Syracuse and USF Continue to Set the Recruiting Trail Ablaze

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Posted by DCS

Doug Marrone knew when he took the head coaching job at Syracuse that fans would expect him to quickly turn around and build a formidable coaching staff and recruiting class. When Greg Robinson had been hired for the same position four years ago, some gave him a free pass because he was hired well further into the recruiting season. But as any observant Big East fan can see, Robinson built a less than stellar coaching staff and regardless of the talent he brought to the football field, the results were not satisfactory to the school's administration or fans.

In roughly a month's time, Marrone built a staff around several highly respected assistant coaches and as of this evening, has also built a modestly accomplished recruiting class (considering the time with which he and his staff had to be out on the trail). Various sources are reporting the commitment of Charley Loeb (Quarterback - MA), E.J. Carter (Linebacker - FL), Dale Peterman (Defensive Back - OH), and Philip Thomas (Defensive Back - FL) to the Orange today.

If that weren't enough, Marrone isn't stopping anytime too soon. With the February 5 national signing day looming, the first time head coach and Syracuse alum is looking to add Andrew Tiller (Offensive Tackle - NY), David Oku (Running Back - OK), and Craig Drummond (Defensive End - IL), among others. Here are the headlines on the aforementioned recruiting developments for Syracuse:

• Donnie Webb - Syracuse Post-Standard on Dale Peterman
• Donnie Webb on Charley Loeb
• Donnie Webb on the overall recruiting situation

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After a somewhat disappointing season, the USF Bulls and head coach Jim Leavitt are taking no prisoners on the recruiting trail. They've shown that they too can be competitive in attracting top level talent in the state of Florida, along with Miami, UF, and FSU.

There has been a great amount of discussion over ultimate destination of former Miami quarterback Robert Marve. The troubled former high school standout announced that he would transfer from the Hurricane program and wished to play at a highly competitive football school, where he could also be closer to his sick father (he lives in Tampa, FL). Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Marve is focusing on four schools: Oklahoma State, Purdue, USF, and Oklahoma (scroll down). This would be quite development for the Bulls, should Marve decide to play his college ball in Tampa, because he would be able to potentially step into the starting job after Matt Grothe graduates at the conclusion of this coming season (Marve would sit out this season).

Then again, it's well known that Robert Marve has had trouble "playing well with others," his coaches in particular. He was suspended for the Hurricanes' bowl game appearance, accelerating his decision to leave the program. USF would have to be sure they would want to risk using a scholarship on another athlete who causes trouble, much like strong safety Carlton Williams.

If you want to discuss the "here and now" of USF recruiting, the Bulls managed to haul in a big fish, in JUCO offensive lineman Carlos Savala. There's no question that if Grothe wants to have the type of senior year that he feels he's capable of having, his offensive line will have to help him a great deal.

What's Up With Robert Marve?

Friday, January 16, 2009

Posted by DCS

What's up with Robert Marve? Greg Auman of the USF Sports Bulletin certainly seems to have some information on the much-maligned former Miami quarterback. According to Auman:

"Weiner (Marve's former high school coach) said Saturday that Marve had
targeted 10-12 schools, and mentioned four by name: the Big 12's high-scoring
Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, as well as Purdue and Syracuse. Geographically,
none are close to the Marves' Tampa home, so it would seem to go against the
family's public statements about Marve's father battling prostate cancer and a
desire to have Robert closer to home."

This is certainly an interesting development in a saga where the University of Miami was reportedly making it very difficult for Marve to move on to another school of significant relevance in college football. If you're aware of Marve's situation or read the above-linked article, you'll note that Marve would ideally like to be around the state of Florida in order to attend to his ailing father. Curiously enough however, none of the schools mentioned in the above statement are scheduled to play in the state of Florida in 2010, save for Syracuse (at USF).

Obviously, USF also remains a viable option for Marve, given its geography and that Grothe will enter his final year as starter at QB in 2009, which potentially paves the way for Marve to start in 2010. My observation would be that USF and Syracuse seem to pose two clear-cut opportunities for Marve in the Big East. One thing to remember though, is that the Syracuse coaching staff just put the kabosh on allowing Mississippi quarterback recruit Clayton Moore to come north, forcing Moore to enroll at Ole Miss.

Similar to the situation surrounding another high profile transfer in Vidal Hazelton, it will be interesting to see if Robert Marve makes a move to the Big East. More to come as details become available.


