Larno;842640116 said:
I applaud the out-of-state recruiting. With the tighter academic requirements Cal needs to expand the pool, and as a previous poster pointed out California has a mystique for many players from other states. Yeah, UCLA and USC get the good California kids, but USC has always recruited nationally and many of their top players from the past have been from out-of-state. Yes, California has many good prospects, but Texas has more and the South in general has a ton. Do the top local kids come to Cal? One of the best linemen in the state, an absolute beast from Folsom, is going to Alabama. And his coach was Troy Taylor, from Cal. The best running back in the nation next year, from Antioch, is going to Alabama. Maybe he couldn't qualify at Cal, but if he could, would he come here? Cal needs to build the program, build the allure. If it takes kids from out of state, kids who are incredibly excited about coming to Berkeley, then so be it.
SC has traditionally targeted the California first then attempts to cherry pick top players from around the nation. Moraga points out that many California kids are leaving the state which forces SC, Cal and UCLA to look outside the state. Stanford has always recruited nationally. It's a different world for SC, Cal and UCLA. I like the fact that all 3 schools have gone after the California kids first, next year I hope we all return to this strategy.