The biggest thing Purdue needs in a coach is someone who can sell coming to Purdue..not dwell on the

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

negatives or hurdles they have in recruiting here.

I have lived in West Lafayette for 27 years and there are so many positives with living here that I don't understand why many on this board think Purdue is at such a disadvantage as compared to other places. Every place has its disadvantages and yes some have more than others, but why not compile a list of the advantages West Lafayette and Purdue has to offer to potential recruits instead?

1: World Class Education @ Purdue University
2: Proximity to major cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Detroit.
3: World Class Training Facilities and Staff
4: History of placing players in to the NFL and having those players succeed
a: Drew Brees, Ricardo Allen, Ryan Kerrigan, Anthony Spencer, Cliff Avril, Matt Light (just to name a few)
5: Incredibly loyal fan base: Anyone can be a Hoosier...but you make the choice to be Boilermaker!
6: Incredibly high amount of diversity and multiculturalism
7: A beautiful campus, especially in the fall and spring
8: Strong alumni network
9: Large Greek system (second largest in the country to Illinois I believe)
10: Plethora of majors to choose from including a general studies major that puts a majority of students in to a major and one they graduate from

I am sure there are even more as I am typing and thinking quickly, but a coach who can build on the positives that Purdue has to offer rather than dwelling on the negatives is key. As some have pointed out, do you really think its any easier to recruit to a place like Iowa, Northern Illinois, Kansas State, or Michigan State? I have been to Lansing and although it is a nice town, I don't feel it has any advantages over Purdue does (maybe I can be corrected on that fact because i've never spent more than a game day there).

 

[AZboiler]

The Athletic Recruiters need to use the Purdue Airport as an Asset which few in the Big 10 can match. Problem is no air service to the city... Too bad the University doesn't use the immediate air access for game day. Other schools are able to make W. Lafayette appear isolated.

 

[banshee90]

The Athletic Recruiters need to use the Purdue Airport as an Asset which few in the Big 10 can match. Problem is no air service to the city... Too bad the University doesn't use the immediate air access for game day. Other schools are able to make W. Lafayette appear isolated.

I believe they can't for some reason the NCAA won't let them.

 

[Statey]

Agree the focus for recruiting - obviously - should be on the positives. But it's all relative; I feel like you're looking at only absolutes and/or generalities.

1: World Class Education @ Purdue University

While Purdue does offer a great education, I don't think this - as a blanket statement - is a great selling point. Generally speaking, athletes aren't taking classes in the subjects/majors that are the "world class" offerings you're referring to, so what's the appeal? Side note: it seems like #1 and #10 are a little contradictory.... can these both be effective positive aspects at the same time?

2: Proximity to major cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Detroit.

Chicago proximity is a plus, but Detroit and Cincinnati? How many times as a student did you say to your buddies: "hey dudes, let's roadtrip to Cincinnati for the weekend?"

3: World Class Training Facilities and Staff

Is this true? All I read on this board is how the staff sucks and the football facilities need more investment to even get to middle-of-the-road in the B1G.

5: Incredibly loyal fan base: Anyone can be a Hoosier...but you make the choice to be Boilermaker!

I get the IU razzing, but come on, this is nothing. Certainly nothing that any recruit outside of Indiana would even appreciate as they wouldn't understand the rivalry yet.

8: Strong alumni network

Purdue is a school with an annual enrollment of ~45k, so yes there are a lot of alumni, but is this size any different from Penn State, Wisconsin, or other B1G peers? Maybe a better question here, is how are you defining "strong"?

9: Large Greek system (second largest in the country to Illinois I believe)

I'm only guessing here, but I doubt most athletes even consider joining a Greek system with all their other commitments. If that's accurate, I'm not sure why this would be a good selling point. Mind you, it's not a negative either, rather more of a "so what".

10: Plethora of majors to choose from including a general studies major that puts a majority of students in to a major and one they graduate from.

Do other big P5 schools not offer this?

