Elite recruiting classes do not always translate to W's or Why this time is different

Nmiamicane630

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I have found myself perusing the recruiting board an awful lot lately, and, to my delight, we are finally recruiting at a truly elite level. A Bama/UGA level. Surely, this class will be the building block and springboard to even more elite talent next year and the year after that will surely have us competing at the highest levels of CFB.

Then, i remembered something. The pessimistic, battered canes fan inside me reminded me that we have been here before. We all remember miami's greatest recruiting class since in the internet era: the 2008 class. We all celebrated. The talent all stayed home. The question wasnt IF Jacory and the boys from 71st st would win a title, but how many!? The stars from best HS football team in the nation were all staying home to rep the orange and green. It was our time! but it wasnt. mediocrity persisted. I dont need to re hash what has transpired since then..

pessimistic, battered canes fan then reminded me that jimbo fisher and his unlimited TAMU money bought the finest recruits money could buy...and look at that dumpster fire!

BUT

Mario is not Randy Shannon and his HC deficiencies
Mario is not Jimbo Fisher and his inability to keep a locker room together and his players out of trouble


Mario has more HC experience than Randy, and a much better track record.
Mario has never had the cultural issues Jimbo has had. they arent going to start now

Dont let the distant past of just a few weeks ago and this entire past season, and virtually every season since 2004 take away from what we are experiencing in regards to recruiting. Lets enjoy this for what it is.

Are we back? that remains to be seen. I'm still pessimistic. We absolutely suck until proven otherwise, but for one more offseason, once again, this Cane is hopeful.
 
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The key is a top recruiting class every year cause every class will have players not pan out.

Also fyi, we currently have 25 commits with 16 blue chips. The 2008 class had 32 commits with 16 blue chips. Blue chip ratio is important too. Very excited how this class is shaping up after it was 22 commits with 11 blue chips and 11 non blue chips just a few weeks ago.
 
When we're back, we'll know we're back. I'm with you. Great potential influx of talent on the way, but that little voice keeps telling me to wait and see what the product looks like on the field. Year 2 has got to be better, but year 3 should be excellent if everything comes together including coaching
 
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I have found myself perusing the recruiting board an awful lot lately, and, to my delight, we are finally recruiting at a truly elite level. A Bama/UGA level. Surely, this class will be the building block and springboard to even more elite talent next year and the year after that will surely have us competing at the highest levels of CFB.

Then, i remembered something. The pessimistic, battered canes fan inside me reminded me that we have been here before. We all remember miami's greatest recruiting class since in the internet era: the 2008 class. We all celebrated. The talent all stayed home. The question wasnt IF Jacory and the boys from 71st st would win a title, but how many!? The stars from best HS football team in the nation were all staying home to rep the orange and green. It was our time! but it wasnt. mediocrity persisted. I dont need to re hash what has transpired since then..

pessimistic, battered canes fan then reminded me that jimbo fisher and his unlimited TAMU money bought the finest recruits money could buy...and look at that dumpster fire!

BUT

Mario is not Randy Shannon and his HC deficiencies
Mario is not Jimbo Fisher and his inability to keep a locker room together and his players out of trouble


Mario has more HC experience than Randy, and a much better track record.
Mario has never had the cultural issues Jimbo has had. they arent going to start now

Dont let the distant past of just a few weeks ago and this entire past season, and virtually every season since 2004 take away from what we are experiencing in regards to recruiting. Lets enjoy this for what it is.

Are we back? that remains to be seen. I'm still pessimistic. We absolutely suck until proven otherwise, but for one more offseason, once again, this Cane is hopeful.
I disagree with your premise "Elite recruiting classes do not always translate to W's" I would even argue we have never had an elite recruiting class (since 2003-4ish) 2008 included. College football is a talent acquisition business which means elite recruiting classes are the first requirement for winning championships. I will give you individual recruiting classes may not translate to W's the following year but if you can keep recruiting consecutive elite classes then you are almost guaranteed to succeed.

Using Jumbo as your example to prove your point is not a good one either. He was doing that at FSU which worked out. I would say he is the exception and if you give any other team in the country the level of talent he has amassed in the past few years at A&M then they are A LOT more competitive.

The final caveat needed to win championships is a great QB something every championship team has had (minus UGA because we are talking what will work for the majority, not the exception).
 
