[CowboyIndian]

And I did see that comment about Corvallis being the armpit of the Pac-12.  I can see you've never been to Pullman.

or Berkeley.

[CowboyIndian]

And I did see that comment about Corvallis being the armpit of the Pac-12.  I can see you've never been to Pullman.

or Berkeley.

[BostonCard]

And I did see that comment about Corvallis being the armpit of the Pac-12.  I can see you've never been to Pullman.

Note, I said that it was "the armpit of Pac-12 recruiting", and it was a follow-up to CTCard's post who noted it was one of the two toughest places to recruit, the other, presumably, being WSU.

For all the issues we may have about Cal, they should be in a blessed position with regards to recruiting (and mostly, through their own incompetence have underperformed).  They do have excellent academics, probably better than all but a half dozen Big5 schools.  Berkeley has a lot of appeal to a lot of people.  California is a fertile recruiting ground, and Cal has access to a lot of excellent prospects in the East Bay and Sacramento area.  They also do have the recently renovated stadium and a "sports performance" venue to show off to recruits.  And they have been willing to take marginal academic kids, though that may be changing.  Really, Cal should consistently be among the top third of recruiting classes in the Pac-12 based on its natural recruiting advantages.

BC

[BostonCard]

And I did see that comment about Corvallis being the armpit of the Pac-12.  I can see you've never been to Pullman.

Note, I said that it was "the armpit of Pac-12 recruiting", and it was a follow-up to CTCard's post who noted it was one of the two toughest places to recruit, the other, presumably, being WSU.

For all the issues we may have about Cal, they should be in a blessed position with regards to recruiting (and mostly, through their own incompetence have underperformed).  They do have excellent academics, probably better than all but a half dozen Big5 schools.  Berkeley has a lot of appeal to a lot of people.  California is a fertile recruiting ground, and Cal has access to a lot of excellent prospects in the East Bay and Sacramento area.  They also do have the recently renovated stadium and a "sports performance" venue to show off to recruits.  And they have been willing to take marginal academic kids, though that may be changing.  Really, Cal should consistently be among the top third of recruiting classes in the Pac-12 based on its natural recruiting advantages.

BC

[JeffInCorvallis]

Agreed, if you are a college student looking for night life and big city lights Corvallis ain't it.

[JeffInCorvallis]

Agreed, if you are a college student looking for night life and big city lights Corvallis ain't it.

[StanFan88]

Beavers need a new coach.

Maybe Mike Bloomgren will be available?  And probably at a good price!

[StanFan88]

Beavers need a new coach.

Maybe Mike Bloomgren will be available?  And probably at a good price!

[terry]

That's a fascinating move on many levels.

First of all, Riley.
He supposedly turned down several jobs one would think would be better than Nebraska in order to stay in Corvallis - notably U.-S.-C.. Now he decides he wants to go to a program in an area of the country he doesn't know and that just fired their coach whose worst year was 9 wins (three years with 9 wins, three years with 10 wins, 9 wins this year and the team (at least) has one game remaining).
So, what is going on?

Maybe Nebraska is giving him a whole bunch of money.

[terry]

That's a fascinating move on many levels.

First of all, Riley.
He supposedly turned down several jobs one would think would be better than Nebraska in order to stay in Corvallis - notably U.-S.-C.. Now he decides he wants to go to a program in an area of the country he doesn't know and that just fired their coach whose worst year was 9 wins (three years with 9 wins, three years with 10 wins, 9 wins this year and the team (at least) has one game remaining).
So, what is going on?

Maybe Nebraska is giving him a whole bunch of money.

[fullmetal]

There was a stat that said Pelini hadn't lost more than four games per season over the last few seasons, whereas Mike Riley had lost 4+ games each season over that same time period.  We'll see how tough the Big 10 is compared to the Pac-12...

