Yesterday I posted a link to an ESPN insider article on QB recruiting. That article, and the recent threads here on basketball recruiting, had me thinking about Utah's current station in the PAC12 and how that's manifested by recruiting success, or perceived lack thereof. I'm going to explain my take using a common analogy.
Many of us are parents. We know that when infants transition from crawling to walking that there's a process. Most kids have to learn to stand and once they do that they move on to taking a few steps while holding onto something. Finally the kid starts walking independently, albeit awkwardly at first, and not without more than a few stumbles. We call this process taking "baby steps". It's a process, a progression that takes time. Some kids are faster than others in moving through the process. Some start earlier than others. But, all parents understand it's a process. While some parents are concerned if their kid doesn't start the process soon enough, I've never met a or heard of a parent who expects their child to go from crawling to running without hitting the in-between steps. I think we'd uniformly agree that any such expectation would be unrealistic.
As Utah fans, do we have realistic expectations for our beloved "child", the Utah athletic programs? I think we collectively -- myself included -- are forgetting the baby steps process when it comes to recruiting. We're all so proud, and have so much faith, in our school that, as soon as we detect it has taken some significant step, we expect that its next move will be to "hit the ground running." We get discouraged with stumbles and falls. We start wringing our hands when our program isn't running like little Johnny Trojan down the street. "Oh, he's going so fast, we have no hope to ever catch up . . . unless we start running right now!"
What happened to baby steps? To progressing through the process?
The one takeaway I have from the ESPN insider article on QB recruiting is this: sustained, demonstrated on-field success is paramount in importance. Yes, facilities, "style of play" / scheme, location, "tradition" / coolness factor among teens are important. These and other factors can be stumbling blocks if you don't have them. However, none of the programs that are out there running started running before they demonstrated success. Much as we will hate to admit it, Oregon didn't buy it's way into winning with Uncle Phil's money. Sure, the uniforms and facilities were important, but let's not forget that Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly knew something about winning football games. Duke's Coach K is the greatest basketball coach of all time (or at least has more career wins, which is semantics imo). You have to prove your kids can be successful in what they do, and you need to have some success as a team. USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon . . . all did it that way. It's not enough to throw the ball 600 times and amass 4,000 yards if you're 3-9. Go ask Mike Leach. Likewise, if you're 8-4 but doing it with smoke and mirrors, you can't convince a smart recruit that your 8-4 record really is a result of magic. As a wise man once said, you can't get magical things to happen until you're living right on and off the field. Sorry, he was right.
I know the inevitable rebuttal is going to point to programs like Cal, that is doing well recruiting in both football and basketball. Some will point out that Utah's done much better in both sports. Recently. Recently. We're too soon to forget that our precocious little Utes are in a new neighborhood and just learning to compete with the other kids. We forget that our hoops team has made the NCAAs twice since 2004, and really has only one year of being a respected PAC12 competitor. Likewise, our football team has just had its first winning in-conference season. Why aren't these two programs now out running with the big dogs? Probably, for one, we haven't done it long enough. One year of winning: is it a fluke, or the beginning of a pattern? I think it's a lot easier to say it's a fluke, at this point.
I've ramble on long enough. But as I see it, the facilities are starting to come into place. We're seeing a commitment to stability in the coaching staffs. We're beginning to demonstrate success and establish credibility as a PAC12 competitor in both hoops and football. We're taking the right "baby steps." Are we ready to run? Not at the same pace as our neighbors' kids. Not yet. That's not reason to get discouraged. They were running around this block before we even moved into the neighborhood. Be patient. Let the process unfold. We'll get there.
Many of us are parents. We know that when infants transition from crawling to walking that there's a process. Most kids have to learn to stand and once they do that they move on to taking a few steps while holding onto something. Finally the kid starts walking independently, albeit awkwardly at first, and not without more than a few stumbles. We call this process taking "baby steps". It's a process, a progression that takes time. Some kids are faster than others in moving through the process. Some start earlier than others. But, all parents understand it's a process. While some parents are concerned if their kid doesn't start the process soon enough, I've never met a or heard of a parent who expects their child to go from crawling to running without hitting the in-between steps. I think we'd uniformly agree that any such expectation would be unrealistic.
As Utah fans, do we have realistic expectations for our beloved "child", the Utah athletic programs? I think we collectively -- myself included -- are forgetting the baby steps process when it comes to recruiting. We're all so proud, and have so much faith, in our school that, as soon as we detect it has taken some significant step, we expect that its next move will be to "hit the ground running." We get discouraged with stumbles and falls. We start wringing our hands when our program isn't running like little Johnny Trojan down the street. "Oh, he's going so fast, we have no hope to ever catch up . . . unless we start running right now!"
What happened to baby steps? To progressing through the process?
The one takeaway I have from the ESPN insider article on QB recruiting is this: sustained, demonstrated on-field success is paramount in importance. Yes, facilities, "style of play" / scheme, location, "tradition" / coolness factor among teens are important. These and other factors can be stumbling blocks if you don't have them. However, none of the programs that are out there running started running before they demonstrated success. Much as we will hate to admit it, Oregon didn't buy it's way into winning with Uncle Phil's money. Sure, the uniforms and facilities were important, but let's not forget that Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly knew something about winning football games. Duke's Coach K is the greatest basketball coach of all time (or at least has more career wins, which is semantics imo). You have to prove your kids can be successful in what they do, and you need to have some success as a team. USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon . . . all did it that way. It's not enough to throw the ball 600 times and amass 4,000 yards if you're 3-9. Go ask Mike Leach. Likewise, if you're 8-4 but doing it with smoke and mirrors, you can't convince a smart recruit that your 8-4 record really is a result of magic. As a wise man once said, you can't get magical things to happen until you're living right on and off the field. Sorry, he was right.
I know the inevitable rebuttal is going to point to programs like Cal, that is doing well recruiting in both football and basketball. Some will point out that Utah's done much better in both sports. Recently. Recently. We're too soon to forget that our precocious little Utes are in a new neighborhood and just learning to compete with the other kids. We forget that our hoops team has made the NCAAs twice since 2004, and really has only one year of being a respected PAC12 competitor. Likewise, our football team has just had its first winning in-conference season. Why aren't these two programs now out running with the big dogs? Probably, for one, we haven't done it long enough. One year of winning: is it a fluke, or the beginning of a pattern? I think it's a lot easier to say it's a fluke, at this point.
I've ramble on long enough. But as I see it, the facilities are starting to come into place. We're seeing a commitment to stability in the coaching staffs. We're beginning to demonstrate success and establish credibility as a PAC12 competitor in both hoops and football. We're taking the right "baby steps." Are we ready to run? Not at the same pace as our neighbors' kids. Not yet. That's not reason to get discouraged. They were running around this block before we even moved into the neighborhood. Be patient. Let the process unfold. We'll get there.
