Dykes was quoted in the Chron article this morning as saying that, when all is said and done in February, we will, he believes, have the third best recruiting class in the conference.

Well, that would be a major coup, cosidering, wouldn't it? In fact, I'd be shocked. I'll believe it when I see it.

Maybe he watched himself on The Drive* and decided that a little positive talk, for a change, might result in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

* referencing his "even if we're down by 48" speech prior to BG... almost made yours truly, a supporter of Cal's Head Football Coach, do a 180 (or "360", in j-kidd parlance)

Go Bears! Go get 'em Sonny!

Big C_Cal;842248305 said:

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Dykes was quoted in the Chron article this morning as saying that, when all is said and done in February, we will, he believes, have the third best recruiting class in the conference.

Go Bears! Go get 'em Sonny!

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Why that silver-tongued, snake oil salesman sure is giving it his all . . .

and gawd I hope he pulls it off too.

I'll believe it when I see it. Seems like a silly thing to say though - if he's wrong it will be a totally stupid thing to say, if he's right, people will be happy no matter what.

Let's leave Sonny alone til after LOI day. If he hits his target, we will all be excited and the season cannot get here fast enough. If he doesn't come close to ihs target, then no amount of criticism should be too much in the short term. Because then he's the pile of BS that many already think he is. But he ought to get 50 days optimism or at least no criticism from us.

1979bear;842248410 said:

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Let's leave Sonny alone til after LOI day. If he hits his target, we will all be excited and the season cannot get here fast enough. If he doesn't come close to ihs target, then no amount of criticism should be too much in the short term. Because then he's the pile of BS that many already think he is. But he ought to get 50 days optimism or at least no criticism from us.

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he brings it on himself by saying stupid things. things were relatively quiet on that front until yesterday. he could have just celebrated and talked up getting the JC players that he did. instead he put his foot in his mouth. nobodys fault but his own

ColoradoBear1;842248404 said:

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I'll believe it when I see it. Seems like a silly thing to say though - if he's wrong it will be a totally stupid thing to say, if he's right, people will be happy no matter what.

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Sonny and tTFS seem to take turns making big unrealistic boasts. Like the one about not having to worry about Goff in the rain up in Oregon.

KoreAmBear;842248423 said:

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Sonny and tTFS seem to take turns making big unrealistic boasts. Like the one about not having to worry about Goff in the rain up in Oregon.

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Do not try to throw a football in the rain. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. There is no rain.



Then you will realize that it is not the football that is wet . . . it is the entire coaching staff.

He certainly has developed a pattern of making empty or unfulfilled promises. The thing about something like this is that there was no provocation or need to make a prediction like this. Given how our season went, practically anything short of a dismal recruiting haul would be cause for optimism and a sense of momentum. This now essentially creates unneeded expectations that are really pretty unrealistic given where the program finished the season. Even if we finished 6th or 7th in the conference, that would be very positive considering how badly we were on the field. Now 4th place will be a clear sign of not meeting target.

calbearo;842248441 said:

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He certainly has developed a pattern of making empty or unfulfilled promises. The thing about something like this is that there was no provocation or need to make a prediction like this. Given how our season went, practically anything short of a dismal recruiting haul would be cause for optimism and a sense of momentum. This now essentially creates unneeded expectations that are really pretty unrealistic given where the program finished the season. Even if we finished 6th or 7th in the conference, that would be very positive considering how badly we were on the field. Now 4th place will be a clear sign of not meeting target.

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I think he just so badly wants to do well, which is good. But he's got to get some better help. tTFS is fine in the offense, since he knows what he is doing (doesn't mean he always gets results, but he's been around the block). Not so with guys like Buh and Yenser. I wouldn't be risking possibly my first and only BCS conference head coaching job on them.

All hat, no cattle.

calbearo;842248441 said:

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He certainly has developed a pattern of making empty or unfulfilled promises. The thing about something like this is that there was no provocation or need to make a prediction like this. Given how our season went, practically anything short of a dismal recruiting haul would be cause for optimism and a sense of momentum. This now essentially creates unneeded expectations that are really pretty unrealistic given where the program finished the season. Even if we finished 6th or 7th in the conference, that would be very positive considering how badly we were on the field. Now 4th place will be a clear sign of not meeting target.

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Target or no, I'd settle for 4th right now, all things considered. Heck, 5th or 6th...

3rd would be cause for celebration and reevaluation of our situation.

Big C_Cal;842248516 said:

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Target or no, I'd settle for 4th right now, all things considered. Heck, 5th or 6th...

3rd would be cause for celebration and reevaluation of our situation.

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I agree. Top half of the conference would be amazing considering our circumstances.

Great. Next time he should say that this recruiting class will suck. That should make everyone happy

MiZery;842248524 said:

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Great. Next time he should say that this recruiting class will suck. That should make everyone happy

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its best if he doesnt address it at all. its not like he was asked about it. he just started boasting about it with no evidence to back up his claims.

gobears725;842248532 said:

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its best if he doesnt address it at all. its not like he was asked about it. he just starting boasting about it with no evidence to back up his claims.

