RE: Visitors this weekend (Champlin article at post #2)
I'm as disapointed as anyone, because two of our areas of greatest need are defensive end and cornerback and we just lost our two best recruits at those positions. Frankly, Petrino is kicking our butt in our head-to-head recruiting battles.
But we also need a reality check. This may be the hardest Div-1A job in the country to recruit.
UAB won 3 games last year, and lost our three best players to graduation (Burdette, Irvin, and Hubbard). We have a first-time head coach who is full of potential - but as of yet has accomplished nothing notable. Of the 4 new HCs in CUSA last year, he lost to 2 of the other 3, meaning he lost to both Tulane and Memphis in the same season - the two historically worst teams in our league (along with Rice and UAB). We have no on-campus stadium, and one of the worst facilities in D-1. Western Kentucky has Bobby Petrino plus our former OC. Cincinatti has Tommy T. and our former recruiting coordinator. Clemson is ACC, and beat LSU in their last game. Southern Miss had 12 wins in 2011. UCF is headed to the Big East and has a few conference championships. Troy beat us the past 2 years, and has a long history of successs, and several very notable NFL successes. Arkansas State has won multiple Sun Belt championships and will win more. Almost every Sun Belt team (U La La, La-Monroe, La-anything else) out-shined us the past 2 years, and a half dozen out-shined all of C-USA in football (Tulsa excepted) in 2012. Hell, it looks like we're losing recuits to Appalachian State!
So, to make it simple for those who find our recruiting struggles hard to understand:
1. We have no history of on-field success, and less Div 1A winning seasons than I have fingers on one hand.
2. We have an as-yet unproven head coach, with a talent-poor team that seriously faded down the stretch.
3. We have no on campus stadium, and a dumpy graveyard of a rented stadium.
4. We have facilities that aren't as nice as several high schools in the state.
5. We don't have long-term connections to in-state high schools.
6. We probably don't promise cash envelopes and cars to recruits.
7. We are a perrennial step-child to UAT and AU, and everyone knows that our board is not supportive of UAB football being successful.
8. We've never won a CUSA championship.
9. We have one bowl game in over 20 years, and have never won a bowl game.
10. We lost our long-time recruiting coordinator in the 4th quarter of the recruiting season.
11. Almost no one dreams of growing up to play at UAB, since with the exception of a win over LSU there is almost nothing truly notable in our football history.
12. We have aggressive, accomplished, relationally-connected peer schools like Western KY who also see that there is a deep talent pool in this state beyond the top 20 signed by SEC schools.
In short, we have no bling to dangle in front of a recruit. Nothing shiny or enticing or impressive. Only the invitation to come and bust your butt and do something that's never been done before at UAB. Establish a winning tradition in football.
So what is it that would make the average 18 year old star football player more excited about UAB than Clemson, Western Kentucky, Arkansas State, or Cincinatti (or Auburn, etc.)? Only immediate playing time, relationships, the chance to stand out in a shallow talent pool, or a personality that has the vision, desire and courage to look beyond the present and see what's it's like to invest your talents and energy in building something new and significant - instead of merely following in the successful footsteps of others. Other places with much more history of success offer the first three.
Perhaps most of all, we need a winning season and something to create momentum. Right now we have zero momentum, and there's nothing we can do about that until next season. Winning is the only thing that will build the type of momentum that will keep the TJ Greens and Kalvin Robinsons, and attract the typical 3 star and occasional 4-star quality player.
We have to recruit talented kids with a very different mentality than the average star. We need kids who are willing to take a chance. We need kids who want to be part of building something new, instead of those who want to jump on a bandwagon or ride an established tradition. There are not many of those type kids who are also highly talented and available to UAB.
Highly motivated kids without adequate talent will help us be competitive, but we won't win consistently. That requires talent.
We need a few talented kids who have a chip on their shoulder because they weren't seen as good enough for Clemson or Auburn, or maybe even Bobby Petrino, and are willing to work their as* off to out-perform their peers who signed with the SEC or ACC or Petrino.
We need kids of average or hidden talent, who have an extraordinary desire to bust their tails to excel on the football field quickly, and who don't care about all the bling that comes with schools that have the facilities, tradition, and winning records.
We need talented players who are wiilling to be football pioneers, and who have the vision to see what has never yet been visible at UAB. I have no idea how many of those exist in this era, but McGee and staff better find some if they want to win.
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