All of these teams struggled mightily last year. This year they are all far exceeding expectations.
Understanding this was a rebuilding year for us ( which we all hoped would be strong anyway), I can easily see how we could be in a similar situation next year.
We will have far more experience at quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, and defensive back. Linebacker is the only position where we will have to rely on one or two untested guys.
Seeing how this is playing out, my new hypothesis is that teams at our level of recruiting are going to have up and down years because having experienced guys makes a huge difference when you are deal with less heralded recruits who require more time to develop. In other words, teams like OSU can plug their 4 and 5 star recruits in faster than the typical team with more 2 and 3 star recruits. So a good coach can have strong years with these kinds of athletes, but also might struggle through rebuilding years.
I call this the "optimist" hypothesis, and I expect it to drive the pessimists into a raging fury.[winking]
Understanding this was a rebuilding year for us ( which we all hoped would be strong anyway), I can easily see how we could be in a similar situation next year.
We will have far more experience at quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, and defensive back. Linebacker is the only position where we will have to rely on one or two untested guys.
Seeing how this is playing out, my new hypothesis is that teams at our level of recruiting are going to have up and down years because having experienced guys makes a huge difference when you are deal with less heralded recruits who require more time to develop. In other words, teams like OSU can plug their 4 and 5 star recruits in faster than the typical team with more 2 and 3 star recruits. So a good coach can have strong years with these kinds of athletes, but also might struggle through rebuilding years.
I call this the "optimist" hypothesis, and I expect it to drive the pessimists into a raging fury.[winking]
