Great class, but no confidence in KD's recruiting

by bornagainbruin on Feb 7, 2007 2:58 PM PST Comment 10 comments

Hey, we got a very good class, but does anyone really think we can continue to get strong classes under KD? Let's ask ourselves why we finally got our first good recruiting class under KD, and try to decide whether we can replicate this year's recruiting success going forward.

Was the nice class due to KDs great coaching? I don't think so. We've had example after example from just this last year that suggest he doesn't put his players in a position to succeed.

Was it due to his recruiting prowess? Nope. The best recruiter that KD has had moved to Minnesota. Let's not forget that Bienemy was instumental in bringing a lot of these 4 star guys we got this year into the program. Also, Bienemy was the guy that had to push KD to get more involved with the recruiting process (per Bienemy). With Bienemy gone, does anyone think KD is getting more involved in the recruiting process? I haven't heard or read anything to support a "yes" answer to that question. Just check out today's LA Times for the latest indictment of our lackluster recruiting efforts. Obviously, the recruiting PROCESS is weak at best, and broken at worst.

Was the good recruiting class due to last year's 10-2 record? Perhaps. Take a look at WHEN these top recruits verballed (is that a word?) to UCLA. All of them verballed before this last season even started. From the time last season started until now we haven't been able to capitalize on even ONE 4 star recruit. Why not? To me, it points to weak recruiting abilities. We couldn't even capitalize in recruiting after our win against SUC. This sure doesn't point to a strong recruiting process.

We have the potential to have a huge recruiting class for 2008, but with KD at the helm and a lack of momentum (thanks to a lackluster 7-6 season with a crappy loss in a crappy bowl against a crappy FSU), how can we have any confidence that he will bring in a top-10 recruiting class? We can't.

I'm interested to hear other opinions, but until I hear a persuasive contrarian argument, then my bottom line is that 1) KD sucks at recruiting, 2) his only success in recruiting came in leveraging off a VERY lucky 10-2 record, and 3) even that success is showing to be a very short-term phenomenon.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Nice post but I am sick about this

I am going to throw up about today's signings and rankings. We are ranked 5th in the Pac-10. We are ranked 38th in the country--behind Rutgers! No offense to Rutgers, they had a great year, but it was just ONE great year. They obviously do not have UCLA's football tradition. I love every guy who committed to us, and I hope they all turn out great, but I am truly embarrassed by our overall ranking. This is all on KD's doorstep.

by Barnes2JJ on Feb 7, 2007 3:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Not really fair....

I'm by no means a Dorrell supporter, but our ranking is more a reflection of the fact that we only had 12 scholies to hand out this year (granted, we still only signed 10, but that's the way it goes).

Our star ranking per player is more indicative of where we would land - and we're 2nd in the Pac-10, obviously behind USC.

In general, I agree with the general comments of the post that I don't really think any of this year's success is tied to Dorrell. We tracked Price big-time last year and he said no thanks a lot because he thought our defense was just flat out terrible. With the year we've had and the meetings he's had with Walker (not Dorrell), that's likely what ultimately changed his mind.

by CAJason80 on Feb 7, 2007 4:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

One more important point

Most of UCLA's recruits have qualified academically over the past three years. Despite all the hoopla that a lot of SEC schools get over their signings, sometimes more than half of their LOI players never see the field due to not meeting eligibility requirements.

For example, despite my other alma mater's comparatively large haul (Georgia), there's still real risk that 6-7 of the commits won't even qualify academically next year (starting with Caleb King, who hasn't received his SAT scores yet).

by CAJason80 on Feb 7, 2007 4:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm hardly a KD apologist

But in this case, you have to consider for these overall rankings the sheer lack of scholarships we had to hand out. I think our total class of recruits is something like 10 or 12 kids. I like that we went for quality when we lacked quantity. Couldn't seal the deal on a few kids, but that's to be expected unless you're paying kids under the table like SC and their 15,000-deep running back depth chart. Based on KD's history as a recruiter, I was honestly surprised that our class had this many good players to begin with. Hopefully he can make their time at UCLA worth something rather than waste every kid's potential like he has been doing in the last four years.

by bruinmike88 on Feb 7, 2007 4:13 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Comparisons

Obviously, no one knows exactly how a particular high school kid will do in college. But there are some companies who try to rank these high school players. People presumably pay them to do these rankings, and they wouldn't stay in business unless there was some degree of confidence in their ability to rank kids.

