[81alum]

I’m gonna go out on a limb on this one and say “who cares?”



Why is it even a discussion about how many turn downs we have had. No turndowns=not enough offers, not enough options.



Put another way, if we had 40 guys in the top 300 turn us down every year but that allowed us to sign another 2 of that caliber of player, we would be a different program.



The sophistry around whether the app was submitted or not is just a stupid game that has nothing to do with winning at football.

I'd agree it is sophistry, and I'd agree it can't conceal the overall decline in our football recruiting that we have experienced in recent years.



However, it is sophistry with a kernel of truth, and any good recruiting coach ought to use that kernel of truth to improve our recruiting.  The kernel of truth is that a Stanford degree is far more valuable to many people than a degree from some other competitors, and as a result recruits often choose to come here not only for our athletic success but equally for the academic opportunities.  That HAS to be our #1 recruiting advantage, and it has become even more important than it used to be now that other universities are engaged in now-legal bribery and a de facto free agent market.  It remains the one potential advantage we have that no one else has.  




That does not change the fact that there is another side of recruiting--the promise of competitive success--at which our football program seems to be increasingly failing.  But I say use the sophistry as a recruiting tool, given that it is one way to point out the advantage of a Stanford degree.  If Shaw is replaced, the next coach will have to understand this.

[81alum]

I’m gonna go out on a limb on this one and say “who cares?”



Why is it even a discussion about how many turn downs we have had. No turndowns=not enough offers, not enough options.



Put another way, if we had 40 guys in the top 300 turn us down every year but that allowed us to sign another 2 of that caliber of player, we would be a different program.



The sophistry around whether the app was submitted or not is just a stupid game that has nothing to do with winning at football.

I'd agree it is sophistry, and I'd agree it can't conceal the overall decline in our football recruiting that we have experienced in recent years.



However, it is sophistry with a kernel of truth, and any good recruiting coach ought to use that kernel of truth to improve our recruiting.  The kernel of truth is that a Stanford degree is far more valuable to many people than a degree from some other competitors, and as a result recruits often choose to come here not only for our athletic success but equally for the academic opportunities.  That HAS to be our #1 recruiting advantage, and it has become even more important than it used to be now that other universities are engaged in now-legal bribery and a de facto free agent market.  It remains the one potential advantage we have that no one else has.  




That does not change the fact that there is another side of recruiting--the promise of competitive success--at which our football program seems to be increasingly failing.  But I say use the sophistry as a recruiting tool, given that it is one way to point out the advantage of a Stanford degree.  If Shaw is replaced, the next coach will have to understand this.