ACC Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2020

[djorange1989]

2019 was a killer for our reputation. Dino's first two years went as they should have been expected to , he totally overhauled the systems on both sides of the ball, talent was really bad etc. After 2018, and with the schedule we had last year, we should have been an 8-9 win team, but the OL was hell on earth, the D was pretty terrible and frankly it seemed like the staff lost control of the team from the get go. The initial returns on the new staff members from a recruiting standpoint are good, hopefully that continues, Swag Daddy can't do it all by himself!

 

[721Comstock]

nah I've looked at UNC for the past 10 years and they recruit in the top 35 every year. 3 top 25 finishes and 2 top 20 finishes during that time. They'll finish around #20 this year. (by the way, the State of North Carolina has 14 four star prospects this year. In other words the state has a lot of talent.)

LVille usually recruits top 40 with 3 classes in the top 30 over 10 years. They're in a unique geographical spot and their ranking this year is with a new coach (first full recruiting season) who's well connected in the South. Lets see where they go from here.

I'm not disheartened at all with those other 3. A) BC is 10 spots ahead of us with a bunch of prospects who on paper are no better than ours. I mean lets be honest, Josh Hough is our lowest rated recruit. B) Pitt has always recruited better than us. Past 10 years half of their classes have been btw 25-40 and half btw 40-50. They had 2 outliers at 58 and 65 I think. Pitts class this year is bolstered by 2 - four star kids FROM Pittsburgh. C) half of Rutgirls kids are over-rated and the other half jumped on the shiny new toy. They lucked out not having to go 2-10 this year.

This.

SUNJ is a confluence of several things:

• NJ has a LOT more talent than NY, and they're doing a good job DURING A PANDEMIC keeping those kids home.
• For the moment - Rutgers has a long and storied history... of de-commits.
• They have 2 shills working for major recruiting sites, who consistently overrate their kids, and underrate ours. So - take those rankings with a 50lb bag of salt.
• They just numerically have a lot more kids verballed - 21 so far! Many of whom have Rutty as their ONLY P5 (I use that term very loosely here) offer.
• As PhatO said - Shady dodged a bullet not actually playing and taking 10 L's and getting 70+ hung on them yet again by tOSU, Michigan, State Penn, etc.

Syracuse is roughly in the ballpark with many of it's peers, and only a bit behind several others.

We're NEVER going to out-recruit Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, or probably Llvll.

We should be able to move up to more closely match schools like Pitt, BC, UVA, GaTech, NCState, VaTech.

 

[AngryOtto]

His worse loss by far to date and I excuse it because that was the team's culture back then. My #2 would be Maryland and I'll never excuse that, the team was woefully unprepared. But it happens. Happens to everyone except for maybe Clemson.

I totally agree the team was unprepared mentally but the players were also not focused and were buying into the hype.
They thought they could mail in that game and were focused on Clemson. They got punched in the mouth and couldn’t recover.

 

[AngryOtto]

2019 was a killer for our reputation. Dino's first two years went as they should have been expected to , he totally overhauled the systems on both sides of the ball, talent was really bad etc. After 2018, and with the schedule we had last year, we should have been an 8-9 win team, but the OL was hell on earth, the D was pretty terrible and frankly it seemed like the staff lost control of the team from the get go. The initial returns on the new staff members from a recruiting standpoint are good, hopefully that continues, Swag Daddy can't do it all by himself!

I agree that the coaching changes were necessary. In a normal season if we underperformed I could see a couple more being replaced. I feel Dino will do what’s necessary, the right way, to put the best team on the field.

 

[PhatOrange]

whomever said this might be the

I totally agree the team was unprepared mentally but the players were also not focused and were buying into the hype.
They thought they could mail in that game and were focused on Clemson. They got punched in the mouth and couldn’t recover.

agreed the players share some of the responsibility...but it's also part of the prep.

 

[TheCusian]

Clemson didn’t lose to a 3-9 team by 43 points

I stand corrected.
We were a bad team last year that lost to a bad team by a lot.

Clemson was a very good team that lost to a mediocre team by a little.

(My point was more that games where you underperform and the other team over performs is quite common in CFB. It's a part of why it's so compelling)

 

[CU44SE]

Today's culture is what have you done for me lately. Frankly, we sucked at the beginning of last year and it ruined our whole season. Dino made necessary changes to both sides of the ball. I think we were primed for a great bounce back year with about 8 wins. That has become much more difficult with our schedule. IMO there is no doubt we are on the right path and we may not win that many games this year but we will see progress on the field.

 

[TheCusian]

2019 was a killer for our reputation. Dino's first two years went as they should have been expected to , he totally overhauled the systems on both sides of the ball, talent was really bad etc. After 2018, and with the schedule we had last year, we should have been an 8-9 win team, but the OL was hell on earth, the D was pretty terrible and frankly it seemed like the staff lost control of the team from the get go. The initial returns on the new staff members from a recruiting standpoint are good, hopefully that continues, Swag Daddy can't do it all by himself!

