Bronco Recruits Air

[HotBox]

So for the past few years we have heard "this is the best recruiting class at BYU possibly ever"...and yet with the loss of RT to a mission and Bernard failing to just simply attend class, the would be strength of the BYU defense (the DL) is now yet another question mark.

I get the whole mission thing and that most of the top recruits from the past two years are out knockin' doors, but I am looking at the 2010-2012 cupboard and I feel like I need to call the relief society president to get a Bishop's Storehouse card filled out. The cupboard hasn't been this bare since the late Crowton years at the skill positions. It seems like BYU recruits are ghosts, they make an impact on signing day and then they disappear for a few years, then they need a year to get rid of their "mission legs" then they get hurt or don't pan out and the only time you see them is when they are getting their senior blanket and you think to yourself "I remember that name when it had 4-stars next to it on Scout.com 8 years ago...where has he been?"

I could see the Cougars struggling for .500 2010-2012 without too much of a stretch.

[byu71]

So for the past few years we have heard "this is the best recruiting class at BYU possibly ever"...and yet with the loss of RT to a mission and Bernard failing to just simply attend class, the would be strength of the BYU defense (the DL) is now yet another question mark.

I get the whole mission thing and that most of the top recruits from the past two years are out knockin' doors, but I am looking at the 2010-2012 cupboard and I feel like I need to call the relief society president to get a Bishop's Storehouse card filled out. The cupboard hasn't been this bare since the late Crowton years at the skill positions. It seems like BYU recruits are ghosts, they make an impact on signing day and then they disappear for a few years, then they need a year to get rid of their "mission legs" then they get hurt or don't pan out and the only time you see them is when they are getting their senior blanket and you think to yourself "I remember that name when it had 4-stars next to it on Scout.com 8 years ago...where has he been?"

I could see the Cougars struggling for .500 2010-2012 without too much of a stretch.

I think Bronco made a critical mistake at the beginning with his "recruit the right kind of player" attitude. Remember the net was not going to be cast wide and they will recruit us. I think his focus and belief is what makes him good, but as with anyones strengths they can also be a weakness. I think he bought into his own hype.

I can't tell you the number of times I was hammered for suggesting an all LDS RM laden football team wasn't going to cut it if, and that is a big if, we want to do what Utah did.

Problem is the mullah and "true blue" types think BYU is above needing to do the difficult things to get what Utah accomplished. I just wish more and more folks who are BYU fans such as myself will come to realize God has about as much concern for BYU as he does about how SU's feels about Mark E..

[YOhio]

I love it when monikers and thread titles collide.

[HotBox]

I think Bronco made a critical mistake at the beginning with his "recruit the right kind of player" attitude. Remember the net was not going to be cast wide and they will recruit us. I think his focus and belief is what makes him good, but as with anyones strengths they can also be a weakness. I think he bought into his own hype.

I completely agree. I can see that Bronco will never have the luxury of running the program the way that LaVell did. LaVell was able to handle his team his way unless the infraction was publicized and was then forced to do something more drastic by way of punishment. Now days, you have folks like us who have friends that may be insiders that leak something on a board and so on until before you know it, the news is running along in the bottom ticker of ESPN. I don't think LaVell could have kept guys like McMahon, Jenkins etc under the radar in today's world.

However, I think aside from the "BYU does not recruit players, players recruit BYU" crap the Bronco has in his mind, the more important hole I see with the program is the serious lack of emphasis on football. I understand that you don't want to simply be a machine that produces football players for 4-5 years and them dump some thug into society when he can't get a job in the NFL. I applaud the idea that playing football at BYU is a vehicle to a great education and life building experiences. But the fact is they are their to play football, their scholarship money is for them to play football.

I whole-heartedly believe that the reason the key LDS players do not come to BYU is less about the conference and the TV deals and more about the fact that they sit and talk to Bronco for an hour and football is mentioned in passing. These kids have the talent to make a tremendous amount of money in the NFL if they have successful college careers, why would they want to go to a school that puts so many things above success on the field?

If I were a promising mind in the world architectural design and I was choosing my scholarship school to hopefully give me an opportunity to get a job at a top 3 design firm, would I be impressed to speak to the Dean of Architecture and Drafting for an hour about everything but why I am going to succeed as a student at his school? It is mind boggling.

I think Utah and the rest of the conference are loving Bronco right now. Let him talk about spiritual growth and hang his hat on his record the past few years using his "methods". The gap between BYU football and the rest of the national powers has always been wide, but it is a canyon that is now getting wider. Utah and TCU have no reason not to roll to continual championships in the MWC with the talent they can recruit and I would not be surprised to see the Cougars become a perennial 3rd place finisher in the conference.

[byu71]

I completely agree. I can see that Bronco will never have the luxury of running the program the way that LaVell did. LaVell was able to handle his team his way unless the infraction was publicized and was then forced to do something more drastic by way of punishment. Now days, you have folks like us who have friends that may be insiders that leak something on a board and so on until before you know it, the news is running along in the bottom ticker of ESPN. I don't think LaVell could have kept guys like McMahon, Jenkins etc under the radar in today's world.

