When it comes down to recruiting, every program has uniquely different things that they can offer recruits, that no other program can.
Regardless of what it is, recruiting all comes down to the idea of finding something that both attracts recruits, and sets your program apart. Often times, a first impression can go a long way. At Ohio State, part of their pitch is the varsity jacket that the coaches are wearing when they hit the recruiting trail.
Now some coaches choose to rock the team track suit or even go with a suite and tie on the road, but Ohio State's staff has decided to separate themselves from the crowd by wearing this letterman's jacket when visiting with recruits. Bold, recognizable, and simple yet flashy...all adjectives that will both describe the jacket, and catch a high school aged kid's attention.
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Not only does the jacket stick out amongst a sea of coaches that visit each school in the offseason, but it is also stitched with stories and memories of the rich Buckeye traditions. Items such as patches that pay homage to undefeated seasons (although this season has not yet been added) and conference titles and even national championships litter the jacket. Not to mention that immediately recognizable block "O", and it's pearly whiteness, which only add to the effect it has on the eyes.
According the ESPN's article, Nike made only 14 of these jackets for the coaching staff and other key members of the staff. For manufacturers out there reading this, here at FootballScoop, we'd only need five.
Whether it happens to be jackets, or track suits, the bottom line is that Urban and his staff understand what is going to catch the eyes of recruits. And that in turn will win some fierce recruiting battles. For some programs that advantage is their uniform combinations, while for others it's their tradition, or history, or education.
The lesson here is to find your niche and then find a way to make sure recruits remember you and your recruiting pitch even after you leave. If you can do that, you'll be happy with your results come signing day.
Every coach would agree that earning your way to a bowl game and getting the extra practice time for your guys, especially your young players, is one of the biggest perks of playing in the post season. One of the other big advantages is in regards to recruiting.
If you're traveling to a specific part of the country it gives you an opportunity to be seen by a new demographic, and gives a chance for many fans and recruits to watch you play who might not have seen you play all season. In short, it's a chance to show a recruiting base what your football program is all about.
When it comes recruiting, Tommy Tuberville is one of the best and he explains that playing in a bowl goes a long way.
For Minnesota, Texas Tech's Meineke Car Care Bowl opponent, it's an opportunity for Jerry Kill and his coaching staff to showcase their program in front of one of the most talented recruiting bases in the country down in Houston.
"I remember last year in the state of Texas, there were 450 Division I recruits in football," Tuberville pointed out in the Houston Chronicle. "A normal state's got 15 or 20. The more you can get out and be accessible to the players and coaches and have a chance to put your name out there, it's about sales."
450 Division I recruits out of one state (even one as big and talented as Texas) is mind boggling. That stat alone makes it clearly seem like the big winners of bowl season are the teams that have been picked to play in bowls in Texas. Right now twelve teams have the distinct advantage of playing in a bowl game within the state of Texas.
Oklahoma and Texas A&M (Cotton Bowl), Texas Tech and Minnesota, Rice and Air Force (Armed Forces Bowl), Oregon State and Texas (Alamo Bowl), Georgia Tech and USC (Sun Bowl), and Oklahoma State and Purdue (Heart of Dallas Bowl) all play in Texas based bowl games and thus will have a chance to influence a very large recruiting base.
Tuberville noted that they're looking to increase their visibility and presence in the Houston area as well.
"When I took the job at Texas Tech, we only had one or two players from the city of Houston on our team. We need to have 15 to 20, maybe 25."
After practice yesterday, Steve Addazio said something that caught our attention and is something that should show plenty of promise for the Temple program moving forward.
The Owls are 3-5 heading into this weekends match up at Cincinnati, and the players and staff haven't had the type of season that they had hoped for. But late in the season head coach Steve Addazio says that his guys are still really enjoying practice, and "can't get enough."
Addazio explains that, even after losing the past three straight games, his guys are still focused and getting after one another in some very spirited practices.
"I've been coaching a long time, and at this time in the season you usually have teams that just don't want to be out there like these kids want to be out there, and that's a very key point."
That's a solid point and a great barometer for any program.
If you can bring in the type of kids that are still enjoying practices late into the season, (especially after getting off to a less than ideal start) you've got to feel really good about the direction of your program...and Addazio definitely does.
Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said that they plan to hire a number of staffers to aid in recruiting as early as next spring.
The additional personnel, totaling about six people, will not count against the NCAA's limit of coaches allowed to hit the road and recruit. Instead, they will be used to help identify, evaluate, and support prospective student athletes and help them in the transition in Boulder. Basically, they'll be taking care of the behind the scenes stuff, so that the coaches can go out and do what they do...which is recruit.
"It'd be huge. Right now, all the legwork and all that we're doing now takes away from all the other stuff we should be doing from an X and O standpoint, or anything else. Things like transcripts, all that stuff." head coach Jon Embree said.
