Recruiting Forum Football Talk IX

#23,808
#23,808
Volunteer_Kirby said:
Let's look a little closer...

Antonio Brown was ruled academically ineligible out of HS and supposedly had interest from big D1 schools like Michigan State, FSU & Clemson. His father was a football standout and played professionally, so he wasn't some unknown kid. That area in Miami is well know for producing some incredible NFL talent. Brown tried to enroll at several schools after HS, including Alcorn State, but couldn't qualify. He then settled at a prep school in NC and put up stupid numbers as a QB in 5 games. After prep, he received an offer from FIU - which was rescinded after an altercation with campus security. He was never technically on the team at FIU and I think word got around the he was a primadonna and a known head case. Brown then tried calling schools all around the country looking for walk-on opportunities. He got ahold of Butch who recruited him at WVU and later Zach Azazzani. Brown reached out to him (not the other way around) and he walked on at CMU. Was not offered a scholarship - he walked on. The notion that Butch found this gem in the rough with Brown is absurd.

The Kelce brothers were recruited by Brian Kelly.

Eric Fisher was undersized in high school and only switched to offensive line as a senior after his coach told him he wouldn’t play defensive end at the next level. He was all-state in Michigan, drew offers from Eastern Michigan and others, and started college as a tight end before adding 80 pounds and turning himself into the No. 1 overall pick. His rise had far more to do with his own work ethic than with Butch.

Derek Wolfe came from a tough background, was essentially adopted by his best friend’s parents (the Hoppel family), and was set on the path to Cincinnati because his best friend’s family more than Butch. I think one of the Hoppel's was a DT at Cincy prior to the arrival of B.K., but B.K. did coach him.

When you look closer, it’s clear Butch benefited from timing and circumstance more than talent evaluation or development. He rode Brian Kelly’s coattails to the Cincinnati job and was largely a fraud.

Even at Tennessee, that so-called legacy class was driven by peer recruiting, not coaching. Twitter was at its peak as a recruiting tool, and those players wanted to build something special on their own. The class probably comes together regardless of who the head coach was.

Butch was decent at selling himself to ADs. He was not some wizard at identifying talent.

Just going to leave this here to remind you all how moronic this man was. He thought this was a motivational tool and put it on full dislplay, on national telelvision so that we could become the butt of CFB jokes for years to come. I guarantee you players laughed at this man behind his back. And that victory cigar in the Bama locker room where the Bama guys had that "gotcha" moment with him. He was one of the biggest frauds in CFB and this is the hill I will die on.

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While Butch ultimately failed at UT and just wasn’t the leader we needed, it’s ok to acknowledge when people actually do something well. I’m a believer in giving praise when it’s due when I also criticize.

Regardless of these guys mentioned prior to UT, he also recruited guys like Josh Palmer, Emmanuel Moseley, John Kelly, Theo Jackson, and Princeton Fant. I think Cam Sutton was pursued by Dooley but ultimately Butch signed him. All of these guys were not highly recruited and had stints in the NFL. Although Dobbs was technically a 4 star, he was committed to Arizona State from Atlanta, a place where recruits are seen by big schools. That was certainly a win for Butch.

I agree that ultimately Butch couldn’t develop well enough, and the QB position wasn’t stable. Our 2015 team was talented enough to win the east and probably the conference. Butch just couldn’t cut it, and I know fans don’t like him. But it shouldn’t cloud judgment as to some things he actually did well.
 
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