Winning the state

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Not sure if this is a thing anymore, but if winning the state is supposed to be indicative of football success the Cougs are in trouble.

Top recruits in WA state

Boise State is kicking the Cougs ass recruiting in WA, and I'm guessing all the other states as well.

I realize this is (another ) transition year, so I'll wait until next year to pass final judgement.

All that being said, wth is going on in Eastern WA with the football? There is a one single kid in the top 50 from anywhere east of the Cascades. Four in the top 100.

 

[Stretch 74]

Not sure if this is a thing anymore, but if winning the state is supposed to be indicative of football success the Cougs are in trouble.

Top recruits in WA state

Boise State is kicking the Cougs ass recruiting in WA, and I'm guessing all the other states as well.

I realize this is (another ) transition year, so I'll wait until next year to pass final judgement.

All that being said, wth is going on in Eastern WA with the football? There is a one single kid in the top 50 from anywhere east of the Cascades. Four in the top 100.

Quick points:

• Boise has 5 3-star recruits, WSU has 4 3-star recruits, yes I would be happier to see us doing better in state but not sure that really qualifies as getting our ass kicked
• Demographics-there are a LOT more kids to chose from in western WA than in eastern WA
• I suspect that the rater(s) are on the west side and have a bias towards the uw to start with and see many more games over there than on the east side.

 

[95coug]

Add to consideration the fact that Washington is not a hotbed for D-1 recruits.

WSU has David Kuku from Kamiakin. He's a 3-star DB, ranked the #7 recruit in the state. He's the only one of the top 25 I've seen play, and...I'm not sure. He's got some talent and length - he got to some balls I didn't think he could. My concerns are whether he's physical enough and his recovery speed.

Another kid I've seen is #54 - Cooper Macpherson from Chiawana. He's committed to EWU as a linebacker, and that's probably a good move for him. He needs to put on some weight and prove himself. He's got good ball instincts and was consistently making plays...but there's also a question of whether he can be physical enough and adjust his game speed. If I'm on the staff at WSU, I keep an eye on him as a possible transfer pickup down the road.

 

[wazzucougs96]

our brand in our state is dogshit

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Quick points:

• Boise has 5 3-star recruits, WSU has 4 3-star recruits, yes I would be happier to see us doing better in state but not sure that really qualifies as getting our ass kicked
• Demographics-there are a LOT more kids to chose from in western WA than in eastern WA
• I suspect that the rater(s) are on the west side and have a bias towards the uw to start with and see many more games over there than on the east side.

Per google, the state is divided 60/40 for population.

The 247 rankings have the ratio 25:1 western WA kids to Eastern WA kids.

There has long been good (not great) football and football talent from Tri-Cities and Spokane, and WSU got fat off recruiting the kids that UW would overlook or didn't spend the time on. Its just curious that the ranking site is so lopsided, and if I had to guess I would posit that its more a factor of who's sending in film and hyping their kids vs what talent is actually there.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Add to consideration the fact that Washington is not a hotbed for D-1 recruits.

WSU has David Kuku from Kamiakin. He's a 3-star DB, ranked the #7 recruit in the state. He's the only one of the top 25 I've seen play, and...I'm not sure. He's got some talent and length - he got to some balls I didn't think he could. My concerns are whether he's physical enough and his recovery speed.

Another kid I've seen is #54 - Cooper Macpherson from Chiawana. He's committed to EWU as a linebacker, and that's probably a good move for him. He needs to put on some weight and prove himself. He's got good ball instincts and was consistently making plays...but there's also a question of whether he can be physical enough and adjust his game speed. If I'm on the staff at WSU, I keep an eye on him as a possible transfer pickup down the road.

well 20 of the top 25 have D1 offers, with most of them being UW or BSU, so...

 

[dgibbons]

Not sure if this is a thing anymore, but if winning the state is supposed to be indicative of football success the Cougs are in trouble.

Top recruits in WA state

Boise State is kicking the Cougs ass recruiting in WA, and I'm guessing all the other states as well.

I realize this is (another ) transition year, so I'll wait until next year to pass final judgement.

All that being said, wth is going on in Eastern WA with the football? There is a one single kid in the top 50 from anywhere east of the Cascades. Four in the top 100.

Looks fairly typical to me. uw gets who they want. Don't have to like it, but it's true. WSU's sweet spot was (maybe still is) guys that would get Power 5 offers late in the process.

Looks like there is only one guy BSU landed that WSU offered.

 

[Suudy]

I wonder about this over time. I was in HS just over 30 years ago, and I played for a A school (yep, single-A) and played with and against no less than 7 DI athletes (granted, two were kickers). Four went to UW, two to WSU, and one to Oregon State. And that doesn't count the 4 guys I graduated with that played at DI-AA (two to EWU and one to Montana). This was just at single-A. What kind of players were the AAA and AA teams putting out? Or was the late 80's/early 90's something special for WA recruiting?

