Excuse the ignorance on my part, but why is it such a huge problem? Is the logic there that locals would help build more support to the program via their families attending? If yes, I think there’s good logic there. But, if the implication is we are losing great talent to other programs, I think that’s to be determined as the future will bear that out via the player development. I think signing 18 year old kids must be a total crapshoot. A few years ago, we lost our top recruit to Purdue. Now he’s in the portal. Who’s to say he wouldn’t have done better at MU getting regular playing time. Again, I’m only asking questions because I have no defined opinion.
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Shouldn’t a coach recruit the best players regardless of the area?
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Yes, Huge high school football talent in the Cincinnati area so it is a prime area. Fickle owned Cincy.
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It’s always framed as a bonus for a coach to have expertise in and be well-respected in the recruiting area where a school is located - unless maybe he’s one of 6-10 highly elite coaches with a national reputation (LSU and USC recent hires come to mind). Harsin was doomed at Auburn because he had no visibility or experience in the Southeast. Coaches at Texas programs (UTSA is a case in point) with good relationships with Texas high school programs are highly prized. I’m assuming expertise and solid relationships with local coaches ought to be a positive at Miami. Apparently not.
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I’m assuming this is important for building local interest in the program, correct? But, I sorta wonder if it’s the end all be all if the program is running well. Put another way, when Huggins was in charge of UC basketball they typically recruited kids from all over. Sometimes he had locals on the team (Flint, Fortson, Brannin) but more often than not, he brought in talent from all over. And local fans still came to watch even sans local kids being on the team. Would like to look at UD and X here as well. I know, maybe basketball and football aren’t apples to oranges, but I’m fascinated by what your comment unlocks: is there a correlation between low fan support and lack of local players. People with real research backgrounds reading this (not me as I’m currently rereading the works of Frank Dixon) could likely answer it.
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The entire “We need to recruit Ohio to increase local interest in Miami football and to make it easier on parents to attend home games” ignores geography. The northern Kentucky area (which we recruit rather heavily) is slightly closer to Oxford than the Dayton-Springfield area. The Indianapolis area (which we also recruit rather heavily) is more or less the same distance from Oxford as the Columbus area, and closer than the Toledo area. The Chicago area (which we also recruit rather heavily) is about 30 minutes farther from Oxford than the Cleveland area and more or less the same distance from Oxford as the Youngstown area. Geography matters.
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Two trains leave Oxford at the same time…
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Is one a high speed bullet train or are they both hulking freight locomotives?
Is one a “NightTrain”? I like that train.
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One has a Pullman Car. It’s full of outbound transfers to Washington State.
PJ Fleck at WMU preached a 6 hour driving range for recruiting. For Miami that would include all of OH, KY, IN, most of IL, MI, WV and some of TN and Western PA. Seems about right to me. I think we’ve gone even farther south into GA and the Carolinas too.
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Good point. College football recruiting is no longer local. It’s regional at the least and becoming national for many programs. The five-six hour concept with forays into the South seems reasonable for Miami. Local southwestern Ohio ties should also be kept strong - or renewed - as that is our primary fan base neighborhood.
As an aside, one would think Eastern Michigan would be heavy into recruiting Detroit and Toledo area kids. But take a look at the Eagles’ roster. You’ll be surprised.
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Ha!
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Drunk posting. Sorry, miss you nonetheless.
Not drunk posting, right?
Miami adds a PWO kicker to the 2023 class
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" McLaughlin wants to be among the elite few who receive a scholarship offer as a freshman but realizes a preferred walk-on spot may be more likely. A 4.5-star kicker according to Kohl’s Kicking’s rating system ranked No. 100 in the nation at his position, he attended camps at Cincinnati, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky and Purdue during the summer and said all five schools are showing interest.
“It’s definitely not like the four-star and five-star guys who are getting offers from every school when they’re sophomores,” McLaughlin said. “The kickers always come last, and that’s very difficult mentally and pressure-wise. It’s very black and white. You either make it, or you don’t. A stat book can tell you how good a kicker is. You can’t do that with any other position.”"
A punter just decommited from UK and retweeted this kicker’s commit…
Henry’s still in school at Miami I think. He kicked the season before Graham arrived. That gives us three kickers on the roster next season.