SEC football is … a tough place for outsiders to recruit
SN asked three BCS conference coaches: Can schools outside the SEC have success recruiting within the league’s footprint?
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez: “We’ve historically had success recruiting in the South. But when you recruit that area, you’re not just recruiting against the teams from the SEC or even the ACC. You’re recruiting against a deep-rooted love of a university. Kids in Florida grow up wanting to play for Florida, and it’s the same with the kids in Georgia and Louisiana and throughout the league .”
USC coach Pete Carroll: “We’ve picked up some key players for us in the South, guys like Mike Williams and Keith Rivers and Patrick Turner. There are certainly built-in obstacles with the distance factor, and those kids grow up wearing their team colors. Those three guys I mentioned, we had to work and work and work for them. It was because of the pull of family and friends and everyone expecting them to play for their home-state team.”
Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt: “Recruiting in the South has to be a priority. Although most of the elite-type players will probably stay home, there are too many good players in the state of Florida for us not to have a significant presence there .”
— Matt Hayes
SEC football is … where trying means cheating
SportingNews.com
10/1/9
