Five In Five: Cincinnati’s Recruiting Has Taken A Step Back But It Is Only Temporary
By Chris Bains
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As of this post the Cincinnati Bearcats’ recruiting class for the 2014 cycle consists of 16 verballed prospects. Tommy Tuberville this summer has stuck to his word of adding one prospect per week, which at that rate will hit 25 – 30 prospects and max out by October. While it’s a large class thus far it isn’t exactly loaded with highly rated recruits or players who have multiple BCS offers like we were used to under the Butch Jones regime.
And it’s for this reason that the Bearcats’ fanbase has started to become concerned and skeptical towards Tuberville and his staff. I mean, it’s the offseason. What else is there to talk about? So to address these claims and hopefully put your mind at ease, let’s play a game of “Fact or Fiction”
CLAIM: The American Athletic Conference is going to negatively affect Cincinnati’s ability to recruit.
FACT: In basically a two-year span Cincy went from playing West Virginia, Syracuse, and Louisville for $3.5 million per year to a bunch of Conference-USA call-ups for $1.5 million per year.
Both of those affect recruiting mightily. High school players are going to be less excited to play the likes of Temple and Memphis on a regular basis than the programs in the previous iteration of the Big East. And from a revenue standpoint, UC now has less money with which to go out and recruit. Sure some of that is propped up in Big East exit fees but with programs such as Louisville, Syracuse, and Pitt earning almost 10x more now, coaches there will have far more to work with (i.e. private planes) than UC.
Additionally, and I think this is one of the most important negative affects of the AAC, Cincinnati is no longer tied to a BCS bowl game. They will have a chance of making the the new playoff system in the future but it’s not guaranteed. Plus the AAC’s bowl lineup has yet to be determined and it’s probably not going to be that prestigious (think AAC #2 vs. Big Ten #8). As of now it sounds like the champ will be playing in a baseball stadium. Overall, the AAC is a second-tier conference, Cincinnati is on the outside-looking-in, and recruits know this.
CLAIM: UC must focus on bringing in high schools players from Cincinnati.
FICTION: UC’s emphasis on recruiting the Cincinnati area is a fallacy.
The above claim stems from something I’ve noticed from Bearcats fans who feel that local players are “slipping through UC’s fingers”. They are viewing Tuberville’s efforts as a failure because, from day one on the job, he has said time and time again that he intends to target players in and around the Cincinnati area. Yet major local area prospects have been leaving the 513 loop for years now. Nothing has changed since Tuberville arrived.
And based on recent history his statements about focusing on Cincinnati-area recruits are more tongue in cheek than anything. Despite UC’s intrinsic advantage over most programs in the country with its placement in the heart of a recruiting hotbed, Butch Jones proved that you could recruit non-Cincinnati players and be successful. He vastly upgraded the talent on the Bearcats’ roster by cultivating the recruiting grounds around Memphis, Atlanta, and the state of Florida. Jones’ first full class in 2011 was one of the best in history but only 4 of the 24 recruits in that group were from Cincinnati. The following year his class was even better but only boasted 4 of 28 signees from Cincinnati. Signing players from the 513 area is nice but it’s not important enough that the success or failure of the program hangs in the balance.
CLAIM: Tommy Tuberville and his staff have lost their edge.
FICTION: Tommy Tuberville has an army of competent recruiters at his disposal.
These guys have been around for a while. They know how to make an impression on high school recruits and overall understand how they think. Take Robert Prunty for example. While at Texas Tech he earned two Big 12 Recruiter of the Year awards and a Big East Recruiter of the Year award when he joined Cincinnati. Prunty didn’t just all of a sudden lose that know-how the longer he worked at UC.
Furthermore, from an individual recruiting standpoint, it seems that the theme of this class has been “under the radar” prospects. Just check out the offers some of the recruits received after committing to the Bearcats:
- Conner Krizancic: Minnesota
- Spencer Williams: Auburn, Georgia Tech
- Raashed Kennion: Auburn, Pitt
In fact, it took Kennion a while but after receiving the offer from Auburn he switched to the Tigers in mid-July. Seems like Tuberville and crew are identifying high school players, bringing them in, selling them on Cincinnati, and watching their recruitment blow up as other programs start to catch on.
CLAIM: Recruits love established coaches, winning, and shiny things.
FACT: Things like trophies, rings, and football stadiums that act as a monuments for worshiping football programs all attract the best recruits in the country.
Like you all know, Cincinnati’s championships and double-digit win seasons in recent years have gone a long way to raising the level of the football program. Now Tommy Tuberville’s job is to maintain that status no matter what. While his pedigree can certainly get him in the door, he still needs to prove that he can win at UC like Dantonio, Kelly, and Jones before him. Recruits need that peace of mind to ensure they aren’t joining a program that will suddenly fall of a cliff. And given the way the 2013 football schedule stacks up, that won’t be much of a problem for Tuberville.
Furthermore Nippert Stadium is in the process of being brought into the 21st century and reaching the 40,000-seat threshold. I wouldn’t worry too much about the new capacity in relation to Ohio State, Michigan, and Texas’s 100,000-seat monstrosities. If you’ve ever been down to a sold out Nippert you know that it has the feeling of a stadium twice its size. Plus with the new press box enclosing the East side of the stadium that environment will only be further amplified. Recruits who visit Nippert in 2015 and beyond will be blown away by the renovations as it will then be on par with venues across college football.
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So I urge you to be patient. Cincinnati’s recruiting has dropped off since Tommy Tuberville took over but most of that is a factor of bad timing. The move from the Big East to the AAC has greatly impacted UC and they’ve felt it on the recruiting trail more so than anywhere. Tuberville can’t help that but I can assure you he’s doing his darnedest to make Cincinnati as attractive as possible to high school prospects. And when he earns a few wins and trophies of his own, not to mention the gorgeous Nippert Stadium renovations come to fruition, recruits will take notice once again.
Photos courtesy SB Nation and All Alabama.