I think we relied on a simple system and tempo and it got figured out at the same time the one OL that couldn't go down did. The O crumbled.

I agree that the D crumbled too. I am hopeful that this year's staff changes build towards a great 2021. This year is a wash if it happens. I see it as a chance to get better (W/L be damned)

 

[Trueblue25]

I stand corrected.
We were a bad team last year that lost to a bad team by a lot.

Clemson was a very good team that lost to a mediocre team by a little.

(My point was more that games where you underperform and the other team over performs is quite common in CFB. It's a part of why it's so compelling)

Yeah I understand and agree with your point, this threads just got me glass half empty.

I think the Maryland game really was far more concerning than people here want to admit.

We were out coached by a historically bad coach. That is on Dino.

Our coordinators were exposed and made zero adjustments. They are no longer coordinators.

Our undersized defense was lit up, we missed Bear terribly and our safeties were nowhere to be found protecting the edge/sidelines.

Our wide receivers looked so disinterested, defeated and all around not up to par.

Tommy got frustrated and made concerning bad decisions that resulted in turnovers.

You watched that game and it’s hard not to point out “that is a poorly coached team”.

 

[cuse10]

Yeah I understand and agree with your point, this threads just got me glass half empty.

I think the Maryland game really was far more concerning than people here want to admit.

We were out coached by a historically bad coach. That is on Dino.

Our coordinators were exposed and made zero adjustments. They are no longer coordinators.

Our undersized defense was lit up, we missed Bear terribly and our safeties were nowhere to be found protecting the edge/sidelines.

Our wide receivers looked so disinterested, defeated and all around not up to par.

Tommy got frustrated and made concerning bad decisions that resulted in turnovers.

You watched that game and it’s hard not to point out “that is a poorly coached team”.

I spoke to a player's father at JFK headed to the Clemson game and he disagreed. He put the blame on the players for looking past Maryland thinking it was an easy W. His son is one of the better players in the program.

 

[Trueblue25]

I spoke to a player's father at JFK headed to the Clemson game and he disagreed. He put the blame on the players for looking past Maryland thinking it was an easy W. His son is one of the better players in the program.

While that was evident too, its the coach’s job not to allow that to happen.

 

[syrBossHogg]

While that was evident too, its the coach’s job not to allow that to happen.

Also falls on the leaders on offense and defense to keep guys ready. Can't imagine they would overlook Maryland if Dungey, Strickland, Martin, Slayton etc were on the team.

 

[Trueblue25]

Also falls on the leaders on offense and defense to keep guys ready. Can't imagine they would overlook Maryland if Dungey, Strickland, Martin, Slayton etc were on the team.

Well we need to find out how to win without Dungey and Slayton, otherwise the seat will get hot

 

[javadoc]

“It could be a long year. They looked more talented in past years than in 2019, and the supply is only going downhill."

"That system pressures the quarterback to be such a smart, good player, that when the right talent isn't in there they automatically put themselves in trouble."

"What (offensive coordinator) Sterlin (Gilbert) should be able to do is help (Tommy) DeVito read things a little better, maybe simplify some decision-making."

"Their offense needs to do something different. The general perception in the P5 is that tempo isn't as difficult to defend as it was five or six years ago. It feels like a novelty now, at least the way they run it."

"The one bright spot in their recruiting is that they have some big, athletic receivers and some more behind them. They're losing their top production guys, but this is their one real depth position."

They have to change their approach to recruiting if they're going to survive in the ACC. The level of talent they're bringing in isn't going to be able to run this system effectively enough to win consistently."

"Right now you can define (Dino Babers') time there as a single breakout season where he had a quarterback that was a unique talent in (Eric) Dungey. You can't make a pattern of that. The defensive and offensive quality hasn't really shown improvement outside of having a hot hand one year."

Hard to argue with most of that

Stuff like this is nothing more than a means to identify which coaches feel insecure about certain other programs.

 

[Orijinal]

I spoke to a player's father at JFK headed to the Clemson game and he disagreed. He put the blame on the players for looking past Maryland thinking it was an easy W. His son is one of the better players in the program.

It truly truly makes me wonder how we will ever have sustained success if players start getting overconfident anytime people start talking about how good they could be.

However, there were issues with this defense that went beyond overconfidence, as made evident by the Boston College game

 

[skurey]

I refuse to believe a Syracuse football player would think any game is an easy W.

 

[Trueblue25]

Think all the offseason antics like La Familia and the jersey unveiling blew up the kids and coach’s egos to the point where they forgot they had to work for success

 

[Redrum]

Seems harsh, and seems low...but honestly, not that low. I really couldnt justify moving him more than 10, maybe 20 slots, based on last year.

