Serious Question about Recruiting

[steph]

Lets say you're a 4* recruit getting offers from Georgia, Alabama etc as well as CU. Ignoring the possibility of some schools skirting the rules to entice a player to commit, why not choose CU? What is the advantage in going to Georgia for a kid looking to make the NFL? Standouts at any P5 school are going to get noticed by the NFL scouts. Most likely they are going to get a lot more playing time at CU than they would at Georgia. Why would you want to go somewhere where you'll be lost in the depth chart for 2 or 3 years before you really get a shot of real playing time?

 

[lvbuff]

the hostess with the mostest

 

[TDforTD]

I think the most important thing to remember is that no one thinks they will be lost in the depth chart. Early playing time is a recruiting tool for sure, but these 5* and 4* players believe they will either compete hard enough to win a spot or the players above them will leave early for the pros.

That Nebraska win was big time for our recruiting, it looks like it majorly swayed a couple of recruits to consider us. It was a national game that got big time ratings, recruits really like that and want to be a part of it. The SEC, and especially their playoff capable teams, get big time ratings like that most weeks.

 

[BuffWarHog]

Lets say you're a 4* recruit getting offers from Georgia, Alabama etc as well as CU. Ignoring the possibility of some schools skirting the rules to entice a player to commit, why not choose CU? What is the advantage in going to Georgia for a kid looking to make the NFL? Standouts at any P5 school are going to get noticed by the NFL scouts. Most likely they are going to get a lot more playing time at CU than they would at Georgia. Why would you want to go somewhere where you'll be lost in the depth chart for 2 or 3 years before you really get a shot of real playing time?

Apparently the altitude sucks.
In all seriousness - those are the team's people talk about, on TV, College game day, fan support, looser attitude toward athletes (higher praise by the university faculty AND STUDENTS than you'd probably get at CU), hell, even Alabama second string have been drafted.

 

[BuffWarHog]

the hostess with the mostest

At first I read it as "moistest"...which also kinda makes sense.

 

[lvbuff]

I met a bb coach from U-Idaho Moscow several years ago. I asked him how they swayed inner city kids to go into aryan nation country. He said they have dates set up for them. Said it works like a charm.

 

[Swish]

Alabama and Georgia played for the national championship last year. Even if you ride the pine for four years in Tuscaloosa you played for the national champion. The swag of these schools is part of what we are fighting.

 

[hokiehead]

Lets say you're a 4* recruit getting offers from Georgia, Alabama etc as well as CU. Ignoring the possibility of some schools skirting the rules to entice a player to commit, why not choose CU? What is the advantage in going to Georgia for a kid looking to make the NFL? Standouts at any P5 school are going to get noticed by the NFL scouts. Most likely they are going to get a lot more playing time at CU than they would at Georgia. Why would you want to go somewhere where you'll be lost in the depth chart for 2 or 3 years before you really get a shot of real playing time?

I think the most important thing to remember is that no one thinks they will be lost in the depth chart. Early playing time is a recruiting tool for sure, but these 5* and 4* players believe they will either compete hard enough to win a spot or the players above them will leave early for the pros.

That Nebraska win was big time for our recruiting, it looks like it majorly swayed a couple of recruits to consider us. It was a national game that got big time ratings, recruits really like that and want to be a part of it. The SEC, and especially their playoff capable teams, get big time ratings like that most weeks.

1. @TDforTD may be right, but I have a different take. if I'm a recruit with a sense of realism, I see that <2% of D1 football players make to the NFL. I may certainly hope that I'm a "standout" guy who will draw NFL scouts to whichever school I attend, but if I'm realistic, I know that my chances of being seen by scouts are greater at a school that has lots of other potential draft picks as well.
2. people like playing for winners, so recent success is likely to attract more highly ranked recruits
3. the mentality of "do what everyone else is doing". when you see most other highly ranked recruits going to SEC schools, it's easy to assume that there's a reason for it and simply follow what appears to be the most commonly tread path.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

Look, we all love Boulder, the mountains, the weather, etc and can’t fathom why anyone would choose to go to school anywhere else. The fact is, it’s the exception that someone who grew up in the south would want to leave and go somewhere else, particularly where the culture is vastly different. And when you factor in the exposure and notoriety that comes from playing CFB in the south, it’s not surprising why most players stay there.

 

[hokiehead]

Look, we all love Boulder, the mountains, the weather, etc and can’t fathom why anyone would choose to go to school anywhere else. The fact is, it’s the exception that someone who grew up in the south would want to leave and go somewhere else, particularly where the culture is vastly different. And when you factor in the exposure and notoriety that comes from playing CFB in the south, it’s not surprising why most players stay there.

great point. the draw to stay near home is very strong for many (most?) people. Living in a state full of transplants, that's easy to forget.