[fullmetal]

There was a stat that said Pelini hadn't lost more than four games per season over the last few seasons, whereas Mike Riley had lost 4+ games each season over that same time period.  We'll see how tough the Big 10 is compared to the Pac-12...

[washingtonismoney]

Travis Haney, of ESPN Insider, has some interesting speculation re: Riley replacements: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=81645

Bronco Mendenhall; Tim DeRuyer; offensive coordinators Tom Herman (of...the other OSU) and Scott Frost. Any of those sound like solid hires to me.

[washingtonismoney]

Travis Haney, of ESPN Insider, has some interesting speculation re: Riley replacements: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=81645

Bronco Mendenhall; Tim DeRuyer; offensive coordinators Tom Herman (of...the other OSU) and Scott Frost. Any of those sound like solid hires to me.

[Hank 91]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=11277.msg107427#msg107427 date=1417725793]


One thing I like about our current coach is that there is that rounds of speculation are fewer and less intense than our prior coach.

I'm not referring to the coach I'm referring to a certain UCLA recruit playing quarter... *in a remarkable miracle the unintelligibly muttering man, after resurrection, goes and dies again.*
[/quote]

I'm not sure if this will revive the patient or paddle him farther across the River Styx, but last Friday night I saw the recruit in question play. I can't imagine how coaches evaluated quarterback recruits before the days of quarterback camps and 7 on 7 passing leagues. He made two nice throws all night -- one while rolling out to his left was particularly impressive -- but without Division I receivers, he looked fairly average to my untrained eye. I remember thinking the same thing when I saw Matt Leinart during his senior year. (Incidentally, Vontaze Burfect was across the field from Leinart in that game, and it was OBVIOUS that he was a beast on the NFL track.) I'm not saying that this unnamed UCLA recruit playing quarterback isn't good quarterback, I'm just saying that it seems impossible to evaluate high school quarterbacks on game play alone.

[Hank 91]

[quote author=Boston Card link=topic=11277.msg107427#msg107427 date=1417725793]


One thing I like about our current coach is that there is that rounds of speculation are fewer and less intense than our prior coach.

I'm not referring to the coach I'm referring to a certain UCLA recruit playing quarter... *in a remarkable miracle the unintelligibly muttering man, after resurrection, goes and dies again.*
[/quote]

I'm not sure if this will revive the patient or paddle him farther across the River Styx, but last Friday night I saw the recruit in question play. I can't imagine how coaches evaluated quarterback recruits before the days of quarterback camps and 7 on 7 passing leagues. He made two nice throws all night -- one while rolling out to his left was particularly impressive -- but without Division I receivers, he looked fairly average to my untrained eye. I remember thinking the same thing when I saw Matt Leinart during his senior year. (Incidentally, Vontaze Burfect was across the field from Leinart in that game, and it was OBVIOUS that he was a beast on the NFL track.) I'm not saying that this unnamed UCLA recruit playing quarterback isn't good quarterback, I'm just saying that it seems impossible to evaluate high school quarterbacks on game play alone.

[CTcard]

Intereting note with Riley moving on.

David Shaw is now tied with Kyle Whittingham as the Dean of Pac 12 coaches.*


* Of course Whittingham has been coaching Utah for longer than Shaw has been coaching Stanford, but they have both been head coaches in the Pac 12 for all four seasons of its existence.

[CTcard]

Intereting note with Riley moving on.

David Shaw is now tied with Kyle Whittingham as the Dean of Pac 12 coaches.*


* Of course Whittingham has been coaching Utah for longer than Shaw has been coaching Stanford, but they have both been head coaches in the Pac 12 for all four seasons of its existence.

[OutsiderFan]

[quote author=Ronnietrader link=topic=11277.msg107422#msg107422 date=1417724297]
Rumor that is starting to build now is Jim Mora Jr. going to Michigan possibly as early as this weekend.