I disagree with your premise "Elite recruiting classes do not always translate to W's" I would even argue we have never had an elite recruiting class (since 2003-4ish) 2008 included. College football is a talent acquisition business which means elite recruiting classes are the first requirement for winning championships. I will give you individual recruiting classes may not translate to W's the following year but if you can keep recruiting consecutive elite classes then you are almost guaranteed to succeed.

Using Jumbo as your example to prove your point is not a good one either. He was doing that at FSU which worked out. I would say he is the exception and if you give any other team in the country the level of talent he has amassed in the past few years at A&M then they are A LOT more competitive.

The final caveat needed to win championships is a great QB something every championship team has had (minus UGA because we are talking what will work for the majority, not the exception).
I hear what youre saying

IMO, Jameis was more the reason for FSU's success. Of course, Jimbo deserves credit for recruiting him. But believe it or not, Jameis held that locker room together. As soon as he left, the program fell apart despite having highly touted blue chippers all over the roster. Same with TAMU, except he never recruitied a leader there like he did w jameis at FSU.

Jimbo sacrificed having a clean program for short term W's.
 
I'd been following recruitng for about 3-4 years when that 08 class came in. I wasn't so much excited about that class, but more that it was an indication of what life was going to be like under Randy Shannon. He was a Miami guy, passionate about the program, been there when they were great (so he gets Miami and knows how to win there), from S. FL, and he'd shown his worth as a coordinator to that point. These are all things I personally remember having confidence in at that time. But he never really stacked that next class, nor another on top of it. It was just that 08 class. So when the hit rate for 08 wasn't 90%, the team was mediocre.

We can sit here and say some of the same things about Mario now. Surely, he's a Miami guy and get has seen Miami at their best. He knows what it takes to win at Miami. But the biggest difference now, is Mario knows what it takes to win at Miami not because he has a memory of doing so years before, but because he's seen what it takes to win at Bama and honestly at Oregon too. Add to that an AD who knows what it takes to win at Clemson. Add to that an administration willing to give those guys what it takes to win. Even further add to that a very strong NIL approach that positions Miami well to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape across the sport.

The key for Mario will always be his ability to hire the right guys and continue to make Miami a desirable job for coordinators, and the ability of his staff to stack these types of classes. One class isn't going to change this program, and it never changed other programs. Bama was right there at the top with Miami in recruiting in 08, but I doubt you'd hear many Bama fans credit that class for turning things around. It takes a lot more than just bringing in a big class.
 
The portal departure activity is quite telling on the real lack of talent this team has had for nearly two decades. Not everyone that has left is a JAG but probably not as good as we hoped or made them out to be.
 
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I'd been following recruitng for about 3-4 years when that 08 class came in. I wasn't so much excited about that class, but more that it was an indication of what life was going to be like under Randy Shannon. He was a Miami guy, passionate about the program, been there when they were great (so he gets Miami and knows how to win there), from S. FL, and he'd shown his worth as a coordinator to that point. These are all things I personally remember having confidence in at that time. But he never really stacked that next class, nor another on top of it. It was just that 08 class. So when the hit rate for 08 wasn't 90%, the team was mediocre.

We can sit here and say some of the same things about Mario now. Surely, he's a Miami guy and get has seen Miami at their best. He knows what it takes to win at Miami. But the biggest difference now, is Mario knows what it takes to win at Miami not because he has a memory of doing so years before, but because he's seen what it takes to win at Bama and honestly at Oregon too. Add to that an AD who knows what it takes to win at Clemson. Add to that an administration willing to give those guys what it takes to win. Even further add to that a very strong NIL approach that positions Miami well to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape across the sport.

The key for Mario will always be his ability to hire the right guys and continue to make Miami a desirable job for coordinators, and the ability of his staff to stack these types of classes. One class isn't going to change this program, and it never changed other programs. Bama was right there at the top with Miami in recruiting in 08, but I doubt you'd hear many Bama fans credit that class for turning things around. It takes a lot more than just bringing in a big class.
Agree with this

Surprised you weren’t ecstatic about that 08 class tho. I was 18 at the time and just getting into following Miami recruiting. I also grew up in Miami and read the herald sports page a lot. I remember reading about what a juggernaut that MNW team was that year and then they committed to Miami. The hype was unreal. I was psyched. I thought that they’d put us right back into the spot light.

were they over hyped? Or were they poorly developed?

Poorly developed is my guess
 
Time will yell, but a valid point to debate is whether a very highly ranked class w/o a premiere qb, outside threat (wr- as of now), or much for the interior DL could be a mirage? And also a few tweener-types. Not saying guys can't be developed, or find positions, just saying the question posed is valid.
 
