[lex24]

That it’s quite nice to be able to have the top recruiting class in the nation every year?  Saban is a great coach.  But of course he never lines up against a team with superior talent.  Just like Urban M.  Until he went to the NFL and showed his limitations. Saban didn’t fare too well in NFL either.

I could only read part of the article, then the paywall hit.  I get that Saban brings in top level assistants, changes things up etc.  All well and good.  And all possible because he has the best players in America every year.  As for his bringing in top level OC’s and DC’s do you think any would even consider Stanford? 

Comparing Alabama to Stanford is like comparing Filet Mignon to cube steak.  I don’t care how great a chef one is, the Filet will always be better…..

You want to find a comparison - look at what Wisconsin and Iowa do.  Year after year they win.  With good not great talent.  They do so by building top rate offensive lines and playing excellent defense.  They control clock.  They beat their opponents physically.  Then they run into OSU (when scheduled) and get waxed.  Why?  Cause OSU always has better athletes. (As a reminder the greatest offensive football mind of the last 60 years managed 7 points vs. USC in two years.  Cause SC was able to dominate physically.)

Lex -- my take is Saban prioritizes recruiting, then developing the talent.  that's his process.  Saban uses all 85 scholarships every year, he uses all (or nearly all) 56 official visits every year, he is active recruiting particularly with the whales, he does in homes with undecided recruits, he has a recruiting coordinator, he holds staff accountable for recruiting etc.  Shaw does none of these things and has quirky views in recruiting like gap year QB recruiting as a method.

years ago, Peter Skov (Shayne and Patrick's father) put together some work on recruiting that showed with a modicum of effort Stanford should be 15 to 20 nationally every year with occasional years in the top 5.  I still buy into his views.  of course, it will now be much more difficult to get back to that level with 11-19 over the past 3 years with on-field product deteriorating and roster talent down, way down.  the '22 class is a start, but we need 2 or 3 classes in a row like this class.

Agree they need to improve recruiting.  But I never bought the argument that they could consistently recruit in the top 15.  Nor did I believe that they would consistently be challenging for Pac12 championships year after year. I always maintained that this would end at some point. Because I never saw a historical predicate to believe Stanford could be a year in year out football power. 

But I also agree 3-9 is not acceptable. Nor is what we saw in the second half of last year - which was one of the worst football teams in college football. In my mind they quit. Which is a h.u.g.e (I INTENSELY DISLIKE THAT ABSURD AUTOCHANGE. BUT BECAUSE ITS EQUIVALENT OF 12 YEAR OLD STUFF, ILL ACT LIKE A 12 YEAR OLD AND SCREAM MY DISAPPROVAL) indictment. So let’s see if they clear that up next year. Hopefully they do. 

Further I think the changes that the NCAA have instituted hurt Stanford.  The earlier commitment date and the portal. The latter is really a problem in my opinion.

At the end of the day I continue to believe that they need to focus on the lines. Go back to intellectual brutality. Have an identity that they can recruit to. And stick to it. I think they’ve gotten away from all of that. And the result has not been pretty. 

Speaking of lines, Slide, I can’t help but mention the Georgia defensive line. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in college football. Massive and incredibly athletic. My goodness.

[lex24]

That it’s quite nice to be able to have the top recruiting class in the nation every year?  Saban is a great coach.  But of course he never lines up against a team with superior talent.  Just like Urban M.  Until he went to the NFL and showed his limitations. Saban didn’t fare too well in NFL either.

I could only read part of the article, then the paywall hit.  I get that Saban brings in top level assistants, changes things up etc.  All well and good.  And all possible because he has the best players in America every year.  As for his bringing in top level OC’s and DC’s do you think any would even consider Stanford? 

Comparing Alabama to Stanford is like comparing Filet Mignon to cube steak.  I don’t care how great a chef one is, the Filet will always be better…..

You want to find a comparison - look at what Wisconsin and Iowa do.  Year after year they win.  With good not great talent.  They do so by building top rate offensive lines and playing excellent defense.  They control clock.  They beat their opponents physically.  Then they run into OSU (when scheduled) and get waxed.  Why?  Cause OSU always has better athletes. (As a reminder the greatest offensive football mind of the last 60 years managed 7 points vs. USC in two years.  Cause SC was able to dominate physically.)

Lex -- my take is Saban prioritizes recruiting, then developing the talent.  that's his process.  Saban uses all 85 scholarships every year, he uses all (or nearly all) 56 official visits every year, he is active recruiting particularly with the whales, he does in homes with undecided recruits, he has a recruiting coordinator, he holds staff accountable for recruiting etc.  Shaw does none of these things and has quirky views in recruiting like gap year QB recruiting as a method.

years ago, Peter Skov (Shayne and Patrick's father) put together some work on recruiting that showed with a modicum of effort Stanford should be 15 to 20 nationally every year with occasional years in the top 5.  I still buy into his views.  of course, it will now be much more difficult to get back to that level with 11-19 over the past 3 years with on-field product deteriorating and roster talent down, way down.  the '22 class is a start, but we need 2 or 3 classes in a row like this class.

Agree they need to improve recruiting.  But I never bought the argument that they could consistently recruit in the top 15.  Nor did I believe that they would consistently be challenging for Pac12 championships year after year. I always maintained that this would end at some point. Because I never saw a historical predicate to believe Stanford could be a year in year out football power. 

But I also agree 3-9 is not acceptable. Nor is what we saw in the second half of last year - which was one of the worst football teams in college football. In my mind they quit. Which is a h.u.g.e (I INTENSELY DISLIKE THAT ABSURD AUTOCHANGE. BUT BECAUSE ITS EQUIVALENT OF 12 YEAR OLD STUFF, ILL ACT LIKE A 12 YEAR OLD AND SCREAM MY DISAPPROVAL) indictment. So let’s see if they clear that up next year. Hopefully they do. 

Further I think the changes that the NCAA have instituted hurt Stanford.  The earlier commitment date and the portal. The latter is really a problem in my opinion.

At the end of the day I continue to believe that they need to focus on the lines. Go back to intellectual brutality. Have an identity that they can recruit to. And stick to it. I think they’ve gotten away from all of that. And the result has not been pretty. 

Speaking of lines, Slide, I can’t help but mention the Georgia defensive line. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in college football. Massive and incredibly athletic. My goodness.