Kiffin is playing chess: he is a big picture strategist, with tremendous offensive acumen. He knows how to evaluate coaches and players and motivate them. The reason you don't understand him is that he is playing chess and you are playing checkers. He also is a bit of an introvert who will need to tweak his staff from a recruiting perspective to maximize the opportunity in his backyard.
Recruiting rankings don't matter for us: of course it is lower than we want, because part of the formula is a combined score that is helped by having a full 25. We were nowhere near that, because Kiffin is going the route of adding players that are more ready to plug into our current weak spots. When we have sustained success, he will likely reduce reliance on the portal some.
Roster/risk/what could go wrong: you aren't likely to recruit HS kids that can come in and replace Corral and our receivers, so we have to be successsful in the portal. We have a short but good track record. Kiffin has no choice but to take this approach, but it isn't guaranteed to yield a Gabriel type player. Which could lead to a setback (if we are unlucky). However, I suspect he will find his guy somehow.
Kiffin has to make this work, so he will: once we escaped this years coaching cycle I feel we are safe. Kiffin has to find a way to keep sustained success 8+ wins a year to put himself in position for the next move. By the time he does that our roster will be on a level that a new coach can keep it rolling.
So, I'm feeling positive - we just need that QB.
Recruiting rankings don't matter for us: of course it is lower than we want, because part of the formula is a combined score that is helped by having a full 25. We were nowhere near that, because Kiffin is going the route of adding players that are more ready to plug into our current weak spots. When we have sustained success, he will likely reduce reliance on the portal some.
Roster/risk/what could go wrong: you aren't likely to recruit HS kids that can come in and replace Corral and our receivers, so we have to be successsful in the portal. We have a short but good track record. Kiffin has no choice but to take this approach, but it isn't guaranteed to yield a Gabriel type player. Which could lead to a setback (if we are unlucky). However, I suspect he will find his guy somehow.
Kiffin has to make this work, so he will: once we escaped this years coaching cycle I feel we are safe. Kiffin has to find a way to keep sustained success 8+ wins a year to put himself in position for the next move. By the time he does that our roster will be on a level that a new coach can keep it rolling.
So, I'm feeling positive - we just need that QB.
