Fitz on recruiting today...

[ChappyCat]

I admire Fitz for a lot of reasons but two things he said today on BTN and with Lou and the local media:

1. He said that they do not stay hard after someone committed somewhere else. I love that he is frank (like GB was) and he focuses his attention and NU’s resources on guys that have a more sincere interest in life in purple and Evanston.

2. When he was talking on BTN and he said that middle schoolers really need to understand how important 9th grade is when it comes to qualifying and preparing realistically for D1 athletics, even at a place less stringent than NU.


It’s reassuring to know we have a coach that understands his culture and sticks to it and goes after quality guys with character and can provide the right chemistry rather than “stars”. Looking forward to him reaching 100 wins (this year if we’re lucky). Excited to get going, as always. Go ‘Cats!!

-Chappy Cat
@Champion_Lit

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I admire Fitz for a lot of reasons but two things he said today on BTN and with Lou and the local media:

1. He said that they do not stay hard after someone committed somewhere else. I love that he is frank (like GB was) and he focuses his attention and NU’s resources on guys that have a more sincere interest in life in purple and Evanston.

2. When he was talking on BTN and he said that middle schoolers really need to understand how important 9th grade is when it comes to qualifying and preparing realistically for D1 athletics, even at a place less stringent than NU.


It’s reassuring to know we have a coach that understands his culture and sticks to it and goes after quality guys with character and can provide the right chemistry rather than “stars”. Looking forward to him reaching 100 wins (this year if we’re lucky). Excited to get going, as always. Go ‘Cats!!

-Chappy Cat
@Champion_Lit

His comment on academics was in reference partially to the 2019 class in the state of Illinois. Said he was disappointed overall when the transcripts came in. Doesn’t appear Illinois HS will be fruitful for us in 2019. No wonder the Fighting Lovie’s are offering everyone in the state.

 

[techtim72]

I wondered about his comment concerning the 9th grade. Implies he is looking at 9th graders - although not necessarily so. Likely means that he has seen potential recruit(s) eliminated by NU Admissions due to poor early grades. Seems to me that a football player could flunk 9th grade and still have time to meet the minimum NCAA standards. Don't understand why he would bring this up. Kind of doubt that Fitz opining on football players doing better in school in 9th grade will make any difference. However, maybe he has his eye on a few potential 9th grade recruits and he is sending a message.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I wondered about his comment concerning the 9th grade. Implies he is looking at 9th graders - although not necessarily so. Likely means that he has seen potential recruit(s) eliminated by NU Admissions due to poor early grades. Seems to me that a football player could flunk 9th grade and still have time to meet the minimum NCAA standards. Don't understand why he would bring this up. Kind of doubt that Fitz opining on football players doing better in school in 9th grade will make any difference. However, maybe he has his eye on a few potential 9th grade recruits and he is sending a message.

He's reiterating that freshman year of high school "counts" in the eyes of admissions offices. Northwestern isn't actively recruiting or "looking at" 9th graders with very occasional exceptions, but players' freshman year grades can and will be used against them by admissions if they're not up to par.

Fitz pretty clearly stated that his message was "your freshman year grades count" in the context of Illinois recruiting, which I'm guessing means there are more than a couple in-state guys in the 2019 class who would have been offered by NU if not for poor academic performance their freshman year of high school. While sophomore and junior years might provide enough time to academically recover to NCAA minimums, it's very difficult to get up to NU's standards in four semesters following one or two bad semesters freshman year.

 

[Aging Booster]

He's reiterating that freshman year of high school "counts" in the eyes of admissions offices. Northwestern isn't actively recruiting or "looking at" 9th graders with very occasional exceptions, but players' freshman year grades can and will be used against them by admissions if they're not up to par.

Fitz pretty clearly stated that his message was "your freshman year grades count" in the context of Illinois recruiting, which I'm guessing means there are more than a couple in-state guys in the 2019 class who would have been offered by NU if not for poor academic performance their freshman year of high school. While sophomore and junior years might provide enough time to academically recover to NCAA minimums, it's very difficult to get up to NU's standards in four semesters following one or two bad semesters freshman year.

Grades demonstrate achievement, test scores indicate potential. I have always valued a young person's potential more highly than his or her achievement. Nobody in 9th grade has taken the SAT or ACT, so I would think the jury is still out.

 

[DaCat]

Grades demonstrate achievement, test scores indicate potential. I have always valued a young person's potential more highly than his or her achievement. Nobody in 9th grade has taken the SAT or ACT, so I would think the jury is still out.

True, but college admissions almost always prioritize grades over test scores. They also look at the high school and compare a kid's grades against the overall academic environment of that school - not necessarily class rank, but overall achievement.

For an athlete aspiring to play college sports these days, the recruiting cycle starts early. I think that's where Fitz is coming from with his statements. This trend tends to put the late bloomers at a disadvantage. Some kids hit puberty at middle school, others later in high school. Grades are the one thing that a kid can control.

