'Crootin "Information" vs. "Expectation"

ghost2

Retired staff
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I think a lot of people get confused this time of year between expectation and information as regards recruiting. I've seen a lot of posts about losing McFarland and the flakiness of Henderson and Edwards blaming the coaches, blaming [MENTION=3894]Peter Ariz[/MENTION], blaming the fans, blaming the kids, blaming everybody because our "expectation" was "They Comin."

First off, Pete and every other reporter can only relay information - what they've been told and allowed to release to the public by the coaching staff and UM administration. In other words, at one point in time, all those recruits probably did in fact tell the UM coaches that they were committed. Information changes - sometimes in our favor, sometimes not. Less than a month ago Mike Harley had "shut down his recruitment" in favor of WVU. We didn't even know who Jeff Thomas was. Herbert was going to UF to play with his boy Slaton. Henderson and Edwards were both locks to UF. McFarland was locked in to UM. Pouncey would be our 4th WR if Devonta Smith changed his mind... The list goes on.

After getting sucked into the 'crootin game year after year for the last 15+ years I'm slowly starting to understand that there really can be no "expectation" in recruiting - there's only information, and that information changes daily...or hourly. Now don't misunderstand having NO expectations with having LOW expectations. Regardless of the situation, we NEEDED a 2nd RB in this class, we also desperately need quality help at DB, WR, and OL. Those things haven't changed. But we can't sit here two days before signing day and say we "expected" so-and-so in our class based on what somebody posted or tweeted a week ago. That's just a recipe for ulcers and long-term liver damage. (Trust me.)

This is a bottom-line game. Will I be disappointed if Henderson and Edwards both choose UF? **** yes. But only because it would be a failure by our staff to land two exceptional DBs from our backyard, not because Pete said "Watch the Finish." I'll also be thrilled if one or both choose UM - because they can help us win immediately, not because it validated a mythical recruiting prediction.

One thing I do expect though - this will be one of the most meaningful/eventful signing days in recent memory. We now return me to my regularly-scheduled bourbon.
 
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I feel like this is gong to be much different than what we've come to be used to with Folden. NSD with Folden was just brutal. We all knew we were about to get played. I feel like Richt has way more control of things and even if we don't land those guys that we need like Henderson and Edwards, we'll be okay at the end of the day.

Things change quickly in recruiting and no school is invulnerable from being played. ****, Richards played ******* Bama last year. Ish happens.
 
Facts. Well said Ghost. Time to relax and wait until Wednesday morning. Nothing we do or say will affect these kid's decisions, just need to sit back and let it all unfold at this point
 
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I think a lot of people get confused this time of year between expectation and information as regards recruiting. I've seen a lot of posts about losing McFarland and the flakiness of Henderson and Edwards blaming the coaches, blaming [MENTION=3894]Peter Ariz[/MENTION], blaming the fans, blaming the kids, blaming everybody because our "expectation" was "They Comin."

First off, Pete and every other reporter can only relay information - what they've been told and allowed to release to the public by the coaching staff and UM administration. In other words, at one point in time, all those recruits probably did in fact tell the UM coaches that they were committed. Information changes - sometimes in our favor, sometimes not. Less than a month ago Mike Harley had "shut down his recruitment" in favor of WVU. We didn't even know who Jeff Thomas was. Herbert was going to UF to play with his boy Slaton. Henderson and Edwards were both locks to UF. McFarland was locked in to UM. Pouncey would be our 4th WR if Devonta Smith changed his mind... The list goes on.

After getting sucked into the 'crootin game year after year for the last 15+ years I'm slowly starting to understand that there really can be no "expectation" in recruiting - there's only information, and that information changes daily...or hourly. Now don't misunderstand having NO expectations with having LOW expectations. Regardless of the situation, we NEEDED a 2nd RB in this class, we also desperately need quality help at DB, WR, and OL. Those things haven't changed. But we can't sit here two days before signing day and say we "expected" so-and-so in our class based on what somebody posted or tweeted a week ago. That's just a recipe for ulcers and long-term liver damage. (Trust me.)

