knew. Suddenly Nebraska showed up, Wisconsin, NC State, Missouri, etc. I thought my coach was the one who spread the word about my performance at PSU camp, but I founded out some of the visiting coaches at PSU camp loved my performance. My HC just helped spread the word. They loved the fact I was able to dominate receivers while wearing a cast on my hand. Offers kept coming in from Colorado, Iowa State, Pitt, Iowa, UVa., UNC, Maryland and I started to feel pressure my senior year had to be great. Fast forward to the beginning of my senior season and I was still wearing a cast on my hand. I had destroyed my wrist, thumb and hand back in May from a baseball accident. What was supposed to be 6 to 8 weeks turned into 6 ½ months with a cast. Right away I thought some schools recruiting me as an option QB would back off, but none did. I focused on CB and ended up unanimous first team all-state. Now Rutgers came back into the picture, but I was still mad. When it came time for official visits I selected Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State, Missouri and Colorado. Rutgers tried to get me to drop my visit to Tennessee so I could take an official to RU. Even as I had my visits set up I still had schools coming at me with letters, calls, etc. To make a long story short I picked Colorado and had a blast while winning and being ranked nationally yearly. How I ended up at Rutgers caught everyone off guard. Just after the Orange Bowl I saw Dick Anderson was fired from Rutgers and Doug Graber was hired. In late January I went to my HC and told him I wanted to transfer. I didn’t say where at first. Coach Mac questioned me as why would I give up a starting position on a team playing for national championships at the time. I wanted Rutgers from the minute I knew you could play football in college. I loved Colorado, but it wasn’t home. I could relate to players at Rutgers. At Colorado I was respected, but I was still an outsider from far away. States Colorado recruited often was treated differently. Everyone had state pride, but I was alone. I didn’t get my release until I stated Rutgers was my destination. I told Coach Mac that Rutgers is where I should have being playing football all along. It almost blew his mind. It turned out it to be one of the best decisions I had ever made. Since then I coached several D1 players and I told each of them consider staying home. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Unlike a lot of transfers who come back to Rutgers it wasn’t because of a bad experience, but because of my love for home. Once Dick “PSU” Anderson was out there was nothing to stop me from coming back home. To this day Hackensack guys like Kevin Brock, Jean Beljour, and Devon Smart talk highly about Rutgers. Even guys like Malcolm Bush and Junior Solice loved their time at Rutgers.
So "cubuffsdoug" I would like to ask you for a little insight....
What were some of the best and worst tactics/moments that occurred with coaches and schools that either made you feel better or worse about them?
I ask because even though I know all recruits are different, I am curious about what you were looking for in a school when you were a recruit.
Did the honestly/character of the coach come into play? I ask this because I feel like Flood is just naturally an honest and caring type of guy which is why he recruits with honestly the way that he does and why many recruits and their families talk about how they feel like everything he discussed with them was straight-talk and not "sales speak" or the type of that the coaches thinks the players wants to hear. And since this would be one of the most important things I would look for if I was a recruit.... I am wondering if ACTUAL recruits care about this or is it a lower level priority when you are 17 years old because at that age you don't necessarily fully understand the value and importance of dealing with honest people in business. ( And college football is BIG BUSINESS so you better make sure you have an honest and caring HC and coaching staff and athletic department behind you)
What were some of the best and worst tactics/moments that occurred with coaches and schools that either made you feel better or worse about them?
I ask because even though I know all recruits are different, I am curious about what you were looking for in a school when you were a recruit.
Did the honestly/character of the coach come into play? I ask this because I feel like Flood is just naturally an honest and caring type of guy which is why he recruits with honestly the way that he does and why many recruits and their families talk about how they feel like everything he discussed with them was straight-talk and not "sales speak" or the type of that the coaches thinks the players wants to hear. And since this would be one of the most important things I would look for if I was a recruit.... I am wondering if ACTUAL recruits care about this or is it a lower level priority when you are 17 years old because at that age you don't necessarily fully understand the value and importance of dealing with honest people in business. ( And college football is BIG BUSINESS so you better make sure you have an honest and caring HC and coaching staff and athletic department behind you)
Lack of marketing is a huge problem. I live in Austin and can go to any Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and get easily but University of Texas apparel for cheap. I am talking about $5 hats, tshirts, etc. this allows a much greater exposure and many people wearing UT stuff even if they are not graduates. When I visit central jersey, I can't find much Rutgers gear unless I am on campus. One of the things we need to change. Just make our stuff easy to find and cheap.
coaches back then:
I felt back then PSU and SU looked down their nose at NJ recruits even though they needed them. You were suppose to be happy they offered you. Dick Anderson looked right through you at times. It was weird and turned you off. I felt Wisconsin staff were all good guys, but at that time they were all over the place. They were up front but every time I spoke with them they were talking about changing the offense, the defense or something else and that's made you pause. That staff lasted 2 years and was replaced by Barry Alvarez. Colorado was based on Coach DiNardo and Bill Harris. Mr. Harris went to my HS (Hackensack) and he was god in Boulder as the Alumni Director. Between Coach D and Mr. Harris, they were always upfront with me and didn't pull any punches. Even when I didn't want to hear it, they said it anyway. They sounded like my father was talking to me. I think that was one of the main attraction to Colorado over all of the others. HC Mac at Colorado wasn't even a factor.
coaches now:
I could and would play for Flood because I see my father in him. Everything ain't rosey and you need to hear the truth most times. You know where you stand all times and who has your back during the good and bad times. My father would put me in check the minute my ego got too big. Some of the these kids today need that approach. I was at a coaching clinic a year ago when Franklin talked big about how PSU was going to rule again. Everything was bling, bling and a lot of NJ coaches bought into it. I got into a big argument with some Hackensack coaches who were feeling it from Franklin. I assume recruits are doing the same. It's terrible because he didn't say much about anything else. Franklin blew off other questions. Also, Doug Marrone (SU) has some a-hole assistants. They came in one day to check out one of the kids and laughed when they heard Rutgers had interest in the kid. One said I guess the kid like playing in front of small crowds against the likes of UConn and Cincy. That was before it was announced Rutgers was headed to the B1G.
You find more a-hole coaches these day then in the past. Everything is done for shock value through sound bites.
So true cbuffdoug.... I do feel like A LOT of the recruiting is about the bling,bling and the big talk and all that. And while I fully understand the importance of confidence and excitement when it comes to college recruiting..... you would think the recruits would eventually talk to each other and figure out which coaches are full of hot air and which coaches are real.
...this explains so much; your last 2 posts are among some of the best stuff I've ever read on here. Thanks.
Joe P.
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