 

[lbodel]

Agree the focus for recruiting - obviously - should be on the positives. But it's all relative; I feel like you're looking at only absolutes and/or generalities.


While Purdue does offer a great education, I don't think this - as a blanket statement - is a great selling point. Generally speaking, athletes aren't taking classes in the subjects/majors that are the "world class" offerings you're referring to, so what's the appeal? Side note: it seems like #1 and #10 are a little contradictory.... can these both be effective positive aspects at the same time?


Chicago proximity is a plus, but Detroit and Cincinnati? How many times as a student did you say to your buddies: "hey dudes, let's roadtrip to Cincinnati for the weekend?"


Is this true? All I read on this board is how the staff sucks and the football facilities need more investment to even get to middle-of-the-road in the B1G.


I get the IU razzing, but come on, this is nothing. Certainly nothing that any recruit outside of Indiana would even appreciate as they wouldn't understand the rivalry yet.


Purdue is a school with an annual enrollment of ~45k, so yes there are a lot of alumni, but is this size any different from Penn State, Wisconsin, or other B1G peers? Maybe a better question here, is how are you defining "strong"?


I'm only guessing here, but I doubt most athletes even consider joining a Greek system with all their other commitments. If that's accurate, I'm not sure why this would be a good selling point. Mind you, it's not a negative either, rather more of a "so what".


Do other big P5 schools not offer this?

While some of the points are true and some don't matter as much, I think the original post points out that we hear a lot of negatives about Purdue on this board, like we cannot possibly succeed.

Are you going to build a program on the strength of Purdue's engineering school? Absolutely not. But to act like no football recruits care about academics is bologna. On the basketball side (which is tougher academically given it spans both semesters), Isaac Haas is probably not on this team if it weren't for Purdue's engineering school.

Stanford has 10 players in their engineering school. And it's not just walk-ons. One of their best players is an engineering major.

 

[Statey]

But to act like no football recruits care about academics is bologna.

Your point is well taken, but in fairness, I did say "generally speaking...". In no way did I imply "no football recruits care about academics".

The OP was suggesting that Purdue should be trumpeting its world class programs (i.e. top 10 engineering school in USA) and should put this on a top 10 list of things the staff is sell football players on... well, I just disagree. If one of the items on a top 10 list is going to appeal to only 1-2% of football and basketball recruits in the country, I'd take it off the list and look for something with more mass appeal to try to sell to kids, but that's just me.

 

[AZboiler]

Agree the focus for recruiting - obviously - should be on the positives. But it's all relative; I feel like you're looking at only absolutes and/or generalities.


While Purdue does offer a great education, I don't think this - as a blanket statement - is a great selling point. Generally speaking, athletes aren't taking classes in the subjects/majors that are the "world class" offerings you're referring to, so what's the appeal? Side note: it seems like #1 and #10 are a little contradictory.... can these both be effective positive aspects at the same time?


Chicago proximity is a plus, but Detroit and Cincinnati? How many times as a student did you say to your buddies: "hey dudes, let's roadtrip to Cincinnati for the weekend?"


Is this true? All I read on this board is how the staff sucks and the football facilities need more investment to even get to middle-of-the-road in the B1G.


I get the IU razzing, but come on, this is nothing. Certainly nothing that any recruit outside of Indiana would even appreciate as they wouldn't understand the rivalry yet.


Purdue is a school with an annual enrollment of ~45k, so yes there are a lot of alumni, but is this size any different from Penn State, Wisconsin, or other B1G peers? Maybe a better question here, is how are you defining "strong"?


I'm only guessing here, but I doubt most athletes even consider joining a Greek system with all their other commitments. If that's accurate, I'm not sure why this would be a good selling point. Mind you, it's not a negative either, rather more of a "so what".


Do other big P5 schools not offer this?

Hi Statey, it appears you are definite a question guy. Why not try offering a solution or two? Yep, isn't it always easier to pick apart someone solution that it is to offer one?

 

[lbodel]

Your point is well taken, but in fairness, I did say "generally speaking...". In no way did I imply "no football recruits care about academics".

