Trojan Times On CFB Recruiting: "USC Has Lost Its Monopoly"
by Nestor on Feb 1, 2010 3:16 PM PST
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PrintAlways interesting to read telling signs in the recruiting world, especially when it is coming from one of the main Trojan PR outlets in Southern California (emphasis added):
What has been interesting about this month's recruiting process is that USC has lost its monopoly in Southern California. Back when new recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron was running things for the Trojans in 2002, 2003 and 2004, all he needed to do was identify a prospect, make a scholarship offer and he'd usually get him. UCLA rarely put up a fight.
But there's a crack in the Trojans' recruiting armor, and the Bruins are taking advantage. Anthony Barr from Los Angeles Loyola, Cassius Marsh from Westlake Village Oaks Christian and Malcolm Jones from Oaks Christian are breakthrough recruits for UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel, who has made it clear the Bruins are going to compete for the best in the Southland.
There's still plenty of players waiting until Wednesday to reveal their choices, including defensive back Dietrich Riley of La Cañada St. Francis, linebacker Josh Shirley of Fontana Kaiser and defensive back Anthony Jefferson of Los Angeles Cathedral.
Again, note the comments above came from the LA Times, not a UCLA source. Obviously recruiting is not the only thing that matters in college football (or basketball). However, that's where the battle starts. As the article noted during the previous regimes time after time, Bruins never bothered to fight. Those times are long gone.
Within three years CRN is on the verge of changing the dynamic in LA (building on last year's success). It will only get better if he can keep up steady progression on the field.
Well here is to few more "breakthroughs" on Wednesday.
GO BRUINS.
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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Good column
I saw this, too, and was encouraged. Hopefully some of these kids will take a look at the progress being made in Neu’s program and take a chance with UCLA. Also, with potential sanctions looming in $C’s future, perhaps that will deter a few kids who actually have a head on their shoulders.
Night and Day
how UCLA has approached recruiting and how recruits view the program. I’m looking to a strong finish on NSD and it is quite remarkable how CRN has upgraded the talent level within a short amount of time. We’ll be seeing lots of Bruins getting selected in the NFL draft soon.
One of the most discouraging aspects of the CTS era
Was how little the blue chippers not only nationally but here in LA talked about UCLA as a possible destination. Like you said, it’s night and day in terms of perception and enthusiasm for the program.
Yup
We didn’t even exist…. Walker made some headway, but the whole thing was just sad.
BTW ... speaking of Walker
I thought our recruiting was supposed to all fall apart after DeWayne Walker left Westwood. lol
Tools
All those chicken littles are pretty quiet now aren’t they. I remember that I used to go to some awful site, I think it was Bruin Gold or something, where it was just about impossible to have a logical discussion.
As for Walker, I am still thankful to him for bringing some great players to UCLA and a modicum of respect to a lousy program. Not a savior but definitely a helper and a stand-up guy.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
He was a decent DC
However, Bullough’s performance was not any different last season. I just have to chuckle a little thinking about all those comments about how CRN’s recruiting would fall apart if he didn’t have Walker. He has been owning it for two seasons now. Walker gets credit for helping Neuheisel hold on to that first class. But the last year’s class and the one being put together this season: all under the vision of CRN.
I wonder if
Walker would have done better than Bullough last year, with all those seniors. He probably would have been more aggressive, but still laid a couple of eggs. I also wonder if he would have had better coaching opportunities than NMSU if he had stayed…not wishing he had, just curious.
CRN was born to recruit, it’s really fun to follow this stuff now. Just getting a feeling that things are falling into place…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I doubt how much more Walker could do
One thing Bullough accomplished that Walker never did, avoiding embarrassing blowouts. I am not sold on Bullough at all however, I thought he was on par with Walker.
What is going to be interesting to see how Bullough coaches this year. It will be imperative for him to show he is capable of making in game adjustments and reacting a little quicker. In terms of talent we had three decent seniors including an incredible one in Brian Price. However, note our “experienced” guys such as the Bosworth brothers (who I admire for their dedication and loyalty) were not exactly Pac-10 caliber talent when they came in. Carter was banged up half the season. We also had injury issues at CB.
Next year is going to be a challenge. However, I am definitely interested in seeing how Bullough handles it next season.
He'd better
unleash the fury. No more waiting to see what the opponent is going to do. Make them adjust to our defense.
