Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked RECRUITING: When Being Picky Pays Off

[Red Reign]

Pretty much nails it....

If there's one area in recruiting where coaches don't want to miss, it's in targeting a junior college prospect who may have three or fewer years to play. The learning curve is steeper because the need to contribute immediately – and thus justify the scholarship – is greater.

In his four short years at Nebraska, Bill Callahan recruited a glut of junior college players. He hit on his share – Zac Taylor, Larry Asante, Steve Octavien, Carl Nicks and Maurice Purify come to mind – and whiffed on guys like Victory Haines, Steve Allen, Brock Pasteur, Dontrell Moore and Tyrell Spain.

Bo Pelini's recruiting plan has been distinctly different. He's recruited just seven in three recruiting classes – and one of them, tight end Tyson Hetzer, never made it to NU and wasn't Pelini's recruit in 2008.

Four of them – wide receiver Brandon Kinnie, right guard Ricky Henry, linebacker LaVonte David and safety Dejon Gomes – start. One of them – left tackle Yoshi Hardrick – sees significant time. Only one – wide receiver Stanley Jean-Baptiste who technically attended Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College without ever playing there – hasn't seen the field yet.

Pelini said Tuesday his staff is “very picky†when it comes recruiting junior college players – and that choosiness is paying off.

“We don’t spend a lot of time recruiting junior college guys, but when we do we’re very specific not only on the kid, but the situation, the type of kid he is,†Pelini said. “There are a lot of things that go into that. We really do our homework as far as that’s concerned.â€

http://www.huskerboard.com/index.ph...-picky-pays-off/page__pid__670503#entry670503

 

[IowaBugEater]

Four of them – wide receiver Brandon Kinnie, right guard Ricky Henry, linebacker LaVonte David and safety Dejon Gomes – start. One of them – left tackle Yoshi Hardrick – sees significant time. Only one – wide receiver Stanley Jean-Baptiste who technically attended Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College without ever playing there – hasn't seen the field yet.

Impressive.

 

[Asterix]

Pelini is using a sound approach to building a team. JUCOs can make a difference but the foundation needs to be kids coming out of high school.

 

[huskernut]

This makes a lot of sense. I'll add it to my long list of examples of how Pelini does so many things exactly right. We've got a future great coach in the crucible right now, IMO.