Time For A paradigm Shift

G

GatorHorn81

25+ Posts
First - let me say that I am in the group that believes Texas outplayed Bama after GG settled down. I want to throw out the notion that based on the recruiting momentum that is occurring across the nation towards the SEC - Texas needs to be thinking of new strategies for their future.

Like it -- or not, believe it--or not, the perception across the nation outside texas/oklahoma/nebraska) is the SEC is the premier conference and others (including the Big 12) are in the second tier. This is reinforced by 24/7 ESPN - and again. like it or not, their oppinions shape perception since they have the only megaphone broadcasting 24/7 on the subject. Throw in television control and you have a huge identity crisis forming against the Big 12 in the eyes of HS players across the nation. You know recruits (i.e. Hicks) are being told to come compete on the "big stage" of the SEC and compete for MNC - even with questions about their HC, Florida is proving the recruiting tide (no pun intended) is rolling in the SEC direction.

Texas has to start considering national options--relying only on Texas players is not going to be effective as the reach of the SEC expands (now that lure of SC has been somewhat squelched) they will only further legitimise their congtrol over the college landscape.

Texas has to find a way to come up with an effective national recruiting strategy - or consider options outside the Big 12-to sustain them as an elite program. How long is it going to be before even the Texas HS elite start migrating in numberes to the SEC if the current trend continues. Better to take action while on top then to wake up one day and not understand, or be able to affect, a slide backward.
 
This stuff is cyclical. SEC teams will start going on probation. Miami and FSU and others will do a better job recruiting against Florida...

However, we do need to do a better job of filling needs. For example, if there are no elite LBs in Texas, we need to reach out to Ohio, CA, Pennsylvania and other places to get a few. 4-5 out of state guys in our class would help.

With that said, what we don't want to do is to lose our foothold in Texas. This year, we will get something like 7 of the top 10 in state with 2 of the ones that we did not get leaving due to advisors.

Also, it is important to note that different players (other than o-line) probably would not have changed the game last week. Once McCoy went down, our fate was pretty much sealed.
 
The media love fest of the SEC is quite sickening, to be honest. It gets to the point where I don't even like watching these talking heads anymore, with the blathering and slobbering that goes on.

Recruiting Texas has been our bread and butter. We saw the ill-effects caused by Mackovic's alienation of a lot of high school coaches while he was here. Mack and his staff worked hard to re-establish old recruiting ties and to build new ones where we previously had no connections. The talent level in this huge state is staggering, and we have taken full advantage of this. Out of state guys are always inticing, and we usually land a couple or three each year, but these guys usually have some prior connection to the program, either family here or growing up a huge fan or whatnot. I don't think a paradigm shift is necessary at all. Our recruiting efforts take a backseat to no one.
 
It is getting awfully difficult to argue that the SEC is not the best football conference. They've won the last 4 NCs - by 3 different teams - and put more teams in the Bowls this year (10) than any other conference.
 
Personally, I think Mack Brown and company have got it right strategically for now -- focusing on Texas talent. If there needs to be any change in our recruiting, I think it would be more in tactics of player evaluation. We pretty much get who we want around here, but A&M, Okie State, Kansas, K State, TCU, Houston, Oregon and Tech find some 2 star and 3 star players in Texas who end up being better in the college and NFL than a lot of the 4 star players we bring to Austin. I'm not sure this is a completely fixable as human development potential is hard to quantify.
 
[quote}A&M, Okie State, Kansas, K State, TCU, Houston, Oregon and Tech find some 2 star and 3 star players in Texas who end up being better in the college and NFL than a lot of the 4 star players we bring to Austin
 
I don't think we're doing anything wrong. And really, if you're a big time player is the lure to play in the SEC all that great? Sure you get to go up against a few other top 10 teams each year -- greatly reducing your chances of getting into the championship game.

OR go to a school like TX or (used to be) USC and get TV a lot, get the same amount of coverage and then go play that SEC team in the end.
 
Here's what I don't get. Why doesn't the SEC just become a semi-professional league with a loose school and no NCAA affiliation. Then they don't have to worry about entrance requirements, cheating etc, and that would allow their fans to jerk each other off and display their trophies in every Wal-Mart in the south.

And there is no recruiting momentum. That's the most ridiculous notion ever. The SEC recruits the same way it always has. The difference is, Fl St and Miami have been down thanks to their own incompetence. Its a similar thing to OU/Tx/A&M. The difference is, when one of those two is winning, no one says oh damn, Duke is awesome, NC State is awesome, GT is awesome, ACC rules.
 
Way over reaction...

a.) to above point, things always go cyclical
b.) the SEC is and has always been the best overall football conference, that's all they care about in the Southeast...it's like the ACC, it is their passion. However, that does NOT mean they are WAAAAYYY better, it's not

The SEC went 5-4 in bowls. We went 4-4. One game, the one we all think we probably win with Colt, is making everyone act like they went 9-1. Every single year, its usually the same story, every conference goes about .500-.667 or so. My guess is, if we had a true playoff, the SEC would win 40-50% of them over a 100 year deal. It's their whole life. Who cares.

Mack has it perfect imop. Take Texas kids. Keep Texas coaches happy, own this state. You will not only have enough great players to win a NC once in a while, but you will win over all your in state rivals 90% of the time. When there is a down year in LBs, maybe go after one kid out of state, but just don't get LBs that year. You can win NCs with great players at LB who are sophs.
 
If you are just discussing football, then I'd say the SEC has been the best conference "recently". However, talking all sports, not at all.

Basketball is just as important nationally as football, and the SEC is not #1, #2, #3, maybe #4 or worse.
 
Don't we have the #1 class in the country right now? Why does that mean we need to start worrying or changing our approach?

Or am I missing the point somehow?
 
GatorHorn with less than 25 posts telling us how great the SEC is....

No offense... but I think Mack is pretty good at the recruiting thing.

If not for the loss of Colt we win 2 MNC's in 5 years and we are poised to win a few more coming to an SEC-slanted screen near you.

Two words: Crack Cocaine.
 
Even with Colt hurt and no title the idea of telling Mack how to recruit is akin to telling J-Lo how to have a nice posterior.
smile.gif
 
Florida is the new SC. Had UM left like his doctor suggested he do, Hicks and Jeffcoat would have already committed to Texas now that SC has collapsed.
 
There is no question that we need to get better at recruiting out-of-state players. When was the last time we got a major out-of-state recruit? For whatever reason, these kids always end up at USC or Florida, both schools in states that also have tremendous HS football tradition. There is no reason that Texas can't be in that category.

As for TV money being the only difference between the conferences, that's not true at all. It's also not true that the players don't feel the impact of that money just because none of it goes directly into their wallets (theoretically speaking, of course). The reason ESPN pimps the SEC so hard is because they have millions upon millions of dollars invested in the success and popularity of the SEC. The same is not true of the Big 12, so they will talk about us less, praise our accomplishments less, and highlight our deficiencies more. Big 12 players will also have less of a shot at the Heisman, since that is decided almost entirely by ESPN. And Big 12 teams will start the season ranked lower, which makes it more difficult to play for the national title.
 
No, we don't need to fix anything. We beat the great Southern Cal team with our approach to recruiting, and I don't think anyone believes Texas was seriously outmanned in the recent BCS Championship game against Alabama.
The only way UT is losing out is in the TV contract department, as the SEC has a better one than the Big XII. So far, this hasn't hurt UT's revenue stream, but maybe it will become a factor.
Mack Brown has proven the best players from Texas can compete well with the best rounded up by Oklahoma, USC and the SEC. He doesn't need to change his approach.
 
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