Utah FB Recruiting

[Dwight89]

I keep hearing talk about how Utah isn’t a destination recruits want to go to because of the weather, culture, blah blah blah. I don’t buy that argument one bit. Michigan has crappy weather. Ohio State has crappy weather. Bend, Oregon has cold weather. It rains every friggin day in Seattle. 

Michigan, Washington, Ohio State, Oregon, Nebraska, et al have all overcome geographical issues to become big time programs. How? Winning. and creating a “big time” brand for themselves. 

Every school has pros and cons. Hell, summers are absolutely miserable in Tempe. My biggest fear is that Utah coaches have ingrained into themselves the same excuses that fans have for our recruiting struggles. 

I’m kind of ranting here but I’m just frustrated by this year’s class, coming off one of our most successful years in the Pac 12. 

[ironman1315]

From what I hear, it takes two recruiting classes to take advantage of a big season. So, the big bump should come in the 2020 class, not necessarily this one.

[User Suspended]

LOL!

[ironman1315]

Pretty certain it was Only U that said it earlier this year.

[UteThunder]

In 2008 our class was ranked 61. After going undefeated and winning the Sugar Bowl we jumped to 46 in 2009. The second year bump only got us to 42 in 2010 and that was with rumors swirling that we would be joining the Pac-10.

In 2014 our class was ranked 66. After winning 9 games in 2014 our 2015 class was ranked 45. We won 10 games in 2015 and our 2016 class jumped to 37. Nine more wins in 2016 got us to 33 in 2017 and we followed that up with a 33 ranking in 2018. 

I’m not really seeing a second year bump in there. 

[GameForAnyFuss]

Weather is not an issue, no. But culture (or rather, perceived culture) absolutely is.

Another factor you didn’t mention is whether or not you run a clean program. Whit runs a clean program. In this greedy world, clean programs are always going to struggle to recruit. If recruiting matters that much to you, I can point you to plenty of dirty programs. Personally, I’d rather be a fan of a clean program that struggles to recruit, but that’s just me. It’s not for everyone.

[EagleMountainUte]

I think it has more to do with your second paragraph over the first. 

[Utah]

If you think Herm Edwards doesn’t have a laminated sheet of quotes from LDS prophets that are 100% racist, you’re kidding yourself. 

1978 wasn’t that long ago. I don’t fault any parent for pushing their kid from Utah to a school like ASU with Herm Edwards as a HC considering how evil those teachings were. 

Then you add in the LDS church doing the same thing again in regards to LGBTQ. 

Its tough to overcome that. 

[Italy88]

You are the absolute worst.  So glad I don’t actually know you.

[Utah]

Lol. I’m not the worst. I state a fact and you attack me. That’s a you problem buddy. 

How would you feel if a religion actively fought against mormons, said they were an inferior race, said they sinned before they came to earth and that’s why they are Mormon that they will be slaves in heaven? 

Now, how would you feel if those people lived in a state that was run by those people? How would you feel if you had to go work for a guy who was a member of that religion?

And what would you do if you were offered another job, in another state, with a mormon boss? 

What job would you take? 

If you’re mad, be mad at the lies and false doctrine being taught that teaches racism and bigotry (which the church continues to teach today with their stances on LGBTQ). Don’t be mad at me. 

[Italy88]

Judging by the mood on the board every time you post crap like this, I’m going to go out on a limb and say I don’t have a problem.  You didn’t state fact, but I’m sure in your own mind it is.  Slap a coexist sticker on the back of your 1988 Subaru Forester and hug a tree for me.

[Stone]

Good grief. You honestly think Herm Edwards carries around a laminated sheet with quotes from LDS prophets? That’s just delusional. 

[User Suspended]

LOL, even I can’t even go that far.

My guess Herm just does a better job at connecting with African Americans…(both players and parents).

kwitt has a lot of cultural issues to overcome… and let’s be honest, it will take more than  a “no nonsense” approach to win over a lot of prospects.

 

[Stone]

Agreed.

[EagleMountainUte]

Because everywhere else is so inclusive and forward thinking they do permissable bigotry. You know because 1978 was like f**king forty years ago. 

Only a mere fifty-three for Jim Crow laws. I know the SEC really struggles competing against those yankee schools. 

[Utah]

And 1978 was when Daniels mom was a kid. 

You’re his mom. You can send your kid to play for an African American coach or a mormon coach, who was taught when you were a kid that you were inferior. 

Where do you push your kid? 

