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Post by Outsider on May 8, 2018 19:25:43 GMT -6
It's a good question Oscar. I agree with Mavsman that we want the right total package and that will automatically leave some recruits out on both our part and the theirs. I know there are still many good, high quality players/students, out there who would be willing to come here. I know I am pushing the staff a little, so I still want to give them credit for what they have done as well as what they are still doing. I look forward to hearing about who will be coming and I know they will work and mold those kids into quality players. I know I still struggle with balancing my program mentality with my big player mentality. I still just know that going against those big experienced, and well coached, drop downs means we have to continually step up our game.
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Post by mavsman53 on May 8, 2018 20:13:52 GMT -6
I don't think we got out recruited. It also has nothing to do with how bright the lights are in Abilene. Winning plays a part in this too. You can promise a player all day long that he can be a walk in day one starter, but that player is no fool. He likely knows what our record has been. Think about the teams in the late 90's. We could get anyone we wanted. Why? We won! We won by a lot! Coach T took some chances on some guys and it worked out. We were sending guys to the NFL.
If we can get back to winning, other players will take notice. Recruiting will take a major jump; not just for transfers, but for HS players too. I love what I am seeing on social media. So many HS coaches are tweeting when one of our coaches comes to their school. Rarely do I remember that happening before. The staff is all over the nation recruiting.
If this staff and this team can take a step forward in wins, then to me, the future will look very bright
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Post by mavsman53 on May 9, 2018 19:24:04 GMT -6
JUCO DT Duane Tuitasi receives an offer. He played at Golden West JUCO. He is listed at 6’1 295
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Post by bogeyman on May 9, 2018 19:59:15 GMT -6
JC recruiting lists him as 6'1" 320. NG. Would be a tremendous pick up, I think.
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Post by mavsman53 on May 9, 2018 20:09:31 GMT -6
Yep and 247 lists him at 295. He’s probably somewhere in the middle of both
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Post by bogeyman on May 10, 2018 8:35:03 GMT -6
The JC list of unsigned players was impressive. I believe that Tuatasi was listed as the 11th best unsigned JC player. A number of OL listed. It's good to see us in that market. Having a player for 2 years (or better 3) is much better than having a grad with 1 year of eligibility. Of course the grad may be a stud and we wouldn't want to pass on that kind of a player while our RS's get ready to compete.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on May 10, 2018 8:53:50 GMT -6
The JC list of unsigned players was impressive. I believe that Tuatasi was listed as the 11th best unsigned JC player. A number of OL listed. It's good to see us in that market. Having a player for 2 years (or better 3) is much better than having a grad with 1 year of eligibility. Of course the grad may be a stud and we wouldn't want to pass on that kind of a player while our RS's get ready to compete. Some grads have two years. We a tackle to UNT last year with two years remaining and we have at least two DB’s returning this year for their second year of post grad eligibility. But I agree that getting guys with two or three years of eligibility is a good thing.
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Post by bogeyman on May 10, 2018 10:06:00 GMT -6
And that tackle started on a bowl team. Just goes to show how good Mayfield was and what we lost by not having him for these two years.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on May 10, 2018 10:22:32 GMT -6
And that tackle started on a bowl team. Just goes to show how good Mayfield was and what we lost by not having him for these two years. I think ACU was quite remis for not immediately starting a grad program tailored to his interests to keep him here. What were those pointy headed professor types thinking?
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Post by bogeyman on May 10, 2018 18:56:26 GMT -6
But Hammond is oh, so close to both New Orleans (55 minutes) and Baton Rouge (45 minutes). Of course Ft. Worth and Dallas is where ACU students move to on the weekends, but we don't take recruits there on their official visits. (:
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on May 11, 2018 9:16:54 GMT -6
Of course this is all speculation. I doubt we were ever on his radar. And that’s no one’s fault. My original post had to do with trends over the last few years rather than any specific player.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on May 11, 2018 9:34:06 GMT -6
Of course this is all speculation. I doubt we were ever on his radar. And that’s no one’s fault. My original post had to do with trends over the last few years rather than any specific player. And somewhat unique to the offensive line. We have picked up some bigger names/more experienced guys at a lot of positions, just not on the O Line. That's not to criticize the guys we have gotten. It's just that they aren't coming in with experience. FWIW, after a year of learning under fire, I am hopeful that Weber will be a major force this year at center.
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Post by wildcat90 on May 11, 2018 10:10:51 GMT -6
As for Allen, we just got out recruited. He is from Maryland so Hammond is not exactly close to home. I think there's a problem ... OL transfers can come and start immediately and we can't get them. Any thoughts about why we aren’t getting guys like Allen for our O Line? The transfer equation is simple..............we gotta have some success to make ourselves attractive to transfers. Step into the shoes of a transfer for a minute and think to yourself............do I want to come to ACU or do I want to compete for a National Championship at SHSU? Realize both staffs are telling me I can come in and play right away. I know what your thinking they don't stretch the truth in recruiting!!! LOL! Reality is we can and will pick up some guys but, the top tier guys with options more often than not, will not pick ACU right now. The guys we can get include the 2nd tier guys that have upside potential, guys with few options for behavioral reasons (past criminal issues, grades or other behavioral issues) or guys that have a personal connection to Texas, Big Country area or ACU. I for one don't think the behavioral issues are worth the risk of the culture that is being created with the team. Too many positives to risk IMHO. Minor issues yes, but anything major with grades or behavior we need to be out of that game. Win a few games and the top guys will pick us more anyway it just may take longer to get there. So basically be patient and let the process happen naturally and you build a solid foundation going forward. Build it quick with risky choices and the foundation may crumble. Just look at Baylor! Was the risk taken to quickly get good worth it now? I am not saying we can't land a great one now, but the odds are less at this point. Does not mean we don't try, just that our success rate will be lower. As far as I am concerned I have confidence our staff are headed in the right direction and we need to be patient in the speed of the recovery! This did not go bad in a day nor will get better in a day............... Reasonable goal I can live with would the 4-5 wins. Anything more than that and we are ahead of schedule.
