In reply to: Mack Brown has a title; also a dead frog could get into UNC. * posted by G.K.Chesterton
For the average out-of-state student, UNC is highly competitive. We know a good number of very good students from our kids' high school classes who have been rejected from UNC, including some who got into places like Notre Dame, Cal, Michigan, Columbia and Princeton. Of course, for athletes, UNC would be more likely to make an admissions exception than ND.
Regardless, this is about our staff getting outwitted and outworked.
admissions policy significantly in April, not just for next year, but for the next three years. It would have been a permanent change but for someone interjecting for three years to start with, but you can bet this is a permanent change. Unfortunately, more than a few colleges are dropping their standards to pander for students and their tuition. TL;DR version of linked article (keep your eye on the conjunctions):
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Old standard: Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 (a “C+” average) and an SAT score of 880 (or ACT score of 17).
New standard: Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 (a “C+” average) OR an SAT score of 1010 (or ACT score of 19). (Note: you must take at least one of the standardized tests and submit a score.)
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The problem here is that colleges are complaining of grade-inflation coming out of the high schools and standardize testing is one way to see where a student really stands. I have no doubt Mack Brown is a good-to-great recruiter, but I have to believe the admissions policy also plays a part.
Brown is recruiting better because he and his staff put in more effort into recruiting.
It's just that simple.
Only one year, but it's part of a "pilot program".
Many schools understandably did that because of the coronavirus, but many will also use this excuse as a way to drive down standards and keep tuition-paying students coming through the door, especially when they are going to take a financial hit this year at many levels (summer camps, varsity athletics, room and board, etc.).
I've never been inspired by another adult in my life.
Never had someone say something to me that I bought hook, line and sinker. I never went to a job because some other adult persuaded me to go to it.
I didn't pick ND over other schools because someone encouraged me or promised me something.
So, I don't get how some 70 year old dude tells a recruit, "I think you'd be the best version of you if you come to this school!" and the 18yo kid and his parents eat it up.
They must know it's all salesman schtick, right?
if your goal is to play in the NFL, who will you trust to help you become the best version of you? Grimes has spoken specifically about this.
NFL career ranks pretty low on totem pole of recruiting skill. Effort, personality and connections are much more important. I don’t see anything in Dre Bly’s background on its face that indicates he would have been a better hire than Mickens.
and that Bly may be better equipped to help him reach those goals.
Certainly Lyght had credentials along those lines, too. Perhaps he lacked in effort, personality, and connections.
I suspect elite offensive recruits have the same questions/concerns when they look at who will be their OC for the next 3-4 years.
Or at least that Brown is putting Bly in a position to be successful.
Dre Bly is a complete novice both as a coach and as a recruiter. Despite what recruiting analysts say, I don’t think he pulls in a top 10 recruit without support and input from a veteran head coach like Brown.
Whether its his personality, effort, or his picking assistants who are good recruiters, he has always recruited well.