This is a bottom-line game. Will I be disappointed if Henderson and Edwards both choose UF? **** yes. But only because it would be a failure by our staff to land two exceptional DBs from our backyard, not because Pete said "Watch the Finish." I'll also be thrilled if one or both choose UM - because they can help us win immediately, not because it validated a mythical recruiting prediction.

One thing I do expect though - this will be one of the most meaningful/eventful signing days in recent memory. We now return me to my regularly-scheduled bourbon.


well said. There are very few guys that you can "expect" and you usually know who those guys are pretty early on. I'd say Bandy, for example, is one of those guys. He's been out publicly recruiting for UM for months now. He's a guy I'd truly be shocked if he didn't sign here. Apart from those guys you have to wait until the ink is dry. Always been that way and always will be. There's also a tendency to focus so much on those recruits whose decisions come down to the last minute. All things being equal, after NSD, Bandy is a bigger get and a more important recruit to this class than either Edwards or Henderson, IMO. I like Henderson more than Edwards, and would love them both. But, I think Bandy makes a bigger impact than those guys next year. Let's not get so fixated on the guys who are taking their recruitment to NSD and forget that we've already got great prospects locked into this class.
 
I said im not listening to **** uuntil 7 am Wednesday morning because there's going to be endless bull**** with experts hoping their info sticks. This is crootin and if you'd can't handle it you'll fall apart by tomorrow evening
 
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I think a lot of people get confused this time of year between expectation and information as regards recruiting. I've seen a lot of posts about losing McFarland and the flakiness of Henderson and Edwards blaming the coaches, blaming [MENTION=3894]Peter Ariz[/MENTION], blaming the fans, blaming the kids, blaming everybody because our "expectation" was "They Comin."

First off, Pete and every other reporter can only relay information - what they've been told and allowed to release to the public by the coaching staff and UM administration. In other words, at one point in time, all those recruits probably did in fact tell the UM coaches that they were committed. Information changes - sometimes in our favor, sometimes not. Less than a month ago Mike Harley had "shut down his recruitment" in favor of WVU. We didn't even know who Jeff Thomas was. Herbert was going to UF to play with his boy Slaton. Henderson and Edwards were both locks to UF. McFarland was locked in to UM. Pouncey would be our 4th WR if Devonta Smith changed his mind... The list goes on.

After getting sucked into the 'crootin game year after year for the last 15+ years I'm slowly starting to understand that there really can be no "expectation" in recruiting - there's only information, and that information changes daily...or hourly. Now don't misunderstand having NO expectations with having LOW expectations. Regardless of the situation, we NEEDED a 2nd RB in this class, we also desperately need quality help at DB, WR, and OL. Those things haven't changed. But we can't sit here two days before signing day and say we "expected" so-and-so in our class based on what somebody posted or tweeted a week ago. That's just a recipe for ulcers and long-term liver damage. (Trust me.)

This is a bottom-line game. Will I be disappointed if Henderson and Edwards both choose UF? **** yes. But only because it would be a failure by our staff to land two exceptional DBs from our backyard, not because Pete said "Watch the Finish." I'll also be thrilled if one or both choose UM - because they can help us win immediately, not because it validated a mythical recruiting prediction.

One thing I do expect though - this will be one of the most meaningful/eventful signing days in recent memory. We now return me to my regularly-scheduled bourbon.

great post. but i wonder if the "best" expectations = "low" expectations, because for the past gazillon years it seems as though we've been cornholed on signing day.
 
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The staff shouldn't have started raising expectations with their watch the close nonsense. It was a big mistake and now it'll be virtually impossible to look like they had a successful NSD in the eyes of very many fans. Reporters shouldn't be implying theyre all coming. Fans should understand CBs are BS.
 