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Post by OscarWildeCat, Admin on May 12, 2018 8:45:57 GMT -6
Any thoughts about why we aren’t getting guys like Allen for our O Line? The transfer equation is simple..............we gotta have some success to make ourselves attractive to transfers. Step into the shoes of a transfer for a minute and think to yourself............do I want to come to ACU or do I want to compete for a National Championship at SHSU? Realize both staffs are telling me I can come in and play right away. I know what your thinking they don't stretch the truth in recruiting!!! LOL! Reality is we can and will pick up some guys but, the top tier guys with options more often than not, will not pick ACU right now. The guys we can get include the 2nd tier guys that have upside potential, guys with few options for behavioral reasons (past criminal issues, grades or other behavioral issues) or guys that have a personal connection to Texas, Big Country area or ACU. I for one don't think the behavioral issues are worth the risk of the culture that is being created with the team. Too many positives to risk IMHO. Minor issues yes, but anything major with grades or behavior we need to be out of that game. Win a few games and the top guys will pick us more anyway it just may take longer to get there. So basically be patient and let the process happen naturally and you build a solid foundation going forward. Build it quick with risky choices and the foundation may crumble. Just look at Baylor! Was the risk taken to quickly get good worth it now? I am not saying we can't land a great one now, but the odds are less at this point. Does not mean we don't try, just that our success rate will be lower. As far as I am concerned I have confidence our staff are headed in the right direction and we need to be patient in the speed of the recovery! This did not go bad in a day nor will get better in a day............... Reasonable goal I can live with would the 4-5 wins. Anything more than that and we are ahead of schedule. We won 2 last year with 2 FBS schools on our schedule. This year we exchange one FBS school for a D2 opponent. Angelo State is no pushover, but they are no Colorado State either. A three win season won’t show any progress in my opinion, given the more favorable schedule. A fourth win will mean we have taken baby steps. I think 5 wins will show we are making strides, and anything more will put us ahead of schedule.
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Post by wildcat90 on May 14, 2018 8:49:27 GMT -6
The transfer equation is simple..............we gotta have some success to make ourselves attractive to transfers. Step into the shoes of a transfer for a minute and think to yourself............do I want to come to ACU or do I want to compete for a National Championship at SHSU? Realize both staffs are telling me I can come in and play right away. I know what your thinking they don't stretch the truth in recruiting!!! LOL! Reality is we can and will pick up some guys but, the top tier guys with options more often than not, will not pick ACU right now. The guys we can get include the 2nd tier guys that have upside potential, guys with few options for behavioral reasons (past criminal issues, grades or other behavioral issues) or guys that have a personal connection to Texas, Big Country area or ACU. I for one don't think the behavioral issues are worth the risk of the culture that is being created with the team. Too many positives to risk IMHO. Minor issues yes, but anything major with grades or behavior we need to be out of that game. Win a few games and the top guys will pick us more anyway it just may take longer to get there. So basically be patient and let the process happen naturally and you build a solid foundation going forward. Build it quick with risky choices and the foundation may crumble. Just look at Baylor! Was the risk taken to quickly get good worth it now? I am not saying we can't land a great one now, but the odds are less at this point. Does not mean we don't try, just that our success rate will be lower. As far as I am concerned I have confidence our staff are headed in the right direction and we need to be patient in the speed of the recovery! This did not go bad in a day nor will get better in a day............... Reasonable goal I can live with would the 4-5 wins. Anything more than that and we are ahead of schedule. We won 2 last year with 2 FBS schools on our schedule. This year we exchange one FBS school for a D2 opponent. Angelo State is no pushover, but they are no Colorado State either. A three win season won’t show any progress in my opinion, given the more favorable schedule. A fourth win will mean we have taken baby steps. I think 5 wins will show we are making strides, and anything more will put us ahead of schedule. Would you not agree baby steps is moving forward? I said 4-5 is a reasonable goal which means we basically agree I think? This is just my opinion..............using wins as the only measure at this point is probably not a reasonable view point with where we are at. It is all speculation but in my opinion we might have gone O'fer last year without a change. At risk of offending those that support the prior staff, I will say that having a kid that played for both regime's....................It is night and day now how much better the PROGRAM is. Communication, planning, coaching (at least at the O-line level), focus on school and discipline are much improved. The attitude and demeanor of the team is improved. Those are direct results of the changes made by AD. Those changes would not be here otherwise. I have said it before and will again here................the pace, planning and efficiency of practice alone is improved. So from my humble viewpoint we are already better and headed in the right direction.................4-5 wins combined with the above I will take and be happy. Keep moving forward is the name of the game at this point. We were not very good when AD got here and expecting vast changes in the win column is probably not reasonable year one. In fact I would say keeping it where we did and being more competitive overall was a positive. Bring on the different opinions...................it is a long time till report day and this should carry us for the next 24 hours! LOL!
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