AzianSooner
1/13/2006, 09:37 AM
LONGHORNS FOOTBALL
How much will a national title mean for UT's recruiting? Not much.
The Horns already own the state, but a national championship may lead them to broaden their horizons
By Alan Trubow
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, January 13, 2006
Mack Brown stopped and talked to every coach he could. He shook their hands. He asked how things were going. He invited them to stop by his office if they ever were in Austin.
The American Football Coaches Association's annual clinic was held this week in Dallas, and Brown — just one week removed from leading the University of Texas to the national championship — was paying as much attention as possible to every high school coach there.
LM Otero
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Longhorns Coach Mack Brown has already had plenty of success recruiting in Texas. This season's national title will likely bring in only a few out-of-state recruits.
The reason? Because Brown is a master recruiter. And he probably knows that while putting that crystal football in the trophy case will help the Longhorns recruit in future years, it won't help as much as many may think.
While a national title may help the Longhorns recruit nationally, Brown doesn't like going out of state unless he has to. And when it comes to in-state recruiting, the Longhorns already are getting whomever they want right now.
"We won't change. We recruit with the same philosophy every year," Brown said. "You should never walk by a high school coach in this state without speaking. And you shouldn't walk by a high school kid without shaking his hand. We try always to show appreciation to the people who are helping develop the players we want."
Recruiting experts' opinions vary on what a championship means in terms of recruiting.
"Not only can it have an effect, but it can have an effect for a number of years. Like 10-15 years," said Bobby Burton, the recruiting expert for Rivals.com. "First of all, it puts you on a different tier than 95 percent of your competitors. You're talking about national exposure. You're talking about perception. Especially with the Longhorns this year.
"You're talking about 35 million households who watched the Rose Bowl. That was putting the Longhorns front and center in a lot of future recruits," Burton said.
The biggest impact, though, might come two years after a school wins a national championship.
"That first year, it's usually too late for a school to benefit from a championship," said Randy Rogers, who coordinates recruiting coverage for Texasfootball.com. "The Longhorns already have their class set for next year (2006), but in 2007 you might see Texas start to get more looks from guys all over the country."
It hasn't hurt past national champions. Oklahoma's 2000 national title has made things easier for Bob Stoops; the Sooners' recruiting classes were ranked No. 7 in 2002, No. 4 in 2003, No. 8 in 2004 and No. 3 in 2005.
Louisiana State, which won the 2003 BCS championship, was ranked No. 2 in 2004 by Rivals.com. But the Tigers fell to 22nd nationally in 2005.
"Part of that is because LSU has to go outside the state a lot to land a top recruiting class," said Tigerbait.com's Jerry Scarborough. "It's not always as easy to land the top out-of-state recruits. It costs more money and takes more time and effort."
But landing more out-of-state recruits might be the only way for Texas to improve its recruiting from its already-impressive status.
"When you're at Ohio State or Texas, the expectations can't go any higher," said Jim Tressel, whose Ohio State Buckeyes captured the national title in 2002. "There is an immediate flurry of business commitments you have to fulfill, but things pretty much stay the same."
In 2002, the Longhorns had the top-ranked recruiting class in the country according to Rivals.com. They've been in the top 20 in the past three years.
They've accomplished all that by staying in Texas. Of the 81 high school recruits the Longhorns have signed since 2002, just seven were from out of state.
With a little more than two weeks to go before national signing day, Texas' 2006 recruiting class ranks No. 2 in the nation behind Florida, though Southern California's class — No. 3 right now — may end up passing the Longhorns' when Feb. 1 rolls around. Texas has commitments from 25 players, including two from out of state.
"You're not going to see Mack Brown start ignoring the in-state recruits. There are too many good football players here, and he's not going to ignore the hand that fed him for so many years," Burton said. "That being said, don't be surprised if Texas starts bringing in two to five out-of-state guys a year now.
"If they can't get an in-state guy they like, the Longhorns are going to have an easier time now than before bringing in a guy from the East Coast or somewhere else. That's the difference of winning a national championship."
Either way, it's a good problem to have.