The OP was suggesting that Purdue should be trumpeting its world class programs (i.e. top 10 engineering school in USA) and should put this on a top 10 list of things the staff is sell football players on... well, I just disagree. If one of the items on a top 10 list is going to appeal to only 1-2% of football and basketball recruits in the country, I'd take it off the list and look for something with more mass appeal to try to sell to kids, but that's just me.

I'm just saying that if you read this board consistently, people will say we can't do good recruiting because Purdue has too high of admissions standards. This is not backed up by anything other than our own egos. Wisconsin has the hardest admission standards of the public schools, which pretty much inhibits any juco player from getting admitted to the school (and these admission standards are cited as a reason their coach left). They seem to do ok though. Then you have people that say oh, Purdue doesn't have easy majors (yes, Purdue does). And the list goes on and on of excuses why we can't do this or that.

I'm simply saying - if schools like Northwestern, Stanford, etc. are recruiting good, talented football athletes to their schools, then there's simply no reason Purdue can't.

 

[Boiler8285]

Purdue has as much or more too offer than 50% of the FBS schools. No excuse not to be in the top 50-60 teams. Hazell is a crappy recruiter and didn't see it as a priority. The first red flag was when he chose to coach the KSU bowl game rather than jump right on the recruiting trail. Lack of talent and no game plan are a terrible combination.

 

[Boilerscuz]

I have lived in West Lafayette for 27 years and there are so many positives with living here that I don't understand why many on this board think Purdue is at such a disadvantage as compared to other places..

Have you lived anywhere else? Anywhere outside of farmland USA? If you have then you'd understand why West Lafayette is a very undesirable place to go to college. The school is great and I'm really happy I got an engineering degree from there but then again I grew up the the farmlands of Illinois and didn't realize there were better options for college locations.

 

[Statey]

I'm just saying that if you read this board consistently, people will say we can't do good recruiting because Purdue has too high of admissions standards. This is not backed up by anything other than our own egos. Wisconsin has the hardest admission standards of the public schools, which pretty much inhibits any juco player from getting admitted to the school (and these admission standards are cited as a reason their coach left). They seem to do ok though. Then you have people that say oh, Purdue doesn't have easy majors (yes, Purdue does). And the list goes on and on of excuses why we can't do this or that.

I'm simply saying - if schools like Northwestern, Stanford, etc. are recruiting good, talented football athletes to their schools, then there's simply no reason Purdue can't.

I am in violent agreement with your entire post. Trust me, I wasn't trying to make any excuses for Purdue... I was merely suggesting that should a top-10 list of sorts exist for recruiting purposes, it should be things unique to Purdue (or as unique as possible), things with mass appeal (again, understanding that not all student athletes want the same things), and not generic / nondescript info (like "strong alumni network" and "plethora of majors to choose from").

 

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

I am in violent agreement with your entire post. Trust me, I wasn't trying to make any excuses for Purdue... I was merely suggesting that should a top-10 list of sorts exist for recruiting purposes, it should be things unique to Purdue (or as unique as possible), things with mass appeal (again, understanding that not all student athletes want the same things), and not generic / nondescript info (like "strong alumni network" and "plethora of majors to choose from").

I was speaking in generalities and even alluded to that in my original post. I realize this is a blanket statement because I didn't want to take the personal time to garner up a detailed list. I will say this about the education though. I am a liberal arts-education major from Purdue (social studies education) and I received numerous interviews with out of state schools (in person, video, phone call) based on the fact my degree said Purdue University. That is a direct result of the world class education and pedigree that comes from Purdue as a whole.

I was simply hoping to explain to people that Purdue and West Lafayette/Lafayette have a ton to offer to potential athletic recruits and those that simply dwell on the negatives of West Lafayette are missing out on some of the best aspects of the city and university that make it one of the best places to live in the country.

And no I haven't lived anywhere else and I'm sure places like Chicago or L.A. or Indy all have their advantages...but so does our town here.