The importance of recruiting was not lost on Bohn either, who said that he plans to add staffers to all athletic programs, starting off with football.
"The recruiting process is not emphasized or invested in at the level it needs to be. We recognize across the board, with all of our coaches when we meet, that it's about recruiting and about competing in this league of champions."
"We're trying to emphasize what we believe is integral to our success, and it's recruiting. We believe we have outstanding coaches who are recruiting and we want to further bolster their data, their research and their information for them to be better so they can attract (players) to what we believe is the premier college community in the country." Bohn explained.
As the Denver Post points out, the Buffaloes have only eight seniors on their roster, which is tied with Indiana for the second fewest in the country (Rice has just seven). So while coaches out on the road recruiting players that can compete at a Pac 12 level is very important, it is just as important for them to take measures to retain, educate, and develop the student athletes once they get on campus.
Every college head coach has their own way of dealing with commitments from recruits. Some coaches allow recruits (who have already committed to them) to still go on their other official visits, while many other programs have a no visit policy in effect after a commitment is made.
Lane Kiffin is one of the coaches who still allow commits to visit other schools.
"I don't discourage it at all. I have a rare stance on it. I just think some of these kids never have an opportunity like that. To fly around the country and visit different places and meet new people whether it's other recruits or other coaches." Kiffin explained.
"I let our kids go visit all over the place, our commits. I know that's rare nowadays. I don't think it's my job, I don't think I'm in a position to be limiting kids' abilities to take free trips around the country and see different parts of the country and meet new people."
Chip Kelly on the other hand, views a commitment in a very different light.
"We talk to our guys about what a commitment is. We're going to make a commitment to you it's the same thing as us not pulling a scholarship when you make a commitment to us" Kelly said. "There's got to be a two-way street. I think our players understand what being committed means here."
Although their views are polar opposites, both coaches and their staffs manage to bring in some of the top talent in the country on a consistent basis. There's no doubt it helps to have a clear and consistent message from top to bottom.
For Rich Rodriguez, recognizing the difference between interest and commitment is something that him and his staff have recently zeroed in on.
"When a guy wants to commit to us we make sure that he understands what that means. If you have a guy who's committed to you but he's making a bunch of visits to other places you wonder if he's truly committed or just interested. That's the key for us."
"If a guy is taking it to have fun and he tells you that up front that's one thing but if they're taking the visit they must have some kind of interest in another school and that puts you in a tough situation because you may have dropped some other guys or moved off some other guys and then all of a sudden you lose this guy in the end."
At Arizona, the staff understands that if a recruit is going to continue to take his visits, don't be surprised if he de-commits. It all goes back to recognizing that difference between interest and commitment.
"If a guy is committed to you and he's visiting other places and all of a sudden he changes his commitment or something like that, I don't know why a coach would be surprised because he's visiting other schools so there aren't as many surprises as you'd think."
We understand that every level of college recruiting is very different. But each of those coaches (Lane Kiffin, Chip Kelly, and Rich Rodriguez) have helped sign a top ten recruiting class at some point in the coaching careers, and have all done it with very different approaches. The lesson is to find something specific to your level of football, and making it something that you all can buy into as a staff. At the end of the day you'll start to see the results of a consistent message.
This is one of those stories we wish we had some audio or video to add.
For the second year in a row, Mark Richt and the Georgia staff called Tray Matthews, one of their four star commitments, who was celebrating his birthday to sing him a special "Happy Birthday."
Richt called Matthew's high school coach at school, and the coach got him on the phone during lunch to sing the message.
“Coach Richt said hello and started singing again. He tried to hit a real high note this time. It was so funny. I mean, he tried real hard to get that high note. And I will give him the benefit of a doubt … He did all right singing.” Matthews said, and added that Richt did the same thing last year.
Sometimes it's the little things we do as coaches that stick out to the kids that we recruit.
“It means a lot for Coach Richt to do that. They don’t do it for every recruit. It shows me how much they want me. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to have good coaches around me, and to be committed to the University of Georgia.”
Explaining that he is 100% committed to the Bulldogs, Matthews says that he still plans to take the rest of his official visits, and that only one thing will be able to pry him away from his commitment to Georgia.
“If they have coaches that are identical to Mark Richt and that whole coaching staff..and if that other place was just like Athens, Ga. But there probably aren’t any coaches or any places exactly like that.” Matthews said.
Everyone has their own unique approach to recruiting. Like we mentioned earlier, sometimes it's the little things that go the furthest with recruits, while other times it takes something a little over the top, like mailing 105 letters to a single recruit in one day, or going to their high school game via helicopter to make a lasting impression. Whatever yours is...find it, work on it, and perfect it.
