Recruiting Swing

[Lobot]

I'm curious what other people think here. The pendulum swing from Tuberville's recruiting to Fickell's recruiting is just hard to wrap your head around. I think we all knew that the previous staff wasn't recruiting locally or statewide very well but to move from what appears to be a complete and utter lack of effort to the current staff getting 4 star recruits to stay home is pretty crazy. Thoughts?

[cpawstoney]

Shows how little effort was put forth by Tuberville and staff

[nolte50uc]

Shows how little effort was put forth by Tuberville and staff

i went from thinking the guy who yelled 'you're stealing from the university' to tuberville was going overboard to completely agreeing with him

[RedDog]

I really love what he's doing. He is building a relationship with all the local programs. He is awarding scholly's to kids from the premier programs in Cincy and some critical programs throughout the state. In some cases he is making investments in these programs but taking some guys on a preferred walk on status. This gets him in good standing with the coaches at those schools and positions us well for legit shots when they have 4 star players in the future. High school coaches need to be recruited as much as the players do. You can't just show up every 4th year when they finally have a stud and expect to be greeted with open arms. I love the concept, think it will work, and commend Ficks intuition. This also really strengthens the fan base an attendance. We are about 1 or 2 more major local gets away from the flood gates really opening up. Go Fick! Go Bearcats!

[bearcatjd]

I am shocked at the lack of local recruiting CTT did. Just doesn't make sense. I applaud CLF for his accomplishments so far & I'm really impressed with his effort & strategy.
I think we will get back to our winning ways & can't wait till football season starts with our new coach & his staff.

[hipal88]

In my opinion, CLF is laying the ground work for his next big gig. Not that there is anything wrong with that. If he wins here and moves on, more power to him. He takes his new BFF's with him which is smart. But UC has new BFF's too as long as the next man up continues on the path. CTT had no next gig except Gov.

[RedDog]

Gosh he hasn't even coached a game yet and you're worrying about him leaving. What you are saying is in fact a scenario we will have to deal with down the road, thats probably inevitable. You are also correct that whoever the next coach is will have a much better foundation and formula to work with.
In the interim, lets see if 1) he can sustain this recruiting momentum. Right now hes new and bright and shiny and appealing. 2) Can he coach on the field as well as he can recruit. 3) are his assistants capable of supporting his efforts and producing winning players.
If he wins here, and if he is supported here, and if he gets to the point where he can recruit toe to toe with o$u here, who's to say he won't decide to STAY here. He has the roots and the equity and family balance to just maybe value his quality of life in Cincy and stay longer than we think. Lets hope so.

[Bearcat Chris]

CTT was just phoning it in. HC at Colerain HS said TT never once set foot into that school. What a wasted 4 years, but the good news is..... we are BACK on TRACK!

B.C.

[blackattack]

In my opinion, CLF is laying the ground work for his next big gig. Not that there is anything wrong with that. If he wins here and moves on, more power to him. He takes his new BFF's with him which is smart. But UC has new BFF's too as long as the next man up continues on the path. CTT had no next gig except Gov.

I agree but right now I'm just enjoying this.......cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm 60 now and I never thought we would make serious inroads with the local high school scene. I remember the dark days of sitting in Nippert with maybe 12,000 in attendance and thinking about how sad it was that UC was smack dab in the middle of one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country and yet we couldn't get a sniff with those kids. CLF is changing that. Let's enjoy it !

[bearcatbret]

I remember Kelly landing down at my kid's hs football game one Friday where he touched down at several other games that night. I believe that it was under Kelly where they had a billboard with all the local players and it read something like this is your hometown team. I remember Curry's last game and you could almost count the fans in the crowd that cold, wet day. There was a sign that read "Curry's Last Stand". I would guess that there were fewer than 1k in the stands. I hope that we can continue with CLF momentum and keep building back to consistently wining 10 games per season.

[hipal88]

I am loving this....just highlighting it is a great place to coach due to the HS talent and good coaches are going to leave until we find the MC of UC football. Kelly almost played in the NC game but left for his "Dream" job. CLF will be gone next year if he wins and Old Urb hangs it up and the O$U comes calling. Fine. Bring on the next guy looking to make a name for himself.