Or now in this day and age of prep academies, 7on7 camps, etc., social media, easier ways to share film, etc. that have really given an advantage to the urban areas? Certainly where I grew up there were no football camps, weight training and skills academies, 30 years ago or now. Seems to me the reason E Wa is struggling is access to these institutions that can turn kids into elite prospects. And this is true across all sports (especially baseball).

 

[CougSinceBirth]

our brand in our state is dogshit

I also think recruiting in WA is fool's gold. Do an initial sweep, then go get players from California.

I know people like having in-state kids for the connection, but that's a lot of resources for not a lot of output.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I wonder about this over time. I was in HS just over 30 years ago, and I played for a A school (yep, single-A) and played with and against no less than 7 DI athletes (granted, two were kickers). Four went to UW, two to WSU, and one to Oregon State. And that doesn't count the 4 guys I graduated with that played at DI-AA (two to EWU and one to Montana). This was just at single-A. What kind of players were the AAA and AA teams putting out? Or was the late 80's/early 90's something special for WA recruiting?

Or now in this day and age of prep academies, 7on7 camps, etc., social media, easier ways to share film, etc. that have really given an advantage to the urban areas? Certainly where I grew up there were no football camps, weight training and skills academies, 30 years ago or now. Seems to me the reason E Wa is struggling is access to these institutions that can turn kids into elite prospects. And this is true across all sports (especially baseball).

I see the Brink camps and occasionally a Tracey Ford repost, but I'm not seeing those two in particular placing a lot of D1 athletes. They place a shit ton of FCS and D2 kids though.

That being said, I think what you suggest is at least part of the puzzle.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I also think recruiting in WA is fool's gold. Do an initial sweep, then go get players from California.

I know people like having in-state kids for the connection, but that's a lot of resources for not a lot of output.

Is it? Are you currently recruiting for a D1 program?

Serious question, because I suspect the days of living room visits are well behind us for 90% of the kids out there. Its emails, video calls, and if you're a top 10% kid you might get a living room visit.

Hell, I feel like hearing about the couple dozen recruits that visit campus is a product of bygone days as well, which I think is a huge disservice to the kid more than anything else, and could be the reason you see all these soft-ass kids quitting on their teams because they don't like the campus or "the fit ain't right." But hey, they got their $50k and some highlights for the next team so who gives a f?

But I digress...

 

[wazzucougs96]

I also think recruiting in WA is fool's gold. Do an initial sweep, then go get players from California.

I know people like having in-state kids for the connection, but that's a lot of resources for not a lot of output.

True, but my comment applies to all sports. All potential students, too.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

True, but my comment applies to all sports. All potential students, too.

That's fair, as I was solely focused on football.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Is it? Are you currently recruiting for a D1 program?

Serious question, because I suspect the days of living room visits are well behind us for 90% of the kids out there. Its emails, video calls, and if you're a top 10% kid you might get a living room visit.

Hell, I feel like hearing about the couple dozen recruits that visit campus is a product of bygone days as well, which I think is a huge disservice to the kid more than anything else, and could be the reason you see all these soft-ass kids quitting on their teams because they don't like the campus or "the fit ain't right." But hey, they got their $50k and some highlights for the next team so who gives a f?

But I digress...

I am not, but looking historically, WA HS football doesn't produce a ton of fruit year in and year out. Sure a Drew Bledsoe comes by once in a generation. IMO, WSU has found much more success with California athletes/players to fill out football rosters.

 

[95coug]

Per google, the state is divided 60/40 for population.

The 247 rankings have the ratio 25:1 western WA kids to Eastern WA kids.

There has long been good (not great) football and football talent from Tri-Cities and Spokane, and WSU got fat off recruiting the kids that UW would overlook or didn't spend the time on. Its just curious that the ranking site is so lopsided, and if I had to guess I would posit that its more a factor of who's sending in film and hyping their kids vs what talent is actually there.

60/40 population split? Google is wrong. Although I suppose the split depends on what you really consider eastern WA compared to western WA.

I don't think there's any reasonable argument that puts King, Pierce, Snohomish, Clark, and Thurston in western WA. Those five counties alone total 4.88M. Washington State population is 7.958M, so those 5 counties make up 61.3% of Washington population.

Adding the other counties that are indisputably "western" - Kitsap, Island, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Mason, Jefferson, Pacific, San Juan, and Wahkiakum - gets to 5.55M, which is 69.7%.

I'd put Whatcom, Skagit, Cowlitz, and Lewis into "western" also, dividing the state roughly at the crest of the Cascades. 6.116M people are west of that line...76.9% of the population.