“I studied the Boise State model, and one thing they’ve done very well to maintain the success year to year is (they) hired within and developed a culture that works,” Yurachek said. “We have a culture that works. It’s not broken. We want to continue our football program in the direction we are headed. Major is a big part of what has happened in the last couple of years.”
The Boise model is to recruit very specific players. They are masters at evaluating HS talent combined with great personality. They know they can’t get the top recruits. Instead they recruit very smart players. Easier said than done. We on the other hand can do both. That is why we should be consistently at the top…easier said than done.
Yeoman was able to do it for years; Briles too, although he focused on speed.
Coaches need to be smart. We can hit homers from time to time, but there is enough talent between Houston, Dallas, and Louisiana that we can be very successful.
The team that Sumlin almost took to the Sugar Bowl (and would have if he hadn’t been distracted by A&M) had very little star talent, but guys who turned out to be great players. Case Keenum had no other D1 offers and Patrick Edwards was a walk on! That team also had DJ Hayden, David Hunter, Derrick Matthews, Tyron Carrier and Charles Sims to name a few. I don’t remember any of those guys being highly recruited. Our WRs absolutely torched defenses that year because they were so fast and had great hands and had a great QB throwing it to them.
Recruiting well in the G5 is all about finding those sleeper athletes and turning them into something great. Of course, the occasional Ed Oliver or Deontay Greenberry helps, but you don’t need a ton of those guys. Find good athletes that work hard and are willing to be coached up, and you can put together a pretty darn good team.
