The Best Recruiters

[Cheesesteak]

The birth of a salesman

By Matt Hayes - SportingNews.com
February 9, 2004

The best recruiter in college football wasn't the best recruiter in his own city three years ago. Didn't have a decent sales pitch, didn't have the confidence to close. Then Pete Carroll was hired as coach at Southern California. Now Ed Orgeron could sell bacon to a vegan if it were wrapped with a cardinal-and-gold bow.

Carroll didn't suddenly make an elite recruiter of Orgeron. What he gave Orgeron -- whom Paul Hackett brought to Los Angeles in 1998 to be a defensive line coach -- was an opportunity to help rebuild the program as USC's recruiting coordinator, a chance to carry out a plan that would turn potential into performance. So Orgeron introduced Carroll to a variation of the State of Miami plan -- a foundation that paved the way for college football's greatest program over the last quarter century -- and the blue chips have been piling up ever since.

When Orgeron was an assistant at Miami from 1988-92, he learned of former coach Howard Schnellenberger's State of Miami plan: Lock down the city, then go after the state's best, then pick and choose from the nation's elite. Miami has won five national titles since Schnellenberger revived a near-dead program with his recruiting philosophy.

USC won its first under Carroll last month, and more could be on the way. There was no chance of that under the Hackett regime, which would go weeks -- sometimes a month -- without addressing recruiting. And when it did, the philosophy wasn't consistent. The underlying theme was that USC's name and tradition eventually would draw top players. Under Carroll and Orgeron, USC works from the inside out; it has paid off with such area players as quarterback Matt Leinart and tailback Reggie Bush.

"We had to keep Florida State and Miami out of Los Angeles," Orgeron says. "We couldn't turn our back on Southern California kids."

Once the Trojans locked down L.A., they could land the likes of wideout Mike Williams (Florida) and tailback LenDale White (Colorado). This year's class -- the best in the nation, according to most recruiting analysts -- includes the top-rated players in L.A. (offensive tackle Thomas Herring) and Florida (linebacker Keith Rivers) and the No. 1 offensive player (wideout Fred Davis) from talent-rich Ohio. Think about that: Not only are the Trojans controlling L.A., they beat the powerhouses in Florida for Rivers and plucked Davis away from Ohio State. That's why Orgeron is at the top of the list of the game's top five recruiters:

2. Dave Roberts, South Carolina. When Bill Callahan was named coach at Nebraska, his first priority was to hire Roberts. Roberts stayed put because of his close relationship with coach Lou Holtz and because he could be first in line after Holtz retires. Roberts' folksy, genuine style has brought some big recruits (see: Demetris Summers) to a school with limited success and tradition.

3. Mack Brown, Texas. He has been winning over elite recruits since his days at Tulane and North Carolina. But there's a double edge to his success: At times, he's too much charmer-recruiter and not enough coach-disciplinarian.

4. Derek Dooley, LSU. He's a fast riser in the hectic recruiting world. Dooley is 35 but looks like he's 25 and relates to high school players. The son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, Derek was promoted from recruiting coordinator to tight ends coach and special teams coordinator before this season, in part to keep other schools from hiring him away.

5. Kevin Steele, Florida State. He could end up succeeding Bobby Bowden. A master motivator and recruiter, Steele landed last year's consensus No.1 recruit (linebacker Ernie Sims) and reinvigorated a stale defense. The 'Noles are among the nation's elite again because of Steele's fiery coaching and engaging recruiting style.

As many Ponyfans know Derek Dooley (#4) was an SMU assistant coach from 1997-99.

[Pony4Life]

That would be the same Derek Dooley who used to roam the sidelines at Ownby Stadium.

[EastStang]

USC, a private Methodist University in a major metropolitan area. I couldn't resist.

[OldPony]

Yeah but they don't have pro football to compete against. Sorry- I couldn't resist a joke either.

[SoCal_Pony]

More importantly, USC has 2.5X the undergraduate enrollment we do as well as an administration that is 100% committed to winning.

[giacfsp]

Until this year, Dallas didn't have pro football to compete against, either.

[Cheesesteak]

It is SMU's time for the State of Dallas!