It’s true that he saved us from blowouts, and I agree, I’m not sure how much more Walker would have done, but I think it might have been stylistically different, i.e. more blitzes in particular…so it may have won us a couple of games and lost a couple others, probably a wash…
Next year is definitely a challenge, particularly when it comes to stopping the run. I don’t know how people can think that we have so many games that are sure wins…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Not to defend Walker or disparage Bullough
but you rarely see a big drop off the first year after a coach leaves..
Its usually years two through four when you see the players who were coached by the predecesor leave the program, and the new coach gets guys he has developed.
I think the jury is still out on Bullough…
by silverlakebruin on Feb 1, 2010 3:33 PM PST up reply actions
Good point...
it isn’t all about schemes. 80% of the coaches job is teaching the players what to do and how to do it before game day ever arrives.
Also consider the schedule difference
Bullough was lucky to play several teams with no remotely decent quarterback — UT, SDSU, KSU, UO (sans Masoli), WSU, ASU, Temple — and Barkley was nothing compared to Sanchez.
Walker, by contrast, had BYU, FSU, and a healthy Masoli — albeit Tavita Pritchard instead of Luck and Fouch instead of a hobbled Locker.
I don’t think Bullough did well against a single decent quarterback, unless you count our Stanford game, which looks better on paper than it did to the eye. That’s my biggest concern from last year, because it’s much easier to scheme against poor quarterbacks.
There was no excuse for getting punked by FSU
No freaking excuse. The BYU game was an embarrassment. Walker’s defense also got destroyed by Tedford up in Berkeley and also against WSU at the Rose Bowl. I won’t even bring up the Utah game.
I am not sold on Bullough. However, it’s ridiculous to attack him by making the point as if Walker was some great DC.
Don't think Walker was a great DC
I think he was way overrated. I was just trying to point out the competition factor in evaluating Bullough, which is the most important factor early on. For all of Walker’s eggs, he did prove that he was at least capable of stopping a good pro-style QB (not a spread), whereas I don’t think Bullough has even proved that much yet.
Also re my concern about Bullough
It’s not that he can’t live up to Walker. It’s that he won’t be any better.
I’ve never been a Walkerphile.
During the CTS era
I met a kid who was being actively recruited by USC and Oregon. I asked him point blank why he didn’t consider UCLA. He told he UCLA is where he wanted to go all along. But they had not even bothered recruiting him.
Blew me away.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
KD was lazy
he just brought in kids who had the grades and happened to play football. As long as U$C* wasn’t after them, that is.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
That's how Presley went down
Bruin fan all his life but wasn’t being recruited by KD. Once KD left Coach Neu reached out to MP
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" Homer Simpson
LA Times a year too late
The end of the monopoly was evident in recruiting circles last year when we beat them for a few recruits, including Pressley, for the first time in years.
now, though
they can’t ignore it. i mean, to declare otherwise would be to truly and fully set themselves as trOJan shills. That isn’t to say that they aren’t already, but they can pretend.
by Captain Leebeard on Feb 1, 2010 11:11 AM PST up reply actions
This is awesome
I see a few reasons why this is happening:
1. No one can sell UCLA like CRN. Right coach at the right school at the right time.
2. Cheatey left town, and left a potential disaster behind him. I’m not saying that CRN wouldn’t have been as successful if Pom Pom had stayed, because it is clear that it was alreay happening. But the way he left town casts a shady shadow on what is going on with U$C*
3. trOJies hire…Lame Kitten and the Ogre, who, although they can recruit…have already lost once to CRN and UCLA.
4. the UCLA program is definitely on the rise and there are great opportunities for players to leave their marks
5. the Norm Chow broohaha: that one was huge for UCLA, IMHO. Instead of immediately quashing the rumors of his impending return to U$C*, they let the drama stew. While many wanted a quick denial, I think this was far more effective. It demonstrated that, after some serious thought and reflection, UCLA is where he’d rather be. That is priceless.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Not to mention
that $c pumped up Chow’s abilities for a couple of days. Even though UCLA had a difficult year on offense, the guy’s track record was huge, and they did everything they could, to the point of possibly offering him more than an NFL OC would get. Kind of makes his job as a recruiter that much easier.
"UCLA is a special place to call home" - CRN
Yeah they point out our supposed hypocrisy
but utterly fail to see their own. I love how CNC wasn’t anything special but as soon as the rumors spread, he was the architect of the TrOJay dynasty. Then, when CNC’s integrity shown through, they went back to downplaying his impact.
I have no doubt he is one of the very best OCs of the game.
