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Is There an Answer To The Real Issue

We were lucky in a lot of ways getting that bumper crop of talent. Swearinger decommitted from UT when Fulmer was canned. We had a few guys leaning to Clemson when Bowden was canned. Alshon decommitted from SoCal. Ellington decided to quit basketball. Stephen Davis helped steer Marcus here, when he went to sleep the night before signing day he was leaning to Auburn. We haven’t had a run of instate talent like that since.

The state of NC is certainly important. But if you look at UNC’s commits, they currently have more commits from Virginia than NC.

We need talent....doesn’t matter where it comes from.
UNC has always recruited Virginia hard, primarily the Tidelands. I believe they got Famous Amos from there (Norfolk), and the incomparable Lawrence Taylor was from Williamsburg.
 
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Yes it recruits but also coaching alongside an AD and BOT that know what the hell they are doing (i.e., clempson). However, SOS proved that despite an incompetent AD and good ole boy BO, good recruiting with decent coaching can even make a winner out of CAROLINA.
 
It is futile. We have a particular type of DNA which cannot be overridden. I doubt we could ever attain to a level comparable with even Iowa State.
As much as we wish a top tier program could be built here, it can't happen because of the legislative structure of our BOT. Our structure is different than CU's and we will never have the BOT drive to win that CU or other top tier schools have. We have CU fans on our Board, but you won't find a single USC fan on CU's Board. Our BOT is about the prestige of being on the Board. CU's Board catches hell if the athletics dept. isn't winning. That doesn't happen at USC. The BOT is happy to be friends and not rock the boat with Tanner. He would have been run off years ago at CU.
It's not just a different attitude (there is one), but it is about the makeup and structure of the Board being different between the two schools and it will never change, no reason for the SC Legislature to change it. A run like Spurrier or Holtz had is as good as it will ever get here. It's just the difference between dogs and cats.
 
I know you love bashing our coaches and bashing Ray, but I disagree. I think these guys are by and large being coached up very well.

We knew coming into this season we were weak and short of talent at LB, WR, QB, and the entire D Backfield.

I’m still not sure why some people thought our OL was going to be good, they’ve been a weak spot for years. I know some KY fans who are now expressing buyers remorse over getting Wolford.

Harris ran for a lot of yards out of the I formation last year, with the benefit of a NFL caliber FB opening holes. This year he had back surgery, caught Covid, hasn’t had Prentice blocking, and hasn’t looked the same.

Bobo slightly improved our offense last year. His first season at Auburn, with better players has delivered a much improved offense.

We’re probably the only team in SEC history that’s pulled a member of the coaching staff and started him at QB. We’re undoubtedly the only team in NCAA history to have a coach step in at QB and lead the team to a final drive victory with 97 seconds left and no time outs.

Yes, the offense has featured some strange calls, but there have also been a lot of good calls that weren’t properly executed. The defense has improved, they’re just gassed and beat up from spending too much time than the field. The WR play has slightly improved.

IMHO this staff has done a pretty good job making the best of a bad situation.
Thank you for making these points. You know to some level they are correct. However, it still does not negate the fact that these coaches are simply bad.
 
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Most who follow this forum know my feelings about the Beamer hiring. Thought it was done on the cheap in some desperate attempt to hire a hopeful Dabo 2.0. That aside, how do we fix the long range problem. And that issue is recruiting. Since Spurrier hit the gold mine with some SC recruits over a decade ago, USC just cannot recruit with anybody on the schedule that makes a difference. And 95% of the time, talent wins. Now we always have the sunshine pumpers that convince themselves that all of these 3 stars we sign are all diamonds in the rough that will play like 5 stars once in Columbia. We all know that view is naive. So what can be done? Our two biggest rivals in UGA and Clemson seem to select high 4 and 5 stars. Then you throw other SEC schools recruiting at a high level, not to mention UNC which has elevated their recruiting to a high level right in our backyard. Until USC can change this pattern, things aren't going to change very much. Winning 6-7 games will be a special year where you get to go to the low level bowl in Charlotte, or Birmingham. Any ideas?

I thought Kirby Smart said it best four days ago: "There's no coach out there that can out-coach recruiting. I don't care who you are. The best coach to ever play the game better be a good recruiter because no coaching is going to out-coach players."
 
