Class of 2023 - JUCO DL Michael Nwokocha (TX) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (1/8/24) | Page 9 | Syracusefan.com

Class of 2023 JUCO DL Michael Nwokocha (TX) COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (1/8/24)

And the program knows it’s important to get local coverage. Dino moving on here helps as you have a new coaching staff who gets importance of selling the program locally. All coming together.
It also helps when you have something to sell. Unfortunately Babers was not a very good recruiter and rarely had anything worth announcing.

Coach Fran on the other hand seems to have something everyday. It is like watching a great football series on Netflix and then you realize that it is Syracuse and you’re not dreaming.
 
It also helps when you have something to sell. Unfortunately Babers was not a very good recruiter and rarely had anything worth announcing.

Coach Fran on the other hand seems to have something everyday. It is like watching a great football series on Netflix and then you realize that it is Syracuse and you’re not dreaming.
Of course. But you have to sell whatever you got. Secrecy doesn’t help, especially in our market.
 
It also helps when you have something to sell. Unfortunately Babers was not a very good recruiter and rarely had anything worth announcing.

Coach Fran on the other hand seems to have something everyday. It is like watching a great football series on Netflix and then you realize that it is Syracuse and you’re not dreaming.
The frustrating thing is I think Dino had the capability to be a great recruiter. He is very charismatic and seems like a great person. I just don't think he had the obsession with recruiting needed.
 
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There were other journalists on the PS in recent years that have advocated doing football recruiting stories. It was the PS that said no. They weren't interested in that type of coverage of the football program.
Weird, I know it's not their forte but an example of those decision makers in the media that have no pulse of their audience
 
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The frustrating thing is I think Dino had the capability to be a great recruiter. He is very charismatic and seems like a great person. I just don't think he had the obsession with recruiting needed.
I think it's fair to say that the focus and effort on that part of the program definitely took a downturn after the 2018 season. One thing that really boggled my mind was how reliant his offenses were on having big bodied physical wide receivers, and outside of Alford (who really isn't that besides being tall), we didn't bring in anyone in the Ishmael/Custis/Etta Tawo mold. Really bizarre.
 
The sad thing is I think Dino had the capability to be a great recruiter. I just don't think he had the obsession with recruiting needed.

He did have the capability. Problem though is the more you lose early on the harder it gets. Laying an egg coming off 10 wins was his recruiting undoing. Went 5-7 then covids 1-10. Recruiting for him at that point was basically over because it became such a hard sell.

There’s always initial buzz when new staffs are hired so recruiting pops; we’re seeing it now and we’ll see it next season even if we stumble. Can’t stumble two years in a row though; then the staff turnover starts and it’s harder to sell the vision and convince kids to join a program that can’t win.
 
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With his speed, I'm thinking there is a good chance Nwokocha plays the big DE spot for us. Really looking forward to a massive size infusion on the DL.
 
The frustrating thing is I think Dino had the capability to be a great recruiter. He is very charismatic and seems like a great person. I just don't think he had the obsession with recruiting needed.
Maybe, but I always wondered how much others really believed what he was saying. From day one, when I was asked to close my eyes, I thought he was a bit of a BS'r. He seems like a solid person and I wish him all the best, but just felt like he was disingenuous at times. Fran appears to speak from the heart.
 
He did have the capability. Problem though is the more you lose early on the harder it gets. Laying an egg coming off 10 wins was his recruiting undoing. Went 5-7 then covids 1-10. Recruiting for him at that point was basically over because it became such a hard sell.

There’s always initial buzz when new staffs are hired so recruiting pops; we’re seeing it now and we’ll see it next season even if we stumble. Can’t stumble two years in a row though; then the staff turnover starts and it’s harder to sell the vision and convince kids to join a program that can’t win.
That pretty much sums it up.
 
