Coach Mora recruitment of a Georgia guy

[somebody]

I only read the quote from the OP. I'm glad the kid didn't commit. I take back what I said about him.

Sounded like that. I agree with your sentiment, though. Shame on coaches who try to take advantage of kids, but kids gotta do as much as they can to take care of themselves. And stuff like this is easy compared to other lies that could be told such as PT, position, etc.

 

[buffaholic]

The two previous coaches went 56-59 with 2 bowl wins in 9 seasons.

Mora:
29-11 and 2 straight bowl victories. And now he's raking in the recruits.

But Neuheisel recruited really well and handed Mora a team that was loaded, compared to their W/L record. That was a pretty cushy situation for a new coach coming in, given the disaster that is always Neuheisel.

UCLA was picked #5 in the country in the pre-season. They were loaded and had an experienced QB. They **** the bed. Imagine if they didn't escape Boulder with that win?

 

[slider]

But Neuheisel recruited really well and handed Mora a team that was loaded, compared to their W/L record. That was a pretty cushy situation for a new coach coming in, given the disaster that is always Neuheisel.

UCLA was picked #5 in the country in the pre-season. They were loaded and had an experienced QB. They **** the bed. Imagine if they didn't escape Boulder with that win?

Well they did, so....

 

[Quattro]

Well they did, so....

Would you agree or disagree that UCLA had a dissapointing season despite the amount of talent they had?

 

[Idot Buff]

Would you agree or disagree that UCLA had a dissapointing season despite the amount of talent they had?

agree, in a big way

 

[White_Rabbit]

Would you agree or disagree that UCLA had a dissapointing season despite the amount of talent they had?

Would you agree or disagree that Jim Mora has UCLA on a level they haven't been on since the late 90s? 10 win seasons aren't a given there. We can flail around trying to figure out why UCLA isn't a lock for the upper tier of college football, but they aren't and never have been. Mora needs to break through and get to a Rose Bowl, but he's doing the win consistently thing pretty well. Karl Dorrell had 1 good season and 4 really bed ****ting ones. Rick just sucked the entire time. Bob Toledo had a couple of good years early on and fell off. Donahue was great, but at the end he hit the hard times too. It is what it is.

This is the **** I don't get about a lot of you guys when it comes to evaluating rival coaches. I've seen every coach in the P12 disregarded as a ****ty coach on here. Not everyone is going to have a ceiling as Meyer or Saban. Mora may end up being more Mark Richt than Saban or Meyer, doesn't make him a bad coach. Consistently notching double digit wins is not something that should be taken for granted. I'd help erect a statue of Mac if he could get us to that level.

It especially gives me the lolz because you guys will at the same time go on and on about how incredible the P12 is and how hard it is to get wins in it. I don't get it.

 

[SINKRATZ]

But Neuheisel recruited really well and handed Mora a team that was loaded, compared to their W/L record. That was a pretty cushy situation for a new coach coming in, given the disaster that is always Neuheisel.

UCLA was picked #5 in the country in the pre-season. They were loaded and had an experienced QB. They **** the bed. Imagine if they didn't escape Boulder with that win?

Impossible. It's been explained to me very clearly that wins always come before recruiting improves.

 

[Quattro]

Would you agree or disagree that Jim Mora has UCLA on a level they haven't been on since the late 90s? 10 win seasons aren't a given there. We can flail around trying to figure out why UCLA isn't a lock for the upper tier of college football, but they aren't and never have been. Mora needs to break through and get to a Rose Bowl, but he's doing the win consistently thing pretty well. Karl Dorrell had 1 good season and 4 really bed ****ting ones. Rick just sucked the entire time. Bob Toledo had a couple of good years early on and fell off. Donahue was great, but at the end he hit the hard times too. It is what it is.

This is the **** I don't get about a lot of you guys when it comes to evaluating rival coaches. I've seen every coach in the P12 disregarded as a ****ty coach on here. Not everyone is going to have a ceiling as Meyer or Saban. Mora may end up being more Mark Richt than Saban or Meyer, doesn't make him a bad coach. Consistently notching double digit wins is not something that should be taken for granted. I'd help erect a statue of Mac if he could get us to that level.

