When he was interviewed last week, he said that there are many, many 2-3 star athletes out there who are talented, and have excellent work ethics. You simply have to put in the work to evaluate them. He also said the portal is a great stop gap for when you need instant results, but again, it boils down to evaluation in identifying players that best fit the culture of the team, and who can come in, through hard work and make immediate contributions.
Personally, I've come full circle, and am warming up to this approach. The portal can be a blessing to programs like ours at the moment. Kirby Smart takes the opposite approach and after a victory a couple of weeks back (Tenn I think) he made the comment post game that no one on his current team came from the portal, implying consistency. OU and Georgia are, however, apples and oranges at the moment.
As far as star chasing...that has bitten us in the rear so many times. Peruse the board just in the last 24 hrs, and you'll see comments on Wease, and how the triplets from that class were nothing like what we thought they'd be. Even at his best, most would agree that Theo's play has been more of a lower 4 star than the 5 star he was projected. One could argue that our most consistent WR at the moment is 3* Drake Stoops.
It wouldn't bother me at all seeing Brent identify talent regardless of stars. I look at what TCU has accomplished with talent that, quite frankly on paper we never would have sniffed. Dugan is great, but i wonder if he would have even received an offer (before I get jumped on, maybe we did offer him; im too lazy to look it up). I look at Stetson Bennet. Again, not a world beater by any stretch, but he always seems to be able to make the play when needed.
Maybe at some point we can get to where tOSU, Bama, and Georgia are as programs, and can go back to stockpiling like we did with AD's class and few others. Until then, our staff simply needs to scour the HS ranks, and the portal to find players who buy in to our philosophy, and are all about team, and program first. I'd hate to think we are putting all our eggs in one basket for a flake like Hicks who is more interested in a bidding war, when he might not ever pan out to begin with.
Personally, I've come full circle, and am warming up to this approach. The portal can be a blessing to programs like ours at the moment. Kirby Smart takes the opposite approach and after a victory a couple of weeks back (Tenn I think) he made the comment post game that no one on his current team came from the portal, implying consistency. OU and Georgia are, however, apples and oranges at the moment.
As far as star chasing...that has bitten us in the rear so many times. Peruse the board just in the last 24 hrs, and you'll see comments on Wease, and how the triplets from that class were nothing like what we thought they'd be. Even at his best, most would agree that Theo's play has been more of a lower 4 star than the 5 star he was projected. One could argue that our most consistent WR at the moment is 3* Drake Stoops.
It wouldn't bother me at all seeing Brent identify talent regardless of stars. I look at what TCU has accomplished with talent that, quite frankly on paper we never would have sniffed. Dugan is great, but i wonder if he would have even received an offer (before I get jumped on, maybe we did offer him; im too lazy to look it up). I look at Stetson Bennet. Again, not a world beater by any stretch, but he always seems to be able to make the play when needed.
Maybe at some point we can get to where tOSU, Bama, and Georgia are as programs, and can go back to stockpiling like we did with AD's class and few others. Until then, our staff simply needs to scour the HS ranks, and the portal to find players who buy in to our philosophy, and are all about team, and program first. I'd hate to think we are putting all our eggs in one basket for a flake like Hicks who is more interested in a bidding war, when he might not ever pan out to begin with.
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