Oregon's starting to run into a similar problem that USC had at the back end of the Carroll era where as you start recruiting nationally, the guys that you're getting to show up on your campus are showing up more because they have this expectation that they show up, win, and get drafted without understanding the hard work and sacrifices that go into it. As soon as they get punched in the mouth, they don't have anything to fall back on.
If there's one underlying reason in my mind why it is so important to be able to recruit locally it is because the local players most likely grow up identifying with that school. They have parents and grandparents that are either alumni or long-term supporters. They are playing in front of all their friends. Instead of just playing for those that are on the team with them, they are playing for so many more. When the going gets tough, normally that makes those people perform that much better.
To me, this is one of the better advantages that Washington has. Most local kids have ties to the UW. When they recruit California, many of the kids that they are going after there either have ties to the program given our influence in California OR are looking for opportunities to get out of there. The buy-in and togetherness is often what gives Washington teams that intangible that many others don't have. It's an intangible that you hear not only come up with Petersen a lot in so many words, but you are hearing echoed by so many of the players.
It's shaping up to a special Fall for the Huskies man ...