It especially gives me the lolz because you guys will at the same time go on and on about how incredible the P12 is and how hard it is to get wins in it. I don't get it.

I'm not the one arguing he's a bad coach or anything. He's a great recruiter, but I think he is pretty overrated as a coach when you compare him to Graham and Rich Rod in the South.

Impossible. It's been explained to me very clearly that wins always come before recruiting improves.

1. UCLA hadn't been that bad record wise under Slick or Dorrell
2. UCLA always recruits well, their location gives the benefits that few schools in the nation have.

Bad comparison to use that line.

 

[DBT]

I read an article on the kid and it didn't mention a business school thing. What pissed him off was the coach recruiting him lying about leaving after NSD. The kid didn't sign his LOI and, sure enough, 4 days later, the coach left. UCLA apologized but he said, "Go to hell" and signed with Georgia. "Go to hell" are my words, haha.

 

[White_Rabbit]

I'm not the one arguing he's a bad coach or anything. He's a great recruiter, but I think he is pretty overrated as a coach when you compare him to Graham and Rich Rod in the South.


1. UCLA hadn't been that bad record wise under Slick or Dorrell
2. UCLA always recruits well, their location gives the benefits that few schools in the nation have.

Bad comparison to use that line.

Rich Rod at Zona: 26-14 (15-12) 1 10 win season, 1 top 25 finish
Graham at ASU: 28-12 (19-8) 2 10 win seasons, 2 top 25 finishes
Mora at UCLA: 29-11 (18-9) 2 10 win seasons, 2 top 25 finishes

seems pretty even to me.

 

[lawdogg]

Would you agree or disagree that Jim Mora has UCLA on a level they haven't been on since the late 90s? 10 win seasons aren't a given there. We can flail around trying to figure out why UCLA isn't a lock for the upper tier of college football, but they aren't and never have been. Mora needs to break through and get to a Rose Bowl, but he's doing the win consistently thing pretty well. Karl Dorrell had 1 good season and 4 really bed ****ting ones. Rick just sucked the entire time. Bob Toledo had a couple of good years early on and fell off. Donahue was great, but at the end he hit the hard times too. It is what it is.

This is the **** I don't get about a lot of you guys when it comes to evaluating rival coaches. I've seen every coach in the P12 disregarded as a ****ty coach on here. Not everyone is going to have a ceiling as Meyer or Saban. Mora may end up being more Mark Richt than Saban or Meyer, doesn't make him a bad coach. Consistently notching double digit wins is not something that should be taken for granted. I'd help erect a statue of Mac if he could get us to that level.

It especially gives me the lolz because you guys will at the same time go on and on about how incredible the P12 is and how hard it is to get wins in it. I don't get it.

You don't really answer the question though, WR. Tini makes a fair point that UCLA continues to underperform relative to their considerable talent which suggests Mora's coaching acumen may not be so strong. Not really a scathing indictment; every coach has some weaknesses and that seems to be one of Mora's.

 

[Quattro]

Rich Rod at Zona: 26-14 (15-12) 1 10 win season, 1 top 25 finish
Graham at ASU: 28-12 (19-8) 2 10 win seasons, 2 top 25 finishes
Mora at UCLA: 29-11 (18-9) 2 10 win seasons, 2 top 25 finishes

seems pretty even to me.

I'd argue that UA and ASU have significantly less talent according to the recruiting sites

 

[SINKRATZ]

I'm not the one arguing he's a bad coach or anything. He's a great recruiter, but I think he is pretty overrated as a coach when you compare him to Graham and Rich Rod in the South.


1. UCLA hadn't been that bad record wise under Slick or Dorrell
2. UCLA always recruits well, their location gives the benefits that few schools in the nation have.

Bad comparison to use that line.

Thanks, I knew I could count on you to find the narrative that paints CU in a completely unique situation devoid of any expectations.

 

[Duff Man]

I think this argument is missing the bigger picture. While Mora is not a great coach (i.e, Harbaugh/Carroll/Kelly level), he is an example of the tremendous depth of the head coaches in this conference. When Dykes, MacIntyre, Leach, etc. are the "bottom tier" in the conference, that says a lot IMO.

 

[Quattro]

Thanks, I knew I could count on you to find the narrative that paints CU in a completely unique situation devoid of any expectations.

Boom, you nailed it. Exactly what I am saying.

What teams have the same natural recruiting benefits that UCLA has?

1. Top 5 States for D1 Talent (2008-2013)

1. Texas: 2147 total, 358/year
2. Florida: 1922, 320/year
3. California: 1415, 236/year
4. Georgia: 950, 158/year
5. Ohio: 909, 152/year
6. Colorado (#24): 142, 24 year

2. Major P5 Schools Residing in Top 5 Talent States

1. Texas: Texas, Texas aTm, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor
2. Florida: Florida, Florida State, Miami
3. California: UCLA, USC, California, Stanford
4. Georgia: Georgia, Georgia Tech
5. Ohio: Ohio State

And where does most of the talent from California come from? Southern. The point is UCLA has a recruiting advantage that few teams in P5 have. We'd all agree that USC is the king in California for recruits, but UCLA is usually #2. Stanford had a bit of a run, but UCLA and USC tend to be the dream schools for kids in California. On top of that, they have a massive population to draw from, much larger than ours. Instead of using UCLA as a school to try and make that point, a team like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Washington, Arkansas, Missouri, etc. would have been much more reasonable examples to draw from. The teams listed above all reside in states that produced roughly the same number of prospects over 2008-2013.

 

[buffaholic]

Mora took over a program that was very well stocked with talent. It wasn't a foundation up rebuild. He had to instill discipline and toughness and provide decent coaching. Following Skippy is a coach's dream.

 

[White_Rabbit]

You don't really answer the question though, WR. Tini makes a fair point that UCLA continues to underperform relative to their considerable talent which suggests Mora's coaching acumen may not be so strong. Not really a scathing indictment; every coach has some weaknesses and that seems to be one of Mora's.

Do they? They finished ranked 10th in the nation. That's probably around the highest they've ever finished in recruiting. So if anything, they're playing right around their talent level. To answer the question, yes they disappointed. I don't think they had dreams of the Sun Bowl in the preseason, but they also didn't **** the bed. It was a solid season and one they should be happy to be the norm.

I'd argue that UA and ASU have significantly less talent according to the recruiting sites

Is what I'm saying here really that difficult to see? They're all on the same level. They're all good, solid, not great coaches. Rich Rod took over at a UCLA type place and **** the bed. Minus points for that? Graham can get anyone with the ability to spell his name properly into school. Mora is at a place that basically recruits itself. None of the places are without their warts. UCLA has an admin that is likely more unfriendly to athletics than CU's is. All of them doing as well as they are is not the norm.

 

[lawdogg]

Still can't say I've been terribly impressed with UCLA under Mora, but to each his own I guess. As a Buff fan, I'm envious of their success, but I just don't know that I'd be thrilled with their game to game performance if I were a Bruin.

 

[White_Rabbit]

Still can't say I've been terribly impressed with UCLA under Mora, but to each his own I guess. As a Buff fan, I'm envious of their success, but I just don't know that I'd be thrilled with their game to game performance if I were a Bruin.

That's fine man. I was merely countering wizzer's standard idiot post. He actually thinks Mora being at UCLA is somehow benefiting CU. Surely you can see why I don't agree. I'm not arguing Mora is some great coach, but he's solid. Solid aint bad.

 

[WizzersGhost]

That's fine man. I was merely countering wizzer's standard idiot post. He actually thinks Mora being at UCLA is somehow benefiting CU. Surely you can see why I don't agree. I'm not arguing Mora is some great coach, but he's solid. Solid aint bad.

Yeah, with Mora gone to the NFL, da Bruins might actually get a coach who can utilize all that talent and start blowing away other teams such as the Buffs, as they did U$C, on a consistent basis.

Lawdogg nailed it. Mora got fired twice in the NFL for a reason. His Bruins show up about twice a year when they play good teams, but never against UO. Even in their blowout against ASU, they gave over 600 yds. of offense and against Utah at home, Hundley was sacked ten times in a loss. In fact they led the nation in sacks given up.

For a team with 60+players who are four star level or above, with tons of RS's.... and they barely hang on against Memphis, UVA, Texas, Cal, the Buffs and Snyder's rag-tag bunch in the Sun Bowl?.............Speaks for itself.

Ask Bruin fan, if they love that level of chit...

 

[MtnBuff]

Yeah, with Mora gone to the NFL, da Bruins might actually get a coach who can utilize all that talent and start blowing away other teams such as the Buffs, as they did U$C, on a consistent basis.

Lawdogg nailed it. Mora got fired twice in the NFL for a reason. His Bruins show up about twice a year when they play good teams, but never against UO. Even in their blowout against ASU, they gave over 600 yds. of offense and against Utah at home, Hundley was sacked ten times in a loss. In fact they led the nation in sacks given up.

For a team with 60+players who are four star level or above, with tons of RS's.... and they barely hang on against Memphis, UVA, Texas, Cal, the Buffs and Snyder's rag-tag bunch in the Sun Bowl?.............Speaks for itself.

Ask Bruin fan, if they love that level of chit...

Bruins have always had talent, and loads of it.

The fear has always been that the bruins are a coach away from being a dominant program. Yet we have seen coaching change after coaching change and they never quite make it.

A few times they have looked to be on the way only to have the coach bail out for the NFL or some other job. More often they have had great expectations fall to mediocre performance leading to another coaching change.

I worry about UCLA, their ability to attract talent is cause to worry. At the same time past results have shown that UDub may be as much of a threat to excel. Recent history has shown that Stanford can get to and stay in the top 10.

The big Gorilla will always be USC. They are one almost always one coach away from contending for a NC and unlike UCLA they have hired a couple of those guys to do it.

I'm glad we are in the PAC12 but this isn't the old Big XII or Big 8. Those conferences had significant numbers of teams we faced every year that had very low ceilings. The PAC doesn't include a Kansas or Iowa State that consider a minor bowl as a year for the records. Even Washington State and Oregon State can frequently be at least decent teams.

Until we prove otherwise we are the roadkill in the PAC.

 

[White_Rabbit]

Yeah, with Mora gone to the NFL, da Bruins might actually get a coach who can utilize all that talent and start blowing away other teams such as the Buffs, as they did U$C, on a consistent basis.

Lawdogg nailed it. Mora got fired twice in the NFL for a reason. His Bruins show up about twice a year when they play good teams, but never against UO. Even in their blowout against ASU, they gave over 600 yds. of offense and against Utah at home, Hundley was sacked ten times in a loss. In fact they led the nation in sacks given up.

For a team with 60+players who are four star level or above, with tons of RS's.... and they barely hang on against Memphis, UVA, Texas, Cal, the Buffs and Snyder's rag-tag bunch in the Sun Bowl?.............Speaks for itself.

Ask Bruin fan, if they love that level of chit...

Who cares that he got fired in the NFL? Pete Caroll got fired twice in the NFL. Guess he sucks too.

I guess I just never knew how easy it was to win games at UCLA. Get the team up twice a season in the lackluster P12 + OOC games vs Texas and KSU, you basically just coast to victory.

I know plenty of Bruins fans. Probably more than anyone on this board. They want more, as any sports fan would, but they also realize they're in much better hands than they have been for a decade. Instead of looking at the world through B&G glasses, you could think, maybe their team had holes and Mora might be working on fixing them? Just like Mac is working on curing all of our problems. They had some not very pretty wins, but they won. That's all that matters. I don't see you complaining about barely beating UMass.

 

[buffaholic]

That's fine man. I was merely countering wizzer's standard idiot post. He actually thinks Mora being at UCLA is somehow benefiting CU. Surely you can see why I don't agree. I'm not arguing Mora is some great coach, but he's solid. Solid aint bad.

His first year at UCLA, he first went wild in recruiting and was able to quickly put together the #12 class and a all-star cast of assistants in less than 2 months. Impressive.

In that first season, 2012, he took what most experts would agree to be a top-25 level team in talent that was awful under Neuheisel and quickly molded them into a 9-5 team that beat USC. They were 6-3 in conference. I'd rate that as solid, but not brow-raising. Slick brought a lot of talent to that roster.

In year 2, he pulled in the #3 recruiting class and they again went 6-3 in conference, but 10-3 overall. They soundly beat VT in the Sun Bowl. A solid performance, but the talent level is really, really impressive.

In year 3, most publications had them picked top 5 in the nation. They lost 3 home games (Utah, Oregon, and Stanford). They again went 6-3 in conference. They won one-score games vs. Colorado, Cal, Texas, Virginia and Memphis. They beat up on ASU when ASU lost their QB in the previous week vs. Colorado. ASU QB Bercovici had an awful game in his first start.

Year 3 was a HUGE disappointment. This team was experienced and had a bunch of NFL guys on both sides. If it hadn't been such an experienced team, they probably don't win so many close games.

What to watch: He never coached an NFL team that got better one year to the next. Year 3 (all things considered) was a disappointment and a step back.

A lot of people talk about Mora like he's Pete Carroll and I just think that's premature. He's got to win something with all the talent he has before that's true. And maybe he will prove it this year?

 

[Creebuzz]

That's certainly been the rap against Mora. Wins early, fades quickly. We'll see.

 

[White_Rabbit]

His first year at UCLA, he first went wild in recruiting and was able to quickly put together the #12 class and a all-star cast of assistants in less than 2 months. Impressive.

In that first season, 2012, he took what most experts would agree to be a top-25 level team in talent that was awful under Neuheisel and quickly molded them into a 9-5 team that beat USC. They were 6-3 in conference. I'd rate that as solid, but not brow-raising. Slick brought a lot of talent to that roster.

In year 2, he pulled in the #3 recruiting class and they again went 6-3 in conference, but 10-3 overall. They soundly beat VT in the Sun Bowl. A solid performance, but the talent level is really, really impressive.

In year 3, most publications had them picked top 5 in the nation. They lost 3 home games (Utah, Oregon, and Stanford). They again went 6-3 in conference. They won one-score games vs. Colorado, Cal, Texas, Virginia and Memphis. They beat up on ASU when ASU lost their QB in the previous week vs. Colorado. ASU QB Bercovici had an awful game in his first start.

Year 3 was a HUGE disappointment. This team was experienced and had a bunch of NFL guys on both sides. If it hadn't been such an experienced team, they probably don't win so many close games.

What to watch: He never coached an NFL team that got better one year to the next. Year 3 (all things considered) was a disappointment and a step back.

A lot of people talk about Mora like he's Pete Carroll and I just think that's premature. He's got to win something with all the talent he has before that's true. And maybe he will prove it this year?

Look man, I don't even know what we're really disagreeing on. I surely have never said Mora is Pete Carroll. Carroll would be slotted into the Meyer and Saban tier for me. I've also never heard anyone mention Mora being UCLA's Carroll other than when they were hired being ex NFL guys.

I'd rate that first year higher than you did. Rick may have recruited some talent, but it's not like he could just set it on cruise control in the P12. Plus, while he inherited Hundley, the kid was a freshman. And 2 of those losses were to a pretty decent Stanford team. Nothing earth shattering, but a pretty good job I'd say. Probably his best one so far.

I also wouldn't rate last season as horribly as you have. They lost a head scratcher to Utah and a bad one to Stanford, but if they won that Stanford game (of course they didn't, so disappointment ensues) they're in the P12 CCG. Which is, ironically, right where most people expected them to be, #2 to Oregon. A disappointment to be sure, but a HUGE disappointment? I wouldn't really agree.

Not to compare here, but Carroll never coached an NFL team that improved record wise either. I really don't think the NFL to college comparison works much. Saban certainly wasn't trending upwards as the Dolphins HC either. Just a different game imo. All the more credit to Carroll for being successful in both. In my view, Mora could very well just be a better fit in the college game. Or he could win 6 next year and be in warm water. Who really knows at this point.

My only point in this whole thing is that I see people on allbuffs saying a lot of our rival coaches SUCK. Like they only win because of where they're at or what team they inherited and I just massively disagree. I think the P12 is strong and has a bunch of SOLID coaches. No Pete Carrolls from what I can tell, but a lot of solid ones.