Right Coach Quickly

[g-mann17]

And Gill is far from a viable candidate.

Well, he has D-1 HC experience, unlike your favorite. Nothing personal.

Maybe you should go back to the world's alleged number 1 sport.

[zips13]

Gill may not be a viable candidate, but he is more viable than Jim Tressel ever was. I would be the first one on the welcoming wagon if he came, but the chances of that happening this year were 0%. We should have let Ianello go earlier so we could start interviewing candidates sooner. It looks like Carl Pelini is off the board and heading to FAU.

And Gill is far from a viable candidate.

Well, he has D-1 HC experience, unlike your favorite. Nothing personal.

Maybe you should go back to the world's alleged number 1 sport.

[InTheZone]

Those of you concerned about recruiting, Winters brings a huge advantage: He's already recruiting MAC level players. GLIAC coaches recruit all the same guys as the MAC schools, actually do pick a few off from them, and then wait and see which guys get passed over with offers. Basically, Winters already has extensive contact with MAC level recruits this year, and a lot of those guys who may not have considered Wayne State because they're D2 but really liked Winters are now going to say, "Hey, this guys at a D1 school now with great facilities and a chance to play right away". That advantage cannot be underestimated.

[hiroad1]

Those of you concerned about recruiting, Winters brings a huge advantage: He's already recruiting MAC level players. GLIAC coaches recruit all the same guys as the MAC schools, actually do pick a few off from them, and then wait and see which guys get passed over with offers. Basically, Winters already has extensive contact with MAC level recruits this year, and a lot of those guys who may not have considered Wayne State because they're D2 but really liked Winters are now going to say, "Hey, this guys at a D1 school now with great facilities and a chance to play right away". That advantage cannot be underestimated.

I think it is a stretch, or at least an overly broad genegralization to to say any D2 school is recruiting the same players as a D1 conference, even the MAC.

That would be like saying Akron recruits the same players as the Big 10. Well, maybe Akron coaches look at all of them and gather stats and rank them. Maybe they even send them letters or attempt to contact them. But our coaches don't sit in the living rooms of, or secure campus visits from very many kids that are considering the Big 10. Those that do give Akron a serious look are usually marginal for the Big 10.

That does not equate to Akron being in the same league as the Big 10 when it comes to recruting Big 10-level prospects.

I am not saying Winters can't recruit in the MAC if he comes here. It is only speculative to say he can or can't. But to say he is already doing it at a D2 school seems like too much of an exaggeration.

[GP1]

Those of you concerned about recruiting, Winters brings a huge advantage: He's already recruiting MAC level players. GLIAC coaches recruit all the same guys as the MAC schools, actually do pick a few off from them, and then wait and see which guys get passed over with offers. Basically, Winters already has extensive contact with MAC level recruits this year, and a lot of those guys who may not have considered Wayne State because they're D2 but really liked Winters are now going to say, "Hey, this guys at a D1 school now with great facilities and a chance to play right away". That advantage cannot be underestimated.

WSU Roster

I agree with ITZ. The roster shows they have MAC size. I don't know if that size translates into performance as I have never seen them play, but they at least have the size. I haven't said it in a while, so I'll say it again as a reminder for older posters and a lessen for newer posters......Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

[InTheZone]

Those of you concerned about recruiting, Winters brings a huge advantage: He's already recruiting MAC level players. GLIAC coaches recruit all the same guys as the MAC schools, actually do pick a few off from them, and then wait and see which guys get passed over with offers. Basically, Winters already has extensive contact with MAC level recruits this year, and a lot of those guys who may not have considered Wayne State because they're D2 but really liked Winters are now going to say, "Hey, this guys at a D1 school now with great facilities and a chance to play right away". That advantage cannot be underestimated.

I think it is a stretch, or at least an overly broad genegralization to to say any D2 school is recruiting the same players as a D1 conference, even the MAC.

That would be like saying Akron recruits the same players as the Big 10. Well, maybe Akron coaches look at all of them and gather stats and rank them. Maybe they even send them letters or attempt to contact them. But our coaches don't sit in the living rooms of, or secure campus visits from very many kids that are considering the Big 10. Those that do give Akron a serious look are usually marginal for the Big 10.

That does not equate to Akron being in the same league as the Big 10 when it comes to recruting Big 10-level prospects.

I am not saying Winters can't recruit in the MAC if he comes here. It is only speculative to say he can or can't. But to say he is already doing it at a D2 school seems like too much of an exaggeration.

My point was not that Wayne State LANDS MAC level players (though sometimes they do). My point was, just like Akron RECRUITS players that end up at Big 10 schools, Wayne State recruits guys that end up at MAC schools. It's all about previous contact, and being able to use those already established relationships at your next job.

Part of building a program up from the bottom is also being able to find players that nobody else wants but who have big time potential and can play, because that's the reality of the situation: nobody wants to play for a loser. Paul has certainly shown the ability to do that at Wayne State (do some research on Joique Bell and a few of the other players Paul has put in NFL camps from WSU).

[GP1]

My point was not that Wayne State LANDS MAC level players (though sometimes they do).