The frustrating thing is I think Dino had the capability to be a great recruiter. He is very charismatic and seems like a great person. I just don't think he had the obsession with recruiting needed.
He is a west coast guy who never until very recently invested much in our key areas. Heck Bull D posted that he didn't really do much to help out local Hs coaches. He didn't embrace former players. Very secretive and only hired within a close circle until forced by JW to branch out. His recruiting was all over the map. Now that we are learning the truth which is SU is a school that top players want to attend, I wonder how many east coast HS Dino actually stepped foot in. Again, this from another poster but did he work hard did he put the time and effort in. I don't have a clue but whatever he was doing didn't work well. He does deserve credit for keeping the kids that he did land as once at SU they all seemed to really like him.
 
He is a west coast guy who never until very recently invested much in our key areas. Heck Bull D posted that he didn't really do much to help out local Hs coaches. He didn't embrace former players. Very secretive and only hired within a close circle until forced by JW to branch out. His recruiting was all over the map. Now that we are learning the truth which is SU is a school that top players want to attend, I wonder how many east coast HS Dino actually stepped foot in. Again, this from another poster but did he work hard did he put the time and effort in. I don't have a clue but whatever he was doing didn't work well. He does deserve credit for keeping the kids that he did land as once at SU they all seemed to really like him.
I think they want to attend because of the HC and staff. The school and location are not the detriment we thought
 
Now that we are learning the truth which is SU is a school that top players want to attend, I wonder how many east coast HS Dino actually stepped foot in.
I think what we are "learning" is that kids want to play for Fran Brown. Fran Brown just happens to coach at SU. This doesn't seem remotely debatable. We have 25+ years of data under several different staffs and recruiters to prove that recruiting to Syracuse was difficult at best. This problem wasn't unique to Babers.
 
I think they want to attend because of the HC and staff. The school and location are not the detriment we thought
i agree that is true for say, 50- 75%, of kids nowadays. But there are kids who grow up wanting to play for State U, close to home, and feel the pressure of family and friends to do that. Or play for Notre Dame
 
i agree that is true for say, 50- 75%, of kids nowadays. But there are kids who grow up wanting to play for State U, close to home, and feel the pressure of family and friends to do that. Or play for Notre Dame


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Like to see this rationale... goes against a lot of the tired arguments as to "why Syracuse can't get quality recruits..."
 
He is a west coast guy who never until very recently invested much in our key areas. Heck Bull D posted that he didn't really do much to help out local Hs coaches. He didn't embrace former players. Very secretive and only hired within a close circle until forced by JW to branch out. His recruiting was all over the map. Now that we are learning the truth which is SU is a school that top players want to attend, I wonder how many east coast HS Dino actually stepped foot in. Again, this from another poster but did he work hard did he put the time and effort in. I don't have a clue but whatever he was doing didn't work well. He does deserve credit for keeping the kids that he did land as once at SU they all seemed to really like him.
Another Dino "flaw" - as I saw it - was that Dino Babers very much wanted to be viewed and respected as a Power 5 Head Football Coach. But not necessarily a "Black" Power 5 Head Football Coach.

Being the only African-American coach in the ACC (at least when hired iirc) was frankly a recruiting advantage that Dino never seemed to really lean into. If anything, he seemed to shy away from it. And not that there is anything inherently "wrong" with that view or that approach - in life or in sports - but imho, he squandered a potential advantage on the recruiting trail by moving that way.

Coach Fran on the other hand, is the total opposite as he completely embraces and leans hard into his background - it's one of his multiple recruiting superpowers, really. Kids like 'riz' and 'swag' - and Fran has both in abundance. And authentically too - 'no cap'. These Gen Z kids eat that ish up and they love Fran's "realness."

Fran plays his full hand on the recruiting trail, but it doesn't seem like Dino did the same. And you can clearly see the huge difference in recruiting results. Though obviously the difference in the results can't totally be attributed to that specific difference in the two men's approaches, I do believe it does/did factor into it.
 
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I think what we are "learning" is that kids want to play for Fran Brown. Fran Brown just happens to coach at SU. This doesn't seem remotely debatable. We have 25+ years of data under several different staffs and recruiters to prove that recruiting to Syracuse was difficult at best. This problem wasn't unique to Babers.
The thing about Fran and probably most of his staff, they relate to the players.
They came from where a lot of them come from.
Parents understand that and trust them to take care of there son's.
When Fran goes into a home , what he selling is a lifestyle he expects from his players.
 
