Per ESPN: Michigan 9th easiest sell for recruiting
December 9th, 2015 at 5:58 PM ^
They're like FSU or Miami. If they're good, it'll sell out but lately USC's home games usually have huge empty sections
December 9th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 6:07 PM ^
Major programs within 1000 miles of USC:
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Cal
- BYU
- Utah
500 miles, you're still talking all the California and Arizona schools, with the Utah schools just outside the radius.
December 9th, 2015 at 6:41 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 7:57 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^
USC doesn't really offer a real college football experience. The campus is nice but it's in the middle of the city and the hood starts like two streets over. Urban campuses are always a bit weird and not everyone's cup of tea. The students and alumni care about USC football but the locals generally don't - at least not *that* much. You leave campus and you leave USC and college football behind you. For the metropolis USC football is just one of many things to care about and not a show stopper. You will never have the atmosphere of Ann Arbor, Iowa City, Tuscaloosa or Norman. And of course on fall Saturdays, many of SoCal's residents will be wearing the shirts and hats of their schools back home and root for the Michigans, Notre Dames, Penn States and Oklahomas of the world rather than USC.
So if you want to have the whole college football experience with the atmosphere etc., USC isn't really a good choice. Some top recruits do actually care about that.
December 9th, 2015 at 10:28 PM ^
Something I was wondering: do upperclassmen at USC live in the surrounding neighborhood? Or do they live farther out and commute? I didn't tour the whole area but from what I saw, it didn't look real appealing. Agree that the campus itself is nice.
December 9th, 2015 at 11:42 PM ^
and many of the upperclassmen live with their parents in some of the nicest areas of Greater L.A. The Compton area, itself, does produce great athletes and has provided opportunities for those that manage to navigate the mean streets and graduate high school. Many of those opt to leave the hood for a different enviornment which is understandable. \What I did find interesting was the take of some of their alum I spoke with at the 2004 Rose Bowl. While waiting to enter the stadium I spoke to many and found them quite polite and it was not difficult to discern they were by and large a very wealthy group, and that was merely a quick judgment based on vehicles, clothing, speech patterns, etc. A few, however, seemed a bit out of touch with reality. I spoke with one very nice young mother who had two kids in tow. When discussing Compton, she said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it could be accomplished easily, "I don't know why we (USC) don't simply buy the area surrounding the school - Compton - and burn it down. It's an eyesore and is a deterrent to a lot of highly intelligent students." My son happens to live in W. L.A., and for those of you not familiar with the area, it's not too far from UCLA. I found, however, by visiting the local pubs, there were many students from both schools living in this area who commute as you suggested and was informed that many others lived in the surrounding areas as suggested above. This particular area was far too expensive for my budget though. A draft beer and a shot @ 13.00 dollars had me quickly looking for a reasonably priced bar which I found with just a short cab ride. Based on this limited feedback, I could only conclude those that can afford it do not live near campus.
December 10th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
First off, USC is nowhere near Compton. 12 miles away. I believe you mean South Central. And UCLA is 11 miles away too.
My friends are teachers in Compton. 90% of the students in Compton now are Latino. Few of them play football; they play soccer. Most of the African Americans kids and familes have moved in to Riverside County, 60+ miles away. Or they live in the LBC or Carson.
A lot of the top USC recruits are from places like Orange County (Mission Viejo) or Carson. Leinart, Max Tuerk, and Barkley come to mind. Serra HS (Adoree Jackson) and St John Bosco have pipelines in to SC.
http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/usc-m-footbl-mtt.html
USC has only two kids from Compton on their team. USC recruits from all over So Cal, not just inner city LA.
December 10th, 2015 at 11:58 AM ^
You live in LA, like me. UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley, Oregon State, Oregon, ASU, Arizona, Utah, and even Boulder are all at 1000 miles or less. Yes, not as prestigous as USC, but they are major competition for kids.
Southern California, outside of Texas and Florida, has the best football talent in the country. The sheer number of high school teams is astounding.
USC has a lot going for it. Academics, weather, chicas, the beach, wealthy connected alums, and of course tradition, should allow them to clean up, which they did under Pete Carroll.
December 10th, 2015 at 8:08 AM ^
My favorite part "will spend the money it takes to bring in elite-level prospects." when reading the Tennessee description.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
What does this mean? "academic considerations that present the occasional hurdle in attracting top recruits."
December 9th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
Michigan plays school
December 9th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^
to be willing and able to play school to come to Michigan.
Remember all the kids that didn't pass admissions (or even make it that far) during the RR years?
December 9th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
in kids who can't read or write, or who didn't take any serious classes in high school.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:23 PM ^
It means recruits choose FSU over us citing academics.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
doesn't take the three B's of recruiting into account. Bagmen, Bikinis, and Blowjobs.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:13 PM ^
I thought FOR SURE Big Bouncy Boobs was coming next...
December 9th, 2015 at 4:36 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 9th, 2015 at 7:56 PM ^
Well it could stand for big bouncy balls if you feel the need...
December 10th, 2015 at 6:48 AM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
Wrong again ESPN. We are number 1 (potentially biased opinion).
