It seems that Utah is now the destination of the top athletes in the state of Utah.
It looks like most of the top players are choosing Utah over BYU. Even those kids that dad’s played for BYU, and were fans of BYU growing (Empey, Covey, and maybe even Gabe Reid kid).
hmmm… wonder what is going on…
Oh never mind because we all know that those kids could not hack the honor code, unworthy members of the church, and don’t like the standards…
Has nothing to do with the fact that Bronco does not develop star players, or that just a few of his players go into the NFL (that is AFTER they go to a performance program to get ready for the combines)…
From an emotional perspective standpoint, it looks like Utah is winning both the Utah recruiting wars and as a subset of that, is taking many of the kids of former BYU players. Heard Hans Olsen say today that he would advise his son to go to U of Utah over BYU - more opportunities for advancement at the U of U.
Many of the kids we lose, we lose due to the fact that we have minimum academic requirements just to get in, do not have easy classes like basketball coaching etc, and requirements for continuing eligibility are stringent. And let’s just say that on this one I will say that I am 100% sure of what I write, with absolute certainty. We can bend rules to a point to get kids admitted, but once they are at BYU they are in classes full of kids whose average ACT score was 28. And when kids struggle to reach minimum admission standards at BYU, or worse, are advised they are flunking out, they now go to social media and the whole world knows right away. Word spreads fast with these kids. If a recruiter tells you, “Hey, you got a 19 on the ACT. If you go to BYU, you will hate your classes because you won’t be able to do the work, and you will flunk out and wind up having to sit out a year when you transfer. Save yourself the trouble and come to State U, where all you need to get in is a diploma and we will set you up with a Rec Mngt or Sports Theory major (or whatever).” We lose far more kids (recruits AND transfers) as academic casualties than we do due to the HC. Again, please everyone just believe me on this one…BYU is a tough place to recruit, and will get harder and harder as our public schools continue to fail, not to mention the demise of public morality…ok, now I’m preaching to the choir–sorry… but I’m dead on regarding the academic stuff, and there isn’t a bleeping thing any coach can do about it.
While I agree with you on the ACT score stuff… However the kids in Utah that BYU did not get their commitment, is NOT in that group.
by the way Tom… Schools don’t fail the students… the PARENTS fail the students, by not making education a high priority in their lives. Above sports, above dance, above all other things… Trust me I know of which I speak.
trust me when I say the public school my kid is in right now is failing to provide him an education that is helping to prepare him for college.
Do you have kids in school Floyd?
Yes, I agree that families/parents are not doing a very good job raising their kids but society in general is as much to blame for this as anything. It’s a mess out there and the public education system is only getting worse.
Floyd: I was not referring specifically about the recruits we lost in the last two days-I know nothing about either kid.
Jim: All 4 of our kids have gone to the public HS in our town. We have seen our HS go down the toilet the last 10 years. Our schools are so bad that 1/2 of new teachers in Oregon quit within 3 years. My daughter’s favorite teacher (former D3 All American and NC winner) quit after just 2 or 3 years to become a realtor. He told me he hates working weekends but likes that he doesn’t have to listen to 15 year olds tell him to F-off in class anymore. It is bedlam in our schools, and our test scores go down every year. I’d wager Oregon’s public schools are not alone in this problem. So, if BYU’s academic standards remain static or increase, but the public HSs turn out kids with declining test scores, we will lose more and more good recruits to state schools every year. That makes it really hard to win in football. As a senior BYU athletic department employee told me recently, “It’s really, REALLY hard to find 105 kids who are super good at football and can also survive academically at BYU.”
Tom,
If you look at simply your daughter’s experience as a teacher, why would these students tell the teacher to “F-off”? It boils down to the parents teaching their children to not respect authority and they are entitled. My wife teaches 2nd grade and some of the things the parents do make me scratch my head. Why would any sane parent do these things? again “Entitlement” and lack of respect is the basis of it.
Now as for the schools going down the toilets, I forgot both you and Jim live in states where there are unions controlling the education system. teachers unions can really put a hamper on education. here in Utah we has an association, with out any real power like a union does in California. They can suggest things, but that is about as far as it goes here.
I work for the Utah State Board of Education. It amazes me just how much parents want the schools to do that is counter productive to education, but great for having family cruise trips…
Sent all five of kids through the public school system here in Utah…
I have friends in education that live in California Jim, you school unions are killing your education and the fact that some parents think their children are entitled and never do anything wrong.
Just a quick side note. Society and parents are not separate entities, parents, by and large, are society. A generalization but our schools are going down the toilet because parents are abdicating their responsibilities. And BTW, it is not only teens who are using such words or phrases as “F - off.” I was walking down the street a couple of years ago and a child on a tricycle called me just about every curse word I’ve ever heard because I didn’t get off the sidewalk for him soon enough.
Point taken. My daughter is not a teacher, but my wife is–in a Title I middle school with 70% minority, 100% free/reduced lunch, and an administration that is 100% powerless to do anything about unruly kids or lousy teachers. The teachers’ union in Oregon has a stranglehold on the whole system. Sorry for getting everyone off track–I was just trying to point out that our football team has lost many academic casualties, both recruits and enrolled, and I think the problem will get worse before it gets better.
yes, you are right. when i said society in general i was referring more to what the media feeds us all the time. What we see on news, what pop culture does, what is the latest hype and trend. It is almost always bad stuff.
Jim, I agree with you that the media, by and large, is helping our society’s morals deteriorate to disgraceful levels but if enough of us stood up to the media it would turn around soon. I cannot believe that the current malaise of our FB program is largely due to our high academic standards. I am concerned that there is truth to the criticisms that are being thrown BMs way. I hope it is just sour grapes of some kind but concerned it is more than that.