A Sea Of Red

I have been noticing the shocking number of JUCO prospect that Liberty has been recruiting which got me thinking deeper about this. Liberty is uniquely positioned, I believe to draw JUCO players from all over.

Hugh Freeze's redemption story is one that a lot of these players can identify with. He got another shot, so will they. Also, Liberty's facilities/campus would likely be a stark contrast to the facilities any JUCO would have and many of the other schools that JUCOs would be interested in can't really keep up with Liberty.

What's your impression of the influx of JUCO recruits? Is it a temporary influx due to the FBS and Coaching transition or is this trend here to stay as Liberty brands itself as Redemption U?

JUCO isn’t a dirty word. Why treat it as such?

Its a temporary fix for a porous defense and to get as many fbs and mature players as possible. Also better juco talent available than HS talent this late and especially with freeze having half of a staff right now. He knows he has a lot of pieces that can play but the bridge between his senior guys and this years frosh class plus this incoming class is a year or 2 away from being impact players. So naturally juco is the way to bridge that and separate up schollies.

Purple Haize wrote:JUCO isn’t a dirty word. Why treat it as such?

I can't tell if you're saying I treated it as a dirty word or if you are speaking in general. I certainly wasn't trying to say it is a dirty word. I think there are many positives to JUCO recruits, which is why I am asking the question if this is going to become a long-term strategy.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a few juco guys to plug holes, but you can’t build a program around primarily juco guys. This strategy works for this year solely because the lack of planning in recruiting by Gill a couple years back. For all the credit he gets for getting skilled players to Liberty, his major downfall as a recruiter was planning out full classes with an eye to the future. To his credit, the heavy juco class was going to make up for those past mistakes and reset them for the future.

Purple Haize wrote:JUCO isn’t a dirty word. Why treat it as such?

Was thinking the same thing. And I was guilty of it myself...until I started recruiting JUCO’s.

Without realizing it, Kricket, you painted JUCO’s with a broad brush. You assumed Freeze’s second chance would resonate. It was a generalization that is false as often as it’s true. I’m not mad at you; you’d is a perspective shared by most. But recruit some, and it will change you and your perspective. I promise you that.

JK, my point is that most JUCOs never thought their end destination would be a junior college. Most football players don't grow up thinking they'd love to play junior college football.

In that regard going to Liberty is a second chance. I think it's a great way to sell JUCO players.

Thread title could have been better worded.

Ballcoach, not everyone is a wordsmith like you and I are.