From the Bench - Bielema Setting Blueprint for Developing Program Through Recruiting

[Robert Shields]

Bielema Setting Blueprint for Developing Program Through Recruiting

Robert Shields

Winning cures all ills in the college football world. It does with me, too.

The current Razorback-football recruiting class looks good, and that would not have been possible without the team closing out the season in such a positive fashion by winning three of its last four including a big bowl win over archrival Texas.

Razorback coach Bret Bielema has his own philosophy of building his teams from the line out. It's a sound philosophy considering the game is mostly played in the trenches, especially in the SEC. In this class and previous recruiting classes, Bielema is trying hard to build a competitive offensive and defensive line.

That philosophy is a stark contrast from the previous coach who started the team with his quarterback and then built around that lone player with great receivers and skill positions.

Bielema brought a Big Ten philosophy with him to the Ozarks. It's not a unique formula as Alabama found its guy in Michigan State's Nick Saban, who had a momentary layover at LSU. The Big Ten was about grind-it-out trench warfare football, and that idea combined with the better skill positions melds well with the SEC and results in victories.

Where Bielema differs from Saban is the depth of recruiting in which he can field his team. With the winning legacy he has established in Tuscaloosa, Saban has been able to get about any player he desires. His only limiting factor is that he can only sign 25, and that is how the Razorbacks end up with such a great player from Alabama like a Darius Philon.

Bielema has around 10 to 12 players a year from Arkansas who have the potential to play in the SEC. This leaves him about 15 deficient of filling his signing class each year. It's also far from certain if Bielema can even get the top player each year in the state.

Each year, Bielema has to fill in his class with about five players from Texas, five from Florida, and the other five from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to be successful. The class this year pretty much followed that formula.

Given those facts, Bielema is not going to out-recruit his contemporaries in the conference or consistently have top-five recruiting classes. He also cannot afford many busts in his recruiting. He doesn't have the luxury of missing this year and it being no big deal because he will just sign more four and five star recruits at the position next year. Instead, Bielema has to develop many three-star players into four and five star ability.

Because of those parameters, Bielema has to vet players a lot more thoroughly than other coaches, especially on the social and academic spectrum. And he does just that. I don't think the Program has ever had a coach that vets players to the depth that he does.

Bielema wants players who are coachable and not drama queens like some past players and their parents. There is definitely a correlation between kids who have higher academic ability and are coachable. Just because a player has all the ability in the world does not mean that he is controllable and willing to learn from his coach. For some very talented players, it takes time for them to realize they need to listen to their college coach -- and some never do.

I think the type of player Bielema is recruiting is a type of player who wants to learn. They are the type of players who is in the classroom more than on Twitter, and the type of player who is going to spend the extra hours in the film room when it's not required.

They are the type of players that will not be distraction in the locker room or practice field. They will not be discipline problems or head cases. Bielema does not have time for those shenanigans and tomfooleries as he has his work cut out for him as it is.

You can tell by the type of suspension Bielema has handed out, he has no tolerance for fools but will allow you a second chance if you deserve one.

This is Bielema's formula to beat you with his more developed and more disciplined players, and by the end of last season, we were all starting to see a glimpse of what that would look like.




Send your recruiting philosophies to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[Jacob "2 Scoops" Johnson]

Who are you?

Also, thank you for restating everything said the past 2 years and not bringing something fresh to the table.

[tc_mem]

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

[Vantage 8 dude]

Bielema Setting Blueprint for Developing Program Through Recruiting

Robert Shields

Winning cures all ills in the college football world. It does with me, too.

The current Razorback-football recruiting class looks good, and that would not have been possible without the team closing out the season in such a positive fashion by winning three of its last four including a big bowl win over archrival Texas.

Razorback coach Bret Bielema has his own philosophy of building his teams from the line out. It's a sound philosophy considering the game is mostly played in the trenches, especially in the SEC. In this class and previous recruiting classes, Bielema is trying hard to build a competitive offensive and defensive line.

That philosophy is a stark contrast from the previous coach who started the team with his quarterback and then built around that lone player with great receivers and skill positions.

Bielema brought a Big Ten philosophy with him to the Ozarks. It's not a unique formula as Alabama found its guy in Michigan State's Nick Saban, who had a momentary layover at LSU. The Big Ten was about grind-it-out trench warfare football, and that idea combined with the better skill positions melds well with the SEC and results in victories.

Where Bielema differs from Saban is the depth of recruiting in which he can field his team. With the winning legacy he has established in Tuscaloosa, Saban has been able to get about any player he desires. His only limiting factor is that he can only sign 25, and that is how the Razorbacks end up with such a great player from Alabama like a Darius Philon.

