New Coaches Recruiting Success

The new trend in college football is finding a coach with a great emphasis on recruiting to help bolster the program's status. At times the X's and O's of a coach are overlooked for their overwhelming ability to sell the program to recruits. Case in point was Ed Orgeron at Ole' Miss. He was highly regarded as the best recruiter in the nation and there was even a book written about his recruiting ability, yet he still failed to turn Mississippi into a successful program.

Ron Zook, on the other hand, is a coach who was brought in almost exclusively for his recruiting ability and has been able to bring Illinois out of the Big Ten gutter and to a BCS bowl game in 3 years. The major risk/reward in bringing in a recruiting savvy coach at the expense of coaching experience or record is whether or not your coach turns out like Orgeron or if he has success like Zook.

Here we'll take a look at last year's new hires and how they did in their 1st season of recruiting:

Improved Recruiting:
Nick Saban: Alabama
Saban was able to lock down the Nation's #1 recruiting class in his first year. Saban wasn't brought on solely because of his recruiting ability. In fact he is regarded as the total package of coaching. Alabama has been in the top 20 for recruiting for many years before Saban.

Tim Brewster: Minnesota
Brewster is a salesmen. He was brought on for his ability to sell the program, and the new facilities to the Minnesota recruits. He did not disappoint in his first season. Brewster wins the award for 1st season coach recruiter of the year as he signed the #17 class for the Golden Gophers. Before Brewster, Minnesota posted the #57 ranked class in 2007 ,#62 class in 2006, and the #55 class in 2005. It will be interesting to see if Brewster, who had a horrendous first season on the field, will turn out to be like Ron Zook or Ed Orgeron.

Butch Davis: North Carolina
Butch Davis came in being regarded as a big time recruiter, and it showed right away when he was able to land top notch DT Marvin Austin before the start of last season. This year he was able to sign the nation's #32 recruiting class to follow up from last years top 20 class. John Bunting was able to stick around as long as he did more than likely because of his recruiting ability. It will be interesting to see how Davis fares in the years to come.

Randy Shannon: Miami
In his first year of recruiting, Randy Shannon signed the nation's #4 recruiting class. Shannon was hired as head coach for his defensive track record at Miami. Recruiting for the most part has been very good for Miami over the years, however, this was the highest rated class for Miami since 2004. The interesting thing about all this was that Shannon's no nonsense/no tolerance approach to his athletes actually was able to improve his level of talent as opposed to scaring off the blue chip athletes.

Brian Kelly: Cincinnati
One coach who did very well in his first year of recruiting was Brian Kelly at Cincinnati who posted the #66 recruiting class. Typically this wouldn't look very impressive, however, Cincinnati had signed recruiting classes near #100 in the nation in the past few seasons. Kelly never has been at this level of recruiting before and the learning curve will probably be sharper for him than other new coaches this season.

Todd Graham: Tulsa
Todd Graham signed the nation's #73 recruiting class this season for Tulsa. This is an improvement from the Kragthorpe years where the team ranked consistently around #100 in the rankings. Tulsa is in a recruiting hotbed of the country, however, they have to compete year in and out with the great recruiting programs in Texas and Oklahoma.

Dennis Erickson: Arizona State
Erickson signed the nation's #21 recruiting class this past season. This is a slight step up from the norm for the Sun Devils. ASU's early season success along with Erickson's impressive resume were obviously important factors in this years recruiting success. ASU didn't hire Erickson because he was a big salesmen or for his youthful energy. This year the results spoke for themselves to recruits.

Todd Dodge: North Texas
Dodge was brought on to coach North Texas straight from high school where he was a wildly successful head coach in Texas. Dodge was able to use those high school roots to sign the #85 class this year. This was a strong improvement from the #114 class that was signed the year before by North Texas. Dodge should be able to establish himself nicely as a recruiter in Texas and be able to take N. Texas to new levels of talent.

Recruiting Remained the Same
Gene Chizik: Iowa State
Chizik was brought in to take over the program because of his great track record as a defensive coordinator, and not necessarily for his recruiting ability. In his first year as he showed his lack of experience as a recruiter by signing the nation's #62 recruiting class. This is about the norm, however, for Iowa State.

