re: If Corey Raymond didn’t recruit ANY of these players

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Lester Earl

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Great job


Still won’t prevent people from talking out their own asses to try to drive home a point

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This. The back-and-forth between pro-CR and anti-CR groups is so annoying. Based on the DC and two DL coaching hires, it's pretty apparant CBK is serious about fixing the defense. Let the process play out. Whomever he hires, it will be because he is confident the guy can turn things around.

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As someone defending Corey Raymond, I agree with you. I'm certain I'll be happy with who BK hires. It doesn't have to be Raymond. There are too many posters here shitting on Raymond with made-up facts and revisionist history.

I think Raymond is in play, because college football is changing...

House very well may have been a good defensive coordinator, with great ideas. He might have been trying to implement complex, advanced schemes that work in the NFL.
The problem is that in the NFL, you sign a core group of players, and build upon that core for a few years. It might take 1-2 years for players to grasp it, and then they're solid- and you replace pieces 1 or 2 at a time, always keeping the overall unit largely intact.

You could do this in college a few years ago, before the transfer portal was a thing. You bring in freshmen and groom them, and by the time they're juniors or redshirt sophomores, they're ready.
In theory, if you do that at a program with a higher grade of recruits (LSU for example), in a couple seasons you have an elite defensive machine, way better than somewhere like Iowa (who does that with 3 star guys). You would have 1st rd talent at corner, instead of filler guys who just knew the system inside out.

The portal destroys that. If you're a stud recruit, you don't want to sit 2 years, so you transfer somewhere you get playing time. So that defensive unit never gels, and you have to keep finding replacements. And the guy who transfers in during the spring, he isn't going to be able to run that complex defense, he will get lost constantly. He might be gifted enough to still make some plays, but mentally he will be confused as hell.

So the answer is to get rid of the defensive mastermind coach; you bring in the recruiting guy. You load up on talent, and you run a basic scheme. Anyone can play, and you then are free to stick the most talented guys in, even if they're green. It won't be as complex, and it won't have the highest potential ceiling, but it will always have the top talent so you won't ever be "bad".