December 9th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
ESPN ranks number #1 in stupid-ass rankings that mean as much to me as the dead shrub in my yard!
December 9th, 2015 at 4:10 PM ^
Like I needed another reason to hate ESPN... Give me back Grantland!
December 9th, 2015 at 4:27 PM ^
Who's the random ESPN employee throwing out negs at people on MGoBlog criticizing that pit of despair?
December 9th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
Not me, but I also have nothing against ESPN. They are a commercial enterprise that has televised and popularized a lot of college football. Cool in my book. I don't understand the hate.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
I think that they are starting to go away from their original mission, which is why people are starting to resent them. They are more concerned with employing controversial talking heads and talkign about sports celebrity culture rather than doing good sports focused journalism. If they spent more time and resources on 30 for 30, Grantland and people like Bill Simmons instead of giving so much attention to Skip Bayless and Stephen A Smith people would probabily have a better opinion of them.
December 10th, 2015 at 9:20 AM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
USC or Texas would have been #1 simply for the weather, females, and name brand.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:13 PM ^
I'd love to get more into the methodology on this as putting UCLA at 15 seems ridiculously high for a basketball school without a great football tradition or fan support, that simply cannot gain traction against USC for top local recruits.
I say this as a UCLA fan but I would think Tennessee and Penn. St. are much better. The LA location may be over-emphasized here.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:25 PM ^
These are teenage boys we are talking about.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:41 PM ^
Westwood seems like a pretty nice location. What's wrong with it?
December 9th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:14 PM ^
would have some significant influence. Columbus is such a shit hole, you'd think that would scare a lot of kids off.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
These lists are supremely dumb.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:19 PM ^
Sure, we'll have a D'shawn Hand situation every once in a while. But for every D'shawn Hand there's an Andrew Luck whose looking at exclusively top tier academic schools. And if Michigan had been a consistent 10 win team during Hands recruitment he would have been here no questions asked.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
I'm not sure there is a 1:1 ratio of Hands to Lucks in this regard. I would guess our perception about the relative quantity of academically-motivated types is skewed because they are more likely to consider Michigan and get our attention.
December 9th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
It's easier to be just a great football player than it is to be both a great football player and a great student. Therefore, guys who are just good at football and for whom top academics aren't a big draw tend to actually be a lot more common than top football players who want a challenging academic cirriculum as well.
At the same time, however, there are very few schools that offer both great academics and the opportunity to play football at a top, championship-contending level. You have Michigan, ND, Stanford, UCLA & USC, usually Texas and Georgia Tech, and then arguably a few teams like Northwestern or UNC. But for the most part, after that you have to accept either a serious drop on the football side to get the top academics (e.g., Virginia, Vanderbilt, typical Duke, etc.).
Somebody who only cares about football might well go to a place like Alabama or Oregon--but could still consider Michigan, because it (usually and currently) has an excellent football program. Some players whose main concern is acadmics might well go to a place like Duke or Northwester--but could still consider Michigan because it has great academics. But for that handful of players who want the best of both football and academics, Michigan is one of few legitimate choices they have.
December 9th, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^
Well UNC found the "perfect" solution...
December 9th, 2015 at 5:01 PM ^
They just need something to say so they can justify making another meaningless clickbait list.
December 9th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
We require more core classes than the NCAA minimum. We have also have an admissions department that has limited how many waivers they give. We'll take players that just meet the minimum score and grade standards, but not many. We also have a hard time getting JuCos in.
December 9th, 2015 at 7:57 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^
December 9th, 2015 at 4:28 PM ^
1.) Texas (football crazy, nice weather, solid stadium, great tradition)
2.) USC (LA, past glory, women, do not have to leave your city to recruit)
3.) Ohio State (recent success, biggest rivalry in sports, elite Ohioans stay in Ohio)
4.) Michigan (biggest stadium in America, tradition, most wins of all time, #1 uniforms)
5.) Notre Dame (Catholics will come, name brand, play all games at home or in NFL stadium, easy to recruit by name alone)
6.) Tennessee (Tradition, beautiful setting, rabid fanbase, state is growing at fastest clip in the nation = will have huge recruiting base by 2025)
7.) Florida (Do not have to leave your state to recruit, The Swamp, NFL pipeline)
8.) Alabama (Tradition, NFL pipeline, recent success, 102k stadium)
9.) Penn State (the traditional uniforms, 105k stadium, Surrounded by Ohio, Detroit, Pittsburgh, NJ and DC)
10.) I guess I will put Georgia here, but I don't really want to. I think several others can make a case: LSU, Florida State, Clemson, UCLA, and Texas A&M among others.
December 9th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^
For Texas, you forgot city. It's in Austin which is about as cool a city as there is
For Michigan, you just gotta look at our recruiting rankings during the RichRod and Hoke years to see it. No way maybe more than 3-4 other schools recruit that well with the record(s) we had
December 9th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
Does anyone know Harbaugh's policy regarding players majors in school?
I remember hearing Andrew Luck went to Stanford because he was allowed to major in Engineering.