The UConn game still means a whole lot to Doug Marrone and to the Syracuse program, even if it doesn’t mean a whole lot to you.
After the Rutgers win?¬†“It’s a big recruiting weekend for us because it’s our first full year recruiting and it’s the first time we’ve had these prospects on campus during an official weekend.”
UConn is another team in SU’s geographical recruiting sphere. Syracuse may not be playing for a bowl game this weekend but they’re always battling for recruits.
Think about this for a minute: Marrone comes on in December ’08 and is charged with evaluating what he’s got in the program, selecting a coaching staff, getting to know the players and then trying to prepare for a season starting with spring practice.
Now, try to find time to focus on recruiting in the middle of that storm.
I can’t speak for Marrone personally, but it’s possible he hasn’t had a whole lot of time to dedicate to it. Unfortunately now that the season is winding down,¬†he sounds like he might be getting the hang of things in just his first go round.
“To have people on campus and feel what the atmosphere is like is no different than what we try and do academically. We try and bring our players in here during the school day so they can see the flow of campus and see our players, going to class with them, and then to have the opportunity to see what it’s like on a game day environment is quite beneficial for us. And then obviously winning helps also.”
The Orange hosted a sizable amount of recruits on the sidelines Saturday although Marrone wouldn’t give the exact number. He¬†did make note that paying attention to detail is important when it comes to potential players.
“Every time we play someone in our conference is important. Everything is important. How we do academically is important, how we carry ourselves, how we introduce ourselves to parents, how we communicate, the support of the community, the school. Just think about the people in the room that are parents and they take their or daughter to a school – they’re observing everything. Everything that goes on, not just two plus two equals four. They’re looking at the people that they’re gonna trust with their son for the next four or five years.”
It’s not just the players you’re selling to, it’s the parents as well. You might think Scarlet Red is cool, but mom and dad know that Orange looks way better on you kid!
And right after the UConn game is over, it’s a full off-season of recruiting. So even if you’ve lost interest in this football season,¬†The Fizz has just given you a reason for hope on Saturday.