While this would probably be good for Stanford, I really don't want to go through another round of speculation about ... *and as he types those words he drops dead, whispering unintelligibly to befuddled observers*.
[/quote]

Is Michigan really a better job than UCLA?  Maybe Michigan pays more, there is more interest, and the culture is more demanding for a winner, but from a recruiting standpoint, it's tough to argue Michigan is better. 

[OutsiderFan]

[quote author=Ronnietrader link=topic=11277.msg107422#msg107422 date=1417724297]
Rumor that is starting to build now is Jim Mora Jr. going to Michigan possibly as early as this weekend.

While this would probably be good for Stanford, I really don't want to go through another round of speculation about ... *and as he types those words he drops dead, whispering unintelligibly to befuddled observers*.
[/quote]

Is Michigan really a better job than UCLA?  Maybe Michigan pays more, there is more interest, and the culture is more demanding for a winner, but from a recruiting standpoint, it's tough to argue Michigan is better. 

[washingtonismoney]

Is Michigan really a better job than UCLA?  Maybe Michigan pays more, there is more interest, and the culture is more demanding for a winner, but from a recruiting standpoint, it's tough to argue Michigan is better.

Big Ten is probably easier than the Pac-12.

Peak UCLA is below peak SC; peak Michigan is equal to peak OSU and better than peak #3 Big Ten.

Recruiting is definitely better in Michignan than UCLA, at least if you go by recruiting rankings; Hoke has always trounced Mora.

And, of course, money. It always surprises me that people downplay this in sports circles when they would rarely casually disregard it in "real life," if you will.

[washingtonismoney]

Is Michigan really a better job than UCLA?  Maybe Michigan pays more, there is more interest, and the culture is more demanding for a winner, but from a recruiting standpoint, it's tough to argue Michigan is better.

Big Ten is probably easier than the Pac-12.

Peak UCLA is below peak SC; peak Michigan is equal to peak OSU and better than peak #3 Big Ten.

Recruiting is definitely better in Michignan than UCLA, at least if you go by recruiting rankings; Hoke has always trounced Mora.

And, of course, money. It always surprises me that people downplay this in sports circles when they would rarely casually disregard it in "real life," if you will.

[CTcard]

And, of course, money. It always surprises me that people downplay this in sports circles when they would rarely casually disregard it in "real life," if you will.

Do they downplay this in sports circles?

It has been my impression that people rely upon this more in sports circles than in real life. On the other hand, I suspect my real life is an outlier.

Recruiting is definitely better in Michignan than UCLA, at least if you go by recruiting rankings; Hoke has always trounced Mora.

Class rankings by Scout
2014
UCLA #20
Michigan #27
2013
UCLA #3
Michigan #2
2012
UCLA #28 [Mora's first class - came in part way through]
Michigan ##4

[CTcard]

And, of course, money. It always surprises me that people downplay this in sports circles when they would rarely casually disregard it in "real life," if you will.

Do they downplay this in sports circles?

It has been my impression that people rely upon this more in sports circles than in real life. On the other hand, I suspect my real life is an outlier.

Recruiting is definitely better in Michignan than UCLA, at least if you go by recruiting rankings; Hoke has always trounced Mora.

Class rankings by Scout
2014
UCLA #20
Michigan #27
2013
UCLA #3
Michigan #2
2012
UCLA #28 [Mora's first class - came in part way through]
Michigan ##4

[washingtonismoney]

Do they downplay this in sports circles?

It has been my impression that people rely upon this more in sports circles than in real life. On the other hand, I suspect my real life is an outlier.

Fans do, I think (which is what I meant originally but didn't make clear) -- they would like to think that other, softer factors (i.e. loyalty to them) should keep players and coaches sticking around. Sometimes that happens but usually not, of course.

[washingtonismoney]

Do they downplay this in sports circles?

It has been my impression that people rely upon this more in sports circles than in real life. On the other hand, I suspect my real life is an outlier.

Fans do, I think (which is what I meant originally but didn't make clear) -- they would like to think that other, softer factors (i.e. loyalty to them) should keep players and coaches sticking around. Sometimes that happens but usually not, of course.

