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An old friend of mine, who is nearing 90, was privy to information related to Fickell's recruiting at Cincinnati. I believe in what this man says, because he has a track record of coaching for over 45 years, and as a HC, in HS, and college, only had 2 losing records, and they were the first year when he took over horrible programs that weren't capable of winning anything the year before. In both cases, he turned them into viable competitors in two, and in both, won championships in their 4th year.
His statement about how Fickell recruits was; "He can find the needles in haystacks."
What he was saying is that Fickell and his personnel find hidden talent. You might see a kid as a 3-star recruit according to services, but Fickell and his people see beyond the ratings, to untapped potential, and this is what they look for in players.
He went on to say that no matter where the services rank his "gets" in the portal, rest assured he's getting players that are not only talented and have huge potential, he's getting players that will report on day one ready to hit the field, because he doesn't recruit players that have questionable work ethics.
As far as HS players, he looks at their potential even more than their production in HS, because he realizes that there are limited resources in most HS to bring the most out in a player. His evaluations rarely match that of the ranking services.
The guy knows what he's talking about. I can't mention his name, because I'd lose the pipeline to him, and he could be shut out from his sources as well. I might also add that this information is months old. This is what he told me at about the time the Badgers were playing in the previous bowl game.
His statement about how Fickell recruits was; "He can find the needles in haystacks."
What he was saying is that Fickell and his personnel find hidden talent. You might see a kid as a 3-star recruit according to services, but Fickell and his people see beyond the ratings, to untapped potential, and this is what they look for in players.
He went on to say that no matter where the services rank his "gets" in the portal, rest assured he's getting players that are not only talented and have huge potential, he's getting players that will report on day one ready to hit the field, because he doesn't recruit players that have questionable work ethics.
As far as HS players, he looks at their potential even more than their production in HS, because he realizes that there are limited resources in most HS to bring the most out in a player. His evaluations rarely match that of the ranking services.
The guy knows what he's talking about. I can't mention his name, because I'd lose the pipeline to him, and he could be shut out from his sources as well. I might also add that this information is months old. This is what he told me at about the time the Badgers were playing in the previous bowl game.