Fleming not too kind to PSU

[marshall23]

Perhaps, but my guess is that every coach in the country would love to have too much talent. Seems to work fine at Alabama. Maybe Florida St could no longer handle it.

I can tell you this. There is a reason MLB does extensive testing to identify the personality and mental characteristics of all draft prospects. We had a 1st rounder and a 2nd rounder during my career as AD. The pros know that talent alone will not get it done. College FB is quickly becoming college basketball. So called blue chippers have their eyes on a 3 year path to the NFL. I contend you need a mix of 5 year "invested" red shirts to monitor the climate in the locker room. High end talent is essential, to be sure, but winning football and individual goals are
often at odds.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Something to consider. How much talent is ENOUGH talent? There comes a point where individual goals strangle team progress. We've seen some instances of draft status ending college careers mid-season. It takes bricks and mortar to build cohesive teams. Too many highly touted recruits can make the locker room very crowded.

The late 90s/early 00s disasters at PSU were an example. Recall that the seniors on the 5-7 2000 team were part of the #1 recruiting class in the nation?

 

[marshall23]

The late 90s/early 00s disasters at PSU were an example. Recall that the seniors on the 5-7 2000 team were part of the #1 recruiting class in the nation?[/QUOTE


The best teams I coached were those where the best athletes were selfless. There are plenty of plaudits for all to share on a winning team. Individual stats and recognition are characteristics of a losing attitude and team.

 

[GarrettFildman]

I can tell you this. There is a reason MLB does extensive testing to identify the personality and mental characteristics of all draft prospects. We had a 1st rounder and a 2nd rounder during my career as AD. The pros know that talent alone will not get it done. College FB is quickly becoming college basketball. So called blue chippers have their eyes on a 3 year path to the NFL. I contend you need a mix of 5 year "invested" red shirts to monitor the climate in the locker room. High end talent is essential, to be sure, but winning football and individual goals are
often at odds.

I think you are correct that the right fit is just as important as talent. I also think you can be relatively successful with players that aren't as highly rated but keep plugging away for 5 years and make the most of their opportunity and take every role they get as the most important. The mix I think is key because without the high end talent you are still limited on the high side.

BTW, I think this is why Ohio St has been good at being up for PSU and Michigan but then gets blown out by a Purdue or Iowa. They have the talent to dominate but they also seem to get a lot of me first types as well. Meanwhile, some teams seem to always play their hearts out with less talent.

 

[zulu1]

Something to consider. How much talent is ENOUGH talent? There comes a point where individual goals strangle team progress. We've seen some instances of draft status ending college careers mid-season. It takes bricks and mortar to build cohesive teams. Too many highly touted recruits can make the locker room very crowded.

Now that is a whole paragraph of complete nonsense. You, every poster on this board, and the entire coaching staff would take the number one class every year, for God’s sakes, and you’d be giddy about it.

Are you saying Alabama and Clemson won those titles by recruiting less 5 star kids and instead developed “team cohesion?”

 

[djr4rebs]

Are you saying Alabama and Clemson won those titles by recruiting less 5 star kids and instead developed “team cohesion?”

PEDs + #1 talent for 5-7 years = Alabama

PEDs + top 5 talent for 4-5 years = Clemson

Granted, Clemson has probably had a lot more team cohesion than anybody these past 4 years (entire DL returning was a big boost last year).

 

[marshall23]

Now that is a whole paragraph of complete nonsense. You, every poster on this board, and the entire coaching staff would take the number one class every year, for God’s sakes, and you’d be giddy about it.

Are you saying Alabama and Clemson won those titles by recruiting less 5 star kids and instead developed “team cohesion?”

It's been a long time since I've been giddy about recruiting fan boy. In fact the date is never But thanks for schooling me on the game of football.