Brewster's Recruiting/Future

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Gold Rush

Gold Rush

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Tim Brewster was hired as the Gophers football coach because he was a known recruiter, which was one of Mason's greatest flaws. Brewster has proven to be a tireless recruiter and that really is his strongest asset. I guess he would be most comparable to a guy like Ron Zook, who has brought in some good classes to Illinois.

The problem with bringing in a guy who is first and foremost a recruiter is that even though you can pick up some very good recruits in your first regime by selling "a new beginning" that will only work for a few years. Zook's recruiting is starting to tail off and Illinois isn't such an easy sell anymore. Eventually you need to start winning or recruits will lose faith in your program. The other Big Ten coaches can all recruit and they are bringing in good players, too. Brewster probably has one more year to win or his recruiting will start to fall off even with the new stadium. Although we have lost commitments in the past, I can see his class is already getting pillaged and his replacement or plan B guys don't have the type of offers his earlier recruits had. Hopefully he can hang on to his recruits - I wish signing day was tomorrow and we could just have all the guys that have committed already.

Originally I thought you had to give Brewster 5 years, but I am starting to think that he isn't going to have enough time. I am concerned that if he posts another mediocre or bad season, the one thing that he does very well -recruiting- is going to fall off. If that happens, he is virtually worthless as a coach because that is what he brings to the table.

They got the right team in a Bowl game and will probably not get embarrassed in it. Hopefully these extra practices will help our offense get back on track. Playing Iowa St. instead of Texas Tech is probably the best thing that could have ever happened to this team as well as Tim Brewster. Brewster is getting treated like Jim Wacker did by the media right before he got fired. He has a lot to prove and I think a good showing at the bowl would help this team as well as the coaching staff an awful lot.
 

recruiting will pick up in a big way if and when we start winning.
 

Iowa State Bowl game

Brewster really needs a big win over ISU to help convince people that this program can do it.
Sure would be nice to see the offense get going for once in a bowl game.
 

Here is my opinion:

A win over ISU could let Brewster have a 5-7 season next year and still get a minimal extension.

A loss to ISU would make Brewster's seat warm in 2010; he would be put in a position of having to have a 7 win season in 2010 (inclusive of the bowl) in order to come back in 2011.

An ugly loss would result in a lot of people concluding that the firing is imminent and just waiting for the most strategic time to make it happen - only a great start to 2010 would derail that train once it starts rolling.
 



It's the battle of building a program. At some point you have to show results. Unfortunately the expectations of good results are before the ability. The lag time creates a lull in recruiting in year four and five, which won't really be felt for a few years after. The good news is that it won't affect what the team he's building now, the one that will be fielded in 2011 will be hardly impacted. It will be felt a couple of years after that. So you get a peak and then a valley, and hopefully after that stability.
 

The OP made some interesting points. Our recruiting was great the first year, but slipped after a 1 win season. Since then it has hovered around good, but it seems like we're going to slip again (we have less 4* players this year, and we lost another recruit this week). This is most certainly the time to start winning, and Iowa St would be a nice place to start.
 

Brewster should get another year but not because he's necessarily earned it -- because I believe any new college coach should get at least 4 years (provided a particular team doesn't get crappier and crappier in years 1 through 3).

Even so, Brewster's got an uphill battle. His ability to secure an extension is now dependent on the success of Fisch and Weber. Weber's shown flashes of being decent at times but has been largely been a disappointment. Fisch has shown no ability to be decent (let alone great) and Brewster can't afford to fire him and hire his third offensive coordinator in four seasons. He's in a tough spot trying to hang on to his job with a shaky senior QB and a wholly unsuccessful (to date) offensive coordinator.

Plus, the clock is ticking on the "newness" and allure of TCF Bank Stadium. TCF should be a strong pull for a new coach, but not so much (perhaps) in a couple years and after a couple more mediorce to bad seasons.
 

magpie said:
The OP made some interesting points. Our recruiting was great the first year, but slipped after a 1 win season. Since then it has hovered around good, but it seems like we're going to slip again...
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magpie,

You seem to suggest the "great" recruiting year came before the 1-win season??:confused:

Please recheck the timing of your data points, as I am certain you don't want to mislead anyone.:eek:
 



I agree with most of the points made here. Brewster did a nice job of upping our talent after he was recruited, but that inital rush is only going to take you so far. If you don't start winning then recruiting is going to drop off significantly. We seem to be heading down that path right now; I don't think that we'd have all these decommits if we'd have gone 9-3 instead of 6-6. On paper our class this year is nowhere near where it was in '08 or '09.

It's not only about winning though either. I think some recruits would be impressed with seeing improvement from the team as the season but so far in three years that has not happened. We're still 0-for-November under Brewster in Big Ten games. Meanwhile teams like Northwestern and Purdue who we beat early in the year improved a lot as the season went on and finished ahead of us in the standings, getting a big-time win along the way.

I almost view the bowl game as a draw-lose situation for us. If we beat Iowa State, the only thing that does is give us a winning record. But it will not give us the same kind of momentum that beating Ohio State or Wisconsin would have during the regular season. But if we lose it's a 3rd straight losing season and it will really put a lot of pressure on Brewster next year. He'll need to pull a rabbit out of his hat to keep the recruing from falling off.
 

2010 schedule all but 3 games are against 2009 Bowl attendees.

