The new DB coach, Keith Heyward??????

[jalovell23]

It looks like Keith Heyward will be the new assistant coach for UofL as the DB coach. DOES this hurt or help UofL with this hire??? He comes from a powerhouse school such as U. of Southern California. He has spent his entire life on the west coast.

http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/01/13/keith-heyward-louisville-cardinals-usc

 

[kozmas]

He sounds like he has been very successful everywhere else he has been. I am surprised by the west coast hire since we recruit so heavily in the south. I would almost think he reached out to us after there was an opening and once they saw his resume it was rewarding for both.

 

[Birdie King]

Hope has value is his on-field coaching because his recruiting abilities on the Left Coast isn't going to help us over here.

 

[jmac1029]

USC recruits the whole country. He may have more connections than we think.

 

[The Public Enemy]

Appears to be a solid hire...and with USC they recruit nationally so pretty sure he has connections in the Southeast

 

[nccardfan]

I was wondering if this was too quick a hire? There still has to be some fallout with all the coaching changes in the NFL. Maybe there are some who are looking to get back into college coaching.

 

[Senore2006]

Word is he is an excellent coach at the actual game of football. I would think that after having groaned over "Grantham doesn't teach tackling" that a well-known hard-nose like this guy would be an absolute blessing. Add to that the fact that Petrino and Line Coack Klenakis coached at Nevada for long years, and you have a closer mental match than we may conceive of. Louisville is very credible out there, trust me. Ask Pitino about his Seattle Connection.

Recruiting-wise...........As far as West Coast players are concerned, we have 8 on our roster now. If Louisville wants to become a pre-eminent national program, ignoring the Left Coast and points in between would be the height of ignorance. Oakland was responsible for Oregon's rise, when its water-toting career .382 winning percentage goober Rich Brooks made the hires of Alioto and Belotti. They raided California and the rest is history. Oakland is recruiting gold.

Plus, the new guy has those SoCal connections. I love the hire, myself. I think BobbyP got very opportunistic.

 

[zipp]

If he works for Grantham and Petrino, he works for me. What do I know to 2nd guess??

 

[Knucklehank1]

First of all, it isn't like the guy needs to get some special passport to go into Florida, Georgia or anywhere else in the South. yes, it makes it easier if he has relationships already with high school coaches, but ultimately as long as he can get in the door, he just needs to make the kid and the kid's mom feel at ease.

That being said, don't expect UofL to suddenly become some West Coast player. I remember hearing Cards fans think that HWSNBN was going to open us up to recruiting in Texas. It just doesn't work that way. There are very few truly national programs in terms of recruiting. UofL just isn't talked about in Texas, California, Arizona and other points out West. Just like programs like Arizona or Baylor aren't getting talked about in Florida. You might get the occasional kid to buck these rules, but it is not very common.

 

[Birdie King]

First of all, it isn't like the guy needs to get some special passport to go into Florida, Georgia or anywhere else in the South. yes, it makes it easier if he has relationships already with high school coaches, but ultimately as long as he can get in the door, he just needs to make the kid and the kid's mom feel at ease.

That being said, don't expect UofL to suddenly become some West Coast player. I remember hearing Cards fans think that HWSNBN was going to open us up to recruiting in Texas. It just doesn't work that way. There are very few truly national programs in terms of recruiting. UofL just isn't talked about in Texas, California, Arizona and other points out West. Just like programs like Arizona or Baylor aren't getting talked about in Florida. You might get the occasional kid to buck these rules, but it is not very common.

You are spot on, Knucklehead !

 

[nccardfan]

Wait a minute. I am confused. Terrell Buckley was a safeties/DB coach AND a recruiter. Are we saying Hayward was hired for his recruiting or as a secondary coach?

 

[Knucklehank1]

Wait a minute. I am confused. Terrell Buckley was a safeties/DB coach AND a recruiter. Are we saying Hayward was hired for his recruiting or as a secondary coach?

Not sure if you are implying something. But Heyward is being hired to be a coach for the secondary. Buckley just coached corners. And of course he is being hired to recruit as well.

As to his coaching skills, it is pretty safe to say that none of us on here know if he is a technically sound coach or not.

 

[Senore2006]

Actually we do know that he is an excellent and hard-nosed type of coach or else I would not have spewed what I said.

As far as the West Coast is concerned, it should be apparent that he recruited out there this past season and those other years he coached in the district as well, including UW, where much of the praise for his style comes from. This also implies he is undoubtedly already on some substantial names of prospects, which can't be a bad thing. So, for real, we are better off in that district than we were, by any criterion. That can't be a bad thing.

Also, the fact is, we are willing to pay good money for coaches. Real good money, actually. We are raised mightily in that hierarchy of hungry, young-family-guy assistants for just exactly that reason. That means we can locate coaches in some comfort, knowing full well that the salaries paid even to our departing coaches were not factors in their leaving. For young up-and-comers, this is fairly massive, if not huge or gigantic or even bigger.

I wouldn't underestimate Louisville's cachet out West, either. Many fans out there have long since admired our style. Since I lived out there for 40 years, I know the deal.