[blackattack]

I am loving this....just highlighting it is a great place to coach due to the HS talent and good coaches are going to leave until we find the MC of UC football. Kelly almost played in the NC game but left for his "Dream" job. CLF will be gone next year if he wins and Old Urb hangs it up and the O$U comes calling. Fine. Bring on the next guy looking to make a name for himself.

***I apologize here......I don't want to hijack the thread***. But isn't it amazing how these guys always leave for their "dream" job. Kelly and Jones will be gone if they underachieve again this year, and Dantonio is getting killed on the recruiting trail by a resurgent Michigan program. Ah but it really doesn't matter because those guys will just ride off into the sunset with their millions if they get fired.

[red_n_black_attack]

I am loving this....just highlighting it is a great place to coach due to the HS talent and good coaches are going to leave until we find the MC of UC football. Kelly almost played in the NC game but left for his "Dream" job. CLF will be gone next year if he wins and Old Urb hangs it up and the O$U comes calling. Fine. Bring on the next guy looking to make a name for himself.

I am okay that Luke is here 2-3 years before moving on to higher profile programs. The reality is that almost half of the P5 schools are in that position. Win in a lower conference and you could get into the P5. Win in the P5 and you could land at Alabama, Oklahoma or one of the other few storied programs like tO$U. If it means we are winning here before the coach "steps up", then that is great.

Noter Shame, Michigan State, and Tennessee are great programs for UC alum to lead. I hope UC has the success on the field that would warrant tO$U looking at Luke to be their head coach, when the vacancy is open. That would be a huge blow to UC in the relationship arena, but not something we could not over come as we rarely are truly considered by recruits head-2-head with the Buckeyes.

I really love that local kids are staying home. There is talent enough in a 50 mile radius of Clifton to win the AAC every year and be one of the top 3-5 G5 schools vying for New Year's Day bowl. If we can keep that local focus and still get kids from Georgia, Florida and a sprinkling from all over, UC could push Luke into one of those storied programs with a Playoff appearance. Could being the key word. I'm super stoked about the recruiting, especially local studs, but am also excited to see his style of play on the field this Fall.

[Gilenerm]

I think it is important to note that CTT liked certain types of players, and he had it in his mind that he couldn't get that around here. He had a mindset that only Florida recruits were worth anything. I remember him saying something to the effect that Ohio HS don't play the kind of football he wanted. He had an agenda to change the way HS football was played in the area and offended just about every HS coach within 100 miles. He stopped even trying to recruit locally because everyone hated him and would close him off, and deservedly so! Fickell has really a better grasp of what is in the area and how good they are. His staff knows how to work with the local coaches and the networking from the get go is unbelievable. He really has a way about him that garners respect from the players too.

My hope is that this translates into action on the field as well. Last few years, we seemed rudderless on the field and everyone looked confused. Pike said once that he looked around on the sidelines and none of the players would talk to each other or to the coaches. There has to be constant communication and direction from the top down and to be successful. I think they have some great veteran coaches who have seen success and that will help this team learn and perform.

I'm looking forward to an improved year with some already good talent. We'll see what happens going into the fall. Good things coming!

[RedDog]

Keep in mind that prior to Urban, o$u (and most Big 10's for that matter) had the same reputation of having slow hogmollies and not having the speed and athleticism to really compete with the best teams. Urban changed that with a nice blend on recruits from Florida and around the country combined with the pick of the litter regionally.TT had the same philosophy only he couldn't execute the recruiting model, nor could he get any of the local talent. Fick has seen the benefits of both and has the approach and mind set to go get a balance. With o$u awarding more schollys nationally, it has opened up great opportunity for the second best program in the state to grab more talent than ever. We can get kids like Vann who o$u didn't have room for. Our approach is now more fundamentally sound and with a greater upside than it has been in many years. There is a big opportunity in front of us. Fick can lay a foundation that services us for years to come, regardless of the coach.