Interesting article from Sam Khan in The Athletic this morning about Houston-area football recruiting. Anonymous quotes from 8 HS coaches around the area. Here are a couple sections where we come up. Jimbo vs Elko responses are not surprising based on what we’ve seen/heard here but still a bit shocking to see so many share the same sentiment.
Coach 2: Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern don’t come by as much.
Coach 3: Before GJ Kinne took over it was Texas State. In five years (at my previous school), I saw them one time. But since Kinne got there, they’ve been coming by. A&M didn’t come by as much under Jimbo (Fisher). They mostly only called on the phone. I guess they had better things to do than go by every school and probably just concentrated on what they were doing.
Coach 4: I’d like to see A&M more. I didn’t even know who the A&M recruiter was for my area (under Fisher), and I’ve had some A&M-worthy guys.
Coach 5: The one we haven’t seen a bunch of is Sam Houston.
Coach 6: When an A&M coach came through (recently), it was only the second time I’ve seen an A&M coach come through in four years. Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma all come by here at least once a year, sometimes twice. Texas comes by here, and the rest of the state schools as well. So to have A&M an hour and a half away and not stop by was just ridiculous.
Coach 8: I haven’t seen Texas Southern or Prairie View come through. I don’t know if they just gave it up or what. It makes no sense.
Coach 2: I’ve seen Elko more than I saw Jimbo Fisher. I saw Elko a couple times (since December) whereas I met Jimbo Fisher one time in all the years that he was at A&M.
Coach 3: They’ve gotten out. (Running backs coach) Trooper Taylor came by recently and watched our offseason workouts. They’re going into schools a lot more.
Coach 5: It’s about the same from everything we’ve seen. Coach Elko came by in December to talk to us. It looks like the early returns are pretty good there.
Coach 6: The new staff is so much more personable. The (assistant) coach from the previous staff that (was assigned) our area, I felt had a kind of a big-timer approach. I don’t think Jimbo ever connected with the high school coaches. Their recruiting approach did not follow the traditional path … it was more about finding the who’s who, signing big-named guys and not truly evaluating them. I think Elko has a little more blue-collar approach and will connect and resonate with the high school coaches. When they came by (recently), they had a great approach.
Coach 8: The previous staff recruited us pretty hard. But I think the new staff probably has a better grasp on how to recruit the state of Texas and Houston than the previous staff did. I don’t think the previous staff, particularly the head coach, understood how it works here.
Which programs would you like to see more of?
Coach 1: SMU, I think they’ve tried to lock down Dallas more. Houston (also), but they’ve done a better job of late since Willie Fritz came in.Coach 2: Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern don’t come by as much.
Coach 3: Before GJ Kinne took over it was Texas State. In five years (at my previous school), I saw them one time. But since Kinne got there, they’ve been coming by. A&M didn’t come by as much under Jimbo (Fisher). They mostly only called on the phone. I guess they had better things to do than go by every school and probably just concentrated on what they were doing.
Coach 4: I’d like to see A&M more. I didn’t even know who the A&M recruiter was for my area (under Fisher), and I’ve had some A&M-worthy guys.
Coach 5: The one we haven’t seen a bunch of is Sam Houston.
Coach 6: When an A&M coach came through (recently), it was only the second time I’ve seen an A&M coach come through in four years. Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma all come by here at least once a year, sometimes twice. Texas comes by here, and the rest of the state schools as well. So to have A&M an hour and a half away and not stop by was just ridiculous.
Coach 8: I haven’t seen Texas Southern or Prairie View come through. I don’t know if they just gave it up or what. It makes no sense.
How is the approach of Mike Elko and his staff different from Jimbo Fisher and his staff?
Coach 1: (The new staff) has been out there. They’ve focused more on the state of Texas, whereas before with Jimbo, they trended to more national recruiting. It sounds like they’re going less (recruiting) stars and trying to focus more on getting kids who love ball, quality kids. That better fits Elko’s personality.Coach 2: I’ve seen Elko more than I saw Jimbo Fisher. I saw Elko a couple times (since December) whereas I met Jimbo Fisher one time in all the years that he was at A&M.
Coach 3: They’ve gotten out. (Running backs coach) Trooper Taylor came by recently and watched our offseason workouts. They’re going into schools a lot more.
Coach 5: It’s about the same from everything we’ve seen. Coach Elko came by in December to talk to us. It looks like the early returns are pretty good there.
Coach 6: The new staff is so much more personable. The (assistant) coach from the previous staff that (was assigned) our area, I felt had a kind of a big-timer approach. I don’t think Jimbo ever connected with the high school coaches. Their recruiting approach did not follow the traditional path … it was more about finding the who’s who, signing big-named guys and not truly evaluating them. I think Elko has a little more blue-collar approach and will connect and resonate with the high school coaches. When they came by (recently), they had a great approach.
Coach 8: The previous staff recruited us pretty hard. But I think the new staff probably has a better grasp on how to recruit the state of Texas and Houston than the previous staff did. I don’t think the previous staff, particularly the head coach, understood how it works here.