I really take things writers and commentators say with a grain of salt they are lazy , they take things from what some other cluebird says and run with it without there own research then it becomes contagious sometimes I’m your favor sometimes not .
This is my poor Tommy rant ...,
Thankfully he is 200% healed from last years excruciatingly painful injury. Since it’s over I can say it was a rare rib injury so rare only 3 NFL guys ever had it and guess what they didn’t play ! Imagine you can take a breath
Can’t run without wincing, hard to raise your arm and to play you get injections right into your ribs ! How many QBs would say hey I’ll trade with tommy last year ?
Let’s list the things ...
the injury and all that goes with that
The O line injuries lead to us being ranked like last or close to last as a unit how many QBs would like that ? Last last last ..
As a result no running game hmm I wonder how that would help a Qb
A Qb coach from a high school who played TE
a second year OC ( poor guy had it tough with the above circumstances to )
No 50/50 big wr to just take a shot with
One of the most penalized teams in the league
Seriously not to make excuses but did a Qb have it any worst than him ?
You saw the Western Michigan game just before the injury he started running that 4.58 speed was on display but unfortunately the injury made him just try to survive. That injury combined with the sacks we gave up was a bad combo. And he took it like a man I couldn’t be prouder . He could have just threw the ball up for a prayer but he still tried to protect the ball and he did . No pics since September. Only him and baker mayfield accounted for 20 plus tds and so few turnovers after being sacked so much .
He ranks talent and measurable wise in the top 10 in everything ( except height ) in the country in every category a few he is first .
Give him a middle ranked line not where we finished last year and health and your gonna see a show . He’s a warrior for what he endured but nobody realizes it . He a total team guy ! It’s a sin what he went through!
He trained like a demon during quarantine
Got up to 224lbs 28 reps on the Bench with 225lbs . Freak stuff . Did he make a few bad descions last year? sure he did but under the circumstances most of not all would have taken there ball and gone home . Idc if I get blasted for defending him or pointing out or deficiencies but it’s factual. Once again what Qb had worst circumstances last year ? I’m a big boy I can handle criticism I just don’t like lazy writers or criticism when the facts and circumstances aren’t taken into account.
Good news is sterling Gilbert is very good
More choices on offense. I’ll go to war with our skill players together they are formidable
Out Achilles heel will be offensive line depth
If we get injuries we are in trouble and of course any covid opt outs or positive cases will be a problem . Right now I think we can be dynamic on offense but health is our key ingredient.

 

[Orijinal]

I really take things writers and commentators say with a grain of salt they are lazy , they take things from what some other cluebird says and run with it without there own research then it becomes contagious sometimes I’m your favor sometimes not .
This is my poor Tommy rant ...,
Thankfully he is 200% healed from last years excruciatingly painful injury. Since it’s over I can say it was a rare rib injury so rare only 3 NFL guys ever had it and guess what they didn’t play ! Imagine you can take a breath
Can’t run without wincing, hard to raise your arm and to play you get injections right into your ribs ! How many QBs would say hey I’ll trade with tommy last year ?
Let’s list the things ...
the injury and all that goes with that
The O line injuries lead to us being ranked like last or close to last as a unit how many QBs would like that ? Last last last ..
As a result no running game hmm I wonder how that would help a Qb
A Qb coach from a high school who played TE
a second year OC ( poor guy had it tough with the above circumstances to )
No 50/50 big wr to just take a shot with
One of the most penalized teams in the league
Seriously not to make excuses but did a Qb have it any worst than him ?
You saw the Western Michigan game just before the injury he started running that 4.58 speed was on display but unfortunately the injury made him just try to survive. That injury combined with the sacks we gave up was a bad combo. And he took it like a man I couldn’t be prouder . He could have just threw the ball up for a prayer but he still tried to protect the ball and he did . No pics since September. Only him and baker mayfield accounted for 20 plus tds and so few turnovers after being sacked so much .
He ranks talent and measurable wise in the top 10 in everything ( except height ) in the country in every category a few he is first .
Give him a middle ranked line not where we finished last year and health and your gonna see a show . He’s a warrior for what he endured but nobody realizes it . He a total team guy ! It’s a sin what he went through!
He trained like a demon during quarantine
Got up to 224lbs 28 reps on the Bench with 225lbs . Freak stuff . Did he make a few bad descions last year? sure he did but under the circumstances most of not all would have taken there ball and gone home . Idc if I get blasted for defending him or pointing out or deficiencies but it’s factual. Once again what Qb had worst circumstances last year ? I’m a big boy I can handle criticism I just don’t like lazy writers or criticism when the facts and circumstances aren’t taken into account.
Good news is sterling Gilbert is very good
More choices on offense. I’ll go to war with our skill players together they are formidable
Out Achilles heel will be offensive line depth
If we get injuries we are in trouble and of course any covid opt outs or positive cases will be a problem . Right now I think we can be dynamic on offense but health is our key ingredient.