Thank you for making these points. You know to some level they are correct. However, it still does not negate the fact that these coaches are simply bad.
I disagree, I don’t think the staff is bad. Could it be improved? Sure.

But you can’t win the Kentucky Derby with a mule, doesn’t matter who the trainer is.
 
I disagree, I don’t think the staff is bad. Could it be improved? Sure.

But you can’t win the Kentucky Derby with a mule, doesn’t matter who the trainer is.
Tut! Tut! You commit mortal sin. Comparing our players to mules. Not good at all. Better to look at the million dollar coaches who are incompetent. Beamer is NOT good at all, why is that hard to see the obvious. You got it wrong!
 
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I’m afraid our BOT is so gleeful over us being a WBB school that they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to make football competitive. I think they live in the Diversity and Inclusion eco chamber. When football attendance dips below 50% they may start being proactive, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I want USC to be an all sports school.
 
Tut! Tut! You commit mortal sin. Comparing our players to mules. Not good at all. Better to look at the million dollar coaches who are incompetent. Beamer is NOT good at all, why is that hard to see the obvious. You got it wrong!


Or there is the worse scenario. It's the Kentucky derby and this team is a mule with a teenage kid who's never ridden a horse as the jockey.

But seriously, instead of arguing if the players or the coaching needs upgrading, the answer might be both.
 
I trust Beamer to get the job done in time. I never said we would win 6 games, hell I was pretty bold saying we would win 3 games this year and surpassed that by 1 game... If anyone with a brain can look at this program over the years can tell we don't have the caliber SEC players on the team, may 5 players total on each side of the ball...

The offensive and offensive line under Muschamp really sucked and you can't fix that over night...
We don't have true WR's who have actual game experience to catch the frecking ball...
We didn't have an QB with actual game experience.. Three games don't make game experience...
Our linebackers and DB's were question marks before the season

All of that would make a piss poor year for any coach with 5-10 years+ struggle to win 4-6 games this year...

I trust Beamer to get the job done because the former Carolina players under Spurrier recommended Beamer to Tanner and said he is a good coach and Beamer recruited them and coached them under Spurrier... Remember, Spurrier isn't a recruiter, he is a game day coach, very rear to find today... Spurrier has said he hated recruiting and rely on other coaches the bring in players..

I trust the former Carolina players under Spurrier to say Beamer is their guy and can get the job done over any of Tanner's picks 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.. If after 4 more years under Beamer and we still suck, then let's talk..

I trusted Beamer to get the job done despite the hatred coming from the minority of Carolina fans who think they are the majority of Carolina fans...
No hatred on my part. Even though he was nowhere close to my first choice, I have been supportive. Based on the schedule, I said 4 wins this season, maybe 5. Thus I am close to on the money. Beamer has to obviously learn on the job. Hopefully part of the learning curve is to realize when you make hiring mistskes. There is a huge difference from being a position coach to being THE MAN in charge. We have no choice but to give him time. I assume we will.
 
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Also...tired about hearing we had a good 3 year stretch of players in SC. Yes...we did get several Mr. Footballs and more other good SC players. There are still good SC HS players to get....ESPECIALLY now that Clemson has recruited nationally over statewide the last 5-6 years.
More importantly....SOS owned the state of NC for 2-3 years which helped fill out the rosters we needed to make that run and surround the other SC high profile recruits. We always dip into FL and GA....but getting NC talent was a lynchpin that we have not re-visited since. I have mentioned this many times.....we need to get back and own the "diamond" area around Charlotte.
Go look at Clemson's 81 NC team.....plenty of NC starters on that team, plus reserves.
Lastly...when I started hearing of the "DMV" area that Beamer was goin to target...I knew we were sunk. You are skipping over an entire state of (better) football and more players to choose from, and WAY closer? SMDH. I mean sure...recruit the DMV and get a couple guys...but target NC, SC and GA most heavily.
The fact is that Beamer needs to step up our recruiting from what he has thus far brought in. Who he has committed thus far is OK. But it is no better than what Muschamp brought in. That won't cut it.
 
I disagree, I don’t think the staff is bad. Could it be improved? Sure.

But you can’t win the Kentucky Derby with a mule, doesn’t matter who the trainer is.
With one exception I will agree that this staff is not bad. The problem is when your weakest point is one of your coordinators it makes everyone look bad.
 