2009 no show bowl teams scheduled in 2010.
SoDak U
Purdue
Illinois
 

gopher7 said:
But if we lose it's a 3rd straight losing season and it will really put a lot of pressure on Brewster next year. He'll need to pull a rabbit out of his hat to keep the recruing from falling off.
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We went 7 and 6 last year. Pretty sure that is a winning season.
 

magpie said:
The OP made some interesting points. Our recruiting was great the first year, but slipped after a 1 win season. Since then it has hovered around good, but it seems like we're going to slip again (we have less 4* players this year, and we lost another recruit this week). This is most certainly the time to start winning, and Iowa St would be a nice place to start.
Click to expand...

His great recruiting class was the year after the 1-win season, not before.
 



Good post Goldrush. I agree with it (But that in and of itself doesn't make it good. LOL.).

You make all the pertinent points.
 

By average rr values I believe the best class was actually year three. Year two has a higher ranking due to class size. So although it would be proper to say year two was his best class, his best effort and recruiting response was probably year three.

He actually said that though when he showed up. In his last rebuilding process with Mack Brown, they recruited well when they could sell playing time and hope. Once they started winning they couldn't recruit as well. The early down years of the program were the best recruiting classes.
 

magpie said:
The OP made some interesting points. Our recruiting was great the first year, but slipped after a 1 win season. Since then it has hovered around good, but it seems like we're going to slip again (we have less 4* players this year, and we lost another recruit this week). This is most certainly the time to start winning, and Iowa St would be a nice place to start.
Click to expand...

The class after the 1 win season was our first recruiting class and it was the best one.
 

Tubtastic said:
Brewster should get another year but not because he's necessarily earned it -- because I believe any new college coach should get at least 4 years (provided a particular team doesn't get crappier and crappier in years 1 through 3).

Even so, Brewster's got an uphill battle. His ability to secure an extension is now dependent on the success of Fisch and Weber. Weber's shown flashes of being decent at times but has been largely been a disappointment. Fisch has shown no ability to be decent (let alone great) and Brewster can't afford to fire him and hire his third offensive coordinator in four seasons. He's in a tough spot trying to hang on to his job with a shaky senior QB and a wholly unsuccessful (to date) offensive coordinator.

Plus, the clock is ticking on the "newness" and allure of TCF Bank Stadium. TCF should be a strong pull for a new coach, but not so much (perhaps) in a couple years and after a couple more mediorce to bad seasons.
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Yes, Fisch has never been decent or good. That's how he impressed Steve Spurrier enough to get a job and has worked in the NFL, by not being any good. Jed Fisch is good or he would not have the resume he has. He did not have the results we wanted but could some of it be making the transition to the college game? or having a pile of crap for a starting QB? Give him some time and think about the fact that coaches who have coached in the NFL or are coaching at the D1 level are good coaches or they would not be coaching.
 

I'll ignore the Weber bashing, and just say that the Big Ten offensive stats were equitable to last years. Fisch didn't make the team worse and typically you see a step back in scheme change. Although how could it get worse. But just saying, there's more evidence to suggest the problems on our offense might go deeper than the OC. We'll know next year, as he has basically a completely returning team. If he can coach, it will improve. If not, he can't or isn't ready to.
 

If Maturi does not give Brewster a clear public vote of confidence, this recruiting class will fall apart more than it already has. Maturi knows what happens to a head coach and his ability to recruit if there is any concern about the coach's future. This class is in Maturi's hands more than anyone else.
 

I think he just did. The Shama thing was pretty clear. But it can't get wings if the media isn't interested in the message.

obviously an extention is the only sure message, but he's pretty clear about his intention and support of Brewster.

You could be sure that an extention wouldn't be reported as confirmation of Brewster but more as an indictment against Maturi.
 

Maturi could easily extend Brewster's contract by 2 years and keep the same buy out. This way Brewster has what he needs for recruiting and if Maturi decides to cut him loose early, it won't cost anymore. I think Brew would probably go for it because it gives him more time and fixes the recruiting gap in his contract.

I know Maturi has said he doesn't think a coaches contract means much for recruiting, but I think he is totally wrong on this. Once it becomes a question, then it is a problem.
 

It's quite clear at this point what the lack of contract extension means for recruiting. The huff thing has left little doubt, and three lost recruits when Brew has typically picked up steam. Wouldn't that be something if all of Ruesse's grumblings forced Maturi into a corner where he was left with no option but to extend Brewster. Would that be irony?
 

You Give Ruesse Waaaaaay Too Much Influence

Schnoodler said:
It's quite clear at this point what the lack of contract extension means for recruiting. The huff thing has left little doubt, and three lost recruits when Brew has typically picked up steam. Wouldn't that be something if all of Ruesse's grumblings forced Maturi into a corner where he was left with no option but to extend Brewster. Would that be irony?
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Joel gives Ruesse no credibility at all, in fact, he might just go the other direction from Pat's latest whine. What Maturi will listen to are the major supporters of the program, and I don't hear any major rumblings there yet.
 

Honyocker said:
If Maturi does not give Brewster a clear public vote of confidence, this recruiting class will fall apart more than it already has. Maturi knows what happens to a head coach and his ability to recruit if there is any concern about the coach's future. This class is in Maturi's hands more than anyone else.
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Agree 110%. I feel like Maturi has already done too much damage to the situation. At the end of the regular season Maturi needed to decide to either fire Brewster or give him a two year extension. By keeping Brewster under his original contract with two seasons remaining he is hurting recruiting badly. You can bet that the vultures will be swooping around this years recruiting class looking to pick off a few more of our commits. Not to mention that recruiting at a high level next year will be nearly impossible. Everyone will be telling our targets that the AD has no faith in Brewster and will be firing him after the season.

Maturi needs to end the indecisiveness. If you're not ready to fire him give him the two year extension. If you're not happy with him in a year or two then you buy him out. Having to pay another coach a buyout may be painful but unfortunately that's how college football works today.
 

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