The Same, But Different

Dave Doeren is not a "win the press conference" kind of guy. Tom O'Brien could be that guy, albeit in a really subtle way. TOB was never gonna get a reputation as a media day entertainer; if you poked the bear, you were going to get gold, but for the most part, he was what he was.

Outwardly, Doeren is similar, except that I don't think we can expect any expertly-aimed barbed shots at any nearby programs. The important thing, though, is Doeren's approach and demeanor with recruits. So far so good.

The fast [recruiting] results have been somewhat surprising since, outwardly, Doeren's personality doesn't seem that different from the stoic O'Brien.

"Both [Doeren and Tom O'Brien] are sort of introverts in public,'' said Matt Carter, editor and recruiting analyst for TheWolfpacker.com on the Rivals.com network. "The difference is Dave isn't introverted when it comes to recruits and high school coaches.''

We should at least acknowledge here that the early success is in part Richard McNutt's doing. No one could resist playing for McNutt, who has established himself early as the all-caps heart and soul of this new regime. This was probably his idea as well:

https://t.co/jdXRANAag0

— Richard McNutt (@CoachMcNutt) August 16, 2013

Oh, hey, that's neat they got some slip-and-slide deal to lighten up camp a bit and OH GOD WHY IS THAT ONE DUDE JUMPING PERPENDICULAR PRAY FOR HIS LIGAMENTS. One sec here. Lemme just-- deep breaths. Gotta regroup. Shit, why do they have to go and do that to me?

Is he okay? He's okay? Okay. Shit. Mercy.