Football Recruiting: Bob Diaco is winning in CT, and it does matter
- Thread starter aman kidwai
- Start date
" It is widely documented that Connecticut high school football is improving and the number and caliber of Division I prospects coming out of the Constitution State is rising."
+1, my HS ( Windsor) alone has had 4 D-Lineman that went to the NFL in the last 4-5 years and OL Charles Baldwin just committed to Alabama after JUCO. Now if Diaco can win over some of those stubborn oldschool CT HS coaches, that are Pasqualoni loyalists until the end, it would make things even better. Lucas Niang would be a nice start but guys like Marinelli would probably have to die first before they'd allow one of their players to go to Uconn. Hopefully the CT talent pool keeps increasing so certain " hater " coaches are just a blip on the CT radar.
+1, my HS ( Windsor) alone has had 4 D-Lineman that went to the NFL in the last 4-5 years and OL Charles Baldwin just committed to Alabama after JUCO. Now if Diaco can win over some of those stubborn oldschool CT HS coaches, that are Pasqualoni loyalists until the end, it would make things even better. Lucas Niang would be a nice start but guys like Marinelli would probably have to die first before they'd allow one of their players to go to Uconn. Hopefully the CT talent pool keeps increasing so certain " hater " coaches are just a blip on the CT radar.
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I think what is going to help with the talent pool is a consolidation of talent towards the private schools which I have noticed. That improves the level of competition and makes it easier for a scout/coach to warrant making a trip to watch. Cheshire Academy, Kingswood-Oxford, Suffield Academy, Brunswick and St. Luke's are great examples of schools who are really pulling in the best talent from their area and beyond. They're also playing top prep schools from NY, NJ, and MA.
I know some of the CT coaches don't like Diaco, but I also know that it's because some of those coaches think they're Vince Lombardi.
Also, I doubt UConn is getting Niang. He has offers from all over SEC-country at this point.
Funny line, that just about sums it up ! And I was gonna add the prep angle, that looks like it's getting a big upswing and it showcases them in a nice box for the viewer as you mention, kind of like what goes on in the NE hoops prep circuit.
Yep.. I saw his list...I guess that's what alot of those deep south SEC area fans say when their elite HS basketball recruits get offers from blue bloods.....
" He's not going to Bama, Auburn, Miss St. or Arkansas...he's got offers from Uconn, Kansas, UNC and Duke....we need to change that thinking for FB too..
Then we'd be on to something B1G !
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Also Aman... what's with all the hate from Rivals regarding a 2 star for Rose, with that offer list ??? Do you think it has something to do with them not thinking much of him when they rated him as a TE ? Rivals is behind the curve compared to those other sites,....even though my view on stars, especially in FB, is take it FWIW. If you listen to some of those Southington fans you'd think he's a CT version of Dan Orlovsky and Aaron Hernandez when he was at Bristol Central.... all rolled up into one !
Well the ct coaches need to get over coach p what more could he have done to Drive the programa bachward would have been great to see a ct guy take uconn to the top but he wasnt the man for the job give this man a chance like u have coach p ct coaches
Just to clarify, I have very little agency in ratings besides being able to offer suggestions for players who I have seen play in person. Since I took over in May, there has not been a ton of opportunity to do so, but I am working on it.
The main reason is that Rivals scouts are not spending a whole lot of time in New England, quite honestly. The guy in charge of New England also covers the Mid-Atlantic, which includes NY/NJ, Pennsylvania, all the way down to Virginia, DMV, so New England is pretty low on his radar.
A couple of cases in point, Keyion Dixon didn't have a Rivals profile at the time he committed to UConn. His other offers were from UMass and Temple, but nobody knew. At 6-3 with his track speed and athleticism I have no doubt he'd be a 3-star prospect or maybe higher if he was playing in a region with more coverage. (And if he wasn't playing QB for his high school)
Two others are in the Class of 2017: quarterback Austin Burton and wide receiver Noah Gray. Those guys are really good, should be 3-star prospects, at least, but they aren't.
I'm working to change this! The NY/NE Challenge was a good start, and UConn Football's resurgence is another good step. Rivals has recognized the improvements being made in this area, in due time I think there'll be more dedicated coverage of this relative dark zone in their scouting.
Thanks for the input, and I did think stars are more on Farrell and the rest, I remember Rivals and Uconn fans/ Edsall have had some rough times going back to around 2003/04 when there was the mass exodus by the boneyard on Rivals to Scout( which ended too). Edsall was also a hide em' and keep em' under the radar with alot of his recruits back in the day. Good to see that you and the guys are bringin' your A game to this site and hopefully we'll see the team(s) keep pace & grow into something B1G'ger ! ( there's that word again, LOL !)
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Aman, thanks for the update on the rating star issue with Rivals, and with the honesty with were you are at with it at this point. I would like to mention that in years past whenever a player committed to an FBS School at a minimum Rivals rated them a 2-star. Would that at least be possible to accomplish with Nino Leone?
Yeah I think that'll come with the next update. That's what happened with Keyion...
Build it...and they will come. I think it'll be difficult for HS coaches to steer away their players from UC if they are winning...add the academic piece to the equation and works. Parents can see their kids play, etc. I know coaches can get stubborn for different reasons, ie PP, but they'll get over it. I remember when He Who Should Not Be Named (RE) passed over Spievey from Xavier...Didn't sit well with Marinan. But hopefully that has changed with Boyle going there. Coaches can certainly get stubborn. Do you remember when Earl Kelly got in trouble at UC and Coach Saulsbury vowed never to send a player there again?
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