Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcr
There's no way a&m can compete with SEC schools unless they start recruiting players on the Alabama, Oklahoma (and I hate ou), and Boise state level. Even though they're ranked 8th in bcs this year I just don't see why they'd want to leave.
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Oh yes, the vaunted Boise State recruiting classes .... which have ranked in the top 25 classes 0 times in the last 4 years (A&M twice), even while Boise became a solid top-10 program (and A&M's been comparatively down).
Ah, but recruiting rankings are inherently flawed, right? The Broncos find overlooked talent? Well, not really - they have 10 players drafted since 2007. Baylor has 9 (and has 3 1st-rounders to Boise's 2). So has A&M.
A&M certainly has the
tools to compete in the SEC (money, recruiting availability, a willingness to "do anything" to compete, money, and a national brand, even if not as strong as it could be). A&M's been down because of coaching issues, not because they can't recruit.
A&M wants to leave because they're being bent over by Texas. Other schools in the BigXII want to stay because even though they're being bent over by Texas, they're still getting a ton of money and eating at the big kids' table in a prestigious conference.
The animosity between ATM and UT probably tipped the scales toward ATM leaving - which may or may not be a smart way to do business, but they're not jumping off a cliff into oblivion here. If anything, being in the SEC (both in terms of prestige, and general willingness to "look the other way") may actually help ATM's recruiting.