Season's Effect on Recruiting...Or Not?

[InsideLB]

I want to point out that kids pick a program for a lot of reasons. On the injuries thread, a couple of posters said they felt this season may really hurt our recruiting if it continues to be a bad season. Do you think this is true? I am not so sure after watching recruiting for years.

I do agree kids want to play for a winning team, or where they will have a chance to win championships. So YES winning is ONE factor that helps recruiting.

That said, kids mostly pick a school because of FIT:

Does the culture of the team fit? Do they feel at home with the players and the coaches? Do they feel at home with the academics? With the support? Is the campus and is the geographical location a fit for them? Do they feel they fit into the schemes we run?

IMO, what has caused the recent uptick in recruiting is not just winning/making it to a bowl every year (though it helps). What has mainly helped recruiting is having more recruiting staff to identify prospects earlier who will have an outstanding 2-way fit at GT, and having better recruiters to form solid relationships through which the value proposition of Georgia Tech can more effectively be conveyed. That is the difference I see.

We finished in the top 10 last year and won an Orange Bowl last year, the 2nd under the current staff. We have won multiple conference titles and an ACC title (whatever B.S. the NCAA might say). I don't think kids are going to think they can't win at GT on the back of 1 season.

And, of course, the season ain't over yet!

Other opinions?

(Mods move to recruiting if you think it needs to be moved....I thought it was more the interplay between the season and recruiting and didn't want to hijack the injuries thread, so make this here).

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I think this season thus far has made a consistently uphill battle in recruiting even more steep. From a gentle slope to a very difficult climb.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I think / hope you are right about most of our recruits. But there will be a few who probably value the current season record enough to go elsewhere. I think the biggest impact will be getting more recruits in this and later classes if we don't start winning.

Each recruit is an individual; I think our staff has gotten much better at working to keep the players committed and show them that they are and will be valued. My opinion is from the quotes we get from recruits from time to time.

 

[Captain killem]

I'm just hoping the kids we recruit feel they can help the team improve. If this isn't a factor I guess I'm too old school. Anyone who wants to be at Tech will be at Tech.

 

[CuseJacket]

Well we have a pipeline to this jumbo DT. Too soon to offer?





Worth spending 2 minutes to watch

 

[UgagSucks]

We had a pretty darn good recruiting class last year. I felt early in this year's recruiting efforts that the momentum would be carried over to this year. However, with our current losing streak I really wonder what this will do to our recruiting efforts?? It's hard enough to recruit at GT and if we're not getting W's on the field then that just poses another hurdle for us to clear.

 

[DvilleJacket]

Everybody has a bad season every so often. I feel we bounce back next season contending for the coastal. Hopefully these kids realize that.

 

[Techster]

Well we have a pipeline to this jumbo DT. Too soon to offer?





Worth spending 2 minutes to watch

Oh my...I felt sorry for the guys in Will Bryan's recruiting video...I REALLY feel sorry for the guys in Josh's video. That's just not fair.

Little brother is already bigger than his two older brothers.

 

[Cam]

I really don't think it will have an effect. Most recruits you talk to say that they chose Tech because of the 1 in 6 are millionaires statistic, the chance to get what's internationally considered to be a great education, and the fit in the system (whether offensive or defensive). We sell our school's academic and financial reputation the hardest, then follow it up with "We have a long bowl streak." These kids weren't born when we started the streak.

In fact, what I hope they see is that we now have quite a few talented true freshman playing pivotal roles over older, more experienced players. Shows that with the right amount of hard work, you'll see the field possibly in a starting position. I think on the whole our talent is increasing. The problem is that it will take another year our two to fully materialize.

 

[okiemon]

I think winning is big with recruits, but if we're only one season away from the Orange Bowl championship year, and can point (as we can) to all of the injuries, etc., that we've had this year, most recruits will accept that perhaps this year has been a fluke. Now — if we have 2 or 3 bad years in a row, then recruiting will be very difficult, if not impossible, short of a coaching change. Having said that, it only takes one really good year to turn it around.

 

[Sideways]

I want to point out that kids pick a program for a lot of reasons. On the injuries thread, a couple of posters said they felt this season may really hurt our recruiting if it continues to be a bad season. Do you think this is true? I am not so sure after watching recruiting for years.

I do agree kids want to play for a winning team, or where they will have a chance to win championships. So YES winning is ONE factor that helps recruiting.

That said, kids mostly pick a school because of FIT:

Does the culture of the team fit? Do they feel at home with the players and the coaches? Do they feel at home with the academics? With the support? Is the campus and is the geographical location a fit for them? Do they feel they fit into the schemes we run?

IMO, what has caused the recent uptick in recruiting is not just winning/making it to a bowl every year (though it helps). What has mainly helped recruiting is having more recruiting staff to identify prospects earlier who will have an outstanding 2-way fit at GT, and having better recruiters to form solid relationships through which the value proposition of Georgia Tech can more effectively be conveyed. That is the difference I see.

We finished in the top 10 last year and won an Orange Bowl last year, the 2nd under the current staff. We have won multiple conference titles and an ACC title (whatever B.S. the NCAA might say). I don't think kids are going to think they can't win at GT on the back of 1 season.

And, of course, the season ain't over yet!

Other opinions?



(Mods move to recruiting if you think it needs to be moved....I thought it was more the interplay between the season and recruiting and didn't want to hijack the injuries thread, so make this here).

The opinion of a 60 year old is next to worthless on what goes on inside the mind of an 18 year old, but it is worth noting that JT did say something to his father about the culture at Tech being radically different from Alabama and that he felt more at home here. Recruiting is, in the best of times, an uncertain science at Tech but we simply cannot afford anymore recruiting seasons like 2012 and 2013. UGA's experience with Chubb is typical. He goes down and they just plug someone else in that is nearly as good. We lose someone of near that caliber and it is catastrophic. Regardless of what their fans say, it is borderline illegal the depth and talent that the UGAs and FSUs of the world have in comparison to us, Wake, Duke etc.

 

[iceeater1969]

I wear my gt stuff every where and ask every Ala,Auburn, FSU fan I meet to make gt their team they root for after their favorite. Gt is well liked here in s ala and nwf. Most are embarrassed by the fake football courses at their schools.

I tell them all GT will make all u can be and after u get out , life is easy.

We need to keep the faith and be positive as we are the face of ga TECH

 

[takethepoints]

I think it's pretty clear that the biggest single obstacle to Tech recruiting was a lack of flexibility on the Hill. We've had plenty of players lined up who couldn't get in, despite pretty good high school records. Now Those Above have decided that the academic records of our athletes are good enough to allow Coach and his recruiters some leeway. Result = a really good recruiting year in 2014. Having a good year made some difference, I'm sure, but I doubt it was the conclusive factor in many decisions. It was a combo of fit, as mentioned above, and having enough leeway to bring in some players we wouldn't have tried for before. And having a staff big enough to id those players literally years in advance has certainly done no harm.

As long as the athletes make good progress in their studies - and I bet they will - I think we'll see good results recruiting. But this is a hypothesis. We'll see.