Another Dino "flaw" - as I saw it - was that Dino Babers very much wanted to be viewed and respected as a Power 5 Head Football Coach. But not necessarily a "Black" Power 5 Head Football Coach.

Being the only African-American coach in the ACC (at least when hired iirc) was frankly a recruiting advantage that Dino never seemed to really lean into. If anything, he seemed to shy away from it. And not that there is anything inherently "wrong" with that view or that approach - in life or in sports - but imho, he squandered a potential advantage on the recruiting trail by moving that way.

Coach Fran on the other hand, is the total opposite as he completely embraces and leans hard into his background - it's one of his multiple recruiting superpowers, really. Kids like 'riz' and 'swag' - and Fran has both in abundance. And authentically too - 'no cap'. These Gen Z kids eats that ish up and they love Fran's "realness."

Fran plays his full hand on the recruiting trail, but it doesn't seem like Dino did the same. And you can clearly see the huge difference in recruiting results. Though obviously the difference in the results can't totally be attributed to that specific difference in the two men's approaches, I do believe it does/did factor into it.
Get what you are saying but I do think that Dino “laid into” who he was, a military kid who grew up on bases all over. I’m not sure that even at age 41 that Dino the same life experiences that Fran has and that the kids connect to. From the outside looking in both men very much stayed true to who they are, which is good because kids generally see right thru the BS anyways.
 
I think what we are "learning" is that kids want to play for Fran Brown. Fran Brown just happens to coach at SU. This doesn't seem remotely debatable. We have 25+ years of data under several different staffs and recruiters to prove that recruiting to Syracuse was difficult at best. This problem wasn't unique to Babers.

Some people don’t get that. Fran has done things in his short time that no SU HC has done, not just Dino. Fran has done more in his short time than any other coach we were involved with during the hiring process. It’s all about Fran and not what others could or couldn’t do.
 
Another Dino "flaw" - as I saw it - was that Dino Babers very much wanted to be viewed and respected as a Power 5 Head Football Coach. But not necessarily a "Black" Power 5 Head Football Coach.
I don't consider it a flaw at all. I'd rather every coach be judged by their performance on and off the field and nothing else. What's amazing is that this will probably be considered controversial.
 
Some people don’t get that. Fran has done things in his short time that no SU HC has done, not just Dino. Fran has done more in his short time than any other coach we were involved with during the hiring process. It’s all about Fran and not what others could or couldn’t do.



Held offers from Georgia, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
OFFERED> MICHAEL NWOKOCHA TYLER JR COLLEGE, TYLER, TX
#95 DE/DT/> 6' 5" 290/ 4.73 40/ SQ 565< COMMITTED 1/8/2024!!

Nwokocha.jpg



ASSETS PER HUDL FILM: YOU WANT TO SEE A GREAT DT, WATCH HIS FILM

VERY FAST FOR SIZE
AGILE
VERY AGGRESSIVE
SQUATS 565 GIVING HIM A PAIR OF POWERFUL LEGS
OVERALL, A POWERFUL DT WHO USES BRUTAL HITS TO BRING A PLAYER DOWN
HAS TO BE DOUBLE TEAMED TO TRY AND KEEP HIM OUT OF B'FLD
FIGHTS OFF DL MAN TO THROW QB/RB TO GROUND
WILL PLAY ON SUNDAY
FRAN BROWN KNOWS PLAYERS LIKE THIS WHO WILL MAKE SYRACUSE A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM
ONE OF THE BEST DT'S I HAVE EVALUATED

Career Stats - Defense​

gptklasttottkl/gsckydstflydsfffrydsintydsbrupblk
2021-22---0.0---0--------
2022-235121022.04.42.5040-------
2023-2459110.02.020101------
Total10211132.03.24.50501
EXCELLENT OFFER
 
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