Kentucky's recruiting pitch: 'Come be a hero'

At every introductory press conference, the new head coach talks about the importance of keeping in state recruits from leaving, and "building a fence" at the border to make sure they stay in state and consider their program.

At Kentucky, where three former players have joined the staff, the message to in state recruits is simple. Come be a hero.

According to KentuckySports.com, that's the pitch that offensive coordinator Neal Brown and assistants John Schlarman and Chad Scott, all homegrown products that played for the Wildcats, are using on recruits. Their pitch reminds recruits that guys like Tim Couch and Andre Woodson were high school products of the Bluegrass State that turned things around for Big Blue Nation during their playing days.

Many coaches believe that loading your roster up with players that have the opportunity to play in front of their friends and family and for a program that they grew up watching, produces results on the field that are hard to explain.

The thought process is that guys naturally to play harder and have more pride in the program when they've grown up around it and are emotionally invested in the outcome, rather than playing for a program that they grew up watching from across the country and picked for different reasons.

Keeping recruits in state is important for any program at any level. At Kentucky they've developed a catchphrase that will capture the attention and imagination of in state recruits to go along with the idea that, if they can get things turned around, that they can be a revered figure in the state for years to come. 

That's a pretty solid two pronged approach that most programs should be able to easily adapt and use for themselves during this recruiting season.