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I thought Kirby Smart said it best four days ago: "There's no coach out there that can out-coach recruiting. I don't care who you are. The best coach to ever play the game better be a good recruiter because no coaching is going to out-coach players."
I think this is true regardless of sport, but highlighted even more with fewer players per team on the field, pitch, court, etc.

Basketball is one such sport which comes to mind. Look at what Bill Bradley did for Princeton in the early 1960s.
 
So said the blind man. It makes no difference what any player or anyone else said BEFORE the hire. All but the blind have seen with our own eyes what has happened AFTER the hire. This staff simply cannot coach. It is clear a mistake was made. What do you do when you make a mistake? You fix it. You don't wait 4 years to see if it goes away when you already know what the problem is.
Oh BS. Give the coach time.
 
No hatred on my part. Even though he was nowhere close to my first choice, I have been supportive. Based on the schedule, I said 4 wins this season, maybe 5. Thus I am close to on the money. Beamer has to obviously learn on the job. Hopefully part of the learning curve is to realize when you make hiring mistskes. There is a huge difference from being a position coach to being THE MAN in charge. We have no choice but to give him time. I assume we will.
Interesting. This entire comment could easily be directed toward Ray Tanner as well, as there are a lot of similarities between the Tanner hire and the Beamer hire.

Ray was nowhere near my first choice as AD. But, he inherited a lot better overall program than Beamer did with our football team. And, it is a fact that all of our men's programs have gone down hill since his hire.
Much like Beamer, Ray was well-liked within the program and by a lot of fans. But, the last I looked, being well-liked does not equate to success - in the short term or long term.
Both had tremendous support from their former players.
Much like Beamer, Ray had and still has to learn on the job.
Much like Beamer, Ray has been and will be judged not only by the mistakes he made, but how he learned from those mistakes.

The SEC is no place for 2 of your most important athletic staff members to be 'learning on the job'. We don't know if Ray has learned from his mistakes at this point. He hired Muschamp, which was clearly a mistake. And, now he hired Beamer who had ZERO prior experience as an OC or HC at any level. That may be another mistake. And he is probably going to retire within the next few years, without us really knowing for sure.

And, regarding your statement about Beamer: "We have no choice but to give him time'. You are probably right. Our choices are limited now because of the choice made by Ray Tanner back last December. Sure appears to me that we are always 'BUYING more time' when we should and could be investing our money more wisely.
 
Lakecock1,

Only a guess, but I speculate that Ray was given the job in appreciation for winning 2 national championships and coming close on a 3rd. I suspect that the thought on Beamer was that he would be like his Dad Frank. Nothing in his background qualified him to jump straight to being a Head Coach in the SEC without being either an OC or DC or a Head Coach elsewhere first. I would hope that the people (Board Of Trustees) entrusted to oversee a major university would not give the preponderance of weight to former players recommending a hire. How many sons of former Hall Of Fame coaches have come anywhere near replicating the success of their fathers? I can't think of one.

Regardless, Shane is our coach and we have to support him, hoping for the best.
 
Lakecock1,

Only a guess, but I speculate that Ray was given the job in appreciation for winning 2 national championships and coming close on a 3rd......
That's a question our interim president probably could answer.....but won't. And understandably so, IMO.

Even if Pastides and the BOT did take that into consideration, RT wouldn't have gotten a first look if not for all the work he had done in the Athletic Departments for both USC & NCSU.
 
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Well Clemson was never this mediocre. They were middling, we're getting close to hitting bottom, if we haven't already bottomed out. We are doing at the worst possible time in college football history because NIL deals are going to benefit schools with lots of money. We aren't one of those schools.
I am not saying this to be mean, but factual. Over the past 60 years, the average Clemson team has been better than the average USC team, and by a considerable margin. Of course there have been yearly exceptions, but that is a fact.
 
Oh BS. Give the coach time.
Time to do what? Continue bad coaching? You can ask your housekeeper to fix the engine in your car, but she's not going to be able to do it whether you give her 2 weeks or 10 years, because she simply doesn't know how.

I've experienced good coaching and I've experienced bad coaching. I know the difference. This staff is not good.
 
Time to do what? Continue bad coaching? You can ask your housekeeper to fix the engine in your car, but she's not going to be able to do it whether you give her 2 weeks or 10 years, because she simply doesn't know how.

I've experienced good coaching and I've experienced bad coaching. I know the difference. This staff is not good.
Exactly! Well said.
 
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