recruiting visits
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[Karan Higdon on his visit | Bryan Fuller]
Someone was asking about the recruiting process, so I thought I would offer up the little bit I know, since we are all waiting on recruits, and it is a slow week on the board…because despite the tagline on the Mgo header, the staff seem to inexplicably observing a major holiday.
I will preface this by saying: I was never recruited. I went to a high school with a lot of big time recruits, I know guys that played at a few schools including M during the Carr/RR years, and I have a close friend who is an up and coming coach in Virginia. I have been on a few visits and I have heard about a lot more…most of the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Big 12.
First, visits during games are not ideal. There isn't enough time for coaches to spend with recruits because of game day. Keep in mind, most games are at noon or 3:30, so the kid will be lucky to talk to the coach more than 5 or 10 minutes pre-game. Teams are up early in the morning to eat, have walk-throughs and head to the stadium. Coaches are finalizing game plans and generally stick with the team during the entire pre-game process. During the 2012 UM/OSU game, we were allowed to go to the coaches locker room with Urban for about 5 minutes, while the other recruits were eating. (Our group also included the #1 player in the country, so that is unusual.) During the meal, the position coaches mingle with parents and recruits. At UTL II, (if you remember was a monster recruiting weekend) we had a nice meal, they showed a slideshow and we had a few quick words from coaches. I spoke with Chris Perry, who attended my high school, but he was ushered out because of compliance.
The recruits are assigned a coordinator, who leads everyone on to the field pre-game. On the way there, a lot of kids (and adults..smh) were asking for autographs, which was immediately attended to because this was right after the Johnny Manziel fiasco. (Sorry, the Johnny Manziel AUTOGRAPH fiasco, not any of the other fiascos he’s been associated with.) The recruits get to stand on the sidelines as everyone warms up. Most will remember a fantastic picture I took of Da’Shawn with the Maize and Blue crowd in the background.
At OSU, I wore a highlighter yellow “HAIL” shirt as I walked in front of the student section. They did not approve. Being on the field allows players to get a feel for the gameday atmosphere, because that’s exactly where they would be for every gameday. It’s wild looking up at the audience, and witnessing 100,000 plus…the anticipation is moving through the air. Right before the band comes out, recruits are ushered to their seats, usually in the first 5-6 rows, in between the 40’s. My UTL II seats were 4th row. At OSU, we sat in the 6th row. Maryland we were in the 2nd row. I am a family friend of a former player who is not well –regarded around these parts, but every time I went with his family, we were between rows 8 and 14.
After the game, the recruits leave together, and meet up in the athletic center to wait for coaches and players. Coaches will sneak in and say hi if they can. Once the players are dressed and done for the night, they take out or hang out with recruits.
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