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Recruiting: prerequisite for real success by Hickster

There is a post by Dillon77 on McGraw's Bench, that has an excellent article regarding recruiting. The paragraph that resonated with me is just as true for football as it is for basketball (women's & men's). The paragraph is the following:

"While recruiting might not be everything, it is a prerequisite for real success. If you don’t have the top players, you can’t compete on the largest stage. The best prospects are won on the recruiting battleground."

It's worth the read. You can say what comes first the "chicken or the egg?" Well ND has a traditional Chicken based upon 4 to 5 coaches that made ND the Elite Traditional Team. ND has squandered their elite advantage and has produced some rotten eggs - management's fault in lack of honoring the tradition and keeping the coaches accountable (if a coach is not capable of doing the expected exceptional job, then it is not the coaches fault as much as management not identifying it and taking the proper action).

Traditional Elite Teams (Have all the advantages - need to utilize properly):

- Are living up to expectations:
... Alabama: The best in results and recruiting - from before the Bear and deservedly so with Saban
... Ohio St: Urban brought them back with recruiting and results
... Oklahoma: #3 in this category as of late & vulnerable to slipping

- Below Expectations:
... ND: Lack of Results - Mediocre ND recruiting - has not been giving appropriate recruiting effort (even previous poor coaches recruited better). If not careful we can be thought of as Army or Yale (without the Ivy League acceptance from the Yankee crowd, which was Monk's dream). How ND's advantages have been squandered, and the self justification of how we are doing just fine - use academics as an excuse & see Duke for basketball recruiting results, which ND could replicate in football.
... USC: Consistently elite in the past through Carroll. Lack of recent results - has above average Elite recruiting based upon tradition (hope) and location. Has more recent success than ND. Perhaps the easiest program to elevate to the upper level.
... Texas: Same as USC
... Michigan: on cusp of Traditional Elite - under-performed since Yost (when he did not play ND-Rockne) & beating BYU for NC. Strong but not elite recruiting.
... Nebraska: Since the 90's have slipped into mediocrity - probably never to be seen again, especially losing recruiting base going to Big 10 and not playing Texas teams.

Periodic Excellent Teams:

- Are currently there:
... Clemson: Current #1: Coach got wins and enhanced recruiting to Elite level. Dominates a current weak ACC.
... LSU: Saban & Ed O: Strong talent area and can pull recruits from SEC & Texas ... and is landing some National recruits.
... Georgia: On the cusp of Elite performance - has recently been recruiting at a top 5 level, but can they win (see Duke & Texas in Women's Basketball).

- Have fallen behind - backtracking into the pack:
... Penn St.: Based upon Joe Pa - Franklin getting them close but not there yet.
... FSU: Bowden, but has potential to come back due to talent in the area and if can be 2nd ACC team to Clemson
... Miami: Same as FSU with Schnellenberger - Johnson - Erickson & Coker rode the coat-tales. Down since NC in 2001 - but 13 years after ND's last NC in '88 (I still think ND got robbed in '93).
... I may be missing a team?