The impetus of Caldwell's sudden visit and subsequent decision is unclear at this point. Many a CPJ henchman has swiftly raised the "possible" issue of grades and test scores in order to absolve Johnson and his staff of all blame. However even if such claims are true, and we are not convinced that they are, is it not Johnson's responsibility to ensure that the recruits he is pursuing are reliably admissible to the Institute? Is there any excuse whatsoever for losing a player to academics this late in the recruiting process?
Caldwell's quick decision sidestepped a head-on collision with Johnson's "Aycock Rule," a confrontation which we had quite been looking forward to. A similar scenario will surely present itself in the future, but for now we must watch and wait.
In other news, Tech snagged Miami(FL, not OH) refugee LB Nick Menocal, temporarily assuaging the sore bottoms of Johnson fanatics with the balm of a prospect who was actually pursued by other BCS schools. And while Menocal does appear to be a decent pickup compared to the offal Tech has recently been accumulating, some slurpers have used this circumstance as a makeshift platform for lauding Johnson's recruiting abilities as if he had just "stolen" one from the mighty Hurricanes. The truth is that Menocal was not valued by their new coaching staff and was being nudged out the door:
"The new coaching staff at Miami wanted to honor my scholarship," said Menocal, "but they told me that they didn't see me playing linebacker in their scheme and they wanted me to play offense which was fine, but I just never felt wanted at the end of the day by them."I'm not familiar with the defensive scheme Miami's new coach intends to run, but this would not appear to be a good endorsement of your incoming linebacker regardless of scheme. Good thing we have two "genius" coaches like Paul Johnson and Al Groh then to mold him into an All-American!
I helped in the recruiting of this kid (Caldwell). His grades were suspect and had <1000 SAT score. You should do a little more research prior to posting your facts.
ReplyDeleteI never stated a "fact" as to the cause of the decommit. Interesting how you don't address the problem of being forced to rely upon the commitment of a player with "suspect" grades. Of course that's assuming you are who you say you are.
ReplyDeleteAccording to slurper logic, because Ron Zook took Illinois to the Rose Bowl in 2007, all his subsequent failures as a coach are irrelevant. So there is no shame in losing a recruit to Zook.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Zook's 2 wins out of 3 vs UGA! Clearly the man knows his craft. What an elite battle this must have been between two recruiting maestros like Zook and Johnson.
ReplyDeleteIts quite amazing how much you seem to know about what is going on with recruiting. I assume you were a college scout for 10-15 years? The saddest part is Caldwell's sub 1000 SAT score was still probably 300 points higher than yours.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said before, I make no illusions about being an expert on player evaluation. That's why I rely on the experts at recruiting services and the "college scouts" at the top programs who don't feel the need to offer a large proportion of our recruits.
ReplyDeleteIn fact it's funny how none of the CPJ slurpers on the GT message boards get called out for their "amateur" evaluation skills when they spurn the experts to desperately comb highlight tapes straining for some kind of lame justification for the latest FCS recruit we've offered. I guess since they aren't "10-15 year college scouts" either, their actions should be even more reprehensible to you than mine.
Of course if one were to use your logic, no one would ever be able to criticize an incompetent politician either, because none of us have ever been "in office" for "10-15 years." And neither would you be able to complain about a plumber's faulty repairs on your toilet because you hadn't been "out in the van" for "10-15 years."
Thankfully it is not necessary to be an expert, or even a "genius" like Coach Johnson, to see what's happening to the GT football program. That is what makes the limitless adoration of the slurpers all the more vile.