So if the talent was so unbelievable, and it was just the player development that was lacking, why can't the ultimate developer of talent, Jerry Kill, get the most out of these guys? Let me guess, they don't fit his "system." Give me a break....
It's pretty tough to develop talent if they never made it to campus, left after 1-2 years, or are probably currently sitting in a jail cell somewhere.
If the definition of a "great recruiter" is someone who can get a Rivals 3-star prospect to sign on a dotted line Feb. 1, then Brewster was fine.
Yes, exactly. That is the definition of recruiting. The definition of successful recruiting is seeking after players who are highly-rated and/or highly in-demand. It is inarguable that Brewster was successful in getting large quantities of highly sought-after players to come to Minnesota, especially by the standards of said school. He was far more successful at this than Mason or Kill. Both are/were much better at virtually every other aspect of coaching a college football team.
If the requirements actually include things like getting players who don't flunk out, who can stay in the program for 4-5 years, and players that have the potential to improve over time, he falls way short.
None of these things have anything to do with recruiting. Again, these are issues of player development and retention, as I have already stated.
The fact is the 2009 class was not good.
Incorrect. It was the 2nd-best Minnesota class in the Rivals era. Out of a grouping of 11 items, you'd be pretty hard-pressed to find anyone who would call the 2nd-best item "not good".
You completely pulled my statement out of context, a multi-year starter is someone who is #1 on the depth chart for 2+ years and is consistently starting football games. None of the guys you listed started last year (except Orseske, who we all hope won't be starting this year), and none will this year.
Incorrect. The definition of a multi-year starter is someone who starts games in more than one season. Carter and Orseske both fit the bill. The rest of the list is speculative, but your entire 2010 list is speculative, as exactly zero of those players are multi-year starters. Along with Olson and Wills, that currently makes 4 from the 2009 class. Where I come from, 4>0. And while we're on the subject, only 11 players (out of 26) from the 2010 class are even on the current roster. In the 2009 class, 11 out of 20 (counting Michel) are on the roster. Again, where I come from, 11/20 is better than 11/26, especially considering that the former has had one more full year for players to leave the team in one fashion or another. The 2009 class was not great, but certainly good by Minnesota standards. The 2010 class was easily the worst of Brewster's tenure (even worse than the quasi-Brewster class of 2007), and worse than even most Mason classes.
Again, I continue to be amazed that people want to attempt to rip on Brewster for the one thing that he was actually good at. You could rip him for virtually every other facet of coaching and/or college football program management, but you try to rip him for the one thing he excelled at. It's simply mind-boggling.
