The Struggle Upward

[Denny Crane]

Starting over again........battered fan syndrome,........just need to get our sea legs.........give’m a few years.......give’m a second chance.......we’ve had numerous injuries..........rinse, repeat.

Let’s hope we can plant,a,landing once ever 40 yrs or so.

 

[duffcock]

We hit a landing with Spurrier, and to a lesser extent Holtz and Morrison. Even Muschamp had initial success (which made him a rich man) and he continued to recruit well - so we are not doing a total re-start, just a re-boot with (hopefully) a more imaginative and cutting edge coach.

Spurrier was successful, in part, because he was in the vanguard of the trend to a more wide-open passing attack. But at South Carolina, he had success because he was able to adjust to even newer trends (and his player's abilities) by going with a Dual Threat QB.

Which is why we should not settle for a five year re-build - the expectations should be higher. Not a natty in the first year expectation, but around .500 and upward from there. We have the talent to do (at least) that well.

And Spurrier was able to recruit and land some historic in-state talent.  I am not sure we will see that kind of talent in a 5-6 year span like that.  I credit Spurrier for identifying the talent in a moderately recruited 3 star QB that changed the trajectory of our team not to mention the talent and work ethic of Lattimore.  

 

[gamecock88]

Regarding the Spurrier success, I think he did a great job over several years in recruiting the top instate and some gems from neighboring states.  We have to also consider that UT and clemmons had some coaching turnover around that same time that influence some recruits.  UNC wasn't doing much.  Now the reverse can be said for all those teams and UGA has stepped up, Florida has turned things around somewhat.  It's not impossible, but it is a lot harder now with a relatively small pool to begin with.  Three of those teams have a much wider footprint than we do but they still fight very hard for the local and regional talent.  We've won some battles but need to win more and find more of those under the radar or lower evaluated gems.  Close the State borders down first.

 

[B_Amazing]

Most seem to forget that Spurrier recruited often out of the juco ranks.  He would consistently fill holes on the team with juco players.  Seems CSB took that approach this year with the portal.  Not saying he should rely on the portal for recruiting year over year, but this year and next year it would not be a bad strategy.  Find players that have playing time and have played well from the portal and juco.  Rely on the high school kids to come in and learn and build.  If CSB can find the right recipe of all 3 areas it could be a faster than normal turn around.  Watching what he did this year in a short term I would expect him not to worry as much about class ranking as others would and more about getting players in that can show improvement for the program.  
 

We also have to remember CWM was more about building a brand than building a program, CSB on the other hand uses the phrase building a program in almost everything I have seen.  Building a brand brings in selfish players that have a goal of next level on the mind.  Building a program puts the team first and your goals of next level as 1b.  Sprinkling in the right players from all 3 areas and also building a program will bring back the results the fans and former players have all been waiting for.  
 

All of that being said imo the struggle upward is to a 9 win season.  The mentality has to be the same as the Spurrier era, 1st win the devision, 2nd win the state, 3rd win the conference.  All of that starts at 9 wins, showing we can complete and win 3/4 of the games will attract those players we will need to get over the hump.  Until then all we can do is support the program and players.  

 

[Cockyandproud]

Most seem to forget that Spurrier recruited often out of the juco ranks.  He would consistently fill holes on the team with juco players.  Seems CSB took that approach this year with the portal.  Not saying he should rely on the portal for recruiting year over year, but this year and next year it would not be a bad strategy.  Find players that have playing time and have played well from the portal and juco.  Rely on the high school kids to come in and learn and build.  If CSB can find the right recipe of all 3 areas it could be a faster than normal turn around.  Watching what he did this year in a short term I would expect him not to worry as much about class ranking as others would and more about getting players in that can show improvement for the program.  
 

We also have to remember CWM was more about building a brand than building a program, CSB on the other hand uses the phrase building a program in almost everything I have seen.  Building a brand brings in selfish players that have a goal of next level on the mind.  Building a program puts the team first and your goals of next level as 1b.  Sprinkling in the right players from all 3 areas and also building a program will bring back the results the fans and former players have all been waiting for.  
 

All of that being said imo the struggle upward is to a 9 win season.  The mentality has to be the same as the Spurrier era, 1st win the devision, 2nd win the state, 3rd win the conference.  All of that starts at 9 wins, showing we can complete and win 3/4 of the games will attract those players we will need to get over the hump.  Until then all we can do is support the program and players.  

I agree with your assessment.  I am typically optimistic about the football team.  I was optimistic about CWM, because I thought he had learned, but I was wrong.  I am optimistic about CSB, not because of "I think", but because he has shown that he is approaching everything with a plan, and an apparent formula.  He appears to be analytical about his approach, and if something is not working about what he's doing, I believe he will get advice from his dad, and others that he trusts, to correct the problem.  He still seems like he is teachable, and is willing to learn from those with more experience, which is a great attribute in a leader. 

 

[B_Amazing]

I agree with your assessment.  I am typically optimistic about the football team.  I was optimistic about CWM, because I thought he had learned, but I was wrong.  I am optimistic about CSB, not because of "I think", but because he has shown that he is approaching everything with a plan, and an apparent formula.  He appears to be analytical about his approach, and if something is not working about what he's doing, I believe he will get advice from his dad, and others that he trusts, to correct the problem.  He still seems like he is teachable, and is willing to learn from those with more experience, which is a great attribute in a leader. 

I agree with all of your above statements.  One thing that has stuck out about CSB is where he has went to coach and the coaches that were there.  All of those coaches have had high praise for CSB.  The other thing I’ve paid close attention to is the way those coaches ran their program, Spurrier, his father and Riley all run the program the same. From a coaching standpoint it’s from the top down, everyone is accountable.  From a player standpoint they coach from the bottom up, meaning your team is only as strong as your weakest player.  When you hold everyone accountable from coaches to players success follows a majority of the time.

 

[SC Fan]

I was a big Muschamp supporter for several years, because I thought that surely he would see what he did wrong at Florida, and correct it this time around.  So, I was really irritated and annoyed that I misjudged his character.  He is hard-headed and stubborn, and apparently not all that bright.  I think the whole "defensive genius" reputation he had, was just a result of being at schools that had really good recruiting, because they were more "blue blood" schools.  He did alright recruiting here, but certainly didn't develop worth a crap.

It's always bothered me that our defensive backfield, despite the great talent, often seemed lost and confused in coverage, and of course this was Muschamp's position group and where he played in college. He used a lot of jargon and technical terms talking about coverage schemes to the media, I believe to try and impress everyone with his X's and O's. But it was all talk and never translated to the field. How many times did we see receivers wide open with no defender within 20 yards?

On plays where we managed to be in the right spot or if a receiver dropped a ball, there was a bit too much taunting and unwarranted chest-pounding. I am all for swagger, but gotta back it up. I was constantly frustrated with the quality of coaching for that group, in all areas. I'm hopeful for this new group of assistants and will feel like we're making upward progress if we can just get to a basic level of competence in pass coverage. In general, I am very optimistic about Beamer and his staff.

 

[ShepCock]

Perhaps this will make you feel better.

https://pathofex.com/rivals-com-grading-the-new-coaches-on-their-first-nsd/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rivals-com-grading-the-new-coaches-on-their-first-nsd&fbclid=IwAR18y0PZXJPLovpg8CodmN6G4Mf-l0VGT7DhoB-aJEETH52M1aRiMHINVmQ

So us and Texas get A's.

Love it!