Bull-Hurley said:
LanderPoke said:
pokefanchaz7 said:
Most... not all but most of your top tier talent in college football is concentrated in urban areas. It’s a simple matter of math really let’s say one in 10,000 high school students has a chance at being division one talent in college football. That means there’s 2-3 kids a year at Wyoming who have the talent and skill to be d1.
In Houston Texas there would be hundreds. Those kids from Houston Texas come to Laramie and it’s completely different then they are used to, the terrain is different, the environment is different, the size of the town is drastically different. There is nothing driving that kid to pick Laramie except the football program but what makes Wyoming stand out enough to overlook the rest of the issues.
It’s fact and you have to be blind to believe otherwise. Wyoming isn’t a desirable place to live for most folks not from the mountain west region.
You can substitute any urban center for Houston and it still rings true. Laramie is a hard place to recruit and retain top level college football players.
location is actually very far down on the list of reason a recruit chooses a specific college. And maybe we do need to recruit a certain type of kid to here, which, we've been doing. And imo, it's been working out fine. I really do think we presently have the players to contend for a conference championship year in and year out, we just lack the offensive coaching. My subjective eye test tells me we are every bit as big and fast as any other team I've seen. Including Missouri.
Why do most most programs stress the 500 mile blanket while recruiting? Your a 18 year old kid going to college for the first time and location doesn't play a major factor? Bullshit. Parents, family and friends all try and pull kids closer to home.
The key to recruiting to a place like Laramie is finding players who fit the system and are in low demand. Like it or not Wyoming isn't going to win very many recruit battles against power conference programs.
Here's an example. You have 3* running back from North Platte. Mom is a Nebraska fan and Dad works for the railroad and is a Wyoming fan. Kid is a fan of both. Where does he go? What's your pitch? Your not pitching that shit that Vigen puts on the field. Scott Frost wins this all day, every day.
Maybe Wyoming would have won this battle if the kid was a defensive player but unlikely.
Your have to have a certain love for Laramie is some way. Most kids don't give a shit about the outdoors. Most kids don't give a shit Laramie is a nice town. Most kids are going to do what they think is best for them.
I like a lot of what you said. I don't think anyone is frustrated w your example of losing a recruit to Nebraska/big 10.
The frustrating examples we have to be realistic about are all things that almost never have changed.
Ethan Zemla. Valor Christian MLB. Offers from all the Ivy League, from Wyoming and from CSU, and power 5 offer from Vanderbilt. Interest but no offer yet from the pac12-big 10.
Let's say none of the power 5 teams offer. Now it's down to csu or Wyoming. Wyoming has an all time great for 1 more season at MLB, another senior to be, and then nothing after that. In theory the perfect setup for a MLB to come into. But wyomings chance at a Colorado kid that csu wants? Does wyo pull maybe 5 out of 100 of those? 1 out of a 100?
Wyoming as always has to find the right kids for the program like most places. Wyoming has to find the MLB somewhere in a small town around Colorado or Wyoming somewhere that will end up as good as Zemla. They don't get the guys everyone thinks will work out