Reality Check for recruiting

[RichHParticipant]

While I am quite pleased with the 2 schollie classes for us, we all should take a minute to go over to the Ivy Board to scan Princeton’s recruit class. A very stark reminder of the difference between IL and PL recruiting. Not any of PL’s classes come close to matching the depth of quality that Surace has accumulated this year.

[Hawkineer2Participant]

Agreed

Princeton can attract amazing talent. In the past, they have been reluctant to adjust their highly demanding admissions requirements. This may be changing enough to bring in classes like this one.

[toddcuddParticipant]

What do you see as the reason for the gap? Is it all reputation/name-recognition?

[RichHParticipant]

Surace has gotten more flexibility from Admissions as well as basically unltd funding. Helps that he is an excellent coach :).
todd
No knock on our rep but Princeton has a national rep that is all but unassailable. Combine that with an excellent coach and a need aid policy that equates to essentially a full ride system,unrestricted as to numbers by NCAA, and you see the results.
The parochial nature of IL football is one of PL’s advantages. The insular focus of IL does have consequences somewhat benficial to us in recruiting. Longer range, IL gets higher rated recruits across the board but very few improve over their career.Part of that is most players only improve by playing better competition. IL rarely does. Usually Tigers best OOC game is us. Imagine it will change with the move away from PL games. Which way IL will go? Who knows.

[TheCobblerParticipant]

Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. are known and recognized world-wide. As much as you may not want to admit it, Lehigh is a regional school. Most people in FL, CA, GA, etc. have never heard of Lehigh, especially 17-18 yr old kids.

[RichHParticipant]

Not quite just a regional school but I am not saying LU rep anywhere near that of HYP. My point simply is that schollies will help PL to be more competitive with IL and CAA. Schollies are bringing in more better athletes but we still have a ways to go to get even close to the numbers that IL teams bring in.

[TheCobblerParticipant]

Absolutely.

The PL is still at a huge disadvantage. Same academic standards (way above CAA schools) and not able to recruit the preferred walk-ons the way the CAA is able to with current fin aid structure. Also no redshirts. Ivies can match the $, have better academic reputations, and can recruit more #’s.

Underrated advantage LU had was recruiting a class of 30+ players. With schollies can only recruit 20-22. If 2 of those extra 8 per year became good players, there are now 8 less quality players in the program. PL is going to have major depth issues. Programs won’t survive injuries. Have a couple kids leave the program and suddenly don’t have enough bodies to even practice in the spring.

[RichHParticipant]

Absolutely correct. 60 schollie not so bad but the inclusion by PL of all aid basically negates WOs. This in conjunction with overly restrictive redshirt rule place PL at a disadvantage to both IL and CAA. The former is strictly a cost saver for schools struggling to even make 60. The latter a mindless holdover from our Ivy Lite years and a sop to academics. Expect schollie cap will be modified to include only merit aid once all are adapted to 60. Red shirt rule will not change unless forced to do so by expansion.

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