Photo Credit: TheEndzoneReport.com

The All Classless Conference

Friday, January 9, 2009

Posted by DCS

College football is an interesting case study in sociology. Not to sound like a nerd or anything, but there are so many examples of conferences, teams, coaches, athletic directors, and groupings of fans that feel for whatever reason, that their rooting interests are paramount over everyone else's. One can essentially break this down to passion and/or pride, and it's certainly one of the things that makes college football and sports as a whole, so interesting.

I have to say though, that two ACC teams are carrying the torch for the "inferiority complex crowd" at the moment. And because these two teams -- Boston College and Miami -- are former Big East members, it makes for interesting fodder on the Dangerfield Division. Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN sums of the situation of Robert Marve transferring from Miami quite aptly, while also making reference to the firing of Jeff Jagodzinki at Boston College (although he applauds BC for taking a tough stance on Jags).

My impression of the treatment of Robert Marve is that it's completely ridiculous. Sure, Marve made a commitment to Miami and he should be held to the standard of upholding said commitment while working hard in the classroom and on the football field. He had his problems and was rightly reprimanded by the university when off-the-field issues arose. Now that Marve wants to transfer, the U is making life a little tougher for the once highly rated recruit out of Tampa, FL:

1. They are preventing him from transferring from any ACC school (this is fairly standard due to issues of scheduling, whereby schools typically don't like transfers to play them in upcoming scheduled games).
2. Miami has specifically singled out LSU, Florida, and Tennessee as school he may not transfer to (Miami backed off an initial ban from ALL SEC schools!)
3. He may not transfer to any programs within the state of Florida (this has changed as well, being that USF is now an approved program)

The above conditions are all-too-funny for me to bear. It's clear that Miami is very insecure about the way they will be perceived if they "go easy" on Marve. The fact is, Miami is not an elite program anymore. Sure, they've got tradition and a history of winning in the past on their side, but recent events have changed all that. I applaud coach Randy Shannon for trying to change the culture of Miami football, but the situation with Marve isn't helping. They should not feel threatened in any way by Marve going to another program, even if it's a program that is highly competitive or has close proximity to them. Instead, they should take the approach that they have fine recruits coming in the door (a top 10 recruiting class for 2010) and that they will be fine without a quarterback that probably was not going to start for them next year anyway.

In Wojciechowski's article, it was also interesting to see this tidbit about Florida head coach Urban Meyer's policy on players transferring:

Florida's Urban Meyer said his general policy, which can change based on family circumstances (illness, etc.), restricts schools on UF's schedule from receiving permission to speak with a potential transfer.

Okay, so there are restrictions at UF transfers too. But these restrictions change based on "family circumstances (illness, etc.). Guess what? Robert Marve's father is ill and dealing with the onset of cancer. One would think that this might change any perceived policy that a school has toward a player transferring, apparently not at Miami though.

I've already spoken at some length about the Boston College situation. Whether one supports BC AD Gene DeFilippo's decision to dispatch of Jeff Jagodzinski or not, it's obvious that the situation should have been handled behind closed doors. To air this dirty laundry in public is without tact to say the least. But this is also yet another situation where a school thinks it's a bigger deal on the college football scene than they currently are. For sure, the Eagles have performed better in the last four years or so than Miami, but other programs are not seething jealously over the state of football at Boston College. BC has always had a hard time reeling in big-time recruits (as they are again this year), and I can't see things getting any better with the instability brewing among the athletic department and coaching staff. Moreover, I don't see many high caliber coaches wanting to come to Chestnut Hill to roll the dice with DeFilippo (exhibit A: Brian Kelly).

To be fair in all the above criticism, the Big East has had its run-ins with unfair coaches/athletic departments. Everyone knows about the nasty divorce between Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia. But all in all, the Big East tends to keep its powder dry when running into sticky situations that can potentially get blown out of proportion. Observe Louisville's handling of the fickle Bobby Petrino potentially going to Auburn and eventually bouncing to the NFL as a prime example of how an athletic department can handle a tough scenario appropriately. There was no whining or moaning when Petrino ultimately left; Louisville simply turned around and hired Steve Kragthorpe right away. The same can be said of Cincinnati when they hired Brian Kelly immediately after Michigan State nabbed Mike Dantonio (in fact, Cincy is now better off).

Ultimately, I think what at least the Miami situation will produce, is an environment where potential recruits start asking programs more about their policy on transferring. It's only natural to want to know how programs will receive them if things don't go as planned. Frankly, I think recruits SHOULD inquire about this and it is completely understandable to want to safeguard oneself when coming, say, across the country to play for a nationally recognized program. I don't think any ACC programs or programs from other conferences will want to be seen as having an inflexible policy on transferring or the retention of head coaches.