Given the lengthy discussions here regarding recruiting Texas, this ESPN article about WVU is pretty interesting. It's an insider article, FYI.
Long story short, Holgorsen states what we all know, that Tech, Baylor, UT and OU are going to take all the good players leaving the rest to us outsiders. Instead they recruit the crap out of the Big10 recruiting areas like Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Sounds pretty familiar to Campbell's strategy.
We had a coach in Houston, had a coach in Dallas. ... We were able to pull some kids, but we quickly figured out we're not going to go down there and get a kid that's highly touted. He's not picking West Virginia over Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Texas, A&M and Oklahoma. We're not getting those guys. Why waste our time? It's just not going to happen."
So the Mountaineers focused in on recruiting 60 percent of their players from West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and coupled that with 20 percent of their roster from Georgia and Florida and 20 percent from four-year college and junior college transfers.
"They recruit Ohio better than most Big Ten teams," a Big Ten recruiting coordinator said. "They can be a real thorn in the side when battling for some of the top guys in the state. They do a great job of finding players that have gotten overlooked by some of the top teams in the league, but also finding kids in some of the outlier parts of the state. They always seem to sign some guy that's way off the radar from the middle of nowhere Ohio and he goes on to be a three- or four-year starter for them. Their success rate in Ohio is off the charts."
Dorchester says Ohio has always been good to West Virginia, and the Mountaineers' pitch to play in the Big 12 close to home can be awfully tempting for Ohio high school players.
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...t-virginia-mountaineers-buck-recruiting-trend
Long story short, Holgorsen states what we all know, that Tech, Baylor, UT and OU are going to take all the good players leaving the rest to us outsiders. Instead they recruit the crap out of the Big10 recruiting areas like Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Sounds pretty familiar to Campbell's strategy.
We had a coach in Houston, had a coach in Dallas. ... We were able to pull some kids, but we quickly figured out we're not going to go down there and get a kid that's highly touted. He's not picking West Virginia over Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Texas, A&M and Oklahoma. We're not getting those guys. Why waste our time? It's just not going to happen."
So the Mountaineers focused in on recruiting 60 percent of their players from West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and coupled that with 20 percent of their roster from Georgia and Florida and 20 percent from four-year college and junior college transfers.
"They recruit Ohio better than most Big Ten teams," a Big Ten recruiting coordinator said. "They can be a real thorn in the side when battling for some of the top guys in the state. They do a great job of finding players that have gotten overlooked by some of the top teams in the league, but also finding kids in some of the outlier parts of the state. They always seem to sign some guy that's way off the radar from the middle of nowhere Ohio and he goes on to be a three- or four-year starter for them. Their success rate in Ohio is off the charts."
Dorchester says Ohio has always been good to West Virginia, and the Mountaineers' pitch to play in the Big 12 close to home can be awfully tempting for Ohio high school players.
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...t-virginia-mountaineers-buck-recruiting-trend
