http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/bl...aaf,140082

The above has some explanions of why Troy has been able to draw in such high numbers in recruiting classes. This has sparked the folks over at GoMiddle.com to discuss how they are certain the Trojans will see a huge blow from the NCAA in the future regarding APR...

http://middletennessee.rivals.com/showms...42&style=2

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

I think it's absolutely horrible what those trojans have done. Signing 40 people to one class? What are they thinking?

What they do with those players that don't qualify is just wrong... Putting them in junior colleges so that they can get their academics in order before making the jump to D-1 is crazy. I mean they may not even sign with the trojans after JUCO. They may qualify for bigger schools and decide to go there. All Troy is doing is giving them an opportunity to get stabbed in the back. Why does Troy insist on giving these kids a chance to put themselves in a better place to have more opportunities? Why can't they just do like the rest of the country and bail on them when the first sign of academic instability shows up?

And those 4star and 3star guys that qualify out of high school and come back to Troy from JUCO, they shouldn't be playing in the sunbelt. It's not fair to everyone else. They're way too talented. If Troy didn't have such good players, they wouldn't win so much. That, and because they score more points than the other teams, is the only reason troy has back-to-back-to-back conference championships and 3 bowl appearances in 4 years, not to mention one of the best graduation rates among student-athletes in the nation.

I bet the NCAA will come down on them soon, because I'm jealous enough to accuse them of doing something wrong.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...good form Buzzkill, good form!

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I have a strong belief that one day, and maybe very soon, problems will hit Troy and it will be the type of: crap hitting the fan all at once. It has been smelly since Blakney got there.

WHAT?!

Be careful MT fan, jealousy can make you say things you will later regret. Larry Blakeney is a fine, outstanding coach. He is one of the classiest men I have ever had the privildge of knowing.

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Yep, I have been calling this for about four years. It will happen, but somehow they've been able to skirt free. There's no way they are legitimately meeting APR standards. Hell, as the article states they're keeping less than half of who they sign on for a full four years. Knowing Troy they hand degrees to anyone who seperates from the school regardless of whether they meet the hours or not. Although I'm being sarcastic, there is no way their APR numbers are legit.

Another senseless insult aimed at TROY. what is it with those guys? You don't see TROY fans constantly taking cheap shots and tacky jabs at Middle. Show some class people.

To the MTSU posters here, thank you for not taking the ooportunity to insult fellow Sun Belt institutions just because you can. It's shows a big lack of class.

Does anyone know if any other teams across the nation sign as many players as you guys do? Just wondering. Im sure it is perfectly legal and Blakeney has been doing this for a few years now. So, if it was ilegal i am sure the NCAA would have already come down on TROY. It seems to give Troy a big advantage in recruiting. Why doesnt every team attempt to do the same or do they? I dont know just asking for some insight.

well alot of this talk has been the result of misunderstanding. there have been several posts on this board in recent days that explains what happened. TROY did not actually sign 40 kids THIS CLASS. We have several who were added to our list that should not have been. Several grey shirts who have been on campus all semester were added. There were also a few cases of one kid being added twice to the list. We actually signed 23 I believe. TROY always leaves a couple of slots open incase something like the Josh Jarboe incident occures where we can bring in an extra kid after signing day.

(02-11-2009 12:47 PM)MT FAN Wrote:  Does anyone know if any other teams across the nation sign as many players as you guys do? Just wondering. Im sure it is perfectly legal and Blakeney has been doing this for a few years now. So, if it was ilegal i am sure the NCAA would have already come down on TROY. It seems to give Troy a big advantage in recruiting. Why doesnt every team attempt to do the same or do they? I dont know just asking for some insight.

I know Ole Miss had like 37, but we had the biggest I think. It's just a different recruiting strategy. We sign a good bit of guys, some of which will come in and compete immediately, some will wait a semester and enroll in the spring (grayshirts) and others who may be questionable will be placed in a Junior college to get their grades in order. Think of it as a kind of "working" recruiting class... a rough draft. Over time, some of the JUCOs still may not qualify, some of them may opt to go somewhere else... we rely on their dedication to Troy in that we took a chance on them when no one else would. Case in point, Eugene Kinlaw probably could have gone anywhere he wanted, but he maintained his allegiance to Troy. Some of the grayshirts may decide they don't want to play football.

Anyway, the idea is that over time, the class weeds itself out. We sign a lot because if we didn't, our strategy would leave us with too few players.
The benefit is, though, is that some kids get a chance to play football that they otherwise wouldn't get, and we end up with some fantastic talent.

(02-11-2009 12:51 PM)Trojan Delta Chi Wrote:  well alot of this talk has been the result of misunderstanding. there have been several posts on this board in recent days that explains what happened. TROY did not actually sign 40 kids THIS CLASS. We have several who were added to our list that should not have been. Several grey shirts who have been on campus all semester were added. There were also a few cases of one kid being added twice to the list. We actually signed 23 I believe. TROY always leaves a couple of slots open incase something like the Josh Jarboe incident occures where we can bring in an extra kid after signing day.

Right. Probably 1/3 of that 40 are JUCO kids we signed in an earlier class, and a few more of those are grayshirts from last year.

Quote:From RaiderDoug:

I wish we would sign and place more.

