There are many important dates on the calendar of a big-time college football coach.
However, none seem to possess the anticipation and hype of one day in the month of February.
To the casual fan, Feb. 2 often comes and goes without notice; but to some, it is the biggest day of the year. That day is the first possible day high school recruits can sign a letter of intent to play at the university of their choice. It is commonly known as national signing day, and in the SEC, it might as well be an official holiday.
For those of you who do not understand the importance of signing day to a coach, think of it like this: signing day is basically a final exam given to a coach every season. The coach is given the entire year to prepare for the test and must work very hard to be successful.
What makes it different from taking a final for a class is that the exam is taken in public, and the coach will be judged by those around him without even knowing the results of the exam. Coaches are given an instant grade based on analysis by recruiting experts and media; however, the true results of the exam often will not be known for two to three years.
This is why each recruiting year is so important to a coach, because each recruiting class needs to build on the one before it in order to establish consistent success in a program.
All this means that, besides winning football games, a coach’s biggest stress is recruiting the players who should be winning those games. Almost every minute of time spent not coaching is spent on recruiting, which means that coaches are on the recruiting trail year-round.
One of the busiest times is during summer when recruits are invited to camps where the coaches can personally evaluate them. Paul Jones, who covers MSU recruiting for BulldawgJunction.com, said he feels that, for coaches, the summer camps are as important if not more than any other time during the recruiting process.
“I think the camps are very crucial in order to evaluate talent. When you have them on campus and have them under your wing, you get to see them perform and can tell more about their character, more about their talent and see how they respond to hard work,” Jones said.
Another important time in the process for the coaches is the in-home visits. Coaches travel all over the country to visit with the prospective recruits and their families in order to familiarize them with their program.
The Bulldogs new co-defensive coordinator Geoff Collins feels to be a good recruiter a coach must know what the school has to offer.
“Recruiting, in a nutshell, is being a good person, caring about people and wanting to see them accomplish what they want to accomplish. You are not going to get a kid to a school unless you can find out what he is interested in and help him find that in the place that you are at. The biggest thing is a general enthusiasm and excitement for the place you are at,” Collins said.
It is this enthusiasm that is so necessary just weeks before signing day, when recruits are making their official visits to the schools they are interested in.
Once the recruits and their families are on campus, the coaches try to paint them the picture of their bright futures at the school. This is often the last time the coach and recruits will see each other before signing day.
This is the time when Mullen tries to convey what the MSU program is all about.
“Most importantly, in the end, it is our job as recruiters to make sure these men know what they are getting, when you come to MSU that you will be developed into a champion on the field, in the classroom and in life,” Mullen said.
After all of the pitches a coach has made and all the time spent recruiting and evaluating a player, it is ultimately up to the recruit to decide. This is often the toughest part of recruiting, putting in all the time only to have the final result based on the whims of 17-year-olds.
Too many factors go into the decision for a recruit, and oftentimes a coach loses out on a player due to situations beyond their control.
All a coach can do is hope for the best as signing day nears.
“This time of year, the next three weeks especially, in this conference is crazy, and there are people coming at these young men from every direction. You just hope these guys make their decisions for the right reasons,” Mullen said.