(01-19-2017 03:13 PM)EagleSam Wrote: (01-19-2017 11:28 AM)EagleTough Wrote: (01-19-2017 09:42 AM)EagleSam Wrote: Culture changes don't happen over night. Nor the course of a season, unless you go from 1-11 to 11-1 and a championship. 7-5 and low-end bowl game is a dream come true for us as fans, but it doesn't do a whole lot to convince top notch recruits to come here. It's still probably pretty easy for WMU, Toledo, and even CMU to recruit against us, and that won't change until we've strung together a few winning seasons. Crawl before you walk, especially locally.
Luckily, we have plenty of talent coming back next season, and that'll provide another chance to improve how EMU is viewed as a program.
I'm sorry Sam, but I think the theory that it takes time for a 'culture change', or more winning seasons, etc.etc., to improve recruiting..........is complete nonsense.
All it takes is coaches who are good recruiters, who prioritize recruiting as very important, with a coherent strategy.
Bottom line, no matter the excuses, we simply don't have that from the top on down.
It is what it is, and highly likely it won't change. Again, 6-8 wins and bowl games for the next 3 years and I'll be happy.
From what they've shown so far, the only way we will really compete for even a MAC West title is to go even more heavy into Juco recruiting.
Just my 2 cents.
That's your opinion. Many here have been around this program a lot longer than you have and can tell you it's not nearly as simple as you make it sound. If you expect us to start recruiting like Fleck after one good season (preceded by YEARS of ineptitude), you're going to be disappointed.
Sure it is, and my opinion is just as valid as yours, regardless of how long anybody has been around. What does that have to do with anything? After 3 years we have a pretty good idea about Creighton/EMU recruiting. The numbers don't lie, as they say. I have a pretty good idea about the talent on this team, and recruiting generally. Go back and look at my 'prediction' for this season, and I said we'd beat CMU at home the last game to get our 6th win and become bowl eligible. I was 1 off, when most long-timers figured we'd win 3-4 games tops.
And actually it is pretty simple......
you either have the personality/salesmanship to be a good recruiter or you don't;
you either have a staff that's focused and makes recruiting a priority or you don't;
you either have a well defined recruiting strategy and someone leading that effort, or you don't.
I absolutely don't expect us to start recruiting like Fleck, because he destroyed all of his MAC peers for 4 straight years. He also recruited great from the moment he stepped on campus, as well as after going 1-11 his first year. No excuses about building multiple winning seasons, etc. WMU had been a very average MAC team at best, for a very long time.
I actually haven't said I expect anything out of these guys, because I am resigned to the fact that we have 9th place recruiters with 9th place results.
Doesn't mean they're bad guys, or bad coaches, I actually like the staff. It just means that I believe we are close to our ceiling based on the talent we have, which is obviously a reflection of our recruiting results.
Doesn't mean I'm going to complain and criticize if we're a 6-7 win bowl team for the next 3 years. Hell, most would have thought those results impossible based on the long history of EMU football. This season was awesome for all involved.
I'm simply saying that it's highly unlikely we ever challenge for a championship, unless the staff/effort/strategy on the recruiting trail, is elevated from 9th or 10th to at least 3rd-5th.
A lot of people outside this board, would demand as much. I'd be curious if this whole recruiting thing is ever a discussion between Creighton and Lyke? If I had to guess, I doubt it.
We're on the same page Sam, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
Excited to see how Feb. 4th shakes out!