Why The Terps Will Never be Elite

[Mashed Potatoes]

We don't have 4-5 star recruits growing on trees in our backyard. Looking at ESPN's top 150 there's only 1 player from MD (Adrian Coxson who committed to Penn State).

Meanwhile, Florida houses 26 of the top 150 recruits in the nation, Texas has 25, and California has 17. Those 3 states have 45% of the top 150! There's just no way for us to bridge that talent gap.

[Mackus]

I agree we'll never be a consistent top-10 program, like year-in year-out like USC and those type programs.

I do think we can be a consistent top-25 program, and have 1-2 year windows 1-2 times a decade where we can be in the top-10. There is enough talent in this area for a very solid base, and if we can steal some one or two of the blue chippers from other areas every now and again, we can be a very good program.

[Mashed Potatoes]

I agree we'll never be a consistent top-10 program, like year-in year-out like USC and those type programs.

I do think we can be a consistent top-25 program, and have 1-2 year windows 1-2 times a decade where we can be in the top-10. There is enough talent in this area for a very solid base, and if we can steal some one or two of the blue chippers from other areas every now and again, we can be a very good program.

Agree with everything you wrote here neighborino.

Any more Hendersons coming through the pipeline? If not those parents need to get back to work.

[Mackus]

Agree with everything you wrote here neighborino.

Any more Hendersons coming through the pipeline? If not those parents need to get back to work.

Might be better off just seeing if Erin or EJ have any little ones running around.

Or just recruit some new players from the laboratory where Vernon Davis was assembled.

[markpolis]

We don't have 4-5 star recruits growing on trees in our backyard. Looking at ESPN's top 150 there's only 1 player from MD (Adrian Coxson who committed to Penn State).

Meanwhile, Florida houses 26 of the top 150 recruits in the nation, Texas has 25, and California has 17. Those 3 states have 45% of the top 150! There's just no way for us to bridge that talent gap.

Ohio State

Penn State

Notre Dame - I know it they suck, but they still get the best recruits

Oklahoma

I can continue to name programs that don't have the home grown talent but are able to bring in the top recruits and are top programs. Coaching, money, facilities, alumni and tradition go a long way in bringing in out of state talent. Yes, those states have an advantage but it can be done if the school wants to put forth the necessary effort.

[markpolis]

I think the thread should be titled why MD will never consistently be elite. My expectation is 3 divison titles, and 1-2 BCS apperances per decade.

This is a bit of a down year in local talent to be fair though... if you look at the last few years, a lot of the elite talent has been local. Clearly not as much depth as in some locales. Still the talent in DC, and the Baltimore Metro continues to rise quickly.

Combine the fact that MD recruits in hot-beds like VaBech/Tidewater, and different parts of PA, and there is a wealth of available talent.

For the past decade, MD was recently ranked the 30th best program.. the 2009 recruiting class was ranked 26th, 2008 was ranked 38th, 2007 was ranked 35th, 2006 was ranked 29th...

Add New Jersey as an area the Terps have always been able to recruit well.

[Birds of B'more]

We don't have 4-5 star recruits growing on trees in our backyard.

I agree that UMd will probably never be among college football's elite, but I disagree with your reasoning. Notwithstanding this year's current ratings, MD has produced a number of highly regarded recruits in recent seasons. Two of them were among the Top 11 picks in this year's NFL Draft (Darrius Heyward-Bey and Aaron Maybin) and several others are being mentioned as possible 1st rounders next year (Arrelious Benn, Rico McCoy, Marvin Austin...from D.C.). While that is just top end talent, there is a good amount of quality talent to be found in the D.C. suburbs. The problem is that Fridge & Co. don't keep enough of those players in state. Plus, there is also plenty of talent in neighboring states like PA, NJ, and VA that the Terps should be able to compete for.

But if you really want to know why UMd won't be among college football's elite, then look no further than this Sun article.

[uM Football] Season ticket sales have fallen to 24,894 from 27,110 at this time last year - an 8.1 percent dip.

The [newly expanded] luxury tower is targeted for completion about two weeks before the Sept. 12 home opener against James Madison. The university says it has sold 40 of the 64 suites and 345 of the 539 mezzanine seats, of which 440 are new.

In mid-June, the athletic department began offering suite rentals on a per-game basis, hoping that the single-Saturday experience will induce more customers to sign long-term leases.

Elite college football programs don't struggle to sell out a stadium that only seats 55,000 people. You can blame the economy all you want, but the truth is that UMd football has always been overshadowed by the Ravens and Redskins. It's not even the premier athletic program on its own campus.....that would be the men's hoops team. It's a shame too. I was a football season ticket holder for 6 years when I lived back there, and I always had a blast going to the games. It's a much more affordable alternative for those who would rather not spend the kind of money it takes to go to Ravens/Redskins games.

[Birds of B'more]

I agree we'll never be a consistent top-10 program, like year-in year-out like USC and those type programs.

I do think we can be a consistent top-25 program, and have 1-2 year windows 1-2 times a decade where we can be in the top-10. There is enough talent in this area for a very solid base, and if we can steal some one or two of the blue chippers from other areas every now and again, we can be a very good program.

Look at USC's records from the 1990's....they were hardly elite for quite a while. It goes back to my response to the OP....there's more to building and maintaining an elite college football program than simply having the most blue-chip HS players in your backyard. It certainly helps, but it takes much more than that.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Look at USC's records from the 1990's....they were hardly elite for quite a while. It goes back to my response to the OP....there's more to building and maintaining an elite college football program than simply having the most blue-chip HS players in your backyard. It certainly helps' date=' but it takes much more than that.[/quote']

Look at USC's records from the decades before the 1990s.

[Birds of B'more]

Look at USC's records from the decades before the 1990s.

