King of the Recruiting Industry

[Cheesesteak]

Crabtree's king of cottage industry -- recruiting
Jan. 27, 2004
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer

OLATHE, Kan. -- The magic happens in a 10x13 office on the second floor of a modest split-level home at the end of a cul-de-sac in Kansas, of all places.

Amid suburban sprawl where Oregon Trail wagons once passed, Jeremy Crabtree rolls on himself. You'd never know this soft-spoken 29-year-old holds the future of thousands of high school and junior college football players in his hands. And his laptop and PDA, fax and cell phone.

Rivals.com was able to break news about Jeff Smoker going to Michigan St. with a phone call to a waitress.
Mostly, though, he holds the nation's most comprehensive recruiting information in a savant-like mind.

"It's funny," says Crabtree, editor of recruiting service Rivals100.com, between bites of his omelet recently at a nearby IHOP. "I can remember that type of stuff, but I can't remember to put water out for the dog. I'll go out to eat with my girlfriend and the family and I can't add what the tip is. But I can tell you what the 40-yard dash is of some kid in Florida or Missouri."

The term "recruiting guru" was invented for Crabtree. Seven years ago he was fresh out of Kansas State trying to snag a full-time job at the Kansas City Star. No one else wanted to do recruiting so he did it.

When it became evident that he could make it a vocation with what was then the National Recruiting Advisor, a Star editor asked Crabtree, "Do you want vanilla ice cream?" for the rest of his career.

Add another scoop, please. Since then Crabtree invented himself and reinvented the industry. He has become the No. 1 authority on college football recruiting.

This is not up for debate. The remainder of this cottage industry might as well be cottage cheese. They have become posers lacking in Crabtree's dedication, knowledge and technology.

"There is not a harder working person in the industry," said his boss, Bobby Burton, editor of Rivals.com.

What makes Crabtree and his cadre of regional experts so compelling is that readers can watch the recruiting picture change in real time via the website. Each significant recruit has his own page. There is video, audio, "measurables" of the nation's best football-playing teenagers.

Those of us with and without lives either understand perfectly or are envious.

"With my job I don't have to get up at 7 a.m. and be at the office," Crabtree said. "I can just get up, throw on shorts and T-shirt and work for several hours."

What further sets it apart is that there is a journalistic ethic to Rivals100.

It will not report a commitment unless Crabtree or his recruiting soldiers hear it from the kid's mouth. Because of that dogged work ethic and credibility, Crabtree can pick up the phone and reach everyone from the lowest assistant to Papa Bowden himself.

"Bobby Bowden loves the home visits," Crabtree said. "It allows him to be what he is -- the good old boy. It allows him to talk to mom and pop. I had a kid tell me, 'It was like I had Michael Jordan in my house.'"

By signing day on Feb. 4, "Crabby," as he has become known, will see virtually all of the nation's top 100 players in person. Those he hasn't seen, he will find out about soon enough.

It's 9:33 a.m. and word has filtered out that Butler County (Kan.) Community College linebacker Lee Foliaki has committed to Texas A&M.

"Hey, coach," Crabtree coos into a phone, "heard that Lee popped to Texas A&M?"

Within minutes, the info is up on the website and we have entered the world of recruiting speak.

Popped?

For the record, Southern California has clinched the "recruiting championship," having locked up a record eight five-star recruits out of the hallowed top 100. That equals more than a quarter of the nation's top 25 or so players. A five-star guy, defined by Rivals, is a player projected to one day play in the NFL.

That means Oklahoma can look forward to running back Adrian Peterson, the nation's No. 1 overall player, being a slam-dunk star. LSU has its next Michael Clayton in receiver Early Doucet, who also played quarterback and running back at St. Martinville, La.

The disclaimers, though, for this inexact science don't even have to be posted. They are on rosters all over the country. Crabtree can't predict shredded knees, deflated egos or unfulfilled promise.

Two quick examples:

Miami's Brock Berlin was the No. 1 quarterback coming out of Shreveport, La. Two colleges and four years later he is struggling for consistency with the Hurricanes.
Two years ago Marcus Vick was rated one of top two dual-threat quarterbacks in the country. Michael's brother played some receiver for Virginia Tech in the bowl game and still hasn't broke through as a consistent starter.
But that's not Crabby's concern. His job is to line them up and shove them through the pipeline. What they do when they go through it is up to them.

There is the Jeff Smoker Story. ...

"He had a press conference at a restaurant," Crabtree said of the former Michigan State quarterback. "Everybody in the country was trying to get to that restaurant to find out what school it was. We ended up breaking the news by talking to a waitress at the restaurant. She saw him put the Michigan State hat on."

There is the Franklin Okam Story. ...

"He wants to be a med student," Crabtree said of the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle, who is still undecided. "Florida offered him an opportunity to go see a heart surgery. He was going to do it but wasn't prepared for it."

There are the stories, every year, of kids trying to weasel their way onto Rivals' coveted top 100 list. ...

"I called one kid's coach. He said, 'Well, he was cut from the JV team last year.' His 4.4 turns into a 4.9. You have to make sure you take the extra step. You try to surround yourself with enough good people to check on stuff."

There is the story of a marriage that is no more ...

"(The job) might be one of the reasons that led to my divorce," he says.

Rivals' regional experts include a former high school coach and a former Cal quarterback, but all the information flows through Crabtree's modest office and incredible mind. Assuming 25 signees for each of Division I-A's 117 schools, Crabby must have a line on 2,000-3,000 kids at any given moment.

And he does.

"Alex Mitchell?" Crabtree says, fielding a random name thrown at him. "Offensive lineman. Best player in Michigan. Big kid, committed to Michigan."

The emergence of the Internet and sports talk radio fed the insatiable need for recruiting information. Is it all a bit ridiculous sometimes? Sure. Rivals might have jumped the shark by posting something called "The Guru Challenge."

If that sounds like fantasy league recruiting, it is. You can buy and sell stock based on how teams are doing in recruiting. If this interests you, the first thing you need to do is move out of your parents' basement, pronto.

Rivals' main mission, though, has been a codification, solidification and modernization of recruiting reporting. Even then, sometimes it's a whim chase.

Peterson caused a major stir over the weekend when he showed up in College Station to watch a Texas A&M basketball game. Peterson even spoke to football coach Dennis Franchione.

Don't worry, says Crabby, "It's still Oklahoma. But you can't be 100 percent sure until he signs on the dotted line."

Miami linebacker Willie Williams has caused the recruiting season's biggest stir with his journal in the Miami Herald. His ramblings are a mix of teenage naiveté and the rampant sense of entitlement that corrupts some of these kids.

"The lobster tail was like $49.99," Williams was quoted as saying of a dinner during his Florida State visit. "I couldn't believe something so little could cost so much. The st