Jacie
7/9/2011, 12:05 PM
More thoughts to ponder whilst waiting for the start of fall practice:
What factors matter the most to recruits?
The girls, the cars, the money?
It's a JOKE! At least I hope it is . . .
But what reels em in?
I know some in any class have dreamed of playing for insert school having been born and raised to be lifelong fans.
There are some already man-sized recruits who might evaluate a program based on whether it is a good training ground for an NFL career.
Academics no doubt influences those who are interested in a school that has a highly acclaimed insert major program.
If these are non-factors (no school allegiance, no shot or interest in an NFL career, undecided major), then what most influences a recruit to choose one school over another?
Coaches personality?
Facilities?
Location?
Tradition?
Coach(es)? Those of us from the 70's-80's felt The King had an advantage over the parade of coaches who led the whorns during that time, but we also had some great assistants, though you wonder if they might have kept em away from Coach Proctor till after they had signed . . . and until Jimmy Johnson showed up in Stillwater, that coaching staff didn't usually sign a kid OU wanted. What about now? We hear a lot about how feel good things are in Austin. Are sa*et coaches more personable than OUr guys?
I think OUr facilities are comparable to other top tier programs and they probably only enter into a recruits decision making process if they are old and rundown.
As much as I enjoyed the 13 years I lived in Norman, OK (and I would choose to live there again if I returned to Oklahoma), I can easily understand how someone might prefer a school in a location that provided amenities not found in Oklahoma. Whorn fans seem to think Austin is all that over Norman, but does it really matter how many bars a town has? I can appreciate the appeal of schools in mountainous locations (didn't some high profile recruit years ago choose CU because he like to ski?) or if someone wanted to go to a school near the ocean. Does climate enter into it (lousy winters or extreme heat during fall practices)?
No school is going to out-tradition OU. Some can point to the W-L record in head-to-head games though (SUC, ND, sa*et). But if titles, overall record and bowl games matter, OU should come out on top of that recruiting battle.
So what do you think matters most?
What factors matter the most to recruits?
The girls, the cars, the money?
It's a JOKE! At least I hope it is . . .
But what reels em in?
I know some in any class have dreamed of playing for insert school having been born and raised to be lifelong fans.
There are some already man-sized recruits who might evaluate a program based on whether it is a good training ground for an NFL career.
Academics no doubt influences those who are interested in a school that has a highly acclaimed insert major program.
If these are non-factors (no school allegiance, no shot or interest in an NFL career, undecided major), then what most influences a recruit to choose one school over another?
Coaches personality?
Facilities?
Location?
Tradition?
Coach(es)? Those of us from the 70's-80's felt The King had an advantage over the parade of coaches who led the whorns during that time, but we also had some great assistants, though you wonder if they might have kept em away from Coach Proctor till after they had signed . . . and until Jimmy Johnson showed up in Stillwater, that coaching staff didn't usually sign a kid OU wanted. What about now? We hear a lot about how feel good things are in Austin. Are sa*et coaches more personable than OUr guys?
I think OUr facilities are comparable to other top tier programs and they probably only enter into a recruits decision making process if they are old and rundown.
As much as I enjoyed the 13 years I lived in Norman, OK (and I would choose to live there again if I returned to Oklahoma), I can easily understand how someone might prefer a school in a location that provided amenities not found in Oklahoma. Whorn fans seem to think Austin is all that over Norman, but does it really matter how many bars a town has? I can appreciate the appeal of schools in mountainous locations (didn't some high profile recruit years ago choose CU because he like to ski?) or if someone wanted to go to a school near the ocean. Does climate enter into it (lousy winters or extreme heat during fall practices)?
No school is going to out-tradition OU. Some can point to the W-L record in head-to-head games though (SUC, ND, sa*et). But if titles, overall record and bowl games matter, OU should come out on top of that recruiting battle.
So what do you think matters most?