(Soap box warning!)
This is really an amazing stat and I can't believe CPJ doesn't get more credit for it. Some guys say the passing of APR a few years back was not so significant. Ha, I say. It was a huge blow to schools with no easy degrees. Guess who falls into that category? These same people point to GOL and Bobby Ross (and Gailey for his one class) as examples of coaches who recruited better. Those guys, outside of Gailey, didn't have to graduate players. They could string guys along in remedial classes if they wanted to, and believe me they sure did, until their eligibility ran out.
Not any more. I wonder how many of the 1990 National Championship team, especially the difference makers, would get in today? Same goes for Joe Ham's teams in the 90's. It really underscores how far behind the eight ball we are in recruiting blue chip athletes, the far majority of which have sub-standard academics.
Now I know CPJ just earned a carte blanche from the hill as long as recruits meet NCAA minimums. I'm not sure, exactly, how that plays out with prereqs, though. I would think they'd still need to take and pass certain classes to gain acceptance into certain degree programs and that can be a huge limiter in and of itself. But, CPJ has said himself that because guys still have to stay eligible, it doesn't mean the doors to the school have suddenly flung wide open like our neighbors to the east. I've always maintained that entrance requirements was not the most limiting factor for GT. Exit requirements are the *****. Getting out, not getting in, is the colossal hurdle as far as academics goes. CPJ's new deal with the hill does absolutely nothing to remedy that. Not one bit.
Now I'll give GOL some props for improving grad rates while at GT, but it's nowhere near the 100% of CPJ. It was more like what's going on with our defense right now. GOL's improvement over Ross is akin to Roof's progress over Groh. Better does not equal good.
