Really?!
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2009
Well… FAU has won 14 of its last 51 games.
Tusla, on the otherhand, is a very small school, in the middle of nowhere exciting, and in a non-BCS conference. But they manage to consistently recruit 7 to 10 ESPN star-rated players every year over the past four years. Guess what… Tulsa has won 32 of its last 51 games.
True, coaching and strength of schedule are factors in this comparisson, but if you honestly don't think there is some corralaion between star-ranked vs. non ranked recruits and wins, then please explain to me why we have only won 27% of our games since 2009 and only produced 3 NFL draft picks. Seriously, if stars and recruiting rankings are truly meaningless and inaccurate, then why don't we have any national award-winning athletes?
I'm not trying to bash my alma mater, I just want to see my team win games, and clearly the type of players we've been recruiting haven't been able to do that.
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2007
Yes, we've got some good guys now, we've had some good guys in the past, but we've also had some of the worst recruiting classes in the nation. It was reported several times, it's out there, and we had to live with the repercussions of that.
And who knows what goes through the mind of a football recruit. Reputation, facilities, coaches, those are the big three things that we have some control over.
Regarding facilities specifically, Chun keeps talking about expanding the weight room for example. I looked it up a little while ago and we have the smallest locker room in the state of Florida. It's 4,000 square feet.
For purposes of comparison, our Rec Center's fitness area is 13,000 feet. Imagine cutting that in third and that's what our recruits see.
Meanwhile the 13,000 is more comparable to other state schools for their dedicated sports weight rooms. FIU, UCF, USF, FSU, UF… all between 11-25k sq ft, with UF being the top at 25k. Nationwide I think the largest is around 30k (at places like Nebraska). The Oxley in general needs a multimillion dollar overhaul. It services all our athletes and thus impacts our recruiting in all sports.
But we don't have that right now. We might not until we launch another capital campaign, honestly.
So our coaches go out there and get what they can get, try to boost our reputation and get more guys. That's all we can do right now. And the mentality at FAU has certainly changed from, "Well why recruit that guy, we'll never have a shot" to "whoever we like we take a shot at them." The coaches have said that.
If you were in the same position they are to recruit - if any of us were - you'd do the same thing.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2009
What I'm saying is Pelini should focus on the 3-star ranked guys from MS,KY,GA & AL. These are guys that have talent, but not enough to start at any of their state's big-name schools, so they choose smaller programs to get playing time. If we make it a point to recruit these guys, and use our location (sunny south FL), new stadium, and playing time as a pitch, we could get the talent we need.
South Alabama, who is in no position to have good recruits, already has three 3-star commits, as does Georgia State. Heck, Charolette who plays in the FCS has two 3-star commits already. I doubt any of these programs have better facilities, reputations, or coaches than FAU. These programs are just smart and know that the FL market is too competetive and just focus on the GA, MS, KY, & AL markets.
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2013
I think FAU is trying to master finding the diamonds in the rough. So far, between last year and hopefully this year and even some in 2012, they are doing a pretty good job.
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2008
Y'all get my point. Except for the babies who don't want to leave home, or those with BigBoy program offers (I am a realist too), the other recruits (whom usually WANT to get away from Mom & Dad) it should be basically a No Brainer!
Posted
Soaring High
Member since 2013
Posted
Wise Owl
Member since 2009
Posted
Soaring High
Member since 2013
Posted
VIP DONOR
Member since 2005
Pelini has been here for 20 minutes, relax.
Posted
Soaring High
Member since 2013
Control functions:
Recent Forum Posts
Hoping that's the real equalizer
Game 2 is tomorrow night…
Nizhan Feagin was very pleased with his visit to FAU earlier t…
CJ gives up two hits over six innings and gets the loss. Owls…
Just couldn't find the equalizer tonight 😭