*I* ran over George Tirebiter.
by Bruins102NCAA on Feb 1, 2010 10:47 PM PST up reply actions
This year looks great
But next year will be the true test.
suc is down and out right now. They’ve got an ~unproven, probably mediocre coach who was supposed to hire an incredible staff and has pretty embarasingly failed so far. They’re probably facing severe NCAA sanctions too.
If the sanctions are watered down to vacating past wins, and lame manages to win more than half of his games, I think CRN is going to have to prove it all over again.
The best way for him to do that is beat suc and get in to a better bowl game.
Next year is always the test
Since next year is Wednesday it is the test now.
Next year is really a year off and a bigger test.
The year after that another test.
That is what is the challenge of college recruiting is: never ending tests.
I think CRN is doing great. Happy about the rumors and Gold’s post that we will be happy Wednesday. Great progress. But next year is another test.
by Bruin Dad and Grad on Feb 1, 2010 3:32 PM PST up reply actions
We're definitely getting there in recruiting
which is the lifeblood of a program, but we’ve still got a ways to go on the field. Most of the people on BN understand this so I’m basically preaching to the choir here, but the monopoly isn’t over until we do it on the field. SC took a step back last year and another in the offseason, while we’re making progress. They’ve still got an on-field edge on us right now, but I’m targeting 2011 for the year that the gap is no more.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
Also
I don’t want to downplay the work of our coaches on the recruiting trail. After what CRN was left with, there was no way he gets even with SC on the field for a few years and he’s on the right track because of recruiting. I said it was the lifeblood of a program and it is. We’re getting there.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 1, 2010 3:35 PM PST up reply actions
I'm sure there were tears in the eyes
of the Times writer who had to pen a story about SUC not doing so well.
jon gold teaser
he put an entry on his blog that ucla “sealed the deal” on some major targets. wouldn’t say who or how many, that we’d see wednesday. it’s a cheap dohn trick, but it got me goin!
Across The Face
Ok who has guesses?
I’m thinking Zumwalt, Riley, Owa, since he said a few :)
Also, WRT
these “few” targets Dohn was talking about…
If we just added 3, 4 star players then we’d be sitting somewhere between 6 and 8 on the rivals recruiting rankings. This would put us well above any other team in the PAC-10. I haven’t taken a good look at what recruits SC might sign on the big day, but right now, we are sittin pretty :).
Analysis
Gold said “sealed the deal” : at this stage, we can pretty much assume it is a done deal. We can also assume that even if some of the other targets are not done deals, they are definitely not off the table yet.
He said “a few”, which means more than 2, but probably less than 5 (at which point he could have said “several”)
He said “major” and that we’d be “happy”. That leads me to believe that these players are in the group of 7 (Owa, Heimuli, Pullard, Zumwalt, Di Paolo, Jefferson, Riley) that Nestor listed this morning.
Reading the tea leaves at other sites, I’m guessing Zumwalt, Di Paolo and Riley, but really, it could be any of the 7.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this excited over recruiting! c’mon Wednesday!
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
I'll do a backflip if we kick off wednesday
with Zumwalt, Di Paolo and Riley…or I’ll do my best since I’m the least acrobatic person I know.
I’m trying not to read too much into Gold’s tease since it’s just vague enough to mean anybody. But still, this is incredibly exciting!
Per CRN: Tough crowd
Did y’all forget how exciting NSD was last year? LOL! Get used to this because NSD will be like this every year as long as CRN is the HC.
No guessing needed for me. We’re going to get them all. You can bet guys like Malcolm, Barr, etc. are txting/tweeting/facebooking/MySpacing the you know what out of the remaining targets. Not quite the impact of the 2008 class at the Serving Spoon but we’ll be making a lot of noise on NSD.
OT: Anyone else thinks that www is throwing us a bone with the X Man in the Signing Day commercial? Just sayin….
my guess
is all of the above except owa. not saying owa won’t be a bruin, but i just figure he’s still mulling over it. however gold has been in contact with owa so he’d be plugged in pretty ok if he did makeup his mind… this is fun!
Across The Face
Don't trust Gold, trust ME!
Gold’s “story” or teaser or whatever it is is a nullity. I see no sources at all. He could just be making all this up, and no one will ever know.
On the other hand, you all can believe me. I can safely say we have sealed the deal with some major targets. In fact, I am absolutely positively going to say that I know for an absolute fact that we have sealed the deal with some people who we really wanted, who were some major targets. I’ll even go so far as to say that we have sealed the deal with some guys who were under the radar of some of the other teams, but who we think have the talent to be very successful players at UCLA. I can’t for obvious reasons name any names at this point, but you’re going to be very impressed once you have the secret information I have.
