Question: What's wrong with JUCO's?

The ongoing "knock" about JUCO's are that they will only be around for 2 years. Most coaches like the idea of having a 4 year player in the system starting from day one of their freshmen year.

I've also heard that if you get one with bad habits as a junior, then you can chalk him up as a loss for his senior year.

There are some benefits to having JUCO people in place when you need instant fixes, like last year's team. The backside problem is that if you concentrate too much on JUCO's then you will lose your base of freshmen recruits. The recruits and high schools watch these kind of maneuvers by colleges.

tangygirl said

Question: What's wrong with JUCO's?

Nothing….if you bring a few in to plug some holes.

IMO, making a recruiting class of JUCO's is dangerous however. There isn't much opportunity to build a program, they are risky as far as grades go, and they'll be antsy for playing time, so if they don't play it's likely they'll drop off.

JUCO players might be good for the future. This is my opinion and I may be wrong but I feel Howard knew this was going to be a throw away season and chose to play as many freshman and sophmores as he could to get them ready for the 2006 season. He may not have been interested in players he would have for 1 or 2 years at this time.
Howard had a similar season at Louisville after they went 10-1-1 for the season. The next year they went 2-9. I posed the question several months ago on another thread. Do you suppose Howard loaded the 10-1-1 season with seniors like he did with the 2004 owls team?
After a 9-3 season, the owls followed with 2-9.
Other than that, there is no junior college football program in Florida and it doesn't look like Howard is recruiting out of state too much.

As far as what is wrong with junior college players. There is D1A then D1AA then DII then DIII then NAIA last but not least, junior college. I guess a good player could be picked up if he was there because of his grades. That might happen often.

IllinoisOwl,
I disagree that JUCO's are the last on the list. Some pretty good JUCO's exist that have rosters that are loaded with 1-A and 1-AA talent. They would smoke any NAIA team and most D-III teams. I am thinking primarily of the Kansas schools like Coffeyville, a known hotbed for D-1 talent. Most of the guys either don't have the grades or have some other issue that needs to be resolved. Guys don't play JUCO ball because they are poor athletes. They play JUCO because they are poor students and need some help in the classroom. GO OWLS!!!

Very well put owlfan1. I didn't really understand the last paragraph.

I'd say about 90% of the JUCO players are there because of grades. Just can't grasp the work load in high school and need a couple of years to get the extra help in academics. The remaining 10% are there probably because of discipline reasons. Which can also affect their grades. You do have the occasional player who will transfer or play down for other reasons. But not many.

I would think the money would be a big issue for some players. Not all players are offered scholarships, right? It would stand to reason that some players would choose a community college based on the fact that they wanted to stay instate, and couldn't afford a big state school.

In reality they do get NCAA scholly offers. Their talent level will dictate whether it's a D1,AA,II or III offer. Anything below D1-AA they like to call "financial aid packages". Valdosta State is a prime example of talent who utilized the aid package. They are some good players who may have been offered a partial ride from a bigger school. Instead they took the full ride/package from a DII school.These players who go JUCO don't get the offers because of the grade problems.
The majority of the JUCO's are located in Kansas,Miss and Cali. It seems like their Kansas and Miss rosters are filled with players from somewhere else. Especially Florida.

AH - ok, OG, that makes sense - thanks!

This just happen to be an area which I have done most of my "assistance" with high school athletes. The lower NCAA levels offer a lot of opportunities but most players feel "if it ain't D1, it ain't worth it". That attitude often comes from Moms and Dads who thought little Johnny was better than he actually was. I politely inform them that a free education plus doing what you probably have been doing since the age of 7 ain't all bad… :D

Thank you for your insightful opinions on this board.