05-18-2022, 09:39 PM
You quoted correctly. Since Red was building on DC’s comment, it is reasonable for both to think you were addressing them. The irony is that I think we are all on the same page, except Beeg Dawg who said “Shaw has not changed and will not change”, which I agree with DC, Red, and Matt is not correct.
Which came first (the change in playmaking or the loss of dominance in the trenches) is a good question, and I’m inclined to agree that we lost OL dominance first, with poor OL recruiting between 2015 and 2018 (save 2017, which underdelivered compared to their recruiting rankings). 3 OL coaches in 5 years contributed to that, as did a bevy of changes in the recruiting landscape (early NLI, for example), to which Shaw was just slow to adapt.
I think this shows why despite top line recruiting numbers being decent (and more consistent with a 7-5 team than a 3-9 team), performance has suffered. Yes, some of it is due to poor player development, and poor physical development, but I think part of it is also due to lopsided recruitment, where some positions, particularly the OL and DL, were under recruited in terms of sheer numbers, and consequently the top line numbers (recruiting that generally landed in the top half of the conference most years) tended to produce results akin to bottom quartile in recruiting.
To the extent I am a bit more sanguine about the future than many here, it’s because the class of 2022 was the first in a long time that featured quality depth at virtually all positions. If (and I realize it is a big if) Shaw can keep that level of recruiting up consistently the next few years, I think we will see the results on the field improve. Shaw has shown that he can win with good talent, but that he falls apart when the talent is even average. If the class of 2023 continues what the class of 2022 started, I think we have a chance to compete again when those guys get to be upperclassmen.
BC
Which came first (the change in playmaking or the loss of dominance in the trenches) is a good question, and I’m inclined to agree that we lost OL dominance first, with poor OL recruiting between 2015 and 2018 (save 2017, which underdelivered compared to their recruiting rankings). 3 OL coaches in 5 years contributed to that, as did a bevy of changes in the recruiting landscape (early NLI, for example), to which Shaw was just slow to adapt.
I think this shows why despite top line recruiting numbers being decent (and more consistent with a 7-5 team than a 3-9 team), performance has suffered. Yes, some of it is due to poor player development, and poor physical development, but I think part of it is also due to lopsided recruitment, where some positions, particularly the OL and DL, were under recruited in terms of sheer numbers, and consequently the top line numbers (recruiting that generally landed in the top half of the conference most years) tended to produce results akin to bottom quartile in recruiting.
To the extent I am a bit more sanguine about the future than many here, it’s because the class of 2022 was the first in a long time that featured quality depth at virtually all positions. If (and I realize it is a big if) Shaw can keep that level of recruiting up consistently the next few years, I think we will see the results on the field improve. Shaw has shown that he can win with good talent, but that he falls apart when the talent is even average. If the class of 2023 continues what the class of 2022 started, I think we have a chance to compete again when those guys get to be upperclassmen.
BC