In Reply to: "As far as recruiting..." posted by truk on February 12, 2024 at 20:13:00
because of the running backs coach.... UCLA targeted who they targeted.... and I'd argue that the group of RBs we have right now have been developed pretty well... that would be a better indication of Coach Foster's ability, more than how many stars a particular running back had.
Jermar Jefferson is on an NFL roster right now...ran for almost 3,000 yds at Oregon state sharing a backfield, and UCLA ...nor any other Pac 12 school besides Oregon state recruited him. Recruiting targets and the efforts to go get players comes from the Head Coach.
Again...using terms like lazy and placing motivations on the hire that aren't based in any measurable facts doesn't strengthen your argument.
You're acting like UCLA head coaching history is full of experienced successful coaches being hired.... Bob Toledo had us a play away from playing for a National Championship...
Let's let Foster actually run a recruiting process before we judge him on things he's yet to do. Trust me..we're going to have an enthusiastic staff that's going to hit the recruiting ground running.
I remember Coach Eric Yarber when he was at UCLA telling me that guys who were "qualifiers" were going to be on the table for UCLA now. He told me this because the season before I told Coach Mora on the sidelines of a high school game that I believed it was a mistake for UCLA to avoid the talented players in their own backyard....using Jermar Jefferson as one example of many.... over the long run, Yarber's statement turned out to be true...even though Chip Kelly wasn't the most warm and fuzzy recruiter to talented urban youth.
There's a way to do all of this the right way, and I have every expectation that Deshaun Foster knows how that works, and will put a staff together to do it that way.