My point was that even elite programs can have down periods, despite the fact that they may be located in the heart of a recruiting hotbed. In other words, there's more to it than just location. What was your point?

[Majin Buu]

Elite college football programs don't struggle to sell out a stadium that only seats 55,000 people. You can blame the economy all you want, but the truth is that UMd football has always been overshadowed by the Ravens and Redskins. It's not even the premier athletic program on its own campus.....that would be the men's hoops team. It's a shame too. I was a football season ticket holder for 6 years when I lived back there, and I always had a blast going to the games. It's a much more affordable alternative for those who would rather not spend the kind of money it takes to go to Ravens/Redskins games.

You are so right about that. I used to be a season ticket holder for a couple of years and used to marvel at how empty the stadium would be at kickoff of a WVU game. It’s all about Sunday in that neck of the woods. It’s real a shame too, Ralph as done a decent job raising that program from the dead.

[Why Not?]

Elite college football programs don't struggle to sell out a stadium that only seats 55' date='000 people. You can blame the economy all you want, but the truth is that UMd football has always been overshadowed by the Ravens and Redskins. It's not even the premier athletic program on its own campus.....that would be the men's hoops team. It's a shame too. I was a football season ticket holder for 6 years when I lived back there, and I always had a blast going to the games. It's a much more affordable alternative for those who would rather not spend the kind of money it takes to go to Ravens/Redskins games.[/quote']

I think it's more of a regional thing than a Maryland thing. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic aren't college football-crazy like much of the country and haven't been so for about 70 years. There's just too much competition for the entertainment dollar. Aside from pro sports, we have beaches and citites and, like, culture. What the hell else is one to do in Lincoln or Morgantown? Still, Maryland's football attendance is typically ranked in the 40s nationally. That's not so bad.

There really aren't many big-time programs in the eastern seaboard megalopolis. Maryland, BC, Rutgers, Temple, UConn. None of those schools draw as well as Maryland.

[Birds of B'more]

I think it's more of a regional thing than a Maryland thing. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic aren't college football-crazy like much of the country and haven't been so for about 70 years. There's just too much competition for the entertainment dollar. Aside from pro sports, we have beaches and citites and, like, culture. What the hell else is one to do in Lincoln or Morgantown? Still, Maryland's football attendance is typically ranked in the 40s nationally. That's not so bad.

There really aren't many big-time programs in the eastern seaboard megalopolis. Maryland, BC, Rutgers, Temple, UConn. None of those schools draw as well as Maryland.

Huh?

I see your point, but there are exceptions. Look at Penn State. They draw 100,000+ for home games, and I promise you that all of those people aren't coming from State College and other rural parts of PA. Same goes for VA Tech and its 66,000+ stadium I bet.....do that many people even live in Blacksburg? I obviously have no supporting evidence, but I'm sure both of those programs draw a significant number of season ticket holders from the larger population centers within their state, and maybe even surrounding states. So it begs the question as to why UMd, which conveniently sits right in the middle of two metropolitan areas that have about 6 million people combined, and many of them with higher than average incomes, struggle to attract just 55,000? Even with two NFL teams you would think there are enough people and money to go around, especially with the Terps being a more affordable option than the NFL teams.

It's been said that the region is made up of mostly fair-weather fans, and I'll agree with that with the exception being for the NFL teams. Both the Ravens and Redskins sell out every game, even in down years. But that support hasn't extended to UMd football, despite the fact that the Terps and both NFL teams have had similar rates of on-field success since 2001, even though it is somewhat of an apples and oranges comparison.

[mweb]

I think it's more of a regional thing than a Maryland thing. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic aren't college football-crazy like much of the country and haven't been so for about 70 years. There's just too much competition for the entertainment dollar. Aside from pro sports, we have beaches and citites and, like, culture. What the hell else is one to do in Lincoln or Morgantown? Still, Maryland's football attendance is typically ranked in the 40s nationally. That's not so bad.

There really aren't many big-time programs in the eastern seaboard megalopolis. Maryland, BC, Rutgers, Temple, UConn. None of those schools draw as well as Maryland.

I would say people around USC have more to do than in the mid-atlantic, other than the NFL of course. But even when the NFL was in SoCal, USC had great attendance. Miami is another example of this.

I do agree with what you're saying, but other programs are able to overcome the strong competition for people's time/money.

[Balmer Bomber]

Ohio State

Penn State

Notre Dame - I know it they suck, but they still get the best recruits

Oklahoma

I can continue to name programs that don't have the home grown talent but are able to bring in the top recruits and are top programs. Coaching, money, facilities, alumni and tradition go a long way in bringing in out of state talent. Yes, those states have an advantage but it can be done if the school wants to put forth the necessary effort.

Ohio and western Penn produce many of the top OL in the Big 10, so it's easy to see why Ohio St and Penn St. are normally in the top 10. It also helps that those teams are always on TV. I know some non BCS conference schools enjoy playing on Thursdays, Fridays, and even Tuesdays if it gets them on ESPN. Its three hours of recruiting being done for you by the network. My school (UCF) normally plays 2 non Saturday games, and will be playing Marshall this year on a Sunday. Maryland seems to play about one Thursday game a year. Maybe they should look into playing more non Saturdays to help get their product out there. It does help that they are the Under Armour mother ship as well

We don't have 4-5 star recruits growing on trees in our backyard. Looking at ESPN's top 150 there's only 1 player from MD (Adrian Coxson who committed to Penn State).

Meanwhile, Florida houses 26 of the top 150 recruits in the nation, Texas has 25, and California has 17. Those 3 states have 45% of the top 150! There's just no way for us to bridge that talent gap.

It wouldn't hurt to start playing your players like USC

I laugh at people when they say there is no professional football team in LA.