30 seconds of searching couldn't find it, but I always recall this anecdote. Maybe a decade ago I read a news piece about a cave man that fell out of a retreating glacier in one of the Nordic countries. The local university did some DNA testing on the cave man, and eventually discovered that his great, great, great... grandson lived in the nearest village like 5km away.

 

[DenverBuff]

Winners vs losers! Playing for national titles!

 

[BuffUp]

back in the day - it was notre dame, texas, usc, oklahoma, michigan, - its all a big cycle.

 

[Duff Man]

When your best pitch is early playing time, you are in big trouble.

 

[manhattanbuff]

Why wouldn’t a black person want to go to Boulder?

I went to school in a predominantly white area. Most of my friends are white.

Boulder is very white.

Growing up in a black church, I got a sense about many of the other kids and their comfort levels around white people. In their neighborhoods, they were not exposed to white people who were non authority figures. They didn’t listen to music made by white people. They didn’t watch TV shows with (many) white people in them. Their hobbies didn’t include the triathlon sports or hiking. They didn’t have any white friends.

For many 17-18 year old athletes from parts of the country like the one I described above, going to Boulder can be daunting. Going to school as a black person in Boulder requires an exceptional level of self esteem (contrast with confidence which can be fake).

As of last year’s data, there were 530 black undergraduate students enrolled in Boulder out of 26496. Take away the 60-70 on the football and basketball teams and this does not lead one to believe you’ll find much of a black community on campus. This is a major culture shock for many young people of color.

[Interestingly enough, the percentage of black undergraduates at CU last year (2%) is the same as it was when I was a freshman in 1996-1997].

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Why wouldn’t a black person want to go to Boulder?

I went to school in a predominantly white area. Most of my friends are white.

Boulder is very white.

Growing up in a black church, I got a sense about many of the other kids and their comfort levels around white people. In their neighborhoods, they were not exposed to white people who were non authority figures. They didn’t listen to music made by white people. They didn’t watch TV shows with (many) white people in them. Their hobbies didn’t include the triathlon sports or hiking. They didn’t have any white friends.

For many 17-18 year old athletes from parts of the country like the one I described above, going to Boulder can be daunting. Going to school as a black person in Boulder requires an exceptional level of self esteem (contrast with confidence which can be fake).

As of last year’s data, there were 530 black undergraduate students enrolled in Boulder out of 26496. Take away the 60-70 on the football and basketball teams and this does not lead one to believe you’ll find much of a black community on campus. This is a major culture shock for many young people of color.

[Interestingly enough, the percentage of black undergraduates at CU last year (2%) is the same as it was when I was a freshman in 1996-1997].

Agreed, but I’d be curious to see the the number of black undergrads at other Pac schools for comparison.

 

[hokiehead]

Agreed, but I’d be curious to see the the number of black undergrads at other Pac schools for comparison.

UCLA - 4%
Oregon - 12%
Arizona - 4%
ASU - 22%
Washington - 9%
WSU - 3%
Utah - 1.3%
Cal - 3%

I'm not investing the time right now, but I'd be interested in seeing this a ratio of the overall state demographics. the state of CO is 4.5% African - American, so for CU to notably raise their percent, it would require out of state students where the increased tuition becomes a valid impediment.

 

[manhattanbuff]

Agreed, but I’d be curious to see the the number of black undergrads at other Pac schools for comparison.

UCLA 4% black.
USC 5% black.
Cal 2.9% black.
ASU 3.8% black.
Arizona 3.9% black.
Stanford 7.5% black.
Utah 1% black.
Oregon 2.4% black.
Oregon State 1.4% black.
Washington 3% black.
Washington State 3% black.

 

[BerkeleyBuff]

Well the two of y’all have some different numbers. Especially for ASU.

 

[BuffNut]

I agree, why Not CU. At the end of the day though kids choose colleges for different reasons.
Some want to be close to home
Some want to get away from home
Some want to play for a blue blood winner
Some want to do something special at a "losing" program
Some go where they mesh best with players
Some go where mesh best with coaches
........

 

[Buffnik]

Location / proximity to home is the #1 correlated thing when trying to figure out where someone will sign.

 

[Tractor]

The best teams have the best coaches. You go to the best teams to get the best coaching.

Having the best coaching gives you the best chance to get to the nfl.

And winning

 

[azbuff]

Well the two of y’all have some different numbers. Especially for ASU.

Yep. ASU is around 4% African-American students. The 22% number is the percentage of Hispanic students.