I have been critical of Devito's play in 2019, but that was an incredible post. Awesome. Thanks

 

[Redrum]

I have been critical of Devito's play in 2019, but that was an incredible post. Awesome. Thanks

Your welcome I understand the expectations and criticism that comes with it and have zero problem with it .

 

[Trueblue25]

I got faith in Tommy, my concerns generating a run game. We have the backs, we have three veterans returning that are undeniable ACC calibre runners. We need to utilize them but yet again OL’s 2/3 the issue.

 

[GreekFreak]

I really take things writers and commentators say with a grain of salt they are lazy , they take things from what some other cluebird says and run with it without there own research then it becomes contagious sometimes I’m your favor sometimes not .
This is my poor Tommy rant ...,
Thankfully he is 200% healed from last years excruciatingly painful injury. Since it’s over I can say it was a rare rib injury so rare only 3 NFL guys ever had it and guess what they didn’t play ! Imagine you can take a breath
Can’t run without wincing, hard to raise your arm and to play you get injections right into your ribs ! How many QBs would say hey I’ll trade with tommy last year ?
Let’s list the things ...
the injury and all that goes with that
The O line injuries lead to us being ranked like last or close to last as a unit how many QBs would like that ? Last last last ..
As a result no running game hmm I wonder how that would help a Qb
A Qb coach from a high school who played TE
a second year OC ( poor guy had it tough with the above circumstances to )
No 50/50 big wr to just take a shot with
One of the most penalized teams in the league
Seriously not to make excuses but did a Qb have it any worst than him ?
You saw the Western Michigan game just before the injury he started running that 4.58 speed was on display but unfortunately the injury made him just try to survive. That injury combined with the sacks we gave up was a bad combo. And he took it like a man I couldn’t be prouder . He could have just threw the ball up for a prayer but he still tried to protect the ball and he did . No pics since September. Only him and baker mayfield accounted for 20 plus tds and so few turnovers after being sacked so much .
He ranks talent and measurable wise in the top 10 in everything ( except height ) in the country in every category a few he is first .
Give him a middle ranked line not where we finished last year and health and your gonna see a show . He’s a warrior for what he endured but nobody realizes it . He a total team guy ! It’s a sin what he went through!
He trained like a demon during quarantine
Got up to 224lbs 28 reps on the Bench with 225lbs . Freak stuff . Did he make a few bad descions last year? sure he did but under the circumstances most of not all would have taken there ball and gone home . Idc if I get blasted for defending him or pointing out or deficiencies but it’s factual. Once again what Qb had worst circumstances last year ? I’m a big boy I can handle criticism I just don’t like lazy writers or criticism when the facts and circumstances aren’t taken into account.
Good news is sterling Gilbert is very good
More choices on offense. I’ll go to war with our skill players together they are formidable
Out Achilles heel will be offensive line depth
If we get injuries we are in trouble and of course any covid opt outs or positive cases will be a problem . Right now I think we can be dynamic on offense but health is our key ingredient.

Agreed. Welcome back Caretaker.

 

[Cusefan69]

Oline hands down is biggest question going into this season for me. They as a group have not been good for a number of years. Hopefully some health, some growth, some maturity and some lucky breaks result in some better play and outcomes this season.

 

[Orijinal]

In my mind, the Oline answered all questions of their capability the last 3 games of the season. I think the Oline is going to be completely fine as long as Vet stays at Center

 

[shantydaze]

"Their offense needs to do something different. The general perception in the P5 is that tempo isn't as difficult to defend as it was five or six years ago. It feels like a novelty now, at least the way they run it."

I was always a little concerned with this issue as it made the offense appear to me to be a bit gimmicky. An offense that might give you a win against a team unprepared for it, but less successful against a team played on a yearly basis.

They have to change their approach to recruiting if they're going to survive in the ACC. The level of talent they're bringing in isn't going to be able to run this system effectively enough to win consistently."

This kind of analysis always make me shake my head. It makes it seem as if Syracuse and Dino are ignoring highly rated recruits and merely going after the lower tier players. Unless, of course, by "approach" they mean the SEC (and probably some of our conference mates) method of recruiting ($$$$$).

I will say that Dino needs to look at what New York, or at least CNY and Western New York, have to offer in terms of player attributes. These are the kids that SU has the best chance of landing. If they are not the type of athletes needed to be successful in Dino's offense, it may be time to rethink those schemes. I believe any non-helmet school that relies heavily on bringing in kids from other areas of the country will have a difficult time sustaining success.