A question about NU recruiting

[hambozone_rivals100975]

Fear not, NU fans. Your team will probably go 12-0 next season and reach the B1G championship game. We tend to have effect on bowl opponents.

My honest assessment is there was a real disparity in athletic ability and speed today, particularly at the offensive skill spots. Just two years ago, Tennessee was a dreadful football team. That team would have lost badly to your Wildcats today. After two top-5 signing classes, Butch has assembled a group that can compete with our conference rivals again.

I'm interested to hear from NU fans how you qualify a winning recruiting class, the kind that would enable your program to take that next step and usurp Iowa and Wisconsin atop the B1G W. We hear that the NU staff is high on this year's class. Meanwhile, our fans are bitching about having too few 5-stars commits this year. It's been said that the admission standards are extremely stringent...we get that. Do you view those standards and landing top-250 national recruits as mutually exclusive?

 

[kaTNap]

Not sure I understand your question. If you know any top-250 players who want to play for us, send 'em on over. A lot of players at that level, rightly or wrongly, see their future in the NFL and don't see much value in the educational experience we offer, so they're hard for us to land.

 

[hambozone_rivals100975]

You answered my question.

 

[kaTNap]

You answered my question.

I wouldn't use the term "mutually exclusive," though. Just a hard trick to pull off. Kids like that in the Midwest go to Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Why wouldn't they?

 

[Hungry Jack]

The academic requirements really narrow down the pool. On rare occasions we have a shot at a top 250 type player who has the academic credentials, but more often it is guys we need to develop.

 

[YesterdaysCat]

Fear not, NU fans. Your team will probably go 12-0 next season and reach the B1G championship game. We tend to have effect on bowl opponents.

My honest assessment is there was a real disparity in athletic ability and speed today, particularly at the offensive skill spots. Just two years ago, Tennessee was a dreadful football team. That team would have lost badly to your Wildcats today. After two top-5 signing classes, Butch has assembled a group that can compete with our conference rivals again.

I'm interested to hear from NU fans how you qualify a winning recruiting class, the kind that would enable your program to take that next step and usurp Iowa and Wisconsin atop the B1G W. We hear that the NU staff is high on this year's class. Meanwhile, our fans are bitching about having too few 5-stars commits this year. It's been said that the admission standards are extremely stringent...we get that. Do you view those standards and landing top-250 national recruits as mutually exclusive?

Chances of landing recruits like that on a regular basis deteriorated in the 1970s when our school administrators killed all traditions and tried to exterminate athletics. If we had fielded competitive programs in the 70s and 80s we would have a much larger fanbase--we lost an entire generation of Chicagoans and many alumni experienced winless or 1-win seasons--and more tradition (bowls, stars). We may never get back to 1962 but we'll keep trying.