[Stone]

Look, maybe that was what happened with Daniels, maybe not. I have no idea. But there are African American players and coaches on Utah’s team, and there have been for a long time. All she needed to do was talk to them and see what they say. Somehow they seem to be doing fine.

Even assuming your premise is true about Daniel’s mom (and as far as I am concerned, there are far more rational reasons for Daniels choosing ASU over Utah, such as the fact that there is no incumbent starter at QB at ASU, whereas Utah has an incumbent starter and a backup to that incumbent starter that has multiple games of starting experience), then that’s unfortunate. It is also ignorant to the reality of what things look like today (and have looked like for decades). If she is unwilling to look into the current reality (and instead focuses on decades-old history to make decisions today), then what can be done?

[Stone]

I am sorry, but it sounds zoobish when I hear someone questioning why Utah is unable to outrecruit Michigan, Ohio State, Washington, and Oregon (I will agree, however, that Utah should be, and in many ways is, on par with Nebraska). 

Do those areas have great weather, no. Of course not. But Michigan and Ohio State are in densly populated areas, have massive fan bases, and have been playing in the big leagues for decades. Their budgets dwarf Utah’s budget. They have history on their side. They have population on their side. They have money on their side. Those are not minor items. The same can largely be said for Washington. Oregon may not have the population and long history advantage, but it has Nike. 

Nebraska…well, they had their glory days in a different era (which also involved, ahem, different recruiting practices). Nebraska has fallen quite a bit since then. It is still a strong school and they recruit well, but I think Utah, at this point, should and does match up well with Nebraska in terms of the types of recruits that sign.

[EagleMountainUte]

Extremely zoobish. Some of our fan base thinks Utah has had decades and decades of Football success.  

[Utah5410]

Utah. I think the Anti- Mormon B.S. is a you problem “buddy”. There will always be haters. But at the end of the day. The parent should do what’s best for the kid. Whitt preaches family and togetherness prob more than any coach in the country. He isn’t a selfish A**** and parents love him because he is no nonsense and does what he says he’s going to do. The real reason he doesn’t get big time recruits now days is because they want promises/ or guarantees. While most coaches lie and tel them whatever they want to hear Whit doesn’t. It’s veey simple. Daniels mom sure. But whatever. His dad wanted him to come and loved Whitt and the country is his dad black ? Grew up in the same era ? You come up as super bigoted man. Create a board to hate Mormons on and stay on that one. Otherwise your content is solid. (When it relates to football)

[Stone]

A fair point about Daniels’s dad (and frankly, Daniels himself, if we are to believe that he wanted to come to Utah, but mom would not let him). For all we know, this was just a power struggle between mom and dad, and it had nothing to do with religious culture. But even if it did, it clearly was not a problem for dad. Is he just ignorant of history or is he perhaps actually the rational one and able to see reality (such as African American coaches and players that have thrived at the U)?

[Utah5410]

Community.

[Utah5410]

The culture in Utah has changed. The past is the past. But presently many if not all after I am American players and families have no problem sending there kids to the U. Again I think the real issue that no one seems to want to address is that Whit is old school, blue collar lunch pale guy. That’s why he is where he is today. He doesn’t know how to be or Franky want to be any other way. No days in Big time college football which utah is now in P5. As a coach you almost have to sel your sole to devil to appeal to the “TOP” kids ie 4/5 stars but promising the kid and more importantly the parent that they will start, play right away blah blah blah. Whot doesn’t and has never done that. To be fair some kids like to compete who are high recruits. Some parents live this mentality. But most of the time they want to start right away. Look at jaylon Johnson. He came here because 1 Whittputs CBS in the NFL but more importantly he knew he would start from day one and I’m sure Whitt did promise him that based on his Taipei and the lack of people at the position at that time. He still had to earn it but whot and him knew he would be a three year starter.

[pedro]

Your entire argument is based on utah not being able to recruit like Oregon, OSU and Michigan and you expect us to take you serious.  Two of those programs have been top 10 programs for literally longer than any of us have been alive.  The third rose to fame with gimicky high scoring offense that had yet to be seen on the college level and they sustained that for 15 years.  

Our culture does play a large part, but don’t overlook the overwhelming power of tradition and reputation.  Not that the U’s is bad, but to say you played at Michigan……  come on, everyone your entire life will be impressed by that.  I met a guy last week that played safety for Oklahoma 30 years ago, I felt honored to meet him and I’m not even an OU fan.