I think this is a case of people seeing what they want to see.
Look. Recruiters are going to recruit. Some schools are easier sells than others, but not all coaches and staffs are equally good at recruiting.
Look at the kind of players Franklin brought to Vandy, which is a tough place to get recruits at (Stanford actually sells the academics, but I've seen no indication Vandy has been able to pull off the same trick).
Put Freeze somewhere else and he will continue to reel in recruits.
It's that simple. Recruiters are going to recruit. Look at Herman and the class he is bringing in to Houston after just one year.
You can recruit or you can't, and Freeze is a dynamite recruiter. You can actually make a case they do it better than the Alabama staff does.
Of course Freeze is not the best game day coach of all time. Sweeney isn't either, but he has enough sense to have assistants who can do that sort of thing at a high level.
And I'd actually say that is the way of the future. Your head guy has to be a relentless salesman and push the brand. He really doesn't have time to watch a bunch of game film and make up game plans. My take is the way it has usually been done (looking for a hotshot coordinator who is some kind of ace playcaller or defensive guru) is probably not the best approach when you are looking at hiring a first time coach.
You want someone with demonstrated recruiting prowess who can manage people (and I'd say the two go together), and again who has enough sense to hire people who are good at those kind of details. Then let them do their thing as long as everything is moving forward. If not, then you go to the next coordinator or position coach.
Put Freeze here at South Carolina or Kentucky, and he would pull in the same kinds of guys.
No idea how Muschamp will actually do as an on the field coach this fall. But I am expecting a bang up recruiting class. All the signs are there, he takes it serously, and this staff is by far the best set of recruiters we have had. Ever. And when I say bang up, I think we will finish top ten next year (assuming we can offer 20+ scholarships).
And it really doesn't matter whether we have some kind of break out season next year. We could finish 6-6 and they will still pull in the players.
Fans seem to think that something like giving up 70 points in the Orange Bowl or something kills recruiting. It really doesn't. It just plain doesn't matter. All you need is a location where the kid thinks he could enjoy going to school, and a staff of great recruiters. Heck having a crappy season is something that is used as a selling point "We need help everywhere, you have an excellent chance to play right away. But if you go to Alabama you'll sit on the bench for three years while all the other five stars get their one year in the sun, before you play."
Some places are behind the 8 ball, for example I don't think Nebraska is ever going to find their way back to what they were, as times have changed. But while there are a lot of places better than Columbia to spend around four years, it isn't like you are asking a kid to go to Manhattan, Kansas or some really remote rural area where it gets really cold.