However, I think aside from the "BYU does not recruit players, players recruit BYU" crap the Bronco has in his mind, the more important hole I see with the program is the serious lack of emphasis on football. I understand that you don't want to simply be a machine that produces football players for 4-5 years and them dump some thug into society when he can't get a job in the NFL. I applaud the idea that playing football at BYU is a vehicle to a great education and life building experiences. But the fact is they are their to play football, their scholarship money is for them to play football.

I whole-heartedly believe that the reason the key LDS players do not come to BYU is less about the conference and the TV deals and more about the fact that they sit and talk to Bronco for an hour and football is mentioned in passing. These kids have the talent to make a tremendous amount of money in the NFL if they have successful college careers, why would they want to go to a school that puts so many things above success on the field?

If I were a promising mind in the world architectural design and I was choosing my scholarship school to hopefully give me an opportunity to get a job at a top 3 design firm, would I be impressed to speak to the Dean of Architecture and Drafting for an hour about everything but why I am going to succeed as a student at his school? It is mind boggling.

I think Utah and the rest of the conference are loving Bronco right now. Let him talk about spiritual growth and hang his hat on his record the past few years using his "methods". The gap between BYU football and the rest of the national powers has always been wide, but it is a canyon that is now getting wider. Utah and TCU have no reason not to roll to continual championships in the MWC with the talent they can recruit and I would not be surprised to see the Cougars become a perennial 3rd place finisher in the conference.

I agree and I actually tire of hearing people talk about a recruit who "felt the spirit" or talk about how great Bronco is because he emphasizes the spiritual things and not football. While on the higher level, I would rather have recruits say, he is a hell of a football player and I think I will learn how to kick ass by playing for him.

Here is the bottom line. It takes money to run a football program, especially a good one. Now maybe the "spiritual fans " kick in the bucks for the program. However, most of those I know who kick in bucks are of the show me type. They feel they are contributing to the football program not the religion department by extension.

[Indy Coug]

I get the whole mission thing and that most of the top recruits from the past two years are out knockin' doors, but I am looking at the 2010-2012 cupboard and I feel like I need to call the relief society president to get a Bishop's Storehouse card filled out.

I'm not sure you're looking at the right cupboard. How many 4 star QBs and 3 and 4 star WRs/TEs are you ignoring here?

[byu71]

I'm not sure you're looking at the right cupboard. How many 4 star QBs and 3 and 4 star WRs/TEs are you ignoring here?

Right on Indy. 5 great QB's and 5 great TE's. Who needs linemen, linebackers and DB's anyway.

I am sure you will have some stat on national championships won with only quality QB's and TE's 5 deep.

[Indy Coug]

Right on Indy. 5 great QB's and 5 great TE's. Who needs linemen, linebackers and DB's anyway.

I am sure you will have some stat on national championships won with only quality QB's and TE's 5 deep.

Time to restock on Metamucil.

The cupboard hasn't been this bare since the late Crowton years at the skill positions.

[RockyBalboa]

Actually at the skill positions,,,,WR/TE/RB/QB....I'd argue we're pretty well stocked for the long haul.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I am wondering where HotBox thinks the cupboard was left bare when Crowton left? Do you mean when Crowron got here? I think we are still using talent brought in by Crowton.

We no longer have 15 WRs of which the best is Andrew Ord.

[byu71]

Time to restock on Metamucil.

How embarassing. You are in a back and forth discussion with a senile old man and you can't defend your position, so you come out with the old person stuff. Why would you want me taking Metamucil, haven't I crapped on enough of your stuff already.

[KillerDog]

I'll worry about this when we stop winning games. We were in the hunt for a conference championship until the last game of the regular season. The year before, we were undefeated. Correct me if I'm wrong but undefeated in conference and two losses to top 10 teams in conference aren't bad conference finishes. In fact, I think we might be looking at a fourth 10 win year in a row.

I worry about Bronco. He seems like a bit of a mission president when we really need a football coach. That said, until he stops putting up double digit wins, I won't complain. This coming year will tell us a lot. As will the year after that. I'll watch those years and turn on him if he can't continue good production.

[Brian]

Actually at the skill positions,,,,WR/TE/RB/QB....I'd argue we're pretty well stocked for the long haul.

You can argue you will do some scoring.
But w/o CB/S skill, it will be tough to beat good teams.

[KillerDog]

You can argue you will do some scoring.
But w/o CB/S skill, it will be tough to beat good teams.

I like our Safeties both from a talent and a depth perspective. I think our CBs are what the CBs are at most schools...in short, they need good lines and linebackers to help them do a difficult job.

[RockyBalboa]

You can argue you will do some scoring.
But w/o CB/S skill, it will be tough to beat good teams.

So considering Utah and TCU are good teams...what will the excuses be if we beat both teams for the 3rd time in 4 years? Aside from U fans complaining about the refs in our 2 last wins.

I actually like the CB recruiting we've done the past few seasons and I think Andrew Rich will be a very good Safety at BYU when it's all said and done.