t4pizza wrote: ↑Wed Nov 30, 2022 3:02 pm
NewApp wrote: ↑Wed Nov 30, 2022 1:16 pm
t4pizza wrote: ↑Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:28 am
You have to have players to make the right plays and reads. Dale didn't just forget how to coach defense this year. We simply didn't have the jimmy and joes that we usually have and the ones we had at LB got injured and missed too much time. Our coaches knew this, they tried to get DB's and DE in the portal this past spring, just didn't work out. 2 of the DBs that we wanted and wanted to be here chose not to come because our admissions wouldn't accept their earned credit hours. Both ended up starting on P5 schools, pretty sure had they been here we would have had a much better defense. Our coaches knew the issues, we just couldn't remedy it. Hopefully this changes this year.
Well let's just see if we are having the same discussion next year about whomever the new guy is or another coordinator or position coach.
If we don't get upgrades at those positions, we will most likely be having a very similar discussion.
According to some at 247, and I mean others not named Moose, we have been getting the best players that we can get. We either battle P5 teams or win the battles against our piers in the Sun Belt 90% of the time. I have never bought into this narrative but I have thought our players we are signing overall are pretty good.
If that is the case, then it is poor coaching and development but if not then what can we do to improve that?
We have had attrition due to injuries or players wanting playing time so we have missed at some spots but if we have a bunch of players going FCS and being stars, which we are, then that tells me we have a lot of talent. We have a couple former players who are likely to be named All-Americans in FCS this year, just like Bucky Williams was.
With all the bad luck from injuries and good players leaving because they did not want to wait we have become thin and are planning to hit the portal and JUCO just as hard as HS this year. If we do and bring in a 50/50 class then how can we expect to be fine if this deal with accepting credits that has held us back won't be fixed until next year, like is being rumored?
If we can't suddenly fix our issues with the portal now then how can we upgrade the talent if our issue is lack of talent? If you can hit 60% in HS recruiting then you don't need to hit the portal much if you are signing 22+ every year.
I bring this stuff up because it makes me worried we can't fix all of our issues. I have also heard that the COVID year messed us up and we had a lot of misses in that class because of it. Apparently it hit us harder than other schools in the Sun Belt for some reason.
Can we make enough upgrades, assuming our coaches aren't fully to blame? If we just get rid of a bunch of coaches then we have the other problem brought up not having continuity in our staff
I bring all this stuff up because we can have concerns and make excuses all day long but the bottom line here is that either our coaches are doing a bad job of evaluating talent and addressing injuries (we have taken injured players that work out and many who have not) or do we just have bad coaching or a mix of both?
If we make a few coaching changes and sign a ton of JUCO and portal players then it tells me Shawn has been told he is on the hot-seat and the pressure is on. Coaches don't go after those type players unless they missed badly in recruiting or are taking over and trying to turn a program around quickly not being worried about 3-4 years down the road.
We will see what happens but I fear we might be asking same questions and looking for a new coach if Shawn does not identify our issues and fix them quickly, regardless of whatever hurdles we have had. I refuse to believe we suddenly have hurdles that prevent us from beating Troy, CCU, Marshall, GSU, Texas State, etc every year with all we have done in the past and as much as we have beaten them before.