“It’s not the X’s and the O’s, it’s the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s.”
It’s unclear who originally said this, but it is often attributed to Texas legend Darrell Royal. Who said it wasn’t important. What is important is that the quote is exactly the money.
Recruitment is important.
“Having great players can make any coach look good,” Florida State recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster said.
“Any good head coach understands the importance of recruiting and how talent can help you overcome a lot of different things. There are a tremendous number of quality coaches in college football today, but the best ones are those who know that recruiting talent translates to victories on Saturdays.
The figures confirm it.
The teams that have competed in the last seven BCS national championships – Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas – have on average recruiting classes ranked 8th overall.
Only two teams didn’t have top-10 averages: Auburn and Oregon, which had eight-year averages around 12th place.
Florida has the best average at 3.87, followed by Texas at 5.62 and Alabama at 5.87. It’s worth noting that the Crimson Tide – winners of three of the last four titles – have finished only third in the last six recruiting cycles.
There are myriad statistics that prove the importance of recruiting, but overall, your recruiting journey can be helpful in creating a baseline for a program’s expectations.
You fail to draft a talented quarterback who fits your system, like Mack Brown did after Colt McCoy left, and that partly explains the Longhorns’ recent struggles.
Fail to recruit quality depth along the defensive line and you won’t win many games in the SEC. Just ask Tennessee.
Colorado and Utah know all too well that if you don’t have gifted defensive backs in every recruiting class, you’ll never have success against the Pac-12’s high-flying offenses.
There’s a reason why coaches put so much time, effort and emotion into the craziness of 17 and 18 year old recruits. Their livelihood depends on it.
