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per Athlon:
Bold Hires Could Help Establish a Middle Class
The 2017 offseason has been huge for Big Ten programs that aren’t national title contenders but that can compete for frequent appearances in the top 25 — and that’s where the conference has lacked in overall depth.
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck was at one time a candidate for Oregon. Regardless of what went on behind the scenes, his ending up in Minneapolis is a boon for an athletic department in dire need of good publicity and a fresh start in recruiting. The move wasn’t cheap — Fleck’s contract with the Gophers (five years, $18.5 million) is a huge step up over Tracy Claeys (three years, $4.5 million). That’s a spending philosophy more reminiscent of the SEC.
“Minnesota is a great example of the Big Ten’s issues relative to other conferences like the SEC or Big 12,” a rival Big Ten head coach says. “You can’t just spend on football coaches. You’re expected to be competitive in multiple sports. Wrestling and hockey and basketball. It’s not like some Southern schools that go all-in on one sport.”
Not much changed in the state of Indiana in two seasons, until very recently: Kevin Wilson brought Indiana to .500 and some level of stability, but his rumored clashes with school officials and boosters did him in. The quiet success story — rather, succession story — in Bloomington is Indiana native Tom Allen, whose Hoosier defense could be one of the best in the entire league this season. The Allen era opens in Week 1 with Ohio State.
“Guys ask, ‘Why come here?’ I say, ‘Why not?’ I always thought you could attract the right kind of players to a place like Indiana. If you can stay true to who you are in recruiting, you can win here, finding players who can work to a point where you can have the advantage over a team that might be considered more talented,” Allen says.
Across the state, moribund Purdue finally did two big things right — it ended its Jim Tressel-ball attempt with Darrell Hazell and then made a blockbuster hire in Western Kentucky’s Jeff Brohm.
“I use Jeff Brohm and P.J. Fleck as the example. Is it the Jimmy’s and Joe’s or the X’s and O’s? Purdue clearly hired an X’s and O’s coach,” DiNardo says. “That doesn’t mean he can’t recruit. Minnesota clearly hired a recruiting coach, and that doesn’t mean he can’t coach. I do think Maryland hired someone who can do both in DJ [Durkin].”
Just a year ago Durkin was tasked with making newcomer Maryland some version of respectable in the loaded East division. They’ve dropped in S&P+ in three straight seasons (51, 65, 87), but they’ve increased their recruiting payoff (49th, 42nd, 18th nationally per 247Sports) following each season and became bowl eligible in ’16.
The biggest issue facing Maryland is a microcosm of the issues in the Big Ten: woeful imbalance between divisions.
“Switch out Maryland and Iowa, or Maryland and Northwestern [between the West and East Divisions],” a Big Ten assistant coach says. “I think Durkin gets those guys competing for a division title in a season or two, compared to being the outsider in the East. He can do everything right and not break eight, nine wins, ever.”
Can Someone Consistently Oppose Wisconsin in the West and Help Balance the Divisions?
We know Iowa is a season removed from a Rose Bowl, but we’re looking at you, Nebraska. The whole league is, too.
“I’ll put it this way: There’s way more attention on the conference taking Rutgers and getting no return than the conference getting a Nebraska program they thought would be another national title contender. Which one is more surprising?” a Big Ten assistant coach asks.
“Mike [Riley] has never had a reputation as a great recruiter, but that’s not fair because he was at Oregon State for so long, so we just don’t know,” DiNardo says.
“It’s not that the West can’t win the Big Ten. In some sense all they have to do is win one game in Indianapolis. The solution I believe now rests in the hands of a dynamic recruiting head coach, an unlimited staff, and Nebraska is not there yet I don’t think. Alabama, Ohio State have the support staff that allow them to recruit the elite.”
Many coaches Athlon spoke to believe that in addition to issues regarding the internal direction of the program in the modern era, Nebraska has suffered in the short term by leaving the Big 12’s fertile recruiting areas in Texas and Oklahoma.
“They’re still hurting from the recruiting rules being structured where a kid is paying out of pocket to take that unofficial,” DiNardo says. “Nebraska used to recruit and beat schools in warm weather areas where a kid can get in a car and go drive for a visit. Lincoln is a plane ticket. … Schools like Nebraska have to get the kids to campus as soon as they can and as often as they can.”
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/how-the-big-ten-is-closing-gap-on-sec-conference-supremacy
Go Gophers!!
Bold Hires Could Help Establish a Middle Class
The 2017 offseason has been huge for Big Ten programs that aren’t national title contenders but that can compete for frequent appearances in the top 25 — and that’s where the conference has lacked in overall depth.
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck was at one time a candidate for Oregon. Regardless of what went on behind the scenes, his ending up in Minneapolis is a boon for an athletic department in dire need of good publicity and a fresh start in recruiting. The move wasn’t cheap — Fleck’s contract with the Gophers (five years, $18.5 million) is a huge step up over Tracy Claeys (three years, $4.5 million). That’s a spending philosophy more reminiscent of the SEC.
“Minnesota is a great example of the Big Ten’s issues relative to other conferences like the SEC or Big 12,” a rival Big Ten head coach says. “You can’t just spend on football coaches. You’re expected to be competitive in multiple sports. Wrestling and hockey and basketball. It’s not like some Southern schools that go all-in on one sport.”
Not much changed in the state of Indiana in two seasons, until very recently: Kevin Wilson brought Indiana to .500 and some level of stability, but his rumored clashes with school officials and boosters did him in. The quiet success story — rather, succession story — in Bloomington is Indiana native Tom Allen, whose Hoosier defense could be one of the best in the entire league this season. The Allen era opens in Week 1 with Ohio State.
“Guys ask, ‘Why come here?’ I say, ‘Why not?’ I always thought you could attract the right kind of players to a place like Indiana. If you can stay true to who you are in recruiting, you can win here, finding players who can work to a point where you can have the advantage over a team that might be considered more talented,” Allen says.
Across the state, moribund Purdue finally did two big things right — it ended its Jim Tressel-ball attempt with Darrell Hazell and then made a blockbuster hire in Western Kentucky’s Jeff Brohm.
“I use Jeff Brohm and P.J. Fleck as the example. Is it the Jimmy’s and Joe’s or the X’s and O’s? Purdue clearly hired an X’s and O’s coach,” DiNardo says. “That doesn’t mean he can’t recruit. Minnesota clearly hired a recruiting coach, and that doesn’t mean he can’t coach. I do think Maryland hired someone who can do both in DJ [Durkin].”
Just a year ago Durkin was tasked with making newcomer Maryland some version of respectable in the loaded East division. They’ve dropped in S&P+ in three straight seasons (51, 65, 87), but they’ve increased their recruiting payoff (49th, 42nd, 18th nationally per 247Sports) following each season and became bowl eligible in ’16.
The biggest issue facing Maryland is a microcosm of the issues in the Big Ten: woeful imbalance between divisions.
“Switch out Maryland and Iowa, or Maryland and Northwestern [between the West and East Divisions],” a Big Ten assistant coach says. “I think Durkin gets those guys competing for a division title in a season or two, compared to being the outsider in the East. He can do everything right and not break eight, nine wins, ever.”
Can Someone Consistently Oppose Wisconsin in the West and Help Balance the Divisions?
We know Iowa is a season removed from a Rose Bowl, but we’re looking at you, Nebraska. The whole league is, too.
“I’ll put it this way: There’s way more attention on the conference taking Rutgers and getting no return than the conference getting a Nebraska program they thought would be another national title contender. Which one is more surprising?” a Big Ten assistant coach asks.
“Mike [Riley] has never had a reputation as a great recruiter, but that’s not fair because he was at Oregon State for so long, so we just don’t know,” DiNardo says.
“It’s not that the West can’t win the Big Ten. In some sense all they have to do is win one game in Indianapolis. The solution I believe now rests in the hands of a dynamic recruiting head coach, an unlimited staff, and Nebraska is not there yet I don’t think. Alabama, Ohio State have the support staff that allow them to recruit the elite.”
Many coaches Athlon spoke to believe that in addition to issues regarding the internal direction of the program in the modern era, Nebraska has suffered in the short term by leaving the Big 12’s fertile recruiting areas in Texas and Oklahoma.
“They’re still hurting from the recruiting rules being structured where a kid is paying out of pocket to take that unofficial,” DiNardo says. “Nebraska used to recruit and beat schools in warm weather areas where a kid can get in a car and go drive for a visit. Lincoln is a plane ticket. … Schools like Nebraska have to get the kids to campus as soon as they can and as often as they can.”
https://athlonsports.com/college-football/how-the-big-ten-is-closing-gap-on-sec-conference-supremacy
Go Gophers!!
