[Hank 91]

[quote author=OutsiderFan link=topic=7902.msg104923#msg104923 date=1415821583]

Shaw was just quoted in a story about Christian McCaffrey how he's not playing much basically because he's a Frosh; it takes a long time to learn the offense.  The elite recruits are less inclined to sign with schools that take them a long time to get on the field, by structure of offense.  They have to beat out guys ahead of them, but if they also see a built-in disadvantage because the offense is so complex, they are more likely to consider other options.

I imagine there are some high school kids who assume they are so great that they would be stars as true freshmen.  See Josh Rosen.  Shaw wants a teachable kids with internal drive to work hard, learn a lot, and improve over the course of 4-5 years.  I certainly see the benefits of having the players who are so elite that they rightly think they can star right away, but there is something to be said for Shaw's model.
[/quote]

This is something I've always wondered about. How do these elite programs (and I'm including Stanford in that group) recruit kids who have always been the best players on their teams and then convince them to stand on the sideines for a year or even two. I remember seeing an interview with Andrew Luck during his redshirt season, and he acknowledged that it was really hard for him to be watching. I posed this question to Shaw during media day:

GMC:
How has recruiting changed for you in the last five or six years? I would guess that four or five years ago you could say to kids, you can come in and you can compete, and they could realistically compete for playing time as a true freshman, but now the talent on the roster is so much higher. How do you manage that when you've got a kid coming in who's always been the best player on every team he's been on, and suddenly he's facing a year without being on the field?

Shaw:
I think sometimes we as older people don't completely understand it, but you have to remind yourself that great players look to play with other great players. If you're going to join a good team, they're going to have good players at your position. Sometimes situationally you'll be able to come in and play as a true freshman, maybe even start as a true freshman, but if you're joining a good football team, there's a chance you're gonna have to work your way up the pecking order. Some of those guys will still play as freshman, maybe not start, but as they get into their sophomore years they become big parts of what we do. And I think our guys have appreciated that we're not going to throw them out to the wolves until they're truly ready. Once they're ready physically, mentally, and emotionally as I say, we'll put 'em out there and let 'em go.

As people have said, some guys won't have the patience for this approach.

[Hank 91]

[quote author=OutsiderFan link=topic=7902.msg104923#msg104923 date=1415821583]

Shaw was just quoted in a story about Christian McCaffrey how he's not playing much basically because he's a Frosh; it takes a long time to learn the offense.  The elite recruits are less inclined to sign with schools that take them a long time to get on the field, by structure of offense.  They have to beat out guys ahead of them, but if they also see a built-in disadvantage because the offense is so complex, they are more likely to consider other options.

I imagine there are some high school kids who assume they are so great that they would be stars as true freshmen.  See Josh Rosen.  Shaw wants a teachable kids with internal drive to work hard, learn a lot, and improve over the course of 4-5 years.  I certainly see the benefits of having the players who are so elite that they rightly think they can star right away, but there is something to be said for Shaw's model.
[/quote]

This is something I've always wondered about. How do these elite programs (and I'm including Stanford in that group) recruit kids who have always been the best players on their teams and then convince them to stand on the sideines for a year or even two. I remember seeing an interview with Andrew Luck during his redshirt season, and he acknowledged that it was really hard for him to be watching. I posed this question to Shaw during media day:

GMC:
How has recruiting changed for you in the last five or six years? I would guess that four or five years ago you could say to kids, you can come in and you can compete, and they could realistically compete for playing time as a true freshman, but now the talent on the roster is so much higher. How do you manage that when you've got a kid coming in who's always been the best player on every team he's been on, and suddenly he's facing a year without being on the field?

Shaw:
I think sometimes we as older people don't completely understand it, but you have to remind yourself that great players look to play with other great players. If you're going to join a good team, they're going to have good players at your position. Sometimes situationally you'll be able to come in and play as a true freshman, maybe even start as a true freshman, but if you're joining a good football team, there's a chance you're gonna have to work your way up the pecking order. Some of those guys will still play as freshman, maybe not start, but as they get into their sophomore years they become big parts of what we do. And I think our guys have appreciated that we're not going to throw them out to the wolves until they're truly ready. Once they're ready physically, mentally, and emotionally as I say, we'll put 'em out there and let 'em go.

As people have said, some guys won't have the patience for this approach.