I give yall some respect! Some of you have bashed GOL for years and years, even during the good years. You have stayed constant with your bashing and now this is your year to feel smart and get many "bandwagon fans" to join in with your voice.
I say "I respect you" because you stay true to your heart and your views. You have always had your reasons to hate and FIRE GOL. Many made fun of you and tried to silence you (it's not possible) but you have always stood firm on your beliefs. Some call it hard headed or stubborn, but atleast your consistent.
I can't speak for everyone and I don't know who the "some" are but I will speak for myself.
I believe that GOL has made our program better and despit what some on here say, I certainly don't put the 0-11 season on him. This season, however, is certainly on his shoulders and will stick on his resume/history record. But it also sticks on EVERYONE involved in the program. When bad things happen you don't run though. GOL isn't looking for an escape door, even if his age is pulling him closer to it every year. As a fan, I wouldn't want a quitter though. The real problem is the PROGRAM and you can't solve it by cleaning house or firing people. So let's first ask how and why this has happened.
How are we at 0-6? Recruiting,recruiting,recruiting. We have gotten worse and we really miss a David Kelley type recruiter. Right? Well, I looked into that and I think you will be surprised with the statistics. We have been without Kelley for 4 years (2012-2015) so I will compare with the last 4 years we had with him ('08-'11). In these stats I wrote down our star average/player and compared us to the current AAC teams.
w/ Kelley
2008 *2.61 1st in current AAC teams
2009 *2.42 6th
2010 *2.73 3rd
2011 *2.86 T-2nd
--------------------------
w/o Kelley
2012 *2.76 3rd
2013 *2.61 3rd
2014 *2.65 T-2nd
2015 *2.82 1st
Avg Kelley- 2.66
w/o Kelley- 2.71
We have recruited better without Kelley than when we have had him. We also compare better to the AAC teams than what we used to. Was he a great recruiter? I used to really believe it but the more I look into things, the more he failed our university. Check this out:
The great recruiter-Kelley only had 2 commits in 2008 and only ONE showed up to campus (Brandon Davis a RB who stayed 3 years but didn't do much for the program).
In 2009, Kelley signed 11 recruits. Three were no-shows to the program and out of the remaining 8, only 3 made it to play their senior year (Ishmael, Dontravious Floyd, and Jonathan Davis).
In 2010, Kelley signed 14! Wow, that's impressive! 3 No-shows and 5 more didn't make it past their freshman/RS freshman year. So 8 players in that class didn't play a year on the field. 6 recruits doesn't sound so amazing anymore for the recruiter of the year nominee.
**His last year recruiting in 2011 are some of the seniors we have THIS YEAR (Tarik Cook and "could be" Perriman). But out of his 12 commits 4 didn't even show-up to campus and play (3*DB-Jeremy Davis, 3* DB-Kentorius Jackson, 4*QB-DaMarcus Smith, 3*WR- Rayshon Williams). What a fail on Kelley! 4*Toby Jackson and Leilon Willingham only played 1 year at UCF. Do you remember Jose Jose? LOL he was part of this class too.
In summary about David Kelley, he recruited 38 players and half of them (19) had no impact on our team/seasons. Did he bring in some talent? Yes, but not as much as I once thought. During his time here only 3 guys were drafted- Perriman, Geathers, Ishmael.
So before you ask for another recruited like Kelley, look at the stats first!
The last 4 years without Kelley have actually, statistically, been better years for recruiting. We have been recruiting less players (because of the sanctions caused by Kelley) and even though we have less scholarships we have brought in 2 ESPN top-300 players in 2014 and 2 more in 2015. They are the only ones we have received on ESPN in the data base when looking back to 2008. Our team rankings have improved the past 3 years from 74th to 52nd to 49th this past year (only years I could view on ESPN). So please try to argue "recruiting sucks" a little less.
So if recruiting isn't the problem then is it the coach? I would say "coaches" are part of the formula. They do recruit, coach, teach, and pick the plays. This isn't the problem. This is a little tougher for me to defend with statistics. But GOL is bringing in new coaches every year and that hurts us because of the coaching turnover. Why can't we keep them? Because we are a mid-level program and can't offer what the big programs can.
Why does this year suck? Well, we were already thinking this may be a rebuild year. However, many were optimistic and hoping that we would "reload". Many analysis and sporting magazines had us at the top of the conference (or close to). So what happened? Yes we are "rebuilding" but that isn't a good enough answer for me! It would be easy to hate GOL because of his personality but i don't! It would be easy to blame recruiting and I wanted to post that it has gotten worse since Kelley, but is hasn't! Now I blame Kelley!! But I blame this season on our player turnover and injuries.
Think about this... midway through last year if you had to write down our top returning players to project our season, who would be the 5 best players? Well lucky for you I have that list and went to 10:
1) Breshad Perriman
2) Justin Holman
3) Jacoby Glenn
4) William Stanback
5) Thomas Niles
6) Miles Pace
7) Demetris Anderson
8) Kyle Gibson
9) Chris Williams
10) Joey Grant/Tarik Cook
Did these guys not pan out? Well, 2 declared early for the NFL. Many of the others have had injuries THIS YEAR. It isn't fun to watch but we haven't caught a break yet this year. Is it time to look forward to 2016 yet? Maybe I will make my Top-10 player list
Anyways, I respect many on here EVEN when we don't share the same opinion. I stand firm and still support our head coach and team. And maybe this is the year the "huggers" take a little lip from the "haters". But I am O.K. with that. With that being said, let me hear how I am wrong. Thanks for the time! Go Knights!