I'd been following recruitng for about 3-4 years when that 08 class came in. I wasn't so much excited about that class, but more that it was an indication of what life was going to be like under Randy Shannon. He was a Miami guy, passionate about the program, been there when they were great (so he gets Miami and knows how to win there), from S. FL, and he'd shown his worth as a coordinator to that point. These are all things I personally remember having confidence in at that time. But he never really stacked that next class, nor another on top of it. It was just that 08 class. So when the hit rate for 08 wasn't 90%, the team was mediocre.

We can sit here and say some of the same things about Mario now. Surely, he's a Miami guy and get has seen Miami at their best. He knows what it takes to win at Miami. But the biggest difference now, is Mario knows what it takes to win at Miami not because he has a memory of doing so years before, but because he's seen what it takes to win at Bama and honestly at Oregon too. Add to that an AD who knows what it takes to win at Clemson. Add to that an administration willing to give those guys what it takes to win. Even further add to that a very strong NIL approach that positions Miami well to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape across the sport.

The key for Mario will always be his ability to hire the right guys and continue to make Miami a desirable job for coordinators, and the ability of his staff to stack these types of classes. One class isn't going to change this program, and it never changed other programs. Bama was right there at the top with Miami in recruiting in 08, but I doubt you'd hear many Bama fans credit that class for turning things around. It takes a lot more than just bringing in a big class.
Also, at that point, I was in the "just keep the miami guys home!" camp as if there was something in the water down here that made us special. Well, there isnt. if anything dispelled that notion, the 08 class was it (for me at least)
 
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Time will yell, but a valid point to debate is whether a very highly ranked class w/o a premiere qb, outside threat (wr- as of now), or much for the interior DL could be a mirage? And also a few tweener-types. Not saying guys can't be developed, or find positions, just saying the question posed is valid.
If i had to choose between one or the other, give me a great OL with mediocre qb and skill players. A great OL is required to be an upper tier CFB team IMO. Adding an above average QB and skill players, along with what Mario is recruiting on the OL is needed to be ELITE.

No team will compete for a title without the complete package, though. Defense included. See Lincoln Riley's sooner teams ( and probably USCw teams)
 
I hear what youre saying

IMO, Jameis was more the reason for FSU's success. Of course, Jimbo deserves credit for recruiting him. But believe it or not, Jameis held that locker room together. As soon as he left, the program fell apart despite having highly touted blue chippers all over the roster. Same with TAMU, except he never recruitied a leader there like he did w jameis at FSU.

Jimbo sacrificed having a clean program for short term W's.
Like I said with my last sentence, you need a great QB and Winston was better than a great QB. Also, Jumbo is not a good example for saying "Elite recruiting classes do not always translate to W's."
 
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I'd been following recruitng for about 3-4 years when that 08 class came in. I wasn't so much excited about that class, but more that it was an indication of what life was going to be like under Randy Shannon. He was a Miami guy, passionate about the program, been there when they were great (so he gets Miami and knows how to win there), from S. FL, and he'd shown his worth as a coordinator to that point. These are all things I personally remember having confidence in at that time. But he never really stacked that next class, nor another on top of it. It was just that 08 class. So when the hit rate for 08 wasn't 90%, the team was mediocre.

We can sit here and say some of the same things about Mario now. Surely, he's a Miami guy and get has seen Miami at their best. He knows what it takes to win at Miami. But the biggest difference now, is Mario knows what it takes to win at Miami not because he has a memory of doing so years before, but because he's seen what it takes to win at Bama and honestly at Oregon too. Add to that an AD who knows what it takes to win at Clemson. Add to that an administration willing to give those guys what it takes to win. Even further add to that a very strong NIL approach that positions Miami well to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape across the sport.

The key for Mario will always be his ability to hire the right guys and continue to make Miami a desirable job for coordinators, and the ability of his staff to stack these types of classes. One class isn't going to change this program, and it never changed other programs. Bama was right there at the top with Miami in recruiting in 08, but I doubt you'd hear many Bama fans credit that class for turning things around. It takes a lot more than just bringing in a big class.

standing ovation applause GIF
 
Jimbo is a corch. Posters on this site overrated him because of the Winston era, self hate vs our own inept staffs and an inability to have logical discussions about a rival. Before Winston walked in FSU was ready to run him out of town. **** him.

@Brooklyndee is a Jimbo fan, amirite? 😎
 
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