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'12 CO OG Alex Kozan (Signed to Auburn)

I agree but I can't imagine not connecting with Embree when I was 18 or even now at 30 something (ok I am 41!). Embree has so much passion for the Buffs and the game and he loves his players as if they were his kids. That is contagious and would draw most people to him. I agree with other posters here that if a player doesn't connect with Embree than he is not right for our program and it probably won't work out in the long run.

Basically Embree threw down the gauntlet to defend their state these kids. If the US was under fire, you'd bow up, gather courage, bear arms and go to town on our enemies. These kids conversely decided they give two craps about defending their state, turned their back & walked away.

Glad they have other options but they took the weak way out in response to this challenge. Better tho to find out too early vs. too late.
 
Or they feel like there is a better fit out of state for them. I doubt Kozan is looking at schools like LSU and OSU because he thinks it will be less intense there.

Bottom line is they weren't up for or interested in the challenge Embree provided. To spin it to friends that he said they would **** in other programs is a ckicken **** excuse as to why you aren't interested in CU or Embree.
 
Disagree with a few comments here. Kozan has conducted his recruitment just fine. He's taking his time, making a decision that's best for him. It would be nice if he chose to play at CU, but if he wants to play out of state, so be it. The talk of him not being tough enough, turning his back on the state or any other such nonsense is just lame.
 
Bottom line is they weren't up for or interested in the challenge Embree provided. To spin it to friends that he said they would **** in other programs is a ckicken **** excuse as to why you aren't interested in CU or Embree.

Maybe he has embraced the challenge of another coach? You seem to think Embree is the only coach who can correctly challenge a player.
 
Disagree with a few comments here. Kozan has conducted his recruitment just fine. He's taking his time, making a decision that's best for him. It would be nice if he chose to play at CU, but if he wants to play out of state, so be it. The talk of him not being tough enough, turning his back on the state or any other such nonsense is just lame.

Definitely lame. The kid can choose to go out of state if he wants to. Sometimes it's better to go out of state and see more of the world.
 
Bottom line is that most of the in-state kids don't see CU as a big time offer. For the ones who have big time offers, there's not enough state loyalty here to overcome that perception unless the kid grew up as a fan.
 
How, then was Mac able to sell CU to the in state kids when we were considered a bottom ten program?
 
How, then was Mac able to sell CU to the in state kids when we were considered a bottom ten program?

Did he? He had his successes, but he lost a ton of in-state prospects. The big year we all talk about was Embree's recruiting class where you had a charismatic leader like Embree rallying all the other in-state kids to go do something at CU.
 
Did he? He had his successes, but he lost a ton of in-state prospects. The big year we all talk about was Embree's recruiting class where you had a charismatic leader like Embree rallying all the other in-state kids to go do something at CU.

^^This^^

Recruiting was nothing like it is now with net-based recruiting services and video everywhere but Mac's first couple of classes were a struggle. A number of the players he took were guys who had no other significant D1 recruiting options. Eric McCarty (now Dr. McCarty team physician) was considered a major recruiting coup and he was what would now be considered a 3* type of kid.

Mac busted his butt for the first years building his relationships with the Colorado HS coaches and working just to get those coaches and the kids to come out to CU camps. Mac actually had more early success out of state, mainly in areas that he had built those relationships while at Michigan.
 
I'd say the best argument for kids who leave is that the world is a lot smaller these days. Going away from home isn't as big a deal anymore. Cell phones, computers, etc, have changed the world.
 
I'd say the best argument for kids who leave is that the world is a lot smaller these days. Going away from home isn't as big a deal anymore. Cell phones, computers, etc, have changed the world.

Tell us what the world was like before Edison, DBT.
 
I'm disappointed in a couple good kids going away. I'm not MAD at their decision. I'm more upset with rumors circulating from some of these kids that Embree said they would be scrubs or crap on other rosters, so they should come to CU. And now that's why they don't want to come.

I've probably listened to every piece of audio Embree has done since signing back up with CU. He's a well-spoken guy. I just don't like the fact that people are making him out to be something he wasn't. These kids just weren't with the challenge to build this program back up again, and that's that.
 
^^This^^

Recruiting was nothing like it is now with net-based recruiting services and video everywhere but Mac's first couple of classes were a struggle. A number of the players he took were guys who had no other significant D1 recruiting options. Eric McCarty (now Dr. McCarty team physician) was considered a major recruiting coup and he was what would now be considered a 3* type of kid.

Mac busted his butt for the first years building his relationships with the Colorado HS coaches and working just to get those coaches and the kids to come out to CU camps. Mac actually had more early success out of state, mainly in areas that he had built those relationships while at Michigan.
Didn't Mac take like 13 kids from Colorado in his first class? And that was back in the DAY. No way were half those kids "BCS" quality.
 
Did he? He had his successes, but he lost a ton of in-state prospects. The big year we all talk about was Embree's recruiting class where you had a charismatic leader like Embree rallying all the other in-state kids to go do something at CU.
Exactly. The class of 84, considered by many to be the big in-state year, Mac lost the #1 Colorado recruit specifically because CU wasn't considered a big time offer.
 
