(06-22-2016 11:30 AM)Pan95 Wrote:  Well, I think that there are some factors common to Rice recruitment we have to consider.

1. Talent evaluation - the Bailiff regime has done well in identifying talent that other teams either overlook completely or fly under the radar until late in the recruiting cycle. I think of Philip Gaines, Bryce Callahan, Andrew Sendejo, Scott Solomon, Luke Wilson, Christian Covington, Vance McDonald, and Chris Boswell. So just because the stars or the offers are not there doesn't mean that the talent is not there.

I do not disagree with your general point, but some of these guys probably aren't the best examples. Sendejo came to Rice before Bailiff. Solomon was a 2007 recruit, and while he committed to Bailiff, who knows whether Graham started the recruiting process with him. Gaines had offers from Mississippi State and Kansas State (who had some pretty successful seasons during that time). Callahan had offers from Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. A guy with 3 SEC offers isn't exactly overlooked or flying under the radar! Covington had an offer from Arizona State, but I think Moondog told us at the time that he received multiple other P5 offers very close to signing day and he was regarded as the #1 recruit coming out of Canada in 2011.