 

[since1980]

The only thing the best recruits really care about is playing time, winning, exposure and best chance to get to the NFL. There might be a small percentage who might pick schools based on education, but that's few and far between for the 4 and 5 star recruits.
Auburn Alabama, Waco Texas, Lansing Michigan..etc...those aren't exactly desirable destinations...but they can recruit because of area talent pool, coaching/system, current or past winning, and chance of getting to the NFL. Facilities help but don't matter nearly as much if you aren't winning. Has nothing to do with Academic tradition, the city, the greek system or the campus when talking about the best recruits. They want the place they can get PT and exposure. If Purdue was winning 10 games a year, we would be able to recruit well.
Football and basketball players spend so much time doing football and basketball stuff, they don't pick schools for the same reasons the normal student would pick a school. There is no time to travel to Chicago or Cincy on a weekend.
Also, $1000 handshakes help recruit 5 star players as well...

 

[lbodel]

The only thing the best recruits really care about is playing time, winning, exposure and best chance to get to the NFL. There might be a small percentage who might pick schools based on education, but that's few and far between for the 4 and 5 star recruits.
Auburn Alabama, Waco Texas, Lansing Michigan..etc...those aren't exactly desirable destinations...but they can recruit because of area talent pool, coaching/system, current or past winning, and chance of getting to the NFL. Facilities help but don't matter nearly as much if you aren't winning. Has nothing to do with Academic tradition, the city, the greek system or the campus when talking about the best recruits. They want the place they can get PT and exposure. If Purdue was winning 10 games a year, we would be able to recruit well.
Football and basketball players spend so much time doing football and basketball stuff, they don't pick schools for the same reasons the normal student would pick a school. There is no time to travel to Chicago or Cincy on a weekend.
Also, $1000 handshakes help recruit 5 star players as well...

Well, it depends on who you're talking about. Do a lot of 5 star recruits care about the education? No (not saying none do though).

But when you're looking at the caliber of recruit a school like Purdue recruits? The 3 and 4 stars. It's not the same. Yes, they care about playing time, winning, exposure, making the NFL - but that does not necessarily reflect they don't care about graduating or what they graduate in.

No offense, but 5 star recruits are not going to be a thing at Purdue and they don't need to be. Michigan State has had 1 five star in the last 5 years.

 

[since1980]

Well, it depends on who you're talking about. Do a lot of 5 star recruits care about the education? No (not saying none do though).

But when you're looking at the caliber of recruit a school like Purdue recruits? The 3 and 4 stars. It's not the same. Yes, they care about playing time, winning, exposure, making the NFL - but that does not necessarily reflect they don't care about graduating or what they graduate in.

No offense, but 5 star recruits are not going to be a thing at Purdue and they don't need to be. Michigan State has had 1 five star in the last 5 years.

I stand by what I said. The McDonald's AA don't go to schools like North Carolina and Kentucky because of the academics, beauty of the campus, Greek system, amount of academic majors, proximity to big cities or diversity. They go because it's the best exposure to get to the NBA because the tradition or winning gets them deeper into the tournament. Same with football...the best players go to the schools that give them the best chance to play in the biggest games and be seen by as many people as possible. Granted, in this day and age every power 5 school has good exposure, but that has yet to change the talent dispersement. Kids with their heads on straight might start caring about GRADUATING and academics after they arrive to campus and realize that they aren't as special as they were in high school and they need to actually graduate because they aren't good enough for the NFL. But i'd say of the better recruits, they are initially PICKING schools based on winning and opportunity to get to the next level. You can't sell 98% of the 4 star recruits on Purdue just because of what the OP said. Winning sells recruits. Not how pretty the campus is.

Baylor is the perfect example of a school that is located in a hotbed state of talent but could never compete recruiting wise because they never won. Then Art Bryles brings the spread system in, is fortunate enough to get RG3, they win some games...and all of the sudden they go from 2 and 3 star recruits to all 3 and 4 star recruits each year. Not because of anything other than winning, the football system and the exposure. The biggest failure of the football program was not capitalizing on the Brees Orton years in terms of all out effort to stay on top by paying good coaches, marketing, and more effort in recruiting. That is where this whole mess started, and now the current coaches/players are taking the brunt of past failures.

Recruits just aren't picking schools for the reasons the OP stated except for his #4 and #3 doesn't hurt either (but only if the team is winning).

 

[Boiler8285]

We aren't going to out recruit USC, half the SEC, OSU or MIch but we sure as hell should be able to out recruit the MAC, AAC, Sunbelt and the likes of Mississippi State or Washington State (not exactly a garden spots). We are worse the LA-Lafayette damn it! That is not about facilities, uniforms or the town of Lafayette, IN. It is about a crappy FB coach and his staff.

 

[Hatter22]

We obviously can out-recruit LSU. They took one of our cast-offs, for crying out loud.

 

[bonefish1]

Purdue has as much or more too offer than 50% of the FBS schools. No excuse not to be in the top 50-60 teams. Hazell is a crappy recruiter and didn't see it as a priority. The first red flag was when he chose to coach the KSU bowl game rather than jump right on the recruiting trail. Lack of talent and no game plan are a terrible combination.

This is one of the topics that pisses me off to no end.
There's NO reason why Purdue would be at a recruiting disadvantage over any other school other than maybe the Top 5 programs. But even then, it still comes down to the coach selling the program and opportunity.
There's plenty of people on here who want to try and make excuses as to why Purdue doesn't get better recruiting classes but nothing else matters.

IF Nick Saban or Chip Kelly or Jim Harbaugh or Urban Meyer came to Purdue, do you think the recruiting would improve? Well, there's your answer.

The bottom line is, Burke hired a guy who can't recruit or his asst coaches can't recruit.

 

[MidyearVette]

We are not going to be very successful (never say never) recruiting 5 star athletes, but we can be very successful in the 3 and 4 star range - especially 3 star athletes with a big upside (didn't play at a big high school, have a chip on their shoulder that the big in-state school chose a kid he competed with, etc.) that didn't get a shot at Texas, Miami, Florida, Alabama, etc. - Drew Brees and Vinny Sutherland types.

The academics are a plus to certain kids, but our universal appeal should be as a NFL "Prep School" because we run offenses and defenses that put a premium on the skill set necessary to be successful at that level. Go ahead and OSU hand the ball off and grind it out - they look ridiculous trying to pass the ball consistently. This means getting rid of "gimmicks" like the "no huddle" offense. Maybe we can get Drew to run a QB Camp for exclusive high school prospects????

 

[pb1941]

This is one of the topics that pisses me off to no end.
There's NO reason why Purdue would be at a recruiting disadvantage over any other school other than maybe the Top 5 programs. But even then, it still comes down to the coach selling the program and opportunity.
There's plenty of people on here who want to try and make excuses as to why Purdue doesn't get better recruiting classes but nothing else matters.

IF Nick Saban or Chip Kelly or Jim Harbaugh or Urban Meyer came to Purdue, do you think the recruiting would improve? Well, there's your answer.

The bottom line is, Burke hired a guy who can't recruit or his asst coaches can't recruit.

The recruits are smarter than Burk,they can see that the coaching staff is a joke. The Mac conference we compete for recruits.It`s sad,and the only way is to fire and hire our way ot of this mess.

 

[bonefish1]

The recruits are smarter than Burk,they can see that the coaching staff is a joke. The Mac conference we compete for recruits.It`s sad,and the only way is to fire and hire our way ot of this mess.

Totally agree. I think coming into this season, most fans were still in a 'wait n see' mode with Hazell. But now, I think most are convinced that he's not the right guy and needs to go. Combine poor recruiting classes with poor on field performance and little to no progress and you've got the recipe for putting a program in the dumpster like Purdue is right now.

 

[AZboiler]

Wasn't Stu Schweigert a 5*? I thought Tiller at least in the early years was very successful signing a few of the big names.