I’m not going to say that I got my information from three wealthy and influential alumni, and it was confirmed by Bill and Ted, but my sources are pretty well placed. I wish I could list all these recruits for you now, but you’ll just have to wait until after signing day for me to tell you who they are.
Now, Bruin brothers and sisters, I have two questions: First, can anyone dispute one word of my story? And is there any difference between my story and Gold’s? He could be one hundred per cent right. He could be one hundred per cent wrong. I suppose we would only be able to demonstrate that he was making everything up is if we sign zero recruits, and that’s pretty unlikely. But one thing is guaranteed – anyone who writes a story like this already has the sequel written. It starts, “See, I told you.”
Your shtick is getting old
After reading your story and Gold’s, it’s clear to me that you’re just taking his story and running it as your own, so you really should credit Gold as your source.
:P
what is he supposed to say
nothing? because i prefer the little bit he could give us to nothing.
It could be that he is giving us just that
NOTHING.
He could say that in his opinion, we have sealed the deal. He could say that he has talked to people and actually name them, and based on his conversations, we have sealed the deal.
What he reported, though, is the fact that we sealed the deal, not his opinion that we sealed the deal. We just have to trust him. I don’t trust anyone who refuses to name a source. Maybe it’s my background. I don’t think I would react well to the lawyer on the other side saying “Oh, your Honor, there is a case that says I’m right and that Fox 71 is wrong, so you should enter judgment against Fox 71’s client. You can trust me, your Honor, I’ve never been wrong before.”
There are plenty of people on the BN who are gleefully listing their opinions on what’s going to happen. Other people are poo-pooing those opinions and going with their own. We have a few people here who have inside info, and who I trust to actually have inside info, and they are reporting developments as factual, or at least as being “near-factual,” if that’s a word. That is in contrast to Gold, who I have no reason at all to trust, and who’s story leaves him perfect room to claim 100% credit for the direction the story is going to go.
And Captain, did you notice your own comment a few posts earlier? You referred to the “targets Dohn was talking about.” I think that’s perfect, because Gold was using exactly the same sources as Doh!, and was writing his story exactly the same way. “Trust me, Bruins, I see all and know all, and I will reveal all, down to the last recruit and potential walk on. I just can’t reveal it now, although I know it. But I’ll tell you after National Signing Day.”
I understand Gold and Doh! were highly successful gamblers in Las Vegas until the casino decided that they wouldn’t be allowed to place bets in roulette after the ball landed in a slot.
you would prefer Gold to write nothing?
he’s just trying to avoid having BN people emailing him asking why he hasn’t been pursuing the recruiting stories and asking ‘where is the follow-up on the stories you mentioned a couple of weeks back? No, I will not accept that the Lakers are a bigger story than UCLA recruiting!’
by britishbruin on Feb 2, 2010 11:24 AM PST up reply actions
Writing the truth would be nice
The truth here is either that his scoop is just an opinion, or it’s fact based. And if it’s fact based, then he can and should give us the facts. Suppose some anonymous writer, let’s call him Bill and Ted, were to were to come on to the BN and say that he had the absolute dope and we had sealed the deal on some guys, he would be asked to back up his statement. We all have to do that when we make a factual assertion. If the truth is that he had no facts, and was just hoping that we had sealed the deal, then he gets in line with all the rest of us who have that same hope.
But Gold hasn’t done that. He has made a factual assertion. He says “We have sealed the deal” as a fact, just as he would say “The sun sets in the West” as a fact. To me, Gold’s position looks a lot like an opinion, which is OK, but he should say it’s an opinion. That’s the truth in this context.
There are plenty of people here who say that in their opinion, we have a chance of sealing the deal with someone. If Gold (or Doh! or any of the others would say) that the sealing of such and such a deal is as much as done because of facts A, B and C, then we get to weigh those facts and decide whether they back up his factual assertion.
That’s a pretty long rant to say that I believe Gold about as much as I believe Doh! or anyone else who won’t end a sentence with a clause beginning with the word “because.”
Or he can say that he can’t give the factual basis for his opinion, and we just have to trust him, which is OK, too. I don’t happen to trust him, because he has demonstrated nothing to earn my trust. Maybe he has earned yours, but he (and 99.9% of the msm) have not earned mine.
There is a jury instruction in California used when expert witnesses testify. An expert is someone with particular skill, experience, education, etc., to enable him to render opinions on matters outside the understanding of the ordinary juror (namely, we the readers). Another instruction says that the expert’s opinion is only as good as the reasons given for that opinion, and if the juror doesn’t find that the reasons are persuasive, then he is free to reject the opinion in its entirety. The reasons for Gold’s expert opinion haven’t been stated. I therefore reject the opinion.
Do you have reason
to believe he is just making it up? I just don’t see the big deal. Take him at his word or don’t. No reason to get in such a huff over a few sentences on a blog post.
I have no evidence one way or the other.
If he posted here and made a statement purporting to be fact, it would be up to him to back it up, not up to me to refute it. I don’t understand why he gets a pass on unsupported opinions because he’s on his own blog.
So far he’s brought zero facts to the table, as far as I can tell. He’s brought lots of opinions, and his are just as good as yours or mine, but in truth his are no better than yours or mine. He has a bully pulpit, though, and pontificates opinions as fact and many people accept it. No one seems skeptical. That’s what I really don’t understand.
I’m not in a huff about Gold, but I am in a huff. I am very surprised, and surprised to a very hufflar extent, that so many otherwise smart people turn into opera audiences when they look at news print or I suppose blog print. An opera audience is required to bring a willful suspension of disbelief to a performance, because no sane person would believe any opera plot. I would ordinarily assume that no same smart person (and all Bruins are by definition smart) would so willingly and willfully suspend all disbelief when it comes to what the fishwrap writers say or what Gold or his ilk say.
I hope someone writes down his predictions and compares them with what happens tomorrow. If he scores big, then he will have gained a little credibility. But there needs to be a control – if he were just guessing, what percentage of his guesses would be correct? I don’t know how to figure these things out, but maybe someone else does.
Fox you need to cool it just a bit
Gold has been all right. He has his missteps but he is a kid in his mid 20s. However, he is doing what he can and he has brought some good info. this year. For example, he was the one who broke the story of Malcolm Jones committing to UCLA. So I think you need to back off here just a bit. Thanks.
I'm not being critical of Gold
I’m being critical of Gold’s audience. To an extent, it seems like the audience at the WWF or whatever the current version of pro wrestling is. We buy what Gold and all the rest are selling. It just seems unusual to me, that’s all, considering the healthy skepticism that generally permeates this place.
I hope Gold’s predictions of our great success are true. Although it seems impossible for Gold (or anyone else) to get close enough to a 17 or 18 year old kid to get actual first hand information, I hope he is correct about all the good stuff that is going to happen to us.
As I said Fox
Just cool it. Gold has done a pretty good job to date. If he slips up we will call him out if needed. Otherwise, you are making a big deal out of nothing. So just chill out. Thanks.
The thing is, what's the first thing they hype about Woods? CHARACTER.
Seriously. They hype the kid’s character. Now, I’m all for giving props to any young man — even a TrOJan — who shows at an early age that he’s capable of sticking to his word. We need more of that nowadays.
But to see the Times going on and on about the cahracter of an incoming TrOJan, especially when we haven’t heard a thing in the fishwrap recently about what Hello Kiffen is telling recruits about potential sanctions, seems pretty curious, to me.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
they would say that...
in spite of all the tumult at scwoods never seemed to waver in his commitment.so what else are they gonna say but wow this guy is high character. i’m sure he is a good kid. he was well-groomed and coached at serra by a fellow bruin. well george farmer will learn from his teammate’s mistake and come to westwood. it’s all good!
Across The Face
Jon Gold - For what it's worth..says the following:
Just heard…
By Jon Gold on February 1, 2010 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (36) | ShareThis
That UCLA has sealed the deal with a few major guys. Promised I wouldn’t say who. Speculate all you want, but it will be official on Wednesday. You’ll be happy.
by WestlakeVillage Bruin on Feb 1, 2010 4:43 PM PST reply actions
SC just lost another recruit
Matt Darr, Punter, has committed to Fresno St
Exciting stuff
I can’t wait till wed. I’m guessing gold heard it was pullard Jefferson and zumwalt. I really would love owa. If he dosent choose us I hope he goes to Nebraska cuz I wouldn’t want to deal with him at osu.
by uclamike on Feb 1, 2010 5:36 PM PST via mobile reply actions
RE: Owa
I’ve read here on BN that Owa’s mom is pushing UCLA. I hope that’s true because if it’s really down to us and OSU, I would think that we’d have the inside track due to our academics. Nigerian parents put a premium on academics, and while I don’t want to disparage OSU, it’s not UCLA.
Well I thought yesterday Nebraska was out ..
But the national experts are saying Nebraska is still in this. So I guess we will find out. It’s gonna be exciting either way.
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