 

[Bliff Cranch]

Look, we all love Boulder, the mountains, the weather, etc and can’t fathom why anyone would choose to go to school anywhere else. The fact is, it’s the exception that someone who grew up in the south would want to leave and go somewhere else, particularly where the culture is vastly different. And when you factor in the exposure and notoriety that comes from playing CFB in the south, it’s not surprising why most players stay there.

Now, exceptions do exist. I give you exhibit A:

 

[Wyo Buff]

Now, exceptions do exist. I give you exhibit A:
View attachment 27396

Crazy story about Khalil Mack. I was up in Laramie a couple of years ago listening to a pitch by their then strength coach who left to go with Scott Frost to UCF and is now at NU (old Boyd Eppley guy). Anyway, Mack was his Exhibit #1 about why his almost crazy invasive approach to monitoring diet and lifestyle of his players works. Mack was basically a soft, fat kid when he arrived at Buffalo (this guy was Turner Gill's Strength coach there) and on this program he turned into the beast he has become in about 3 years. Amazing what nutrition, work ethic and a chance to compete will do for some of these hidden gems. That's how a guy like Mack ends up at Buffalo in the first place.

 

[ko_leos]

I think some kids want to stay close to home ( or there parents want them to) and some kids just want to get away.

Another point I think is that a lot of kids are easily influenced by name brands, especially name brands that their friends / family / community know about. A prospective student who researches CU and finds it a fit, might still end up choosing a more popular school so he can feel good in front of friends. No different than wanting your first job to be with a big name company so it’s easy to explain to friends and easier to move on afterwards.

 

[steph]

The best teams have the best coaches. You go to the best teams to get the best coaching.

Having the best coaching gives you the best chance to get to the nfl.

And winning

Then why doesn't everybody flock to Nebraska?

 

[Duff Man]

Then why doesn't everybody flock to Nebraska?

Huh?

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

So it would seem the demographics are relatively equal across Pac schools. For kids coming from CA, I don't imagine it to be as much of a culture shock as some are playing it up to be, and certainly not all that different from the programs CU is mostly competing with for recruits.

 

[SuperiorBuff]

Why wouldn’t a black person want to go to Boulder?

I went to school in a predominantly white area. Most of my friends are white.

Boulder is very white.

Growing up in a black church, I got a sense about many of the other kids and their comfort levels around white people. In their neighborhoods, they were not exposed to white people who were non authority figures. They didn’t listen to music made by white people. They didn’t watch TV shows with (many) white people in them. Their hobbies didn’t include the triathlon sports or hiking. They didn’t have any white friends.

For many 17-18 year old athletes from parts of the country like the one I described above, going to Boulder can be daunting. Going to school as a black person in Boulder requires an exceptional level of self esteem (contrast with confidence which can be fake).

As of last year’s data, there were 530 black undergraduate students enrolled in Boulder out of 26496. Take away the 60-70 on the football and basketball teams and this does not lead one to believe you’ll find much of a black community on campus. This is a major culture shock for many young people of color.

[Interestingly enough, the percentage of black undergraduates at CU last year (2%) is the same as it was when I was a freshman in 1996-1997].

The Boulder motto; Diversity now, just not here.

 

[Brett Fulton]

Crazy story about Khalil Mack. I was up in Laramie a couple of years ago listening to a pitch by their then strength coach who left to go with Scott Frost to UCF and is now at NU (old Boyd Eppley guy). Anyway, Mack was his Exhibit #1 about why his almost crazy invasive approach to monitoring diet and lifestyle of his players works. Mack was basically a soft, fat kid when he arrived at Buffalo (this guy was Turner Gill's Strength coach there) and on this program he turned into the beast he has become in about 3 years. Amazing what nutrition, work ethic and a chance to compete will do for some of these hidden gems. That's how a guy like Mack ends up at Buffalo in the first place.

I'm sure he got a lot stronger while at college, but 6'3" 220# as an incoming freshman doesn't sound like a fat kid to me. And I think I heard on Monday Night Football that Mack only played one year of HS football. Which presumably means that there wasn't much of him on the camp/workout circuit, which likely has more to do with him being off the larger radar. In my opinion the only reason Mack played DI football at all was because he was in FL. The same kid from somewhere in the midwest likely ends up at a JC.

So he is a good example of how SC coaches can vastly improve a player, but realistically an uncut diamond is still valuable, and that is what Mack was in high school. But your point is well taken that diet and a good SC program can have significant impact on player development. I think we have seen that at CU with the DBs. Not only are they well coached technically, but physically they are developing into NFL caliber athletes here.