My expectations for a recruiting class have shifted more toward "filling needs with quality players" instead of "relying on Player X or Y to choose us on Hat Day." For example - IF we land Harley and Thomas Wednesday, my expectation for having a quality WR class this year will be met. Conversely, I think we didn't live up to my personal expectation at RB by only landing Burns. That may change again if we can land a quality RB post-NSD.
 
The staff shouldn't have started raising expectations with their watch the close nonsense. It was a big mistake and now it'll be virtually impossible to look like they had a successful NSD in the eyes of very many fans. Reporters shouldn't be implying theyre all coming. Fans should understand CBs are BS.

Agree with this. Coaches set themselves up to catch flak if a couple of guys bail.


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We may not get them all but Richt is definitely getting us Miami speed
 
The staff shouldn't have started raising expectations with their watch the close nonsense. It was a big mistake and now it'll be virtually impossible to look like they had a successful NSD in the eyes of very many fans. Reporters shouldn't be implying theyre all coming. Fans should understand CBs are BS.

Perhaps, but the alternative is posting NO recruiting information until NSD since nothing is ever settled until then lol. As much as I hate myself, I've been clicking "refresh" every 30 seconds all day. I don't blame Pete for telling us to "Watch the Finish" or whatever - it's his job to relay information as he gets it. When he posted that, the information was favorable. The information is now changing. It is what it is.
 
I only started peeking back to the recruiting board this season. More so to see how things were going. What I quickly realized is staying away from recruiting completely until the afternoon of 1 Feb is still the smartest decision to have made. I need much less bourbon.:king-pour:
 
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I also think its important to remember that today's recruit is not the same as a the recruit from 5-10 years ago. Recruits have been and will continue to always be impressionable and immature. The difference is in the "crootin" game (a whole other subject) and the recruits role in that game.

These recruits are the children of a social media, "me, me, me" generation. They are told by more people than ever that they are great (or horrible once a fan base is spurned) and bombarded by recruiting outlets to share the latest on their ever-changing thoughts. Because of their incredibly insatiable need for acceptance and fame (e.g. get me this many followers, hit me up with an edit, etc.), coupled with our need to know exactly what is going on, you end up getting lots of misinformation (e.g. half-truths, complete lies, slanted opinions, and strategic smokescreens/disinformation) that creates a complete toxic environment.

So as it then relates to our coaches, they are between a rock and a hard place. Hard-line it and expect these kids to be honest and noble at the risk of being played/tuned-out, or play the game a little bit and get these kids to be excited about the program and create a wave of momentum (e.g. #WatchTheFinish and all the other social means crap we see) at the risk of it blowing up.

As fans the worst thing we can do is not realize this is a new world and continue to view things from either a black or white perspective. Its just all grey and everything should be considered fluid.

All we can ask is that our coaches have a reasonable plan in place to always succeed and fill our needs. It's never going to work out how either they or us always want. When it starts failing more than working, that's when you can start complaining.
 
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I really hope nobody misunderstands this post as a potential apology for a sub-par signing class. That's not what this is about. If we don't sign Henderson and Edwards I'm not gonna sit back and say "aw shucks, kids these days, oh well can't win 'em all..." It would be a major loss by our coaching staff because either (or both) of those guys would instantly help our DB situation in the fall.

Rather, I posted this in order to hopefully bring light to the idea that 'Crootin isn't about saying "I told you so" when something somebody posted a week ago doesn't pan out. It's about filling the needs of that class with quality players on NSD. Ultimately that's all it's about.
 
The staff shouldn't have started raising expectations with their watch the close nonsense. It was a big mistake and now it'll be virtually impossible to look like they had a successful NSD in the eyes of very many fans. Reporters shouldn't be implying theyre all coming. Fans should understand CBs are BS.

Agree with this. Coaches set themselves up to catch flak if a couple of guys bail.


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So much of recruiting is perception. The perception early last week was that a shift in power towards Miami was occurring, it's hard to blame the staff for trying to reinforce that perception. I agree it's a risky move, but I don't blame them for trying to build on the hype. Hopefully it pans out on NSD.
 
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