Bielema has around 10 to 12 players a year from Arkansas who have the potential to play in the SEC. This leaves him about 15 deficient of filling his signing class each year. It's also far from certain if Bielema can even get the top player each year in the state.

Each year, Bielema has to fill in his class with about five players from Texas, five from Florida, and the other five from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to be successful. The class this year pretty much followed that formula.

Given those facts, Bielema is not going to out-recruit his contemporaries in the conference or consistently have top-five recruiting classes. He also cannot afford many busts in his recruiting. He doesn't have the luxury of missing this year and it being no big deal because he will just sign more four and five star recruits at the position next year. Instead, Bielema has to develop many three-star players into four and five star ability.

Because of those parameters, Bielema has to vet players a lot more thoroughly than other coaches, especially on the social and academic spectrum. And he does just that. I don't think the Program has ever had a coach that vets players to the depth that he does.

Bielema wants players who are coachable and not drama queens like some past players and their parents. There is definitely a correlation between kids who have higher academic ability and are coachable. Just because a player has all the ability in the world does not mean that he is controllable and willing to learn from his coach. For some very talented players, it takes time for them to realize they need to listen to their college coach -- and some never do.

I think the type of player Bielema is recruiting is a type of player who wants to learn. They are the type of players who is in the classroom more than on Twitter, and the type of player who is going to spend the extra hours in the film room when it's not required.

They are the type of players that will not be distraction in the locker room or practice field. They will not be discipline problems or head cases. Bielema does not have time for those shenanigans and tomfooleries as he has his work cut out for him as it is.

You can tell by the type of suspension Bielema has handed out, he has no tolerance for fools but will allow you a second chance if you deserve one.

This is Bielema's formula to beat you with his more developed and more disciplined players, and by the end of last season, we were all starting to see a glimpse of what that would look like.




Send your recruiting philosophies to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

Well Robert while CBB may not tolerate fools it's been proven week-in-and-week-out that by allowing your regular gibberish Hogville certainly will tolerate such.

[BadHog]

Who else jumps on these threads just to read the responses? 

[PennHOG]

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

[navyhog24]

[Großer Kriegschwein]

.

[Inhogswetrust]

Ditto.

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

[Inhogswetrust]

Who else jumps on these threads just to read the responses? 

They usually are always better than the OP...................

[preachr]

They are the type of players who is in the classroom more than on Twitter

He write good.

[Inhogswetrust]

FIFY

Yes you did...........my bad!

[duckman]

[Calling All Hogs]

[tophawg19]

wow VETTING , he got a new word . Someone must have sent him a dictionary . Overall i see he's been reading hogville the last couple weeks

[Missooie]

I'm just here so I won't get fined

[zane]

[Boardon Hamsay]

.

[Boardon Hamsay]

And furthermore.

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

[LZH]

I thought that was pretty good.  BB does seem to develop talent, and he damn sure knows the kind of kid that he's after.

So what's the problem?

[LSUFan]

So what's the problem?

I've had this lump on my balls, goin on 5 days now.

[hawginbigd1]

I've had this lump on my balls, goin on 5 days now.

Too much air! Your welcome.

[RazorbackToTheFuture]

Who the hell is Robert Shields?

[duckman]

Duckman,

Please fix that avatar!

For old times' sake....


Ok

[Boardon Hamsay]

I've had this lump on my balls, goin on 5 days now.

Goiter below the ol' equator?

[DeltaBoy]

Good Job ROBERT!  Thanks,

[hoghiker]

Good lord. Take head then pound against wall. Roberto, you've got half of what it takes to be a great boxer. God knows you can take a punch. Just wish you had the chops to throw one. Carry on.

[The_Iceman]

[thirrdegreetusker]

Duckman,

Please fix that avatar!

He already did. I have missed her.

[TexArkHogFan]

[carolinahogger]

Great job Robert, that's a great analysis.

Yes, great analysis.

Robert has two way-out theories:
1.  It is important to have talented lines.
2.  Recruiting good athletes makes for a better team.

Who knew?

[TOM "tbw1"]

I've had this lump on my balls, goin on 5 days now.

[Ragnar Hogbrok]

There are a lot of replies in this thread that need to be deleted.

Great job Robert, that's a great analysis.

This reply should be the first one deleted.  Who agrees with anything Robert Shields says (obviously, other than Delta)?

[The_Iceman]

This reply should be the first one deleted.  Who agrees with anything Robert Shields says (obviously, other than Delta)?

I wouldn't know whether I agree or not.....because I DIDN'T READ!

