re: Ole Miss and A&M baws, question regarding DJ Durkin

I guess i'll chime in. I think Durkin got a bad rap at maryland. We had just transitioned to the B1G and needed to elevate our recruiting. Prior to Durkin, our recruiting classes were in the 50s and that was because Locksley was our OC. Our team was basically future NFL studs and total duds that were fringe D1 guys. When Durkin took over he basically tried to push the duds out, and that was deemed toxic.

But a caveat to that, his top 25 classes he brought in were total bust. I think we were 18 one year, good athletes, but he could not coach them up. He's only failed up since then, and hasn't been impressive. He also took over defensive play calling, and it was a shitshow.