Let me help. What Paul know is in the mac and D2, it doesn't take 60 great players to win. It doesn't even take 22 great players to win. It takes about 10 good players in the total starting line-up to win in the mac (see the success OU is having). The rest can be average, but they can't be bad. A good coach maximizes the talents of the 10 good ones with some creativity/good playc alling, and his team wins. It's easy to win in the mac if a coach doesn't over-think it. Paul comes from a background of simplicity and good coaching...that's what we need.

[g-mann17]

To add to what GP1 and ITZ are saying. He is a known face to many coaches already in the area. He has taken some of these under-rated kids and missed out on some that chose FCS and MAC schools only because they wanted to be at the D-1 level. If he is at Akron those same coaches know him, know what he did for their players and he will be able to better recruit talent because they know what he is all about.

There is one other thing that has been left out of the equation to this point. Winters is a St. V. alumnus. St. V. alumni are one of the most powerful, money rich, and influential groups in Akron. Just being part of that group will go a long way to improving the team.

[Blue & Gold]

Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

Crap!!!

[MDZip]

Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

Cool!!!

[hiroad1]

Paul Winters clearly has recruited well for his D2 school. That probably means he can recruit well for a MAC school.

However....

1) I think the idea that he has "contacts" with the recruits likely to go to the MAC is overstating it. A kid set on deciding between Purdue, Indiana, Western Michigan, Toledo, or Can't is not likely to have establsihed a serious relationship with a D2 school.

2) Touting Paul's Akron ties for recruiting is valid for NE Ohio. But Akron (any D1) has to recruit outside of this state to be competitive. Recruiting in NE Ohio not going to get us where we need to be.

Like I said, Paul can probably recruit in the MAC. I'm just feeling like you guys are blowing smoke at me by trying to convince me his D2 situation is the recruiting equivalent of an FBS D1 school, or that his ties to the area will result a recruiting windfall.

No matter how you slice it, if I am honest with myself and lay out the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate as an Strong, Undecided or Weak, I can't comfortably give him a solid Strong regarding the recruiting in the MAC. Given his success in D2, I'd probably say Undecided but leaning toward Strong.

Frankly, given a likely list of finalists, I'm not sure we'll find anyone who is a slam dunk on recruiting. For instance, Gill has a D1 head coaching track record, but can he get kids from Georgia, New York, Illinois, etc. to come to Akron? Who knows?

[g-mann17]

1) I think the idea that he has "contacts" with the recruits likely to go to the MAC is overstating it. A kid set on deciding between Purdue, Indiana, Western Michigan, Toledo, or Can't is not likely to have establsihed a serious relationship with a D2 school.

2) Touting Paul's Akron ties for recruiting is valid for NE Ohio. But Akron (any D1) has to recruit outside of this state to be competitive. Recruiting in NE Ohio not going to get us where we need to be.

Frankly, given a likely list of finalists, I'm not sure we'll find anyone who is a slam dunk on recruiting. For instance, Gill has a D1 head coaching track record, but can he get kids from Georgia, New York, Illinois, etc. to come to Akron? Who knows?

We've never had a problem recruiting out of state. Look at our roster. The problem has been retaining quality NEO guys that choose Toledo, Ball State, Miami, or Ohio over Akron. We get out recruited in our own backyard. That is bad. If we want to improve the program we need to be on area kid's top 3 list, and there is no reason we shouldn't be.

As far as recruiting goes, he was here for several years with Lee Owens. Winters helped recruit several offensive players that went on to play in the NFL.

[Dave in Green]

One factor to keep in mind is that some kids want to stay close to home when they go to college and others want to get a little further away from mommy and daddy to establish their independence.

But that's no excuse for UA not at least trying to get a fair amount of local talent. Fans of local HS stars would help fill some of those empty seats at the Info.

[Doug Snyder]

Paul Winters clearly has recruited well for his D2 school. That probably means he can recruit well for a MAC school.

However....

1) I think the idea that he has "contacts" with the recruits likely to go to the MAC is overstating it. A kid set on deciding between Purdue, Indiana, Western Michigan, Toledo, or Can't is not likely to have establsihed a serious relationship with a D2 school.

2) Touting Paul's Akron ties for recruiting is valid for NE Ohio. But Akron (any D1) has to recruit outside of this state to be competitive. Recruiting in NE Ohio not going to get us where we need to be.

Like I said, Paul can probably recruit in the MAC. I'm just feeling like you guys are blowing smoke at me by trying to convince me his D2 situation is the recruiting equivalent of an FBS D1 school, or that his ties to the area will result a recruiting windfall.

No matter how you slice it, if I am honest with myself and lay out the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate as an Strong, Undecided or Weak, I can't comfortably give him a solid Strong regarding the recruiting in the MAC. Given his success in D2, I'd probably say Undecided but leaning toward Strong.

Frankly, given a likely list of finalists, I'm not sure we'll find anyone who is a slam dunk on recruiting. For instance, Gill has a D1 head coaching track record, but can he get kids from Georgia, New York, Illinois, etc. to come to Akron? Who knows?

I think you are overlooking his time spent on D1 staffs. He recruited D1 players while at those schools. But there is no guarantee anyone can recruit here until they show that they can. We are taking a risk with anybody we choose for the job.