Fresno has some good people, including my wonderful step-mom, who spent her entire career at Fresno State. And I graduated from high school in Bakersfield, and used to work in Fresno. And I camp every year with my buddies in the Sierras up above Fresno. But the city itself really sucks.
It doesn't mean that we shouldn't recruit the very good players that come out of there, though, just because one or two or three efforts went awry...
Because Fresno people think Bako sucks lol. I like Bako. Have a bunch of business partners in our office there. Not enough rain down there though.
we disagree as to the first sentence. And yeah, I've been there.
That said, if there are good players there we should absolutely try and recruit them.
I visited them many times.
What a shit hole.
Didn't really care for it. Many other CA cities are way better in my view. Nothing against the people of Fresno.
This is all about ND recruiting and where best to spend/use their resources wisely. ND's resources are spread thin.
Personally, I wouldn't spend a dime or minute recruiting that area again, given the past results. Just not wise. That is fine if you disagree.
And, I was pissed that Ara didn’t.
Central Valley guys helped beat our ass way too many times for my liking.
And, my father was from Fresno.
Across had it right: Fresno is a good town with good athletes.
ND should give our area a good look every year.
Daryl Lamonica is from the Central Valley. Fresno, to be exact. You may wish to edit your post so as not to impugn Fresno.
...and became first team AA's. Tight end Charles Young (Edison High) in '72, Olineman Pat Howell (Fresno High) in '78 and S Tim McDonald (Edison) in '82 & '83.
That great '72 SC team had three Fresno guys that were starters. TE Young, NG Monte Doris (Fresno High) and LB Charles Anthony (Edison). Marv Goux had this town sewed up for SC back then. They got the cream of the crop from here. One great one that they did lose was FB Steve Bisceglia (Bullard '69) who played FB for the Bear at Bama. He was one scary dude on the football field. Howell told me once that Goux told him not to visit ND when he was being recruited...or strongly mentioned not to visit ND lol.
... and H-back in the mid-80’s who went on to play in the NFL for a while.
...two years after graduating from Bullard. Fresno City was in the middle of winning four California JC state football championships in a six year period back then. Steve was on one of those teams. All local kids. Many went on to start on what are now Power 5 teams.
One of the Bullard assistant coaches that he played for was always pumping Bama back then. Steve and Johnny Musso were the two Italian running backs that played for the Bear then. Steve also made the cover of SI while at Bama. On a pile-up on the goal line. His helmeted head is sticking up in the middle of it.
Yes, I know Bob Schmidt and his brother, Denny.
Two great guys.
My father hid the McKeever twins from Terry Brennan, who wanted badly.
Robert McCaffrey followed my sister to USC in 1970, but Ara recruited him and brought him to ND. Robert contacted me there and used the two tickets to The Fifth Dimension Concert at the ACC.
Robert was on that SC team that took us to the woodshed in ‘74. One of my worse experiences in The Coliseum.
We remained friends, and he and his father-in-law, John Bonadelli, attended my dad’s 75th birthday here in town that Bob Schmidt and Frank Gifford put together.
A very nice evening.
I mentioned in my post above that it was my father’s ranch where they were hidden. A true hidden valley ranch.
1 1/2 hour drive and I'm at 7,000' elevation in the Sierra's. 2 1/2 hours to the coast.
But the reason I like it the most I think is that there is not a day in the year when I cannot go out into my yard (front or back) and pick something fresh off of a tree to eat. As you know the citrus are ripe now. In my yard I can choose between orange, grapefruit, lime and lemon trees.
And as spring draws closer the stone fruit buds are starting to swell a bit. Another month and the early varieties will begin to bloom. Apricot, pluot, plum, peach, aprium, nectarine and fig trees of differing varieties are at my disposal along with two avocado trees (differing varieties). Along with the summer garden (melons for the most part). I'd miss this all terribly if I lived elsewhere. One can't beat picking something fresh and ripe off of a tree like that. Store bought just doesn't measure up.
Tough football players here too. Just like in Bako.
...friends with his high school QB who was also a great pitcher. Their senior year Bullard baseball team only lost one game. That might have been the first year that Bullard won the national title in baseball (media award) as they won a couple of them within a ten year period. Likely the second best high school baseball team in Fresno history.
I was very happy when Rex signed with ND. He was a more athletic Chris Haines (if I correctly remember his name). But when the Yankees came calling in the 1st round of the draft I figured he was gone as baseball is his first love I think.
More specifically, a ranch outside of Clovis, which is (I believe) considered a suburb of Fresno.
Nick Eddy is from Tracy. I'm sure that there were others; I recall my dad going to some ND football alumni events in the valley in the mid 80s and those guys were usually there, especially Lamonica.
I agree that there is good football in the valley. Heck, I just remembered that Josh Allen is from Firebaugh.
Funny how things change...
Maybe because the resources are lazy underachievers
I agree it sounds like we have some lazy recruiters. Freeman should help that on the defensive side. It also sounds like our resources are indeed spread thin according to Mike Frank in the attached article. He’s been doing this a long time so I am going to trust him. Plus his points make a lot of sense.
It’s kinda weird saying an area is bad to recruit from because a few bad seeds have found their way to ND from there.
That is on the coaches that recruited them. My son was one of the coaches on the high school team of one of them. He never thought the kid would make it at or to ND. That turned out to be the case.
I don't know that it is as strong now as it was. One of their assistant coaches back then played high school ball in Fresno and one assistant coach at a high school in Fresno played a large part in the OU pipeline. He is no longer coaching.