Thoughts on Horton from someone who knows him well

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Doogie

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Caught up with a coaching friend of mine who happens to know Horton well ... here is what he passes along.


Great guy, great coach. QB specialist who understands all aspects of the game. Has been a head coach twice. Did a great job bringing Matthew Stafford along (you could see stafford's improvement as the year went on). Should be very good for Weber and creative enough to help Gray. Spent almost a decade at wisconsin. Knows the Big Ten. Likes to run the rock too! Good recruiter who enjoys it! Very good friend of mine. I wish there was a spot on his staff to be honest! He's a close friend of mine and a helluva a guy!
 


Thanks for the info Doogie. I was curious about him as a recruiter, so its good to hear he likes it.
 

Should Brewster gets a mulligan for Fisch? The more I learn about this guy the more I like him. How do we not win with a staff like this?
 

Yup, good info. Thanks. Immediate success rests in the improvement of the o-line and Weber, both of which are positions he seems to have experience with (o-line assistant w/ the Rams, QB coach w/ Wisconsin and the Lions). I sure hope he can get our guys into position to make plays.
 


Schnoodler said:
Can he fix the mess that is the Fischerized Weber?
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My thoughts exactly. Maybe he'll be a steady, experienced hand for Weber.

Obviously you're not telling us Doogie, but any hint as to who the quote is from.
 

This seems to be a solid hire. He can do the job, Brew has provided the talent. He has the NFL connection Brew likes and the college experience at a high level that was missed with Fisch. I like it.

Hopefully he is a solid recruiter, but regardless we have the talent currently to compete and we do need something to start showing on the field now. It's a good hire.
 

I just hope he's able to understand what the offensive players are capable of doing, and give them an offense where they can do their best. From there, you teach them to more.
 

Schnoodler said:
Hopefully he is a solid recruiter, but regardless we have the talent currently to compete
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I would debate this point, to a point, but he needs to be able to put what talent we have in a position to succeed. That's what it comes down to. Don't throws books of info like Dunbar, and don't expect our 2-star skill players to execute like NFL'ers.
 




Any connection to Ray Hitchcock the Cretin coach? Wasn't Ray at the U in '84? Could be good for Henderson?
 

Somewhere on one the the multiple threads on this issue I thought someone stated he had a history with Davis and I believe Cosgrove.(correct my if I am wrong).
I wonder if he has any history with Brew or if Davis/Cosgrove suggested him.
 

McKnight was a two-star, Bennett was a two-star, Weber sometimes PLAYS like a two-star, Hoese is a not-in-database. That's four of the six starting skill guys right there.
 




A great many Whos in Whoville owe their lives to his exceptional hearing.
 

station19 said:
Somewhere on one the the multiple threads on this issue I thought someone stated he had a history with Davis and I believe Cosgrove.(correct my if I am wrong).
I wonder if he has any history with Brew or if Davis/Cosgrove suggested him.
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Coached together at Wisconsin
 

McKnight is a future star, unless you're blind. Weber, 3*, Bennett is a 2*, Eskridge is a 3*, Green is a 4*, Stoudemire is a 3*, Allen is a 3*, Gray is a 4*, Lair is a 3*.

Nice cherry picking.
 

Regardless, it's not like we're crushing our competition with talent at this point. I agree we should be competitive, but we're still probably trotting out less talent than half the teams we play. My point was, Horton has to be willing to put the guys we have in the position to win, knowing their limitations and not expecting them to be all-world all the time. We're in no position to expect our talent to overcome any deficiencies in planning or execution (like an Ohio State or Penn State can rely on to an extent).
 

Agreed, I think McKnight has a trendous upside. He's only been playing football for what, 3 years?
 

Gopher07 said:
Regardless, it's not like we're crushing our competition with talent at this point. I agree we should be competitive, but we're still probably trotting out less talent than half the teams we play. My point was, Horton has to be willing to put the guys we have in the position to win, knowing their limitations and not expecting them to be all-world all the time.
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Does that translate into "yeah, you caught me"?:rolleyes:
 


See, no one said anything about Horton's power 'stache. I'm as big of a fan as there is, now.

Horton_Jeff.jpg
 

Iceland12 said:
Does that translate into "yeah, you caught me"?:rolleyes:
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Nope ... as I said originally, I'll debate it to a point ... and when we're outgunned by half the teams we play, we have to make up for it with superb play-calling and execution. We should be competitive in our games and I expect to be, but I don't expect our exceptional talent to win football games on its own merit with a few exceptions (NIU, SD).
 

I'd hardly call that a power stache. It's not even monochromatic.

donMatt.jpg


Fearsome.
 


We've got several staches to go before we can hope to compete with Purdue. Oh well, this is a start.
 

gophmeister said:
Should Brewster gets a mulligan for Fisch? The more I learn about this guy the more I like him. How do we not win with a staff like this?
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NO on the mulligan. On a positive note, Horton with his previous head coaching experience should be able to fill in nicely as an interim head coach when Brewster gets shown the door towards the end of next season.
 

Gopher07 said:
Regardless, it's not like we're crushing our competition with talent at this point. I agree we should be competitive, but we're still probably trotting out less talent than half the teams we play. My point was, Horton has to be willing to put the guys we have in the position to win, knowing their limitations and not expecting them to be all-world all the time. We're in no position to expect our talent to overcome any deficiencies in planning or execution (like an Ohio State or Penn State can rely on to an extent).
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This statement is less than honest. As of next year many of Brew's talented recruits will be seasoned vets in their 3rd year with the program. As other posters have noted the talent level at Minnesota is very competitive.

The only teams on next year's schedule with demonstrably superior raw talent in comparison to Minnesota are Ohio State, USC, and Penn State.

Teams like Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois (and possibly MTS) have similar levels of talent as Minnesota.

That leaves South Dakota, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern as teams with lesser talent. Before someone gets angry, I'll add the caveat that Fitzgerald is a great coach and Northwestern is a smart team that consistently exceeds talent level in performance.
 

Hey Doogie, did you notice how no one in this thread is questioning your comments and challenging your source when you are telling them what they want to hear? I am guessing if your coaching friend had negative things to sa about Horton the posters would have been all over you.
 

GopherGod said:
Hey Doogie, did you notice how no one in this thread is questioning your comments and challenging your source when you are telling them what they want to hear? I am guessing if your coaching friend had negative things to sa about Horton the posters would have been all over you.
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Good guess.
 

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