Does Coach Kill use a Contra Recruiting Strategy

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It is obvious that we are slow out of the gates in the recruiting world, but I wonder if that is all about the evaluation process Jerry Kill and staff use to find players. Yet, we have offers out there that have been out there for a long time now and nobody has pulled the trigger. I know we have all become used to the slow starts to commitments.

For the newbies out there let's review some of the reasons Jerry Kill finds talented players and gets them to commit to our great University.

And, let's not make this a thread about helmet v non helmet; or, Coach Kill v unnamed previous head coaches.

My first observation is Coach Kill uses camps to find unfound talent. Second, he uses his ever expanding network to have talent nominated to the team. Third, he doesn't push too hard that it scares 'mom' away.

I think we will have a solid recruiting class, but waiting is still a virtue under the current regime.
 

Another thing that Coach Kill does is look into a kids background, they evaluate the person, as well as the talent.
 

Wonder if part of it might be conditional offers from other schools? Say if recruit A does not commit then they go with commit B at some of the better programs. In any event i am not too worried.
 

Coolew01 said:
Wonder if part of it might be conditional offers from other schools? Say if recruit A does not commit then they go with commit B at some of the better programs. In any event i am not too worried.
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I think the main deal with this staff's strategy is not to make mistakes. They've said they like to actually see the kids in person at camps or practices or track meets or whatever.
It's pretty amazing actually some of the talent they've unearthed or been patient with and snagged out of other program's backyards.
I like to think Kill has a beg, borrow, steal approach to recruiting, he'll recruit like all other programs, borrow JUCOs to fill holes, and steal raw athletes from recruiting hotbeds.

John Rabe
Jalen Myrick
Marcus Jones
Mitch Leidner
Ben Lauer
Alex Keith
Scott Ekpe
Cedric Thompson
Damien Wilson
Derrick Wells
Theiren Cockran
Eric Murray
Were all 2 star guys, pretty productive list from guys who really didn't get much attention from other major programs.
I love that.
 

Ole said:
I think the main deal with this staff's strategy is not to make mistakes. They've said they like to actually see the kids in person at camps or practices or track meets or whatever.
It's pretty amazing actually some of the talent they've unearthed or been patient with and snagged out of other program's backyards.
I like to think Kill has a beg, borrow, steal approach to recruiting, he'll recruit like all other programs, borrow JUCOs to fill holes, and steal raw athletes from recruiting hotbeds.

John Rabe
Jalen Myrick
Marcus Jones
Mitch Leidner
Ben Lauer
Alex Keith
Scott Ekpe
Cedric Thompson
Damien Wilson
Derrick Wells
Theiren Cockran
Eric Murray
Were all 2 star guys, pretty productive list from guys who really didn't get much attention from other major programs.
I love that.
Click to expand...

Like Kill has said time and time again, "We can't afford to miss in recruiting." Just an example is Penn State. They have over 16 kids committed. How much will that change in the next 9 months? Have they closed the door on kids or potential recruits? I like Kill's different approach, but I also like it because is seems to be working.
 


Ole said:
I think the main deal with this staff's strategy is not to make mistakes. They've said they like to actually see the kids in person at camps or practices or track meets or whatever.
It's pretty amazing actually some of the talent they've unearthed or been patient with and snagged out of other program's backyards.
I like to think Kill has a beg, borrow, steal approach to recruiting, he'll recruit like all other programs, borrow JUCOs to fill holes, and steal raw athletes from recruiting hotbeds.

John Rabe
Jalen Myrick
Marcus Jones
Mitch Leidner
Ben Lauer
Alex Keith
Scott Ekpe
Cedric Thompson
Damien Wilson
Derrick Wells
Theiren Cockran
Eric Murray
Were all 2 star guys, pretty productive list from guys who really didn't get much attention from other major programs.
I love that.
Click to expand...

Myrick was our #1 overall recruit on ESPN. Wilson was one of our higher ranked recruits as well on ESPN. And Leidner was a 3 star on 247 ahead of Phil.
 

die hard gopher said:
Myrick was our #1 overall recruit on ESPN. Wilson was one of our higher ranked recruits as well on ESPN. And Leidner was a 3 star on 247 ahead of Phil.
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Some of the higher ranked guys really deserve their rankings, but not all of them. I am sure Coach Kill would love to be in the position to select his class like Mich, PSU, OSU do. But if we ever got to be a helmet school he would still want to use his evaluation process. Texas is proof evaluating for correct program fit, ability to develop, and character make a difference.
 

Succeeding Gopher recruiting classes have improved from year to year with Jerry Kill's strategem.

As more of Kill's recruits end up in the NFL, maybe higher caliber recruits will start noticing and seriously considering playing for the Gophers instead of being a Plan B or C School.
 

corcoran1 said:
Some of the higher ranked guys really deserve their rankings, but not all of them. I am sure Coach Kill would love to be in the position to select his class like Mich, PSU, OSU do. But if we ever got to be a helmet school he would still want to use his evaluation process. Texas is proof evaluating for correct program fit, ability to develop, and character make a difference.
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Those schools don't really select their class anymore then we do. They just compete for a higher level of recruit and are able to select the lower one that they want just how we are able to do so against MAC schools. Alabama is really the only school that really "selects" all of their class.
 