It's not like it costs anything. It builds some goodwill with the player, the JUCO, and the JUCO coach. And if the kid turns into something special, you have the inside track at him in 2 years. If he does nothing, then you don't have to resign him.

Troy has landed some great JUCO's in the last few years, some guys that definately could have made an impact here. I have to believe that, like it or not, Troy being seen as a JUCO friendly place has led to them getting a couple impact JUCOs.

As far as any academic impropriety at Troy, I've been hearing that for so long, they've either learned how to beat the system or they really are on the up and up. Either way, i'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the NCAA to drop the hammer.

The best way to topple Troy from thier perch is to do it ourselves.

this person seems to have his head on strait. He gets it.

All rivals talk about each other like this....especially the one who keeps losing every year which makes it so much more fun to keep beating their brains in!!!!!

so true Pride, oh so true.

(02-11-2009 12:36 PM)Trojan Delta Chi Wrote:  Larry Blakeney is a fine, outstanding coach. He is one of the classiest men I have ever had the privildge of knowing.

"Keep it down home, cuz."

(02-11-2009 06:25 PM)Raider_ATO Wrote:  

(02-11-2009 12:36 PM)Trojan Delta Chi Wrote:  Larry Blakeney is a fine, outstanding coach. He is one of the classiest men I have ever had the privildge of knowing.

"Keep it down home, cuz."

Well. If you can't beat them, I guess the next best thing is talking trash about them.

Heh, I'm just quoting your "classy" and "outstanding" coach.

I think the practice of over signing these non-qualifiers will catch up to Troy. Someone won't be evaluated correctly coming out of JUCO and will damage the APR so badly that you'll be put in the position MT has been in.

We're finally at the full allotment of scholarships for the first time since going 1-A. These same practices done by Troy were done by our old coach, and they put a HUGE dent in our available scholarships.

Lets just hope your "classy" and "outstanding" coach doesn't have to use his infamous line while slipping $$ to the NCAA.

you should watch what you say Raider ATO. it's easy to slam someone over the internet, especially when you don't know the person. Larry Blakeney and I have shared many conversations and many lunches together. He is warm, friendly, easy to talk to, eager to meet his fans, always a riot, and a loyal man to both his family and his University.

Larry took the fall for an entire coaching staff at Auburn. He paid the price for a lot of dirty recruiting on the Plains when he was not the man making the decisions. However, I believe God has a plan for everyone and His plan for Blakeney was to be the head coach at TROY University. Who are you to question God? Maybe you should point that finger at yourself, and realize that you are making accusations about a man simply because he is the head of a program that has dominated your program since entering the conference. You can slam a team, but don't sink to a level where you are slamming a man over past transgressions that have been proven were not his own. Do you even remember the incident you reference? Did you read the paper the next day and say hmm, that man is a bad man. I doubt you were even old enough to read the paper when it happened. Larry was ordered to do something by his boss and he did it. was it right? no. is it a big deal today? no. has he had a single incident since? no. Is he one of the greatest, most respected, and cleanest coaches this conference has ever had? absolutely.

(02-11-2009 06:37 PM)Raider_ATO Wrote:  Heh, I'm just quoting your "classy" and "outstanding" coach.

I think the practice of over signing these non-qualifiers will catch up to Troy. Someone won't be evaluated correctly coming out of JUCO and will damage the APR so badly that you'll be put in the position MT has been in.

We're finally at the full allotment of scholarships for the first time since going 1-A. These same practices done by Troy were done by our old coach, and they put a HUGE dent in our available scholarships.

Lets just hope your "classy" and "outstanding" coach doesn't have to use his infamous line while slipping $$ to the NCAA.

Isn't there some coaches at MTSU with questionable backgrounds?

Y'all getting a little testy over there eh?

I didn't make any accusation about his character. A Troy fan called him "classy" and an "outstanding coach". I was quoting them, not making a sarcastic jab at his character.

You're fairly new here, but you'll soon figure out how to read my posts. I'll very very rarely (read: never) post anything to cut down another individual. I'll attempt to only use facts. (and won't get baited into a flame war) And definitely avoid all hearsay. Facts about a person's past that are out in the public record are fair game.

And I'll let you throw out facts about an MT coach's past if you can find any. It would surprise me if you could.

(02-11-2009 10:15 PM)Raider_ATO Wrote:  I'll very very rarely (read: never) post anything to cut down another individual.

(02-11-2009 10:15 PM)Raider_ATO Wrote:  Y'all getting a little testy over there eh?

I didn't make any accusation about his character. A Troy fan called him "classy" and an "outstanding coach". I was quoting them, not making a sarcastic jab at his character.

You're fairly new here, but you'll soon figure out how to read my posts. I'll very very rarely (read: never) post anything to cut down another individual. I'll attempt to only use facts. (and won't get baited into a flame war) And definitely avoid all hearsay. Facts about a person's past that are out in the public record are fair game.

And I'll let you throw out facts about an MT coach's past if you can find any. It would surprise me if you could.

What "facts" do you have that lead you to believe that we're doing something wrong? "Our idiot MT coaches screwed up, so yours probably will too" is far from a fact. It's a fallacy.

Fact: whatever we're doing has helped us beat you 3 years in a row. You would do better to go find some "facts" for how to stop that from happening.