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How do you know he doesn't have evidence? LOI is still a ways away

MiZery;842248535 said:

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How do you know he doesn't have evidence? LOI is still a ways away

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he cant release any evidence to the fans because it concerns recruiting so why address it when youre not even asked about it? any fans that follow on recruiting sites know that theres a strong chance that its not only not true but not even in the ballpark of what will likely happen.

the main reason that he probably said it is to take attention away from the fact that he is probably not going to dismiss any coaches after a 1-11 season. theres a strong liklihood in my mind that its a diversionary tactic.

Guys, he didnt say 3rd.

He said "top 3"

So 3rd would be worst case.

How many slots are available to fill? I thought there was a comment of a fairly small class so not sure how a top 3 class would be possible if this is the case. Perhaps the more appropriate question is on what basis he will measure the class.

I read that and thought Mixon must have said something to him. But even with Mixon and a bunch of 4* I can't see us being in the top half with such a small class, at least not by any recruiting service measurement.

Then again, he made some boasts about JC recruiting and did better than people expected, so who knows?

BeachyBear;842248567 said:

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I read that and thought Mixon must have said something to him. But even with Mixon and a bunch of 4* I can't see us being in the top half with such a small class, at least not by any recruiting service measurement.

Then again, he made some boasts about JC recruiting and did better than people expected, so who knows?

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I bet our average star rating will be higher than ppl expect

"How do you know he doesn't have evidence? LOI is still a ways away"


Believe me. He has our attention. HE SAID IT!

We didn't!

SO,......If he misses, well..............you know what happens on wall street when you miss your numbers...............................

I would consider upper half a success... And top 3 exceed beyond expectations

Don'cha think that part of this is marketing to potential recruits? Talking up our class may help get guys on board. Who cares what a bunch of drama queens on this board think? We are not his target audience with this statement.

Unit2Sucks;842248601 said:

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Don'cha think that part of this is marketing to potential recruits? Talking up our class may help get guys on board. Who cares what a bunch of drama queens on this board think? We are not his target audience with this statement.

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This thread is ridiculous. Why does it bother them so much that he said that.

MiZery;842248612 said:

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This thread is ridiculous. Why does it bother them so much that he said that.

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I have no issue with what Dykes said. I doubt he achieves it, but he's trying to create recruiting momentum and is starting to deliver.

oski003;842248614 said:

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I have no issue with what Dykes said. I doubt he achieves it, but he's trying to create recruiting momentum and is starting to deliver.

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I'm guessing we get Tee and Mixon and some of our current JCs get bumped up some stars

MiZery;842248616 said:

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I'm guessing we get Tee and Mixon and some of our current JCs get bumped up some stars

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for the record id be really happy with our class if we got both tee and mixon and would say that the staff did a good job on the recruiting front this offseason regardless of how the rankings play out. if we got kolton miller along with them itd be about as good as we could hope, provided they hold onto what they already have

oski003;842248614 said:

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I have no issue with what Dykes said. I doubt he achieves it, but he's trying to create recruiting momentum and is starting to deliver.

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yup, deliver 2 and 3* players? that ain't top 3.. Baghdad Bob like statement.

KoreAmBear;842248423 said:

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Sonny and tTFS seem to take turns making big unrealistic boasts. Like the one about not having to worry about Goff in the rain up in Oregon.

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... or saying, "this team will surprise a lot of people" before the season.

Oh wait - they did!

Much more concerned about no staff changes than dumb statements.

MiZery;842248524 said:

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Great. Next time he should say that this recruiting class will suck. That should make everyone happy

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If the recruiting class will suck, it will suck. But if it sucks after he claims it will be top 3, it'll just disappoint people who first believed him.

GoBears58;842248636 said:

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yup, deliver 2 and 3* players? that ain't top 3.. Baghdad Bob like statement.

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Precisely. It seems probable the only way Dykes reaches that mark is by getting a very high volume of (lesser) players, which kind of defeats the purpose.

HungryCalBear;842248650 said:

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... or saying, "this team will surprise a lot of people" before the season.

Oh wait - they did!

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Let's not forget all those weeks we had our best week of practice and we were really close to having a break out win.

tequila4kapp;842248726 said:

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Precisely. It seems probable the only way Dykes reaches that mark is by getting a very high volume of (lesser) players, which kind of defeats the purpose.

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Two years ago, ASU took 24 players and ranked 9th in Scout's PAC12 team ranking. 10 of the players were JC transfers. Most were 2 and 3 stars, Marion Grice was the only 4 star. I imagine that class of lower rated players who filled specific needs helped fuel ASU's success. I'm crossing my fingers that Cal can duplicate that.

buster99;842248880 said:

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Two years ago, ASU took 24 players and ranked 9th in Scout's PAC12 team ranking. 10 of the players were JC transfers. Most were 2 and 3 stars, Marion Grice was the only 4 star. I imagine that class of lower rated players who filled specific needs helped fuel ASU's success. I'm crossing my fingers that Cal can duplicate that.

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I just wish we had Graham coaching then you might be right. I really do hope we can do well next year but I am not counting on it with Buh and Yenser.

GoBears58;842248895 said:

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I just wish we had Graham coaching then you might be right. I really do hope we can do well next year but I am not counting on it with Buh and Yenser.

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Also don't expect Yenser to come up with any big O-line recruits. Been keeping an eye on the rankings and I just don't see many 3 or 4 star O-linemen that are a) still uncommitted, and/or b) in one of our recruiting areas (CA, west coast, TX, etc). Unless Yenser somehow gets someone to switch their commitment to us, just not seeing any hope for major OL recruits.