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Message: [QUOTE="anomander, post: 1354609, member: 2766"] I'll start this off by saying I am sure there will be people that totally disagree with this post. That's fine, it's your opinion just like this is mine. I'll also say there is probably no definitive right or wrong answer. Anyways, I have noticed that since Shafer has taken over he has put a huge emphasis on academics. If i'd have to guess, i'd say it's his top selling point. When I say selling point, I not only mean how Syracuse is a top academic school, but also how he requires his athletes to succeed in the classroom by regularly attending class, and the academic support system. Now in no way am I saying this is a bad thing. Obviously academics should be stressed since that's the reason you're going to college in the first place. But that's where the divide starts between Syracuse, and most of the top programs (football wise). I've seen numerous interviews where recruits state that when talking to Syracuse coaches it was all about how they were going to help you be a great student, and then a great football player, while other schools the first thing they stress is how they are going to win championships. Again, i'm in no way saying this is a bad thing, but if we're being honest, I really think that approach can turn off a lot of the top prospects. It's no secret that a lot of these kids (again not all) have no interest in school, and as Cardale Jones put it "I didn't go to school for school, I went to Ohio St for Football". He just said out loud what a lot of these kids think. Now imagine him sitting down with Shafer, and giving him the pitch on how we will help him be a great student. I think that would end all interest on his end then and there. A lot of these kids, especially the best kids, want to go somewhere that will help them be the best player they can be in order to make it to the NFL. It's the exact opposite of what college athletics is supposed to be about, but it's reality. Who knows if it's the reason or not, but could that possibly be a reason why we have should a tough time bringing in highly rated prospects? We are basically one of the only schools who have never landed a ESPN300 athlete. All i'm saying is if we are going to go with this approach we really need to adapt a national recruiting approach, kind of like Stanford, and more recently Duke implement. The only problem with that is our overall academic rankings took a big hit under Cantor. I think with Syverud capping enrollment, or even rolling it back a little will help, but the results may not be seen for a few years. So if we did take the national approach, looking for top athletes, who also put a priority on academics i'm not sure of the success. So what's everyone's thoughts on this? Do you like our current approach? Would you like to see us obviously still stress academics, but put the stress on football at the same level? [/QUOTE]

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