I say "I respect you" because you stay true to your heart and your views. You have always had your reasons to hate and FIRE GOL. Many made fun of you and tried to silence you (it's not possible) but you have always stood firm on your beliefs. Some call it hard headed or stubborn, but atleast your consistent.
I can't speak for everyone and I don't know who the "some" are but I will speak for myself.
I believe that GOL has made our program better and despit what some on here say, I certainly don't put the 0-11 season on him. This season, however, is certainly on his shoulders and will stick on his resume/history record. But it also sticks on EVERYONE involved in the program. When bad things happen you don't run though. GOL isn't looking for an escape door, even if his age is pulling him closer to it every year. As a fan, I wouldn't want a quitter though. The real problem is the PROGRAM and you can't solve it by cleaning house or firing people. So let's first ask how and why this has happened.
How are we at 0-6? Recruiting,recruiting,recruiting. We have gotten worse and we really miss a David Kelley type recruiter. Right? Well, I looked into that and I think you will be surprised with the statistics. We have been without Kelley for 4 years (2012-2015) so I will compare with the last 4 years we had with him ('08-'11). In these stats I wrote down our star average/player and compared us to the current AAC teams.
w/ Kelley
2008 *2.61 1st in current AAC teams
2009 *2.42 6th
2010 *2.73 3rd
2011 *2.86 T-2nd
--------------------------
w/o Kelley
2012 *2.76 3rd
2013 *2.61 3rd
2014 *2.65 T-2nd
2015 *2.82 1st
Avg Kelley- 2.66
w/o Kelley- 2.71
We have recruited better without Kelley than when we have had him. We also compare better to the AAC teams than what we used to. Was he a great recruiter? I used to really believe it but the more I look into things, the more he failed our university. Check this out:
The great recruiter-Kelley only had 2 commits in 2008 and only ONE showed up to campus (Brandon Davis a RB who stayed 3 years but didn't do much for the program).
In 2009, Kelley signed 11 recruits. Three were no-shows to the program and out of the remaining 8, only 3 made it to play their senior year (Ishmael, Dontravious Floyd, and Jonathan Davis).
In 2010, Kelley signed 14! Wow, that's impressive! 3 No-shows and 5 more didn't make it past their freshman/RS freshman year. So 8 players in that class didn't play a year on the field. 6 recruits doesn't sound so amazing anymore for the recruiter of the year nominee.
**His last year recruiting in 2011 are some of the seniors we have THIS YEAR (Tarik Cook and "could be" Perriman). But out of his 12 commits 4 didn't even show-up to campus and play (3*DB-Jeremy Davis, 3* DB-Kentorius Jackson, 4*QB-DaMarcus Smith, 3*WR- Rayshon Williams). What a fail on Kelley! 4*Toby Jackson and Leilon Willingham only played 1 year at UCF. Do you remember Jose Jose? LOL he was part of this class too.
In summary about David Kelley, he recruited 38 players and half of them (19) had no impact on our team/seasons. Did he bring in some talent? Yes, but not as much as I once thought. During his time here only 3 guys were drafted- Perriman, Geathers, Ishmael.
So before you ask for another recruited like Kelley, look at the stats first!
The last 4 years without Kelley have actually, statistically, been better years for recruiting. We have been recruiting less players (because of the sanctions caused by Kelley) and even though we have less scholarships we have brought in 2 ESPN top-300 players in 2014 and 2 more in 2015. They are the only ones we have received on ESPN in the data base when looking back to 2008. Our team rankings have improved the past 3 years from 74th to 52nd to 49th this past year (only years I could view on ESPN). So please try to argue "recruiting sucks" a little less.
So if recruiting isn't the problem then is it the coach? I would say "coaches" are part of the formula. They do recruit, coach, teach, and pick the plays. This isn't the problem. This is a little tougher for me to defend with statistics. But GOL is bringing in new coaches every year and that hurts us because of the coaching turnover. Why can't we keep them? Because we are a mid-level program and can't offer what the big programs can.
Why does this year suck? Well, we were already thinking this may be a rebuild year. However, many were optimistic and hoping that we would "reload". Many analysis and sporting magazines had us at the top of the conference (or close to). So what happened? Yes we are "rebuilding" but that isn't a good enough answer for me! It would be easy to hate GOL because of his personality but i don't! It would be easy to blame recruiting and I wanted to post that it has gotten worse since Kelley, but is hasn't! Now I blame Kelley!! But I blame this season on our player turnover and injuries.
Think about this... midway through last year if you had to write down our top returning players to project our season, who would be the 5 best players? Well lucky for you I have that list and went to 10:
1) Breshad Perriman
2) Justin Holman
3) Jacoby Glenn
4) William Stanback
5) Thomas Niles
6) Miles Pace
7) Demetris Anderson
8) Kyle Gibson
9) Chris Williams
10) Joey Grant/Tarik Cook
Did these guys not pan out? Well, 2 declared early for the NFL. Many of the others have had injuries THIS YEAR. It isn't fun to watch but we haven't caught a break yet this year. Is it time to look forward to 2016 yet? Maybe I will make my Top-10 player list
Anyways, I respect many on here EVEN when we don't share the same opinion. I stand firm and still support our head coach and team. And maybe this is the year the "huggers" take a little lip from the "haters". But I am O.K. with that. With that being said, let me hear how I am wrong. Thanks for the time! Go Knights!