[Ronnietrader]

Michigan would give Mora a gigantic raise.  That's why he would leave if offered.

[Ronnietrader]

Michigan would give Mora a gigantic raise.  That's why he would leave if offered.

[BostonCard]

Mora makes $3.25 million according to USA today, second only to Petersen at UW (and probably behind Sarkisian at USC, whose salary is not disclosed).

Michigan paid Brady Hoke $2.85 million, which is sort of the middle range of the Big10.  Four B1G schools pay their coaches more than $4 million; presumably Mora would get at least that much, and would posssibly push Mark Dantonio's $5.6 million contract.  But Michigan also has to pay out Hoke's buyout.

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

BC

[BostonCard]

Mora makes $3.25 million according to USA today, second only to Petersen at UW (and probably behind Sarkisian at USC, whose salary is not disclosed).

Michigan paid Brady Hoke $2.85 million, which is sort of the middle range of the Big10.  Four B1G schools pay their coaches more than $4 million; presumably Mora would get at least that much, and would posssibly push Mark Dantonio's $5.6 million contract.  But Michigan also has to pay out Hoke's buyout.

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/

BC

[washingtonismoney]

Seems Riley's raiding the OSU staff, as you'd expect: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...o-nebraska

[washingtonismoney]

Seems Riley's raiding the OSU staff, as you'd expect: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/...o-nebraska

[BostonCard]

http://www.chatsports.com/michigan-wolve...-10-2-6053

I have no idea how credible this site is, but they do claim this comes from a source inside Michigan's athletics department.  According to why he would take the job...

Where does this interest come from? Tough to say, but several we have spoken to on this news say that Mora likely sees Michigan as a A+ job that can compete for National Championships, while he sees UCLA as always being a distant second in his own city to UCLA and knows that he could become a coaching legend at Michigan.

Of course, he could also get fired from the Michigan job like Rich Rod and Hoke.  Just sayin'.

BC

[BostonCard]

http://www.chatsports.com/michigan-wolve...-10-2-6053

I have no idea how credible this site is, but they do claim this comes from a source inside Michigan's athletics department.  According to why he would take the job...

Where does this interest come from? Tough to say, but several we have spoken to on this news say that Mora likely sees Michigan as a A+ job that can compete for National Championships, while he sees UCLA as always being a distant second in his own city to UCLA and knows that he could become a coaching legend at Michigan.

Of course, he could also get fired from the Michigan job like Rich Rod and Hoke.  Just sayin'.

BC

[stupac2]

http://www.chatsports.com/michigan-wolve...-10-2-6053

I have no idea how credible this site is, but they do claim this comes from a source inside Michigan's athletics department.  According to why he would take the job...

Where does this interest come from? Tough to say, but several we have spoken to on this news say that Mora likely sees Michigan as a A+ job that can compete for National Championships, while he sees UCLA as always being a distant second in his own city to UCLA and knows that he could become a coaching legend at Michigan.

Of course, he could also get fired from the Michigan job like Rich Rod and Hoke.  Just sayin'.

BC

UCLA is a distant second to UCLA in schizophrenia?

[stupac2]

http://www.chatsports.com/michigan-wolve...-10-2-6053

I have no idea how credible this site is, but they do claim this comes from a source inside Michigan's athletics department.  According to why he would take the job...

Where does this interest come from? Tough to say, but several we have spoken to on this news say that Mora likely sees Michigan as a A+ job that can compete for National Championships, while he sees UCLA as always being a distant second in his own city to UCLA and knows that he could become a coaching legend at Michigan.

Of course, he could also get fired from the Michigan job like Rich Rod and Hoke.  Just sayin'.

BC

UCLA is a distant second to UCLA in schizophrenia?

[BostonCard]

Just quoting.  I assume they meant USC.

BC

[BostonCard]

Just quoting.  I assume they meant USC.

BC