 

[zeek55]

Grades demonstrate achievement, test scores indicate potential. I have always valued a young person's potential more highly than his or her achievement. Nobody in 9th grade has taken the SAT or ACT, so I would think the jury is still out.

The reality though is that in terms of gpa, your grades have the same weight regardless of when they occur.

It's tough to have a good average over 3 years if you completely waste one year. You would need 2 well above average years to counterbalance it and meet NU requirements.

Even with lower cutoffs for potential recruits than the overall student body, they're still stringent enough that they can't toss away a year.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Grades demonstrate achievement, test scores indicate potential. I have always valued a young person's potential more highly than his or her achievement. Nobody in 9th grade has taken the SAT or ACT, so I would think the jury is still out.

I guess I am in the other camp. Give me the scrapper that fights for high grades when it isn’t as easy for them over the guy who is test score smart but scores low grades.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I guess I am in the other camp. Give me the scrapper that fights for high grades when it isn’t as easy for them over the guy who is test score smart but scores low grades.

Based on my experience, this is also where the NU admissions office comes down. Always felt much more comfortable that a high GPA/low test kid would get accepted than a low GPA/high test kid.

 

[hdhntr1]

Because the high GPA low test score kid was working his butt off and making the most of what he has while the high test low GPA kid had the potential but basically didn't apply himself?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Because the high GPA low test score kid was working his butt off and making the most of what he has while the high test low GPA kid had the potential but basically didn't apply himself?

In theory.

 

[ChappyCat]

Based on my experience, this is also where the NU admissions office comes down. Always felt much more comfortable that a high GPA/low test kid would get accepted than a low GPA/high test kid.

I tend to agree- “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

 

[Deeringfish]

I guess I am in the other camp. Give me the scrapper that fights for high grades when it isn’t as easy for them over the guy who is test score smart but scores low grades.

I have to agree with you. I'm an example of a guy with very high test scores who just didn't do well with grades. I would have liked to have gone to NU but even though my test scores put me in the 98th and 99 percentile across the board I couldn't get into NU. I can argue that there were extenuating circumstances but bottom line I didn't or couldn't put in the effort. I'm not that different today in all honesty. I do ok but I can often look back and see that I just don't have the drive it takes to be excellent. If you are going to compete at this level, you have to have that drive unless you are a 5star freak of nature.

 

[Aging Booster]

I tend to agree- “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

My nephew was kicked off of sports teams in HS because of a low GPA - under 2.0. He then scored two 800s on his SAT. I had never heard of anyone earning such scores before then. You should have seen the scholarship offers he had, everything from Ivies down to state schools. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. I say early grades really do not matter and that if you do well enough on the standardized tests you can still get into NU.

 

[corbi296]

My nephew was kicked off of sports teams in HS because of a low GPA - under 2.0. He then scored two 800s on his SAT. I had never heard of anyone earning such scores before then. You should have seen the scholarship offers he had, everything from Ivies down to state schools. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. I say early grades really do not matter and that if you do well enough on the standardized tests you can still get into NU.

How long ago was that? It wouldn't happen today. Too much competition to get into college.

 

[DaCat]

My nephew was kicked off of sports teams in HS because of a low GPA - under 2.0. He then scored two 800s on his SAT. I had never heard of anyone earning such scores before then. You should have seen the scholarship offers he had, everything from Ivies down to state schools. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. I say early grades really do not matter and that if you do well enough on the standardized tests you can still get into NU.

By scoring two 800s he obviously showed a lot of potential. Not a lot of kids can pull that off.

 

[Aging Booster]

How long ago was that? It wouldn't happen today. Too much competition to get into college.

He is 27, so 9-10 years ago. As someone who is teaching at a major university and advising students, I can assure you that there is still no substitute for high test scores. They are golden. Does anyone here seriously doubt that if a HS athlete whom Fitz or Collins wanted scored in the top 5% on his SAT that NU would deny him admission? Get serious!

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

He is 27, so 9-10 years ago. As someone who is teaching at a major university and advising students, I can assure you that there is still no substitute for high test scores. They are golden.

I stand by my statement. There are exceptions to every scenario.

 

[thewildcat2011]

Please no one tell their kids they can get into good schools with a shoddy GPA and high test scores.

 

[Gladeskat]

He is 27, so 9-10 years ago. As someone who is teaching at a major university and advising students, I can assure you that there is still no substitute for high test scores. They are golden. Does anyone here seriously doubt that if a HS athlete whom Fitz or Collins wanted scored in the top 5% on his SAT that NU would deny him admission? Get serious!

Barnett did it once to a player with an SAT score over 1300. His grades didn't match his board scores and this was taken as a sign of a poor work ethic towards academics. He didn't get past GB or admission and ended up at DII Quincy.

Grad schools seem to like good board scores (in this case GRE exams) over grades. Perhaps they figure that students will become more interested in their subject matter in graduate school (seems reasonable to me). Football coaches (at NU anyway) are probably more concerned about work ethic and whether the student can handle a full course load and full-time football successfully rather than the height of a players' academic ceiling.