OT-Meat Market
I just got done reading Meat Market which was a book about the 2006 recruiting class for Ole Miss. I was a little disappointed in the book, but for those of you getting interested in the recruiting game and want to know more how things are done it is very interesting. What theses coaches have to go thru, I could see how they would want to kill Mack Brown and his show up at my camp and I'll take the Top 20 kids approach with his gold mine at Texas. It just shows you how hard it is for a middle level school to get over the hump. Orgeron's hard work has paid off for Houston Nutt the last 2 seasons as Ole Miss has seen a wealth of talent start to pay off, but the road they have to travel and the line dancing they have to do between wanting 4-5 stars and knowing what to settle with is tough. It also does a pretty good job of explaining why they might sign 30-35 guys. They need talent so bad they need to reach on kids with little chance of qualifying hoping they hit on 2 or 3 out of the 10. If you read it give me your impressions.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:15 PM ^
I mean, it was somewhat entertaining, and I realize that any book would be limited in how much detail it could provide on recruiting, but I thought it was a bit shallow - I found the recruiting stories re: Oher in "Blind Side" to be more interesting than a book that devoted its entire subject to recruiting.
Good call re: Mack Brown. Dude probably puts 3 miles on his car for recruiting purposes.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:18 PM ^
I read it a couple of years ago and found it to be pretty interesting. You definitely see how hard it is to recruit, but also how unique the southern environment is for these kids. After reading it, I kind of understood why the SEC coaches tend to come across as jerks - they have to be a little crazy to survive down there. Ole Miss is a mediocre school with few consistent stretches of football success, yet they sit in a fertile recruiting ground and thus always feel like they should be more competitive. This unrealistic expectation of greatness is overwhelming especially considering the school's history, and seems to grind these coaches down after a couple of years.
I can see why Les Miles is already starting to wear out his welcome at LSU - they guy wins and recruits well, but when you are expected to challenge for a NC every year, even a relatively minor "down" makes the natives restless.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:22 PM ^
Meat Market was really disappointing for me too. You'll learn a lot more about recruiting by reading The Blind Side.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:29 PM ^
Haven't read "The Blind Side," but had always planned on it. I agree with a lot of the people here- Meat Market was disappointing. My takeaway (and now seeing Ole Miss lately) was that Orgeron was doing a decent job recruiting. That, and I kind of think he's batshit crazy. Oh, and that he must take in more caffeine per day (and pork rinds) than any human I've ever met. Dude is headed for some serious quadruple-bypass action.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:32 PM ^
Good call. I came away from that book with a better understand of Orgeron's abnormal digestive abilities than I did Ole Miss recruiting.
The book was fine - but again, I think in covering so much (various players' recruiting stories, Ole Miss' chances getting JUCOs qualified, McKnight's flirtation, Miss State poaching kids, etc.), it didn't really cover any aspect of recruiting that well.
Again - fun enough read. Always fun reading about kids that are now on the main stage in CFB (or the NFL), but I thought the Blind Side's recruiting story was better, and that book wasn't really about recruiting.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:38 PM ^
I thought "Meat Market" was a pretty good book. It wasn't groundbreaking by any means, but I didn't expect Feldman to turn the recruiting world upside down. "The Blind Side" is a great book, but for recruiting junkies like me (and others on here), I think both are helpful for understanding the process.
If only the book had been written about a team that's actually interesting rather than Ole Miss...
November 24th, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
If only the book had been written about a team that's actually interesting rather than Ole Miss...Exactly and at times it seemed to go way off track and start mini biography's about Orgeron which I had no real interest in at all
November 24th, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
Yeah, well, you are a leprechaun of some sort. Leprechauns aren't interested in anything but gold. And porn.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:48 PM ^
you might have a point there :)
November 24th, 2009 at 3:00 PM ^
both books were excellent reads for anyone interested in the recruiting process. neither is perfect. both had flaws. but both were definitely worth the read.
November 24th, 2009 at 3:04 PM ^
Bruce Feldman, is that you going through this thread negging everyone who didn't like your book?
November 24th, 2009 at 3:11 PM ^
Bruce Feldman is a dick.
November 24th, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^
Bruce Feldman is rad.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:15 PM ^
I have come across him a few times in real life, and nearly crapped my pants each time.
The guy is an amazing recruiter and a pretty damn good d-line coach. Definitely thought he deserved a longer shot at Ole Miss considering how much talent he brought in his first couple years.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:23 PM ^
Come back and add to it when you actually crap your pants.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:35 PM ^
I do have a porto-potty misadventure story from the 2007 OSU game that involved having to throw away my underwear, but I don't think the entire board wants to know about it. Just shoot me your contact info and we can discuss it privately.
November 24th, 2009 at 4:52 PM ^
I'M NOT GAY!