That's a solid point about development being key at our level, where the blue-chips aren't walking through the door. You have to respect what Youngstown State is doing in the Missouri Valley, that's a brutal league. For us in the ODAC, the formula is similar but the scale is different. Our staff's entire identity is finding those under-the-radar high school guys and walk-ons who fit our system, then developing them over four or five years. We don't have the portal traffic some FCS schools do, so development isn't just important, it's everything. Our last few all-conference players were two-star or unrated croots out of high school. The real test is keeping that pipeline full when every school in our conference is selling the same personal development pitch. That's where relationships and campus visits make the difference. Sustainable coaching is building a culture where guys buy in, stay, and get better. We're seeing that payoff in our own win column lately.