[DeltaBoy]

Love your wife's Music Duckman.

[tbhogfan]

Bielema Setting Blueprint for Developing Program Through Recruiting

Robert Shields

Winning cures all ills in the college football world. It does with me, too.

The current Razorback-football recruiting class looks good, and that would not have been possible without the team closing out the season in such a positive fashion by winning three of its last four including a big bowl win over archrival Texas.

Razorback coach Bret Bielema has his own philosophy of building his teams from the line out. It's a sound philosophy considering the game is mostly played in the trenches, especially in the SEC. In this class and previous recruiting classes, Bielema is trying hard to build a competitive offensive and defensive line.

That philosophy is a stark contrast from the previous coach who started the team with his quarterback and then built around that lone player with great receivers and skill positions.

Bielema brought a Big Ten philosophy with him to the Ozarks. It's not a unique formula as Alabama found its guy in Michigan State's Nick Saban, who had a momentary layover at LSU. The Big Ten was about grind-it-out trench warfare football, and that idea combined with the better skill positions melds well with the SEC and results in victories.

Where Bielema differs from Saban is the depth of recruiting in which he can field his team. With the winning legacy he has established in Tuscaloosa, Saban has been able to get about any player he desires. His only limiting factor is that he can only sign 25, and that is how the Razorbacks end up with such a great player from Alabama like a Darius Philon.

Bielema has around 10 to 12 players a year from Arkansas who have the potential to play in the SEC. This leaves him about 15 deficient of filling his signing class each year. It's also far from certain if Bielema can even get the top player each year in the state.

Each year, Bielema has to fill in his class with about five players from Texas, five from Florida, and the other five from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to be successful. The class this year pretty much followed that formula.

Given those facts, Bielema is not going to out-recruit his contemporaries in the conference or consistently have top-five recruiting classes. He also cannot afford many busts in his recruiting. He doesn't have the luxury of missing this year and it being no big deal because he will just sign more four and five star recruits at the position next year. Instead, Bielema has to develop many three-star players into four and five star ability.

Because of those parameters, Bielema has to vet players a lot more thoroughly than other coaches, especially on the social and academic spectrum. And he does just that. I don't think the Program has ever had a coach that vets players to the depth that he does.

Bielema wants players who are coachable and not drama queens like some past players and their parents. There is definitely a correlation between kids who have higher academic ability and are coachable. Just because a player has all the ability in the world does not mean that he is controllable and willing to learn from his coach. For some very talented players, it takes time for them to realize they need to listen to their college coach -- and some never do.

I think the type of player Bielema is recruiting is a type of player who wants to learn. They are the type of players who is in the classroom more than on Twitter, and the type of player who is going to spend the extra hours in the film room when it's not required.

They are the type of players that will not be distraction in the locker room or practice field. They will not be discipline problems or head cases. Bielema does not have time for those shenanigans and tomfooleries as he has his work cut out for him as it is.

You can tell by the type of suspension Bielema has handed out, he has no tolerance for fools but will allow you a second chance if you deserve one.

This is Bielema's formula to beat you with his more developed and more disciplined players, and by the end of last season, we were all starting to see a glimpse of what that would look like.




Send your recruiting philosophies to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[Jek Tono Porkins]

I'm sorry, I must have missed the tear in the space-time continuum. Robert shields actually made a decent post.

[Pork Twain]

Great job saying what many of us have been saying for a long time on Hogville.  At least it shows you read what others say and form it into your own opinion and attenpt to write it as something fresh.

[nwahogfan1]

Good article Robert. This is bringing it all down in one well written article.

Keep writing?

Why do we have so many funny guys on who don't bring anything but sarcasm and junk?  I wish we had more well thought out adult responses to the articles written besides these wise guys.

[GuvHog]

This reply should be the first one deleted.  Who agrees with anything Robert Shields says (obviously, other than Delta)?

Congratulations, you got your wish.

[TXrazorback]

[DCHawg]

I'm genuinely surprised that 10-12 posters have not commented on RS' use of the phrase.

[jmb1973]

Good article Robert. This is bringing it all down in one well written article.

Keep writing?

Why do we have so many funny guys on who don't bring anything but sarcasm and junk?  I wish we had more well thought out adult responses to the articles written besides these wise guys.

Dude, are you competing with Delta Boy for Roberts affection? Don't break up that happy marriage you home-wrecker!!

[presidenthog]

I literally laughed for like 3 minutes straight the. My brother just looks over at me and says "wat?" And I effing lost it again!!

[BearsBisonsBoars]

1.  It is important to have talented lines.
2.  Recruiting good athletes makes for a better team.