Joe Paterno, Rich Rodriguez and the Top 10 Coaches 2011 Recruits are Avoiding
College football recruits consider different schools for innumerable reasons, but the major categories are practically universal.
Education, playing time, location, and coaching.
Nothing plays a bigger role in recruiting than the persuasion of the coaching staff and their ability to convince a prospect he belongs.
That begins and ends from the top, from the head coach. If a prospect isn't sold on his leader, he's almost always gone.
We all know that talent is drawn to coaches like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, but what about the flip side of the coin.
Here are the top coaches that 2011 recruits are already avoiding or are about to.
10. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 28th
Sherman hasn't done a terrible job at A&M and is off to a decent start in 2010 at 3-1 and put up a good fight against Oklahoma State.
But they also nearly got upset by FIU and haven't beaten a ranked team in two-plus seasons under Sherman.
Texas A&M has a top 30 recruiting class, but it wouldn't be surprising to see de-commitments in the event Sherman gets canned after the year.
9. Ralph Friedgen, Maryland
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 50th
After winning two games in 2009, Ralph Friedgen was burning on the hot seat and needed a great year to keep his job beyond 2010.
So far things have gone well for Friedgen and the 4-1 Terrapins. But the schedule gets more difficult and that could halt the good vibe he's got going.
Friedgen's had past success, but not too many expect him to be around long and that's impacted the quality of recruits the programs been able to acquire.
8. Tim Brewster, Minnesota
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 56th
Tim Brewster is dealing with a tough situation mainly because the fan base is impatient and secondly because the Gophers defense is awful.
Minnesota’s dropped four in a row and Brewster will be lucky to make it out of the season with his job.
Outside of Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, the Big Ten doesn’t recruit well and that hasn't help Brewster’s cause either.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Paul Wulff, Washington State
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 49th
Wulff took over a terrible situation, but he's done nothing to improve the Cougars with only four wins through two-plus seasons.
The real issue isn't just what Wulff and his staff are doing, it's what Steve Sarkisian and his staff are doing at Washington.
The Huskies are improving and Sarkisian is snagging all the top in-state talent and that spells doom for Wulff.
6. Mark Richt, Georgia
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 7th
With one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, you could consider Richt an exception, but there’s bound to be defections after this disastrous season.
The 1-4 Bulldogs play through the first five weeks of the season has been one of the biggest surprises of the season and for all the wrong reasons.
Richt was already under pressure and he could be out at year’s end—this recruiting class could collapse by NSD.
5. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 72nd
Dennis Erickson came into the season on the hot seat and things have gotten worse.
After winning their first two games of the year, the Sun Devils have dropped three straight and the Erickson Era appears ready to wrap.
He's been a great coach in the past, having won two national championships, but things are different now and recruits clearly don't have faith in the program with him at the helm.
4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 33rd
Michigan has had one of the hottest starts in the country and you can thank Denard Robinson for that, not Rich Rodriguez.
It's easy to beat marginal opponents when you have a playmaker of that quality. Give Rodriguez credit for recruiting Robinson but without him, this team is likely 3-2.
Rodriguez has been shaky for a while now and recruits are losing faith in his ability to deliver on the field and his ability to keep his job.
3. Dan Hawkins, Colorado
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 75th
Colorado is putting together one of the worst recruiting classes of all BCS Conference schools and it's not hard to figure out why.
The Buffaloes have a very unstable situation at head coach with Dan Hawkins. While they've started the season 3-1 and are coming off a victory over Georgia, it probably won't be enough for him to keep his job.
Maybe the move to the Pac-10 will rejuvenate things, but recruits have continually passed over the program.
2. Ron Zook, Illinois
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 54th
Ron Zook's name has becomes synonymous with the hot seat over the last year. After a fantastic start to his career with the Fighting Illini, Zook's teams have plummeted down the standings.
There are very few who think Zook will make it through the year, especially with a bunch of conference games coming up that could get really ugly for Illinois.
Recruits know this too and Zook has barely been able to get the attention of any of the top recruits of the 2011 class
1. Joe Paterno, Penn State
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2011 Recruiting Class Rank: 64th
Joe Paterno is going to hang it up on his terms, we all know that.
Penn State has lost a couple key games this year, but this was expected to be a down year and it's not like the Nittany Lions would ever even consider firing Paterno.
But at 83 years old and over 40 years on the job there's a strong belief that he's going to call it a career after the season.
Whether he does or not, recruits are backing away from Penn State with the belief that he won't be around to coach them.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
