Frank and Company are obviously recruiting better and better players as evidenced by the growing amount of Bobcats in the NFL; however, they are still having to settle for inconsistent players due to Ohio's isolated location and lack of much of a media market.
... I suspect that this program is actually doing the best that it can until Ohio produces a billionaire willing to invest in an independent Ohio Bobcat Network, a corporate box filled Mega stadium, and $1,000 dollar handshakes to Blue Chip recruits. At that point, I will become frustrated that Ohio does not win a National Championship every year, and I will grow anxious about the possibility that the NCAA will inch closer to busting the Bobcats on every recruiting violation imaginable.
I'm not sure I'm on board with this ...
Athens is no more isolated than Mt. Pleasant, MI (CMU) and they've won multiple MACC since Frank got to town.
Miami isn't in a big media market because Dayton/Cincy basically ignore them and they've won a MACC.
Dekalb is basically the same distance from Chicago that Athens is from Columbus and they've been the model program in the MAC the last 14 years.
Location and media market are not an excuse for Ohio football's shortcomings.
And I don't think Ohio needs a billionaire to feed the program money.
Yes ... Ohio's stadium is substandard. But they have an indoor facility, a new academic center and it's been well established on here that Ohio is towards the top of the league in spending when it comes to football including salaries.
Excuses. All of them.
Nobody expects Ohio to compete for national titles. Competing for MAC titles is where this program realistically should be. And yes, they have been to 4 title games in 14 years ... but when will they win one? When will they look like the best program in the league for an entire season? Win back-to-back division titles?
They just cannot get over the hump. But I don't think money nor location have anything to do with not being able to win the MAC East back-to-back years
I agree, I'm not on board with using OU's location as an excuse, although I will say that NIU has less schools in the area to compete with than Ohio does.
I'm also not sure Solich has recruited better players. Previously, I took a look at all-MAC 1st and 2nd teamers and Ohio consistently falls in the middle of the pack when compared to peers. It seems consistently average.
Yes, we have some players in the NFL, but we still haven't had that blue chip player that is an NFL star (Mack, Hunt, Brown, Roethlisberger, etc.). That is surprising because I thought that an established coaching staff and a recent history of solid success would be a recruiting advantage. I've not seen it.
Totally agree. Ohio doesn't normally have "star power" on it's roster. Closest they had was Tettleton until he quit on the team late in the 2012 season and was never the same.
Lavon Brazill, Kalvin McRae and Taylor Price were all solid MAC players ... but none of them transcendent like Kareem Hunt or Corey Davis.
Funny thing is, you don't see a lot of those guys littering NIU's roster either. Jordan Lynch, who was rated just a few slots higher than Tettleton in 2009 recruiting, obviously turned into a college stud. Larry English and Jimmy Ward were both 1st round NFL picks ... but NIU has achieved great success in the MAC with mostly a blue-collar roster and not a ton of superstar players.
NFL draftees in Solich era
WMU - 13
CMU - 11
Ohio - 9
NIU - 8
Toledo - 8
Buffalo - 8
Miami - 7
Akron - 5
BG - 4
MAC titles in Solich era
NIU - 3
CMU - 3
Bowling Green - 2
WMU - 1
Toledo -1
Miami - 1
Akron - 1
Buffalo - 1
Ohio - 0
Deduce what you'd like from this ... but appears other schools are doing more with less NFL talent than Ohio is producing?
And I totally understand, NFL draft picks don't necessarily equate to titles ... but it's not like Ohio is operating with bare-bones talent
247 Sports Avg Recruiting Ranking in MAC during Solich Era
Toledo - 1.7
BG - 5.5
NIU - 5.4
CMU - 6.1
Ohio - 7.6
Ohio is a middle-of-the-road MAC teams in terms of recruiting? Who's fault is that? Is BG that much more desirable? CMU?
With a name-brand like Frank Solich, you'd think that would get recruits. Well, it's not.
BG & CMU have been able to recruit at a higher level than Ohio in spite of a revolving door at coach the last 14 years. Both schools have had four head coaches in the Solich era and have combined to win 5 MAC titles.
How have they been able to achieve that success, but Ohio has not? Winning championships probably helped, right? Exciting brand of offense?
BG put only 4 guys into the NFL since Solich era has begun ... yet played in three straight MAC title games and won two of them.