Insider's View of Chip West...

[A Clockwork Orange]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

 

[orange79]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

 

[orange79]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

But seriously, thanks for the info. Always good to go in with eyes open...

 

[Whitey23]

Makes sense looking at his career arc. Let’s hope he can open some doors.

 

[crales44]

Thanks for the info, but I don't 100% get your friend's point. Looking at 2011 he was the primary recruiter for top 50 player Demetriuous Nicholson and top 200 player Clifton Richardson, who was #56 on 247's own top 100. These are clearly high profile recruits with offers from a litany of major schools. How was his ability to get them on campus unimpressive in any way, shape or form?

And in 2014 he was linked to both Quin Blanding and Andrew Brown by 247. These guys were recruited by everybody. I find it hard to believe that recruiting in the area is any tougher for top 20 players now then it was then.

Obviously 2020 isn't 2014 and Syracuse isn't Virginia, and I'm not expecting him to grab top 20 national recruits from Virginia, but a list of guys he recruited to Virginia was very impressive, much more impressive than the tepid description your friend has given us.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

View attachment 176433

My sentiments exactly!

 

[sutomcat]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

Appreciate any Info we can get, positive or negative.

The thing that your friend said that doesn’t make a ton of sense to me is calling the Tidewater area an unmined gem when West was killing it recruiting, say from 2004 to 2014.

Hampton Roads has been a hotbed of talent for a long time. Talent from there played a huge role in propelling Virginia Tech from an obscure school with no history or fan base into what was once a really good football program.

A lot of really good players have been coming from there for a long time. I would agree that a lot of people were sleeping on the area in the 1990s, when the Hokies really went to town there, but by 2005 or so, in addition to V Tech, Virginia, Penn State, UNC and many others were hitting the area hard. West played a key role in making UVA a player down there.

I linked a good article on Hampton Roads below.

For the NFL, Hampton Roads has been a pipeline for top-tier talent

HAMPTON, Virginia — It’d clearly been a while since Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had seen those red-white-and-blue Patriots jerseys. No, not the ones w…

theundefeated.com

 

[OburgCuse]

Appreciate any Info we can get, positive or negative.

The thing that your friend said that doesn’t make a ton of sense to me is calling the Tidewater area an unmined gem when West was killing it recruiting, say from 2004 to 2014.

Hampton Roads has been a hotbed of talent for a long time. Talent from there played a huge role in propelling Virginia Tech from an obscure school with no history or fan base into what was once a really good football program.

A lot of really good players have been coming from there for a long time. I would agree that a lot of people were sleeping on the area in the 1990s, when the Hokies really went to town there, but by 2005 or so, in addition to V Tech, Virginia, Penn State, UNC and many others were hitting the area hard. West played a key role in making UVA a player down there.

I linked a good article on Hampton Roads below.

For the NFL, Hampton Roads has been a pipeline for top-tier talent

HAMPTON, Virginia — It’d clearly been a while since Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had seen those red-white-and-blue Patriots jerseys. No, not the ones w…

theundefeated.com

This ^ was my thoughts exactly. Ofcourse wonder why his next couple of jobs post uva weren’t fbs caliber...but tidewater area was far from an unmined gem while he was in Charlottesville. It was more of a hotbed actually

 

[sutomcat]

This ^ was my thoughts exactly. Ofcourse wonder why his next couple of jobs post uva weren’t fbs caliber...but tidewater area was far from an unmined gem while he was in Charlottesville. It was more of a hotbed actually

Agree, I am not concerned that he found a secret fishing hole and that was the only reason he was successful recruiting.

I am concerned about what happened after London got fired and his time at UVa ended. His career path is not great. You would think with the great things he was able to do early in his career, he would have had many good options coaching at the P5 level.

Hope whatever caused that can be addressed and he is able to pick up where he left off in the ACC.

Here is a good article on Coach West. It turns out his coaching career was started by former SU coach Steve Dunlap, who played a key role mentoring Chip early on,

West is Chip off the ol' state

This will be Chip West's first Marshall Green and White spring scrimmage on Saturday in Joan C. Edwards Stadium. But otherwise? Let's just say this isn't the new Marshall University...

apnews.com

 

[SmilinBob]

Thanks for the info and to be honest if Dino thinks he's the right hire, I do as well. If he can recruit some HS players in the Virginia/DC/Maryland area and do a solid job coaching, I'll be very happy with West being on the staff.
Let's see who starts to get those 2021 guys lined up......gentlemen...start your engines.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

at the end of the day, he is a position coach. Brought in to to coach corner backs and I am sure to recruiting a couple areas where he has contacts. Lets see how we make out. Coordinators look solid.

 

[qdawgg]

at the end of the day, he is a position coach. Brought in to to coach corner backs and I am sure to recruiting a couple areas where he has contacts. Lets see how we make out. Coordinators look solid.

Exactly, he's not running the defense. If anything, you'd think he'd at least be some level of upgrade to previous years even if he doesn't pull in a bunch of 4 star players. If he can land solid 3 star players from the tidewater area, I would consider that a success. If he ends up being absolutely terrible, he's let go, no big deal.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Exactly, he's not running the defense. If anything, you'd think he'd at least be some level of upgrade to previous years even if he doesn't pull in a bunch of 4 star players. If he can land solid 3 star players from the tidewater area, I would consider that a success. If he ends up being absolutely terrible, he's let go, no big deal.