Kill would love to have 10 commits right now, the offers are out there to substantiate this. Having said that, one advantage with getting guys to commit later in that we have a chance to land some late bloomers that other programs pass on because they have already filled up their classes. A lot of players don't really emerge, or in a lot of cases get noticed, until they attend summer camps after their junior year. Sometimes they don't get noticed until their senior year (i.e. Melvin Holland Jr.)
 

My strategy on Contra was always up up down down left right left right B A.
 

You forgot

John Galt said:
Kill would love to have 10 commits right now, the offers are out there to substantiate this. Having said that, one advantage with getting guys to commit later in that we have a chance to land some late bloomers that other programs pass on because they have already filled up their classes. A lot of players don't really emerge, or in a lot of cases get noticed, until they attend summer camps after their junior year. Sometimes they don't get noticed until their senior year (i.e. Melvin Holland Jr.)
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SELECT. START.

Let your buddy play, too.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Like Kill has said time and time again, "We can't afford to miss in recruiting." Just an example is Penn State. They have over 16 kids committed. How much will that change in the next 9 months? Have they closed the door on kids or potential recruits? I like Kill's different approach, but I also like it because is seems to be working.
Click to expand...

The late Jim Wacker (who knew a lot about football despite being scorned on Gopher Hole) used to say it is not the 5 star you don't recruit who hurts your program it is the recruit that never plays who hurts your program. In other words, kids get better over time which leads to my second observation. A 2 or 3 star player in the right place at the right time is better than a 5 star player who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. A 3 star 5th year senior is better than a 5 star who flunks out. (Jew-Jew, McDonald) When you are trying to build a program you can't afford to make mistakes either on the athletic ability or the character i.e. the ability to stay in school.

The only gamble this staff seems willing to make is on bulk and size. They will recruit a skinny 6' 5" kid who is fast and athletic with the hope the kid will fill out. They will also take shorter kids who can run - Berkley Edwards. They don't seem to gamble much on speed, athleticism or character.

So far, so good. I hope they keep it up.
 




The bottom line is Jerry Kill has a tried and true system that recruits for a full 4 to 5 years of team commitment. I think that is worth the wait.
 


diefirma said:
The late Jim Wacker (who knew a lot about football despite being scorned on Gopher Hole) used to say it is not the 5 star you don't recruit who hurts your program it is the recruit that never plays who hurts your program. In other words, kids get better over time which leads to my second observation. A 2 or 3 star player in the right place at the right time is better than a 5 star player who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. A 3 star 5th year senior is better than a 5 star who flunks out. (Jew-Jew, McDonald) When you are trying to build a program you can't afford to make mistakes either on the athletic ability or the character i.e. the ability to stay in school.

The only gamble this staff seems willing to make is on bulk and size. They will recruit a skinny 6' 5" kid who is fast and athletic with the hope the kid will fill out. They will also take shorter kids who can run - Berkley Edwards. They don't seem to gamble much on speed, athleticism or character.

So far, so good. I hope they keep it up.
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I mean, that makes complete sense. It is (relatively) infinitely easier to make a 17-18 year old kid bigger and stronger vs faster, more athletic, or a better person (although 1 and 3 do happen)
 


Word said:
My strategy on Contra was always up up down down left right left right B A.
Click to expand...

you're forgetting the "select start" at the end of that code.
 

josh087 said:
you're forgetting the "select start" at the end of that code.
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This and Super Tecmo Bowl provided all the after dark entertainment a sleep over in gradeschool needed.
 

nsmike said:
Another thing that Coach Kill does is look into a kids background, they evaluate the person, as well as the talent.
Click to expand...

I would add to your comments by reminding everyone that, when Kill was first hired here, he emphasized over and over again the importance of what he called "WANT TO". Kids that truly want to be a part of the program are probably going to be more apt to be productive and hard-nosed as opposed to a kid who has the program as a hedge bet.
 



Dean S said:
Leave the thread. Take mnsports1 with you. Quit hijacking this.
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:rolleyes:

Of course Kill has to recruit different than everyone else. He's got a couple things going directly against him that others may not have to deal with. The good thing is though that Kill knows this and is acting accordingly. He's spot on with all of his comments about not being able to miss, and evaluating talent to make sure it fits his style.

1. He's in the Midwest which is cold weather and isn't necessarily a negative but it certainly isn't a selling point for the majority of high star recruits
2. The program doesn't have a long history of success, we have the early days but anyone that thinks that resonates with today's youth is nuts. Sure we are a program on the rise by SOME accounts, and that is a selling point, but we are not a helmet school by any stretch of the imagination, not anywhere close.
3. Facility wise we've got a great new(er) stadium that can be sold against, however, our practice facility is garbage, and we don't have many of the bells and whistles that other schools have
4. Our "style" isn't sexy or in vogue a lot of teams are moving to spread and more vertical offense because that is what the NFL is demanding and we are running a more classic style of ground and pound. One plus to this is that we could possibly steal some good running backs and physical lineman as they may not want to go play in those pass happy offenses. There will also be a "rebound" effect somewhere down the road where the NFL shifts back to running the ball when all of these undersized defenses that emphasize speed get in place and we could capitalize on that.


Happy Dean? I just regurgitated what everyone else said and agreed to make sure I stayed on topic.

I didn't derail the thread, the thread kept on going despite a small blip about NES games and me misreading a post.
 





If I would have known there was Tecmo Bowl talk here I would have clicked on this thread a long time ago.
 

I just hope that Coach Kill isn't selling guns to rebels in Nicaragua.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
 

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