From: alc@netcom.com (Chris Stassen)
Subject: Re: Ohio State Football - No fun, no future to it's players and recrui
Reply-To: stassen@alc.com
Organization: The Lion's Den, San Jose
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 15:58:17 GMT

Min Zhao writes:
> Ask Chris Stassen and a few others, didn't they say last (92) should
> be Cooper's year ?

Yes, '92 was Cooper's first year with a team he recruited top to bottom.
And he did a decent job with it -- 1-1-1 against the top ten (and 7-2
against everyone else).  And this was despite a *long* list of injuries.
What other teams played three or more games against the final AP top ten
and were at least 0.500?

I said before the season began that this team had the talent to go 10-2
(assuming a win over one of Syracuse, Michigan, and bowl opponent). 
Cooper went 1-1-1 instead of my predicted 1-2 in those games.  With a
reasonably healthy team (not Cooper's fault) and decent execution in a
few goal-line situations against Wisconsin and Illinois (maybe Cooper's
fault, but not guaranteed to be), you would have seen this OSU team
10-0-1 heading into the Rose Bowl.

This *was* a good team, and it *did* perform well more often than not
this season.  They didn't miss the Rose Bowl by much, and they didn't
miss an undefeated season by much.  They should be a little better
again next year -- unless Cooper gets fired and we have to waste multiple
years while a different coach installs his own system.

> Wasn't Smith considered a Heisman candidate early in the season ? 

Not by me.  Not once he had dropped out of football for a year.  And
certainly not once he sat out most of two games with cracked ribs and
most of two or three more with a severe ankle sprain.  I suppose the
injuries are Cooper's fault in your mind?

> To which, Gary Moller will say, "look, kid, was Robert Smith a good
> player ?  Did he win anything ?   Was Bryan Cook good in High school ?  
> you see where he is now ?  Don't you want to follow Desmond Howard's 
> step ?  Don't you think we (Michigan) has done good for Elvis Grbac ?"
[...]
> To which, they kid will think again, "do I really have to play for 
> Ohio State just because I was born a Buckeye ?"

And (as I pointed out in Email to you), despite this fantasizing of
yours, #1 recruit (at any position) in Ohio just verbally committed to
Ohio State.  About a month ago, when it looked like Cooper's job was
in jeopardy, a couple of good Ohio recruits verbally commited to
Michigan.  Do you think it was a coincidence?

Face it, you are wrong about this.  Stability, with the recruiting
machine Cooper has put together, will bring in the Ohio recruits. 
Keeping Cooper isn't hurting recruiting -- his only sub-par year was
when his contract was running out and looked like it wouldn't be 
extended.  *Instability* (what you are whining for) is what has
hurt Cooper's recruiting in the past and could again in the future.

You can't knock Cooper for his recruiting.  He has convinced the Ohio
talent to stay at home -- restoring bridges to the Ohio high schools
that Earle Bruce had burned.  He has also made a couple of significant
steals from Florida, Colorado, Michigan, and Texas.  All but one of
his recruiting classes have been rated by Tom Lemming as in or near
the top ten *nationally*.

> If I am a prep star, I sure don't want that continuity if for whatever
> reasons I decide to play for Ohio State (that's if I decide to play for
> Ohio State). I sure what a change for someone that can help me grow, a 
> change for someone who will guide me to winnings and championships and
> trophies and sucessess.  Yes, I want change, I don't want continuity of
> failure ! 

You aren't a "prep star" and you obviously don't think like one.  If
the best shot you can take at Cooper is this repeated whining about
imaginary recruiting problems, you might as well concede the argument.

You keep producing these paragraphs of imaginary stories that other
coaches allegedly tell to recruits.  And you keep whining that this
will keep recruits from committing to Ohio State.  Do you have an
explanation for why your stories don't match reality (where OSU is
doing quite well, thank you, in terms of recruiting)?  I have an
explanation for it:  you don't know what you are talking about.

Do you want to help OSU recruiting?  Then shut your whiny mouth during
recruiting season.  A few members of the media ought to learn this
lesson as well.  Cooper's coaching and the OSU program bring in the
recruits in truckloads.  Whiny dorks and the scent of instability
will keep them away.

Do you want Cooper out so badly that you're willing to harm the program
to make it happen?  Then you, sir, are no fan of the Buckeyes;  you're
merely a Cooper-hater.
-- 
Chris Stassen						stassen@alc.com
DISCLAIMER:  My employer's account, but not their opinions.
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college