Which colleges recruit South Florida the best? Prep coaches dish on all things 'crootin UF did not get good reviews. I'd rather our coaches spend more time down there than anywhere else in the country.
I’m sure those guys just want to be paid off. Some schools are willing to do that. Not sure how we do it.
nah it's valid, UF doesn't spend much time in South Florida and Billy said UF wouldn't be concentrating down there as much when he was first hired
There once was a time where most of the great football talent was concentrated mostly in south Florida, and they still have some of the best talent in the state and country, but Florida is a populous state and other areas have good/great talent too. The coaches that I see complaining in the article on TOS about this are the coaches that want the coaches stop by for visits even if they have no players that we want... simply becasue we're down there looking at other players at other schools.
HS coaches got to realize that being mad a coach doesn't stop by your school when you DON'T have a kid on their radar is BUSINESS. They also don't realize how funny in the light it makes them look if they did have a kid on UF radar and UF goes to recruit the KID but the COACH tries and steer him away from UF (just using UF as an example).....the HS coach looks petty and biased when it's all said and done. "listen kid, he only is recruiting you because you're good enough to go there, if you wasn't good enough to go there, they wouldn't be recruiting you!!". Well duh!!!!!
Exactly... recruiting is a time consuming, expensive business... and a two way street. And Gator coaches also know the high school coaches that steer their players away from the Gators.
right. If UF was inconsistent contact with a HS coach even when they dont have a kid of UF caliber…and then eventually they have a kid worthy of playing at UF and the kid still doesn’t pick UF….then what?!?!?!?
Lot of what I call "I'm important" type of personalities involved in football at every level and when I say every level......look no further then into the modern era of youth football played round the state. When I was a kid communities had typically 1 youth league, today if you go on social media its nothing to find say in Bradenton for example you'll find 10 - 20+ youth teams playing football now.....said coaches will go out raise money for equipment, recruit a group of players and SHAZAM we have a team.....post videos and pics of kids on social media.......some of kids doing the Heisman poses or others with dozens of medals around a kids neck with sun glasses on...its really gotten ridiculous grown men in my mind living vicariously through these little guys, while also instilling mindsets in these young kids that stays and grows as they transition into high school football. I don't hold many of the coaches around South Florida in high regard as great coaches as much as they've just found ways to recruit the best kids from around Ft Lauderdale and Miami and subsequently just over-whelm the remaining talent in the area. Look no further than how these kids will move from one school to another from year to year..... The article is laughable at best, as many have already stated I'm sure Billy's staff knows and has the situation pretty well sized up, when they decide to actively recruit a kid down there....
It’s a lot different than the 70s when I played youth sports. We pretty much played with the same kids all the way up. Almost all my friends played football, baseball and many played basketball. The youth leagues aren’t what they use to be and the travel ball has taken over for the talented kids. Private schools for the most part win because they can recruit the talent. Highschool coaches know these kids and families from a young age. Although the talented kids get better coaching and development, not as many kids play sports anymore.I have six boys and four played baseball and one played football. One played hs basketball and one ran cross country. Two never played any sports. There are young adults that throw like a girl now and it’s not that uncommon.
I couldn’t read the article so I don’t know what exactly was said, but I would offer a different perspective. Relationships are important, and we should be reaching out even when there isn’t a kid we want. I’m not saying it has to be CBN or us spending tons of time when there isn’t interest for the class, but someone should be engaged ex. “Hey coach, I’m going to be in your area in a few weeks and wanted to know if I could stop by for a quick chat”. It’s relationship selling 101. One reason is they may have a player that is worthy of an offer but ranked poorly or doesn’t have the spotlight for whatever reason. Or, maybe they are a freshman player but the HS coach sees a lot of potential. We all talk about getting in on kids early, seems like with a good relationship, it helps. You want a good relationship so the coach will provide you with some needed insight, and be honest about a kid as much as possible. Having a good relationship when the coach eventually does have a kid we want also helps, especially when there are multiple schools recruiting a kid and/or the HS coach is a father figure for the player. In this case, the HS coach’s opinion on the choice of school may carry a lot of weight as he would be a main influencer, so a good relationship with UF can only help us. Now whether the coach is looking for some compensation is a different story. Totally agree we should avoid that situation. I’m also not criticizing the staff here because there may be reasons for such decisions, but more so offering an alternate viewpoint.
The article stresses the long time relations, mentioning Odel Haggins by name. CBN and his staff are new and have been dealing with MANY issues around the team. They need time and a plan...but making a Miami writer with an agenda happy isn't part of the plan.
Its Manny Navarro a long-time Cane that would go out of his way to make any article look negative against the Gators. He is just not a credible reporter. If I'm not mistaken, He was the one that reported the story where Randy Shannon told all about his "Brother" Walter Odom getting "killed" up in Gainesville when discussing all of the murders and such going on around the Miami Football team at the time. I still can't believe that we employed that bufoon....JF should have put his foot down when McElwain thought it would be a good idea to bring him in here to coach and recruit his diamond in the rough linebackers.
It was shocking to hear that the South Florida HS coaches didn’t hear much from our coaches. I know Billy has said that he wants to focus on a 4-hour drive radius so Miami is a bit outside of that. But seeing as how we are recruiting Louisiana and Texas kids, it tells me it’s about relationships and comfort levels. We will get there, but it will take a year or so I think. We still hold HS football clinics to build relationships, so I’m pretty sure Billy has a good handle on the situation.
In my opinion, a UF coach should never say he is going to focus on a 4 hour drive radius. The whole state should be a priority. Back in the day, Belle Glade in South Florida was very good to the Gators. It is the coaches job to bring in the talent and it doesn't matter where they are located. Urban won bringing in a mix of national and state talent...you have to do both to win championships. Saban landed too many studs from Florida that helped him build Bama.
This isn’t “back in the day” anymore. Recruiting has changed more in the last 5 years than any 30 year period of the sport. Particularly in Florida.