Cedric Golden contributed to this story. [email protected]; 445-3959
How much will a national title mean for UT's recruiting? Not much.
The Horns already own the state, but a national championship may lead them to broaden their horizons
By Alan Trubow
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, January 13, 2006
Mack Brown stopped and talked to every coach he could. He shook their hands. He asked how things were going. He invited them to stop by his office if they ever were in Austin.
The American Football Coaches Association's annual clinic was held this week in Dallas, and Brown — just one week removed from leading the University of Texas to the national championship — was paying as much attention as possible to every high school coach there.
LM Otero
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Longhorns Coach Mack Brown has already had plenty of success recruiting in Texas. This season's national title will likely bring in only a few out-of-state recruits.
The reason? Because Brown is a master recruiter. And he probably knows that while putting that crystal football in the trophy case will help the Longhorns recruit in future years, it won't help as much as many may think.
While a national title may help the Longhorns recruit nationally, Brown doesn't like going out of state unless he has to. And when it comes to in-state recruiting, the Longhorns already are getting whomever they want right now.
"We won't change. We recruit with the same philosophy every year," Brown said. "You should never walk by a high school coach in this state without speaking. And you shouldn't walk by a high school kid without shaking his hand. We try always to show appreciation to the people who are helping develop the players we want."
Recruiting experts' opinions vary on what a championship means in terms of recruiting.
"Not only can it have an effect, but it can have an effect for a number of years. Like 10-15 years," said Bobby Burton, the recruiting expert for Rivals.com. "First of all, it puts you on a different tier than 95 percent of your competitors. You're talking about national exposure. You're talking about perception. Especially with the Longhorns this year.
"You're talking about 35 million households who watched the Rose Bowl. That was putting the Longhorns front and center in a lot of future recruits," Burton said.
The biggest impact, though, might come two years after a school wins a national championship.
"That first year, it's usually too late for a school to benefit from a championship," said Randy Rogers, who coordinates recruiting coverage for Texasfootball.com. "The Longhorns already have their class set for next year (2006), but in 2007 you might see Texas start to get more looks from guys all over the country."
It hasn't hurt past national champions. Oklahoma's 2000 national title has made things easier for Bob Stoops; the Sooners' recruiting classes were ranked No. 7 in 2002, No. 4 in 2003, No. 8 in 2004 and No. 3 in 2005.
Louisiana State, which won the 2003 BCS championship, was ranked No. 2 in 2004 by Rivals.com. But the Tigers fell to 22nd nationally in 2005.
"Part of that is because LSU has to go outside the state a lot to land a top recruiting class," said Tigerbait.com's Jerry Scarborough. "It's not always as easy to land the top out-of-state recruits. It costs more money and takes more time and effort."
But landing more out-of-state recruits might be the only way for Texas to improve its recruiting from its already-impressive status.
"When you're at Ohio State or Texas, the expectations can't go any higher," said Jim Tressel, whose Ohio State Buckeyes captured the national title in 2002. "There is an immediate flurry of business commitments you have to fulfill, but things pretty much stay the same."
In 2002, the Longhorns had the top-ranked recruiting class in the country according to Rivals.com. They've been in the top 20 in the past three years.
They've accomplished all that by staying in Texas. Of the 81 high school recruits the Longhorns have signed since 2002, just seven were from out of state.
With a little more than two weeks to go before national signing day, Texas' 2006 recruiting class ranks No. 2 in the nation behind Florida, though Southern California's class — No. 3 right now — may end up passing the Longhorns' when Feb. 1 rolls around. Texas has commitments from 25 players, including two from out of state.
"You're not going to see Mack Brown start ignoring the in-state recruits. There are too many good football players here, and he's not going to ignore the hand that fed him for so many years," Burton said. "That being said, don't be surprised if Texas starts bringing in two to five out-of-state guys a year now.
"If they can't get an in-state guy they like, the Longhorns are going to have an easier time now than before bringing in a guy from the East Coast or somewhere else. That's the difference of winning a national championship."
Either way, it's a good problem to have.
Cedric Golden contributed to this story. [email protected]; 445-3959