forums

Official Statement From The Office of the General Manager of Football Operations

Damiencane86 said:
I'm just looking forward to the impact Zo can have with evaluations going forward. No more gems leaving the area unnoticed or lack of effort with OOS targets cuz it takes too much work. It's a new day and I can't wait for the results.
Click to expand...
This is facts…. BUT doing thorough evaluations and recruiting also means probably finding and recruiting more undiscovered (gems) talent as well. Can y’all (our fan base) deal with that? Can we handle, saying no to some 4-5 star talent because they not a good fit, and “Welcome to the U!” to a couple 2-3 star (maybe even a NR kid) kids every cycle, because Zo and our coaches feel that they are the better fit for our program? Truth is…. it’s already started. “Our coaches trust their eyes.”- Mario
 
Advertisement
Empirical Cane said:
"Swag is watching Michael Irvin running routes wearing a 30-pound weight vest after practice in like 100 percent humidity. Swag is running hills at Tropical Park after you've done all your work with strength coaches. It's the whole team showing up to run in combat boots on the beach. That's swag. It's never missing a practice. It's practicing like everday is your last day. You don't get swag because of a haircut or because you pound your chest or because someone said you were a five-star. Swag is something that is earned. You just don't give it to somebody."

- Alonzo Walter Highsmith Sr.
Click to expand...
Tropical Park has hills?
 
KANE said:
This is facts…. BUT doing thorough evaluations and recruiting also means probably finding and recruiting more undiscovered (gems) talent as well. Can y’all (our fan base) deal with that? Can we handle, saying no to some 4-5 star talent because they not a good fit, and “Welcome to the U!” to a couple 2-3 star (maybe even a NR kid) kids every cycle, because Zo and our coaches feel that they are the better fit for our program? Truth is…. it’s already started. “Our coaches trust their eyes.”- Mario
Click to expand...
Great point.

Does CIS become a den of star-whores or does CIS believe in what Highsmith can do identifying recruits?

In Zo we trust until we don't.
 
Will Zoes scouting of all our opponents players help in game prep? I would assume he has The details of all their strengths and weaknesses.
 
KANE said:
This is facts…. BUT doing thorough evaluations and recruiting also means probably finding and recruiting more undiscovered (gems) talent as well. Can y’all (our fan base) deal with that? Can we handle, saying no to some 4-5 star talent because they not a good fit, and “Welcome to the U!” to a couple 2-3 star (maybe even a NR kid) kids every cycle, because Zo and our coaches feel that they are the better fit for our program? Truth is…. it’s already started. “Our coaches trust their eyes.”- Mario
Click to expand...
I think so. Look at that Tinilau kid, the international Ot prospect we have committed at tackle. At face value seems like a reach but kid has an excellent frame so if the staff felt good locking him up early I'll ride with them, past staffs we had good reason to be skeptical. The great thing is MC will get us 20 top 400 level recruits yearly, but leaving 3-5 scholly's a year for gems with upside should be ok.
 
Advertisement
CaneThang2020 said:
Hope Alonzo isn't too old to relate to these kids lol

But I get what he's saying. All of the praise comes from winning and in order to win, you have to work extremely hard. Then the turnover chain is cool, and when kids are celebrating and all that stuff, it's fun to watch.
Click to expand...

While I am not a high schooler, I have had the pleasure of meeting Zo a couple of times and he commanded my attention and respect. I suspect others would agree that recruits have the same opinion.
 
Advertisement
We are rightly focused on wins on the field and in recruiting. But Highsmith, Steele, Strong, Taylor, Reed et al are going to help us evaluate and develop talent at the very highest level. They’ll find kids others don’t prioritize and turn them into Day 1 / Day 2 football players, not just the no brainers like LT and the Williams duo.

It won’t show up for a couple of seasons because some of the kids they target won’t be college ready. But it’s going to be just as meaningful as — if not more so than — class rankings and team talent comparisons come 2024+.
 
Empirical Cane said:
Question:

Zo's bigger impact...

Evaluation of recruiting targets or recruitment of talent?

I'm leaning he will find the gems and spot the red flags to then turn over "sealing the deal" to the dog and pony show.
Click to expand...
But CIS won't approve unless they're accompanied with 5 stars.
 
This is a different era. The teams consistently winning titles & conference championships don't have to do all that over the top gladiator ****. That was overseer-adjacent overkill those redneck old school coaches had them boys doing. At the same time though, you don't want a bunch of weenies showing off chains and rings and slipping and sliding after a nail-biter against Appalachian State like the last staff

"20 laps around the track, you got 37 minutes" was the worst **** I ever wanted to hear when I played lol
 
Advertisement
Advertisement
Back
Top