Tarheel Football Recruiting Not All Roses
A lot has been made of UNC-CH’s recent football recruiting ‘prowess’ on internet message boards and recruiting sites. Most of that is probably warranted since the Heel seem to be putting together a very nice class (from their perspective). Of course, StateFansNation has plenty to say about the way John Bunting runs his program and his ‘waiver wire’ of clearing out previous recruiting mistakes from his program to make room for another batch of high potential high school players. But, we’ve got plenty of time to get to that.
This article from Eddy Landreth highlights some curious things regarding Carolina’s recent recruitment/non-recruitment of Josh Oglesby, whom NC State made no secret in wanting. Considering the rash of altercations with the police, drug suspensions & grade problems in John Bunting’s football program in the last five years, rational thinkers would think that Ogelsby would have become the poster child for Tarheel football.
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Careful now, Statefans Nation. You’ll have Dave Glenn expounding on how you know nothing of this story, how things are not as they seem on the surface, etc. etc. etc.
In other words, trust in Dave. He’ll get you the real skinny.
As soon as he finds that fire underneath the smoke of the A.J. Davis saga, I suppose.
Seriously, this is the first crack in the walls of Fort Bunting, and from the hometown newspaper nonetheless. Time will only tell if the other transgressions so readily apparent are given more light or are buried once again beneath the tales of Coach Bunting’s “no nonsense sincerity.”
Thing is, Bunting more than any coach in the recent ACC has “under-performed.” He has the full power of a flagship Nike “University Of”, one with a huge national academic and athletic reputation, and aside from a couple upsets over Florida schools, his high water mark is two bowl games and a couple wins in a row against their non-rival. In short, he can’t hold Roy Williams’ jock over there, and it really must rile those who live and breathe Tar Heel football.
If I believed in conspiracy theories, I would wager that they want the guy gone and the PR campaign to turn public opinion against Bunting so that they can fire him and keep from getting their hands dirty is well underway.
Time will only tell if the other transgressions so readily apparent are given more light or are buried once again beneath the tales of Coach Bunting’s “no nonsense sincerity.�
If he wins, then everything (and I mean everything) will be overlooked. If not, it will serve as ammunition to fire him.
Didn’t Buntcakes get AJ Nicholson’s dad upset as well? It seems like there was another “legacy” recruit that this idiot drove away from UNC.
Is there really anyone who lives and breathes Tar Heel football?
^ “Didn’t Buntcakes get AJ Nicholson’s dad upset as well? It seems like there was another “legacy� recruit that this idiot drove away from UNC.�
Bunting is a Bill Dooley man and he apparently doesn’t think much of Dick Crum. Nothing wrong with this but it has been suggested that he communicated this to AJ’s dad who played for Crum during some very successful years and he took offense. I have also heard a couple of UNC-CH fans say that Bunting didn’t think AJ was that great a prospect. He actually liked Victor Worsley better. There was also the Tenuta angle, who apparently pisses off a lot of people when recruiting.
The ideal scenario for this year is for UNC-CH to lose to us and go 5-7 or even 6-6 and make a bowl game. There would be plenty of grumbling from their fans but I can hear Baddour saying “We can’t make a change because we’re having a great recruiting year�.
Strange thing is his “waiver Wire” doesn’t seem to effect new recruits from signing up. U would think it hurts future recruiting but it doesn’t seem so.
May be we need to get the word out??
rickj~ agreed we need them to go 5-7 or 6-6 with a micron PC bowl appearance. as long as we beat them.
also, wrong place for this i know but jamelle mcmillan stating now that Arizona state is the leader in his recruiting, his scout.com page lists ASU as high interest and NC State is below Clemson which has med int. we are at the bottom of low interest schools
huuummmmm … am I detecting a noticeable shift in SFN’s market demographics? Pandering a bit to the goggle-eyed hair-on-fire crowd aren’t you. I thought the intent here was to aim higher up the evolutionary ladder?
It is an easy routine to fall into. Most sites on either side eventually go that route. …….. sigh ……
Did AJ Nicholson’s College career overlap any of Julius Peppers time at UNC? Man that would have been a fierce D if all the pieces of Buntcake had fallen into place
I am fully convinced that John Bunting is a moron….