 

[lbodel]

Wasn't Stu Schweigert a 5*? I thought Tiller at least in the early years was very successful signing a few of the big names.

No. Kyle Williams was though! A 5 star nobody wanted.

 

[Heiner]

Totally agree. I think coming into this season, most fans were still in a 'wait n see' mode with Hazell. But now, I think most are convinced that he's not the right guy and needs to go. Combine poor recruiting classes with poor on field performance and little to no progress and you've got the recipe for putting a program in the dumpster like Purdue is right now.

This is the camp I'm in. I was done after the last 2 minutes of the first half last Saturday. The quicker both Burke and Hazell are gone the better.

 

[To No]

Players/athletes will go to where 1) winning occurs, 2) there is playing time and 3) there is a shot at the next level.

It really comes down to coaching talent and $$$ to get them.

Bringing in a top talent coach has always been a problem and retaining them even harder. Purdue is not a destination, it's a train station; a place where you pass through to get to your next location. And if we're not ready to pay $$$ to get and retain talent then Purdue will remain in the crossroads of America.

Having said that I can't recall the last Purdue FB coach that was hired away to a better opportunity. They usually were fired or their contract not renewed, with the exception of a retirement or burnout.

Purdue's mantra is to find a 2nd tier coach for a 1st tier conference school, and hope to eke out a winning season and get to one of the "meaningless.com" bowl games. This assures a content fan/alumni base for a few years.

 

[lbodel]

Players/athletes will go to where 1) winning occurs, 2) there is playing time and 3) there is a shot at the next level.

It really comes down to coaching talent and $$$ to get them.

Bringing in a top talent coach has always been a problem and retaining them even harder. Purdue is not a destination, it's a train station; a place where you pass through to get to your next location. And if we're not ready to pay $$$ to get and retain talent then Purdue will remain in the crossroads of America.

Having said that I can't recall the last Purdue FB coach that was hired away to a better opportunity. They usually were fired or their contract not renewed, with the exception of a retirement or burnout.

Purdue's mantra is to find a 2nd tier coach for a 1st tier conference school, and hope to eke out a winning season and get to one of the "meaningless.com" bowl games. This assures a content fan/alumni base for a few years.

I don't know if I'd agree with a lot of this.

Players go where they are SOLD is the best place for them. Do things like winning, playing time, etc. become a factor in that? Sure. But there's a lot more to it than that. There are schools that "out recruit" those factors - meaning they may have a big name, but on-field they aren't great, the coaching isn't great, etc. There are schools that don't really knock it out of the park in those factors that recruit pretty well as well.

If you don't have a direction, strategy, etc. for your program - it's going to be a tough sell. I haven't been able to answer many of those questions about Hazell since he stepped on campus.

Also, is Purdue a "cream of the crop" destination? Absolutely not. But again, acting like we're the only ones in that situation is just crazy talk. There are so many schools in the same boat. And to cite that Purdue's hires have never been "poached" - well no kidding, Purdue's football program has a pretty poor history.

You don't have to pay big money on the outset - this is such a false assumption. We don't need to go out and hire a coach for $5 million/year.

When John L. Smith was fired at Michigan State, MSU hired Mark Dantonio on a salary of $1.3 million - towards the bottom of the Big Ten. Dantonio went to 6 straight bowl games 3 New Year's Day bowl games. At the end of his 6th year, he was getting paid $2 million/year. Then MSU won the Big Ten Championship, went to the Rose Bowl and won it. He received a new contract for $3.5 million.

Why would we not be following those foot steps?

This notion that $2 million is not going to attract anyone is just BS. It's about a total package. I think one positive thing that can be part of a total package when recruiting a new coach is the south endzone redevelopment. You can sell that this coach can help build this pick out what he wants in it, etc. It's his facility.

This is one reason I was a bit taken aback that athletics was completely left out of the recently announced fundraising campaign. These types of commitments and goals make universities more attractive. Instead, the only thing we've seen from Purdue is an online survey.