A pitch was probably made to the 2007 and 2008 recruiting classes that they could do the same thing for CU football. Overturn the South division dominance since the last championship, have them back playing on New Year's Day and all that. While there would be a sense of pride in signing with the Buffs under the circumstances of this generation's perception of the program and building it back to prominence, a young man with offers from an Oregon, LSU or Ohio State may prefer to go to a school that's already in the hunt for the BCS every year, already has better facilities and puts half of their graduating seniors on NFL rosters. The majority of posters here including myself are biased. Of course we'd choose CU. Someone who started playing middle school football during Hawkins' 2-10 maiden voyage can't bank on a Waiting For Godot principle in which they have a shot at building consecutive winning seasons in 4 or 5 years on campus. Sometimes the safer choice when there's an offer waiting is the right one to take. But no one outside the Kozan family is going to make this decision for him. Best of luck in whatever he decides.
 
I've probably listened to every piece of audio Embree has done since signing back up with CU. He's a well-spoken guy. I just don't like the fact that people are making him out to be something he wasn't. These kids just weren't up to the challenge to build this program back up again, and that's that.
fify
 
Didn't Mac take like 13 kids from Colorado in his first class? And that was back in the DAY. No way were half those kids "BCS" quality.

I don't remember the exact breakdown of the class but he took a bunch of Colorado kids including some very definate "who's that" types. A number turned out to be pretty decent players but some of them were guys that weren't exactly at the top of the list for OU and Nebraska.
 
According to fans on the MB on rivals Meyer isn't interested in Kozan and he will be visiting Mich this weekend
 
As far as JE's recruiting approach:

Those who think that young men are going to be convinced to make the biggest commitment of their lives by a simple appeal to state pride are radically oversimplifying everything, and really denigrating the intelligence and decency of these recruits.

What are you really saying about these young men if the choice you present them is: either accept the "noble sacrifice" of playing for a downtrodden in-state team, or be deemed a weak-minded coward by the fanbase?

Personally, I don't perceive it as a sacrifice, given the level of competition and the quality of coaching which will be available to them and the amount of individualized resources they would likely be given. But simply going by past history, it is reasonable to understand why skepticism exists about our rose-bowl aspirations.

My sense is that JE overplayed his hand a bit last spring. (thanks for that wonderful insight about the recruiting weekends, poster whose alias I can't remember) He desperately wanted recruits to share his vision of the future glory of the black and gold. When that didn't happen he got angry and his frustration came through in the form of this "challenge" as it has been termed.

Appeals to pride only work for certain types of personalities. Perhaps it was more effective 20 or 30 years ago. The fact is that most athletes are motivated by a holistic package of what they think is going to be best for them and those they care about--not what is best for others, much less the amorphous masses of the state. I am not calling them selfish. I am saying that everyone, by definition, is Self-interested.

JE seems like an emotionally intelligent coach, so I'm willing to bet he won't be trying "to challenge" in state recruits in this way again. After all, how much more exciting is it to say, "because we have struggled so much over the last 10 years, you have an opportunity now to contribute and shine for the mighty b&g in a way that might not be possible at other schools or at other times." That kind of challenge is much more exciting and doesn't rely on the dubious power of guilt.

There might even be a chance to pull out some of the in-state recruits this year, if he can assuage their concerns about him and the program.
 
I think many people agree with what you're saying aeroxx - but you do hear from lots of kids in Texas, Florida, and California about 'staying home' and playing with pride for their state school. Colorado kids tend to not have that sense of loyalty or pride to the state. It is probably due to the fact that much of our populace moves here from other places.

I don't expect every Colorado kid to stay here, and I certainly don't expect JE's 'challenge' to resonant with many kids. But I can tell you that if I had any athletic talent, it would have resonated with me at the time. I've been here my whole life, as have my parents - and I take great pride in the state and would have loved the opportunity to try and join JE in his goals. I don't expect every other kid to feel that way - we all make decisions in our own way. I'm disappointed we don't have more kids like Norgard, but I don't think kids who don't buy into that are bad kids or have done anything wrong or disingenuous in their recruitment.
 
I think many people agree with what you're saying aeroxx - but you do hear from lots of kids in Texas, Florida, and California about 'staying home' and playing with pride for their state school. Colorado kids tend to not have that sense of loyalty or pride to the state. It is probably due to the fact that much of our populace moves here from other places.

I don't expect every Colorado kid to stay here, and I certainly don't expect JE's 'challenge' to resonant with many kids. But I can tell you that if I had any athletic talent, it would have resonated with me at the time. I've been here my whole life, as have my parents - and I take great pride in the state and would have loved the opportunity to try and join JE in his goals. I don't expect every other kid to feel that way - we all make decisions in our own way. I'm disappointed we don't have more kids like Norgard, but I don't think kids who don't buy into that are bad kids or have done anything wrong or disingenuous in their recruitment.

I t would help if there was more pride from the people in this state for the college teams in this state.
 
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