I mean, what else is there to think of a guy who had Willie Parker warm the bench for years?!?!?!
^If Bunting is a moron I’d hate to know what Amato is….
an underacheiver
PACKPIGSKIN^ I wouldnt be surprised at all if all the other ACC coaches talk about what a great guy Bunting is for the same reasons Roy and K talked about how nice Herb was. They get to kick his ass year in and year out and then talk about what a nice guy he is in an effort to make it look bad on the school if we fired Herb, because he is oh so nice. I have long felt this way about other ACC coaches attitude towards Sendek, They loved Herb because he was their bitCH! he would win enough OOC games to keep his job but we never threatened to be a contender against them and they loved it. Beat us up every year and talk about what a great coach Herb was, so they come out smellin like roses and we(the fans) are the bad guys.
And back to my first sentence, i wouldnt be surprised and hope that we are doing the same to Bunting, talk him up as to keep his mediocre performing teams around for as long as possible. Of course we have to start Beating them for this to be a relevant analogy
well Bunting isnt a HORRIBLE coach, and he has done things for Carolina football(much likeyour Sendek analogy)… but he really isnt the smartest guy in the world…. Once Bunting gets his mind stuck on something, he goes with it…. and dosnt look back. he never thinks outside of his little box…. big mistake…
I totally agree though. We HAVE to start beating them. the last 2 games we played against them were horrendous.
From what I gather Oglesby only gave a verbal to VT, we all know how much value to put in that nowadays.
Anyone want to bet that he reconsiders…all is very quitely forgiven behind the scenes… he signs with UNC…there is no bad press of any significance anywhere… it all ends up written as a big accomplishment for Bunting or just fades away unnmentioned…no unnecesary digging and grinding to smear any reputations…end of story in the media.
That’s the way it works in North Carolina, home of the teflon coated, gang in powder blue .
if he renigs on his verbal, it will call for the biggest pillow biting session in chapel hill history
I think we all know, conspiracy theorist included, that the UNX bunch receives a different media coverage than the rest of us (with the exception of Dook b-ball). And I agree that there are signs of strain and the cracks are showing over in Smurfville (Chapel Hole) more so now than in the past.
HOWEVER, we cannot begin to scrutinize this with any hope of traction from outside our fan base unless Amato’s team beats Bunting’s team. It’s just that simple. Otherwise our debate is without merit and we look like simpletons for bashing someone we can’t even beat ourselves.
^I couldn’t have said it better myself.
There is “a tiny sliver” of truth to Eddy Landreth’s column…. HOWEVER … Be aware that Landreth’s life goal is to be Gregg Doyel when he grows up. Enuff said.
The only group that pays much attention to Eddy’s raw meat columns are the hardcore loonies on the “free boards”.
Bunting IS vulnerable on several issues but this is not one of them.
bls
Bladen, plain fact of human nature written off as simple minded conspiracy theory or not, you are right. If Bunting pulls off a win this time around it will be Katy bar the door with far reaching implications for CA.
would it not be intresting to think that whoever wins this years game solidifies his name on a new contract, and whoever losses solidifies his on a list of coaches looking for a new job?
of course its not JUST this game, but we all know what happens to our fan base when we loose to UNX….
what I mean is that it seems that both programs seem to be having problem-seasons where a bowl depends on ONE game.
^we all want to get out of that rut… us, and them…. unfortunatly for US, as long as we get that bowl… or close to it, the powers that be are happy.
^ ANYBOWLUSA. That’s the driving force for the majority of ACC teams now. Swofford’s plan is panning out $$$ wise.
As I’ve said many times now, I’ll feel much better mocking Bunting’s otherwise undeniable idiocy when our own program stops crapping the bed against them in its own house.
Cardiff, Bunting has beaten the Florida schools, won two bowls, and kicked our ass’s on consecutive ocassions. Admittedly he has made some mistakes and doesn’t have a storied career in Chapel Hill, but until fans and people in Raleigh stop pointing out, with great pride I might add, our equal or lesser accomplishments, you won’t hear me jumping on the coach next door.
^redfred2 – Bunting has won one bowl game, in his first year. He lost to BC in his other appearance.