“Mario is only recruiting well at Oregon because of NIKE bags.”
I’ve seen this myth repeated a few times on the board. It is false. The reality is that Miami recruited better than Oregon before Mario got there. Here is a comparison of Miami recruiting from 2008-2017 (last year before Mario). The national recruiting rankings are in parentheses:
2008- Miami (1), Oregon (34)
2009- Miami (16), Oregon (30)
2010- Miami (14), Oregon (12)
2011- Miami (33), Oregon (12)
2012- Miami (10), Oregon (14)
2013- Miami (14), Oregon (19)
2014- Miami (12), Oregon (21)
2015- Miami (27), Oregon (16)
2016- Miami (22), Oregon (27)
2017- Miami (12), Oregon (19)
10 years summary:
Miami ranked higher six times. Miami had two Top 10 classes, Oregon had zero. Miami had six Top 15 classes, Oregon had three. Miami’s average class rank was 16th, Oregon’s was 20th.
Now let’s look at the Mario years:
2018- Miami (8), Oregon (13)
2019- Miami (27), Oregon (7)
2020- Miami (17), Oregon (11)
2021- Miami (11), Oregon (6)
2022- Miami (60), Oregon (9)
Oregon has become one of the top recruiting programs in the country. I’ve heard the argument that this is only because the other Pac 12 teams fell off. The truth is that Oregon’s best class ever (6th) came in a year when USC ranked 7th. Obviously, it helps when your rivals suck, but it’s not why Oregon is so good.
Per someone who coached with Mario at Alabama and is now in the NFL, Mario is the “best recruiter he’s ever been around, period.” The Athletic just put out a huge article on recruiting with a bunch of anonymous coach quotes. Mario’s name came up the most, mainly because his personal involvement makes him so tough to beat. He was also national recruiter of the year as an assistant.
Recruiting is not the only criteria for a new coach. But make no mistake—Mario is as good of a recruiter as there is in the country, and it’s not because of Oregon bags.