That said, how do we compare with our friends over on Figueroa, the team we are trying to catch and move ahead of? How many five-star recruits did they get? Including getting the number 2 recruit in the country? (The fact that this kid seems to be a blithering idiot is not the issue.) I don't know the answer off the top of my head, but someone does and will surely remind me.

Then compare the number of five-star recruits that Coach Dorrell got.

There seems to be a coorelation between getting five-star recruits and wins. This is another area where Coach Dorrell is a loser.

I therefore challenge those of you who say you are not Dorrell Apologists to explain why you think his recruiting is acceptable. Is it any better than his coaching? I think not. I think he is inept in just about every measurement of what it takes to be a head coach in a D-1 program.

I will give you that he's handsome, that he's fit, that he's a former Bruin, and was on the team. That's not enough. I qualify under one of those criteria. Unless he is held accountable in all respects, we are going to keep slipping down the slope and accept mediocrity as the standard for UCLA football. In my opinion, very few people are holding him accountable. His inability to land a top, top, top recruit should not be forgiven. In my opinion, this is the same as saying, "OK, Karl, don't worry about it. Another 7-6 season and a humiliating loss in a third tier bowl is just fine. Keep up the good work."

by Fox 71 on Feb 7, 2007 8:10 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

My 2 cents

I think and this is my opinion, yes we have some good recruits coming in, but if we want to compete on a higher level, we need to do better in our recruiting.karl needs a good year this year or we'll be looking for a new head coach.we as a bruin nation,we deserve better and i'm tired being known as a school for it's basketball.we have talent, and experiance, but our players just need the proper guidence and coaching to become that much better.
I understand when you got coaches coming and going it's hard, and it affects the team. I love our defensive coordinator, if Karl is fired, make himn our coach.Why you ask, he stopped the #2 trojans and i want our team with coaching experiance in the NFL.i come a family that is split between USC and UCLA and i love telling 'em that no matter how much money you spend to get recruits, it comes down to how much heart a player has, just like Rudy.

sorry for the rant, i'm drunk from celebrating the win over USC

GO BRUINS!!!

by Jeodude on Feb 8, 2007 1:01 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

About our Defense Coordinator

He did stop USC's offense, but what happened in against Florida State, was pathetic.

He also doesn't have any head coaching experience, we need to bring in a proven guy.

by abby8065 on Feb 9, 2007 7:52 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

We can't stop the spread!

We struggle against a decent spread offense. Thats the bottomline. If teams spread them out we can't stop them. Why $C stuck with running the ball against us until late in the 4th is a mystery to me. GO BRUINS!!!!

by bruinelder on Feb 9, 2007 11:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

IQ = Inspiration Quotient

When you're a high school football star, and you're looking at your options at the next level, I think one of the major considerations would be the level of raw inspiration that you pick up from the head coach.

Does he INSPIRE you to play with and compete against the best? Does he inspire you with a school's challenges and traditions? Does he motivate you to excel? Does he turn you on (so to speak)?

Using this measure, Cheatey gets an A. He's a rah-rah guy. He speaks fluent football, a language these kids understand. Nevermind that your best interest is the farthest thing from his mind. He inspires you. Just being around someone so enthusiastic is infectious.

On the other hand, KD's bland, OK let's say calm, demeanor, I think, does not inspire young athletes so much. You can say he has quiet dignity, and I think he does. And, that quality will appeal to some.

But, I don't get the feeling that, after KD leaves the home of recruits, the coach's vision is dancing in their heads and their skin is tingling.

I think that Karl, like many politicians, is ruled excessively by caution. Afraid to stand out. Afraid to speak his mind. Afraid to cause a stir.

That bland/calm demeanor that you see on the sidelines and in press conferences is probably present on recruiting visits as well.

I could be dead wrong about all this, of course. I have no inside knowledge. Just the feeling I get from afar.

by BruinLuv on Feb 11, 2007 3:23 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like you're right on to me.

I don't think too many people (and some football coaches are people) are all that different when they're on air and off air. Maybe a little, but a volatile person when the cameras are watching is likely to be volatile when he's in his garage on a week end.

Do you think Bob Knight handles practices different from games or different from recruiting trips.

So how pumped up will the recruit get when Coach Dorrell says that this star H.S. athlete will get a moral victory at UCLA, and that he's turned the corner as a student athlete, and that the kid has really made progress. My guess is that Coach Dorrell was not the final factor that made anyone sign with the Bruins, but was the final factor that made people decide to go somewhere else. That's just my opinion - no coach has made a recruiting trip to see me (and I have four years eligibility left.)

by Fox 71 on Feb 11, 2007 7:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs