Jump to content

JUCO LB Richard Dorvilus


Recommended Posts

Towards the end of CK's post above, there is a really good comment about player development being important for this player. He mentioned it about Kansas State as well. To me, this is a huge positive sign not just for signing good players who want to work hard, but also the way in which the staff is developing existing players and getting good players because of it. Places like Akron and K-State don't have great players fall into their laps. They have to identify good players and make them better. Most importantly, they have to find guys willing to understand their talents need further development and this guys understands that. I think the coaching staff has done a borderline excellent job in the past three years of developing what talent they have. We aren't getting the cream of the crop, yet what we are getting is showing improvement and the team is getting better.

I haven't been this excited about a recruiting topic in maybe ever. Why? This story shines a light on cultural changes going on within the program. I think the program is going through a cultural change that is much more important than the talent improvement. Cultural changes are hard for fans to identify because you have to be around a culture all the time to understand how it is going through changes. Since we aren't around the program all the time, we have to read the tea leaves. Recruits are no different than hiring an employee. Culture is just as important at a business as it is a football team. My wife works at a company and one of the major discussions when they hire someone is whether or not that person is a cultural fit. A lot of people can play football. Not everyone can fit in on a specific team.

From the outside looking in, how do we know there is a culture of hard work and good player development at Akron? To me, a major indicator is the type of schools our recruits were being heavily recruited by. Who else was recruiting this guy? Two names jump out....Rutgers and K-State. Both of these schools have a culture of hard work while not getting the best talent, but maximizing what talent they get. This is how you win in the MAC. Solich doesn't get the best talent, but he has guys who buy in to what he is doing, they work hard and are well coached. The same can be said for the guy who just left BG for Wake. I really believe we are seeing the same thing happening at Akron and I'm excited about the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GP1, this is the kind of thoughtful analysis I appreciate from you. Dorvilus comes across as a really intelligent guy from his comments about the various programs he visited. That's why his comment about UA makes me feel even more optimistic about the Zips' future under Coach Bowden:

Akron is a place everyone is sleeping on, but I love their potential.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to this, he had offers from Baylor, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Kansas State, and more. :thumb:

All underdog programs that have to recruit guys who want to work hard and develop. Additionally, all are finding success at some level. If we are getting players who are being recruited aggressively by these schools, we are doing something right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is especially good when the other team misses assignments.

You just described most recruiting videos. It's why I don't get too excited about recruiting threads because the content is usually a video of a kid playing against other kids who will never see any college football field and the number of rivals stars a kid has, which I've never quite understood and have no interest in understanding. We normally only get three star recruits anyhow. I only like to see the results in a Zips uniform.

Interesting article. Has a section on the LB from Buffalo who was drafted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...