I know this wasn't your point but I don't think there is a coach/ recruiter out there that will pull in a bunch of 4 stars to Syracuse. It has never happened here and most likely never will. Also a few winning seasons strung together would be much better for the program than a " stud" recruiter

 

[All4SU]

Looks to me like he moved to FCS to be on a coordinator track. It didn’t pan out the way he hoped I’m sure. Let’s hope he is reinvigorated here.

 

[Dcuse]

I know this wasn't your point but I don't think there is a coach/ recruiter out there that will pull in a bunch of 4 stars to Syracuse. It has never happened here and most likely never will. Also a few winning seasons strung together would be much better for the program than a " stud" recruiter

I agree with this for the most part. The whole “ stud recruiter” thing is so overplayed it’s ridiculous. Most all coaches at this level are good communicators with kids or they wouldn’t be in the position. I’m not saying that some might sell a bit better than others but it’s definitely overplayed. Our greatest recruiter of all time was George Deleone who was Godlike in New Jersey. Yet,for some reason, the mention of his name here brings out negative mayhem.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I agree with this for the most part. The whole “ stud recruiter” thing is so overplayed it’s ridiculous. Most all coaches at this level are good communicators with kids or they wouldn’t be in the position. I’m not saying that some might sell a bit better than others but it’s definitely overplayed. Our greatest recruiter of all time was George Deleone who was Godlike in New Jersey. Yet,for some reason, the mention of his name here brings out negative mayhem.

Agreed, And again, that was 25 years ago, things have changed a lot since then in NJ, much like they have in the area of VA that is being discussed

 

[RF2044]

I know this wasn't your point but I don't think there is a coach/ recruiter out there that will pull in a bunch of 4 stars to Syracuse. It has never happened here and most likely never will. Also a few winning seasons strung together would be much better for the program than a " stud" recruiter

Exactly -- the notion that a guy is going to bring a "book of business" vis a vis recruiting inroads is not the right way to think about it.

But I do expect a guy who is better at recruiting / closing, which might help us land guys higher up on our list.

 

[qdawgg]

I know this wasn't your point but I don't think there is a coach/ recruiter out there that will pull in a bunch of 4 stars to Syracuse. It has never happened here and most likely never will. Also a few winning seasons strung together would be much better for the program than a " stud" recruiter

It wasn’t necessarily my point but I believe that too. If we can improve the overall quality of our 3 star recruits (not a knock on our current recruits) and have more really good 3 star recruits from top to bottom, we’ll be really good most years.

 

[Nahson]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

I would argue that being first, means he has great foresight. Tells me hes on top of things, understand what rocks to flip and where. I wouldn't take that as a knock.

 

[PhatOrange]

my only quibble has already been stated. A) the tidewater area wasn't a hidden honey hole by the time West came along, and B) West is being brought in to coach the cornerbacks that's all, and his resume seems like it's been pretty good in that area.

I really like the fact that your friend believes West was instrumental in helping build 2 FCS power house programs. James Madison won the NC with West and then West was with Wilder when he took over ODU in 2007 - 2009 they went 26-7 over those 3 seasons putting the program on the map.

 

[Ozone!]

IMO, if HCDB wants him; he has good reasons. He certainly has loads of experience coaching CB's and that is an area of need.

 

[supp]

Safe to say he'll be the lowest paid assistant on the staff. We may have been limited in terms of candidates by budget issues since Gilbert and White likely will get way more than Ward or Lynch were making. We also expanded the support staff this offseason. Wildhack has probably added $1 million-plus to the assistant pool this year.

Whatever West is getting, it'll be a big raise from his pay packet at Marshall ($95K).

 

[PhatOrange]

Safe to say he'll be the lowest paid assistant on the staff. We may have been limited in terms of candidates by budget issues since Gilbert and White likely will get way more than Ward or Lynch were making. We also expanded the support staff this offseason. Wildhack has probably added $1 million-plus to the assistant pool this year.

Whatever West is getting, it'll be a big raise from his pay packet at Marshall ($95K).

good point

 

[albanycuse]

I have a good friend who has covered West for the better part of 20 years. He knows more about him than most people. His thoughts on him aren't horrible but they aren't a ringing endorsement either. Below is a transcript of what he had to say. Ellipses are used to piece together separate parts of the conversation.

"His best work was when he was at James Madison University. He was one of the main guys to build that 2004 title team. After that, he went to ODU to help launch that program...I feel like his recruiting prowess is more reputation than reality. He made his recruiting reputation in the Tidewater area back when it was an unmined gem. There's a ton more national competition in that area now than there was when he was at UVA or JMU...He was kind of like a tech company that became successful because they got there before anyone else. Kind of like the MySpace of recruiting. Incredibly lucrative but mostly because nothing else like it was around at that point...I’ll put it this way: When I saw SU added him today, I didn’t exactly think it was some kind of coup."

Makes sense because he would be at a top 10 program if he really killed it at bringing in top notch talent.

 

[orange_in_VA]

I played highschool football on an average team in Virginia Beach 15 years ago and we still had recruiters from everywhere showing up. This unmined area thing is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. Lol