The playing out of necessity was in reference to Desir not Eskridge and all four players were from a prior post referencing how well we've done in Florida without McDonald on the staff. Those were the four chosen by that poster, I guess because they've seen the field at Syracuse. I wish I had four full MCD classes of Florida guys to match your one NFL draft pick (Eskridge) we've had out of the State of Florida in the last 10 years.
Onto the matter at hand and that is the continued trumpeting of how well we've done in Florida prior to McDonald, he hasn't upped the talent level and the talent he's getting from Florida is the same talent we've always got, thus, once he's gone things in Florida will continue on status quo. There are many variations of these statements that have been reiterated on this board.
Alert: This isn't the 80's and 90's anymore and the Florida talent/bodies on the roster since 2000 have been few and far between. I don't understand why people continue to say we've been pulling this talent always and no big deal if we lose a S. Fla. recruiter with the ties on the ground that MCD has there. Do you really believe that or are you just being contrarian? I know you follow recruiting and used to be a strong supporter of McDonalds efforts so I don't quite understand.
Let me break it down for you and everyone else that feels our recruiting in Florida has remained static and we always get the guys we've gotten in the 2014 and 2015 classes. Lets go to school. Once again, the numbers don't lie.
In the classes from 2002 until 2012 (11 years of recruiting) we signed 20 players from the State of Florida or 1.8 players per year. Of those 20 players we signed:
3-star - 3 players
2-star - 15 players
Unrated - 2 players
In the 2014 and 2015 classes we have had 13 signed/committed players (prior to Grimes and Robinson decommits) from the State of Florida or 6.5 per year. Of those 13 players signed/committed:
3-star - 11 players
2-star - 2 players
*2013 was not included in the analysis due to changeover in staff. In the interest of full disclosure 2 Florida guys committed prior to the staff change (Provo and Hodge) and 3 Florida guys committed after the staff change (Batten, Estime, Avant).
How anyone can look at the numbers/players and think that MCD hasn't been a huge help in Florida is either blind or just wants to argue for the sake of arguing.
I undersand that MCD has polarized the fanbase but the attempts at cutting into his recruiting prowess in the State of Florida come off as sour grapes and aren't founded in reality. Bottom line is that without a Florida recruiter with roots/contacts in the Florida HS football scene Syracuse University will not recruit well in Florida. That's just how it is my friend. Pretty sure the staff knows this as well. Why the hell does everyone think we've been recruiting the Midwest with the makeup of our staff and now NJ with Acosta? They have proven contacts/credibility/relationship in those areas.
My father always told me to try and not argue facts so I'm done with this debate for now. Although doubtful it will influence the staunches anti-MCD crowd I am hopeful it has educated some as to the last decade of our efforts/failures in State of Florida and how we were on the brink of turning that around.
Go CUSE! Beat Duke!