Tom O'Brien: North Carolina State
O'Brien signed the Nation's #31 ranked recruiting class in his first year as head boss at NC State. It's a step up for the Wolfpack as they had slipped in the final years under "Chesty" Chuck Amato. It's safe to assume O'Brien's struggles in the first season may have scared off some recruits.

Mark Dantonio: Michigan State
Dantonio was able to keep Michigan State's recruiting success at around status quo this offseason when he signed the #47 recruiting class. Dantonio was never very good at recruiting while at Cincinnati, but he was hired by Michigan State for his defensive mind and not his recruiting ability.

Jim Harbaugh: Stanford
The charismatic and outspoken Jim Harbaugh was able to capitalize on his big win vs USC and tap into the highly talented state of California for the nation's #50 ranked recruiting class in his first season. Harbaugh really was never known for recruiting, however he did have very impressive teams while at San Diego. In terms of recruiting, Harbaugh kept the program at around the same level of talent as the years before him.

Jeff Jagodzinski: Boston College
Coach Jag was no doubt able to use his NFL pull and great 1st season success to pull in the #33 class in the country. He was able to pick up where Tom O'Brien left off in terms of recruiting success. I would expect coach Jag's recruiting classes to continue to improve once he gains more experience.

Troy Calhoun: Air Force
The Air Force Academy as everybody knows does not use football as the primary selling point to recruits. Rarely will highly skilled recruits come to the Academy. This year was no exception as Troy Calhoun signed the #101 class in the country.

Bob Toledo: Tulane
Tulane took one on the chin in Bob Toledo's first recruiting season. Tulane signed the nation's #113 recruiting class. This has been a recent trend for Tulane as they signed the #112 class in 2007, and the #93 class from the year before.

Derek Dooley: Louisiana Tech
Dooley in his first season at Louisiana Tech signed the nation's #74 class. This is impressive for a school who's seen as more or less the 3rd fiddle in the state, and an after thought in most of the South. It may take some time for the Dooley family name to have much pull again in the region. A win over Hawaii last season could have sped along that process.

Stan Brock: Army
Army, much like all other service academies is at a major disadvantage when recruiting for football as opposed to a bigger cause. Stan Brock brought in the nation's #111 recruiting class this season.

Mario Cristobal: Florida International
Cristobal brought in the nation's #90 recruiting class in his first season at FIU. He's deep in the heart of recruiting country, but he's competing with 3 of the nation's top recruiting schools all in the same state. If Cristobal can win some games, he may be able to start making a dent in the area's recruits.

Recruiting Declined:
Neil Calloway: UAB
UAB is in a tough situation. The school refused to act in the best interest of the program by signing Calloway as opposed to other more qualified options as a head caoch. On top of this they have to take the table scraps of major SEC programs in the immediate area. Calloway signed the #103 class in the country this offseason. This ranking is a big dip from only 2 years ago where UAB was ranked in the top #65 back to back years.

Rob Akey: Idaho
Idaho is where recruiting goes to die. Rob Akey is not helping the situation by going 1-11 in his first season. Due to these factors Akey brought in the nation's #102 recruiting class. Don't look for Akey or the recruiting situation at Idaho to improve anytime fast. It truly is amazing how much success Boise State has had in recent years despite that area's talent levels.

Steve Kragthorpe: Louisville
Despite the on field success and exclusive exposure from several ESPN Thursday night games, Louisville has never been able to get their recruiting act together. This year was no exception as Kragthorpe slipped slightly from the norm to sign the nation's #55 recruiting class. Kragthorpe was not much of a recruiter during his Tulsa days, and he is more than likely not going to improve the level of talent for the Cardinals for years to come. Louisville consistently was able to post great season's in the past despite the lack of talent on the field due to Bobby Petrino. It will be interesting to see if Kragthorpe can do the same thing.

David Bailiff: Rice
In Bailiff's 1st season, Rice signed the nation's #114 recruiting class. A healthy mix of tough academic standards and lack of success for as long as many could remember on the field will do a program like Rice's in all the time. Bailiff will have to win on the field before he can ever hope to win on signing day while at Rice.