Charlie Strong has been trying to rebuild the Texas Longhorns’ football program and decided to go with a new recruiting strategy by recruiting hard outside of the state. It is a strategy that many disagreed with and it is becoming clear why many didn’t like it.
ESPN Big-12 reporter Jake Trotter took to Twitter to express his opinion of Strong’s recruiting tactic, simply stating that it has “backfired” for the head coach and the school.
W/ Cecil Cherry leaving, only Davante Davis left from Charlie Strong’s touted “Florida 5.” Gamble to recruit heavily out of TX backfiring
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) August 11, 2015
Texas is one of the richest states in terms of football talent and the fact that Strong isn’t focusing primarily on bringing on board the best talent from the Longhorn state is a big mistake.
Almost every single high school football player in Texas would strongly consider an offer to play for the Longhorns and Strong. There is a rich history and tradition behind the Longhorns and players that grew up and played in the state would be much more likely to be intrigued by that tradition.
Players in Florida have grown up thinking and talking about Florida State and Florida, while Texas just might not end up being for them.
Cecil Cherry is the biggest example of that, as he decided to leave the Texas football team after just three practices. He didn’t like the program and the Longhorns are going to miss what he could have brought to the field.
Strong has to get back to dominating the recruiting in the state of Texas. If he can lock up his home turf and bring in the most talented players in the Lonestar state, he will be just fine moving forward with the program.
Texas shouldn’t have to recruit hard out of state for their talent, as most of it should come from their back door.
It will be interesting to see how he decides to change things up in the coming years, but right now his recruiting strategy isn’t working and needs to be fixed.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports