Deion Sanders has brought in some of the nation's top recruiting prospects, including offensive lineman Jordan Seaton and cornerback Komani McClain, in his first 14 months as head football coach at the University of Colorado. .
He didn't even have to leave campus to sign with them or anyone else, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The university confirmed that “Coach Prime” has had no off-campus contact with potential recruits since he was hired in early December 2022.
zero.
none.
“Coach Prime does not conduct any off-campus recruiting visits,” the school said in a Feb. 28 email.
This usually means no visits to prospective recruits' homes or schools, which is traditionally part of the recruiting process in college sports.
In contrast, former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was a recruit from Dec. 1, 2022, before taking the NFL job earlier this year, according to data obtained by USA TODAY Sports in public records. It is said that there were 145 off-campus contacts with students and their families. Requests submitted to several universities.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has been in contact with 128 of those off-campus recruiters since Dec. 1, 2022.
Former UCLA coach Chip Kelly has made 55 visits during that time, including seven home visits.
Further details:Grandpa Prime?Mr. Sanders is set to become a grandfather.
The data from December 1, 2022 covers the last two winter contact periods of the NCAA recruiting calendar, and head coaches typically make off-campus recruiting contacts beyond December and January. What you can do is restricted.
Sanders' employment contract with the state of Colorado also provides him with an annual budget of $200,000 to use a commercial air travel service for recruitment called Wheels Up.
he didn't use it.
“The football staff has not used this service for recruiting since Coach Prime began his coaching tenure,” the school said in a records request this month.
But what exactly does this mean?
It depends on your point of view.
How did this work out for Deion Sanders?
Colorado State did not return messages seeking comment from Sanders, who is on a national book tour this week before starting his second spring practice season in Boulder on Monday.
He does things differently, as he showed in an unprecedented overhaul of Colorado's roster when the Buffaloes finished 4-8 in 2023.
Sanders, 56, likely won't need to go on a recruiting trip and has had mobility issues since 2021 due to a blood clot in his leg and pain in his leg. He also doesn't recruit too many high school players, instead focusing primarily on transfer players, older players who have already left his family home and may not need to be wooed by a home visit from another potential recruit. Recruited players.
The university did not say why Sanders did not use commercial air travel services as provided in his contract. When asked who used this information in track and field, but not football, the school said the men's basketball program used the information in recruiting, and the former head football coach used it as well. Ta.
What is his recruiting record so far?
By some metrics, it's a style that has worked for him. He upgrades the roster's talent from 2022, when the Buffaloes finished 1-11. Last year, Sanders' class of transfer students ranked No. 1 in the nation. His 2024 overall recruiting class also ranks No. 22, according to 247Sports, with 24 transfers and just seven high school players.
Almost everyone was fascinated by his stature and football history as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. They came to visit him on a recruiting trip to Boulder.
“It’s not hard to find” is one of his recruiting mottos and is currently available on Colorado T-shirts.
During that time, Sanders' assistant coaches worked hard for him on the road, having more than 90 off-campus in-person conversations with recruits and their families during this period, according to University of California records.
But this approach is still quite different from the traditional model, where head coaches go to meet with recruits and their families to convince them to sign with the team.
What are the risks of this approach?
If the team's fortunes take a turn for the worse, this deviation from the traditional approach could become the focus of critics. In Kelly's case at UCLA, his record there (35-34) and his distaste for recruiting sparked discontent among fans before he left to take an assistant coaching job at Ohio State.
He didn't record as many street contacts as Harbaugh or Sarkisian, according to records provided by UCLA, but he didn't record as many street contacts per day during the NCAA contact period in December and January, according to data from Texas. It is shown that he had had multiple off-campus contacts. For example, on Dec. 6, 2022, Sarkisian contacted 20 recruiters off-campus, according to the data.
Kelly remained out and in contact for a total of 19 days during the contact period starting December 1, 2022. He had 46 contacts at recruit school, seven at his home and two during meals.
Why are off-campus visits important?
Former coach Jackie Sherrill told USA TODAY Sports that home visits for recruits are generally important for two reasons. One is to learn more about your players. Another he could gain an advantage over his competitors.
Jackie Sherrill, former head coach at Washington State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Texas A&M University and Mississippi State University, said, “Unless you go to the house and see the recruits with their mothers present, you don't give them (scholarships).'' ) will never be provided.” “I wouldn't have scouted him if he didn't respect his mother. She said you were the first head coach to come to my house, or you were the only head coach to come to my house. “I would have signed a lot of players.” “I went to my house. I could talk in detail about the recruit's personality in five minutes in front of my mom, rather than talking to all the coaches and teachers. .”
Those who don't participate in off-campus visits run the risk of losing new employees to those who do.
At one point, Sherrill said there was a player at Mississippi State who asked, “Do you know why I came here?” He was the only coach who didn't flinch when cockroaches crawled under his feet during home visits. ”
What are the rules for off-campus visits?
According to the NCAA, head football coaches are generally limited to having off-campus contact with freshmen or their families only once a year, starting with the prospect's senior year of high school and including transfer freshmen.
Assistant coaching staffs have more leeway and often do the grunt work of discovering talent on the road. Assistant coaches may also accompany the head coach on off-campus visits. For example, Ohio State coach Ryan Day and his assistants visited Alabama safety Caleb Downs at home before he transferred to the Buckeyes.
In contrast, the rules are different for new employees who want to visit the campuses of colleges they are considering. Typically, he can make an unlimited number of unofficial and unpaid visits to campuses, and he can only make one paid official visit per school.
These restrictions are why schools track the number of off-campus contacts a coach has, which USA TODAY Sports has requested from various public schools. Those who responded so far ranged widely and did not include Georgia, where head coach Kirby Smart is known for frequently using helicopters on recruiting trips.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, Smart took part in an eight-day, eight-state recruiting trip by helicopter in January 2023, costing more than $145,000 in Kirby Copter, including other trips. He said he helped collect the .
Do new employees care about home visits?
It varies, but other factors are now a big part of the equation for new hires, such as name, image and likeness income potential (NIL). In one case, a rookie wide receiver from Calabasas, Calif., committed to play for Sanders at the University of Colorado, then reneged on that commitment and signed with Texas.
Rookie Aaron Butler told USA TODAY Sports that neither Sanders nor Sarkisian visited his home in person.
“I'm not really interested in that,” Butler said. “My receivers coach is helping me grow.”
In Texas, former NFL player Chris Jackson visited Butler in California. Butler said that before he changed his mind about Colorado, Sanders called him and spoke with his parents, including his father, Rob Davon, who he had run into years before with the Baltimore Ravens. He was asked to do so. The phone call went well, but Butler said later that poor communication changed his mind about Colorado State.
Another factor regarding home visits
Parents may also conduct home visits. Former Colorado coach Bill McCartney knew this, using home visits to recruit several top recruits from Southern California and Texas before ultimately retiring 30 years ago. By then, he had built his team into a strong contender for the national team. Sometimes he would have private discussions with his parents about his religious beliefs.
Former Buffs linebacker Alfred Williams said in a 2015 documentary about McCartney that aired on ESPN: “In a single-parent household, the mother is the decision maker. That's why he scouted her.”
McCartney explains in the film:
“What that mom wanted to hear is what every mom wants to hear: knowing that I can trust you with my son.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenbohr. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
