First-year recruiting pitch provides challenge for USC coaches
July 21, 2016
Winning games in 2016 will help, Travaris Robinson says
Opportunity to play, make a difference among selling points
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-recruiting/article90939077.html#storylink=cpy
Will Muschamp and his coaching staff have a multifaceted message when recruiting prospective student-athletes.
They sell the perks of a college campus that’s part of a city. Then there’s the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center and USC’s newest upscale living complex – 650 Lincoln – that houses a number of members of the football team.
Football facets include a new indoor practice facility, a to-be-built operations building and the gameday atmosphere of Williams-Brice Stadium.
Then there’s the all-important pitch around progress.
“Come help us win. That’s the message,” defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said.
Robinson, who played at Auburn before he was a coach there, sees similarities between USC and his time as a player with the Tigers.
Auburn was 3-8 in 1998. The Tigers were 5-6 in 1999, Robinson’s first season as a player and Tommy Tuberville’s first as a head coach. The Tigers then went 9-4 in 2000, the first of seven consecutive winning seasons.
“A lot of people didn’t know much about Auburn,” he said. “Before you know it we got Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. We became a really good football team. That only happened because we had good players. You’ve got to have good players to have a good team.”
Steve Spurrier and staff had a similar pitch in their early signing classes that produced such difference-makers as (2005) Kenny McKinley, Jared Cook, Ryan Succop; and (2006) Eric Norwood, Darian Stewart, Captain Munnerlyn and the Brinkley brothers.
Robinson admitted that a message of building, or rebuilding, isn’t as easy of a sell with today’s recruits.
“The kids today are different,” he said. “It’s not like when we were growing up and they wanted to build their own deal. That’s not how it is. They want to be part of something that’s already on the gravy train. Just trying to get our kids to understand that it’s going to get on the gravy train at some point, but what’s wrong with being the first guy to get on it? That’s got to be the message to our kids that we’re recruiting, and I’m excited about that.”
Sixteen of South Carolina’s 24-member 2016 signing class committed after Muschamp’s hire in December. The Gamecocks closed strong, including a four-prospect haul on signing day.
With the new staff’s first full year to recruit a class, South Carolina had its most fruitful month with seven of Class of 2017 commitments in June. In addition to longtime in-state receiver target Shi Smith from Union, six pledges were from on-campus camp evaluations. Smith is the lone four-star commitment of the in-progress, 17-member group.
Another pitch from a Gamecocks’ perspective is opportunity, according to Derek Tyson, SEC recruiting analyst for ESPN.
“The biggest selling point is that they are coming off a 3-9 season and there are holes to fill,” Tyson said. “You are playing in a great conference in the SEC and there are holes to fill. Coach Muschamp can show them that on tape. He was an excellent recruiter at Florida and everywhere he has been. I don’t see that being any different at South Carolina.”
USC is expected to sign a full class of 25 for 2017 with as many as 12 who could enroll in January, Muschamp said. Signing day falls this year on Wednesday, Feb 1.
The Muschamp staff will continue to emphasize player evaluations, relationship-building, and getting prospects and their families on campus, Robinson said. The summer recruiting season concludes this Saturday with a cookout that’s more meet-and-greet than anything else.
“We’re going to outwork people until we get the best players,” Robinson said. “It will come. We’ve got to win some games and you will see recruiting pick up.”
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-recruiting/article90939077.html#storylink=cpy
THE STATE
July 21, 2016
Winning games in 2016 will help, Travaris Robinson says
Opportunity to play, make a difference among selling points
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-recruiting/article90939077.html#storylink=cpy
Will Muschamp and his coaching staff have a multifaceted message when recruiting prospective student-athletes.
They sell the perks of a college campus that’s part of a city. Then there’s the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center and USC’s newest upscale living complex – 650 Lincoln – that houses a number of members of the football team.
Football facets include a new indoor practice facility, a to-be-built operations building and the gameday atmosphere of Williams-Brice Stadium.
Then there’s the all-important pitch around progress.
“Come help us win. That’s the message,” defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson said.
Robinson, who played at Auburn before he was a coach there, sees similarities between USC and his time as a player with the Tigers.
Auburn was 3-8 in 1998. The Tigers were 5-6 in 1999, Robinson’s first season as a player and Tommy Tuberville’s first as a head coach. The Tigers then went 9-4 in 2000, the first of seven consecutive winning seasons.
“A lot of people didn’t know much about Auburn,” he said. “Before you know it we got Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown. We became a really good football team. That only happened because we had good players. You’ve got to have good players to have a good team.”
Steve Spurrier and staff had a similar pitch in their early signing classes that produced such difference-makers as (2005) Kenny McKinley, Jared Cook, Ryan Succop; and (2006) Eric Norwood, Darian Stewart, Captain Munnerlyn and the Brinkley brothers.
Robinson admitted that a message of building, or rebuilding, isn’t as easy of a sell with today’s recruits.
“The kids today are different,” he said. “It’s not like when we were growing up and they wanted to build their own deal. That’s not how it is. They want to be part of something that’s already on the gravy train. Just trying to get our kids to understand that it’s going to get on the gravy train at some point, but what’s wrong with being the first guy to get on it? That’s got to be the message to our kids that we’re recruiting, and I’m excited about that.”
Sixteen of South Carolina’s 24-member 2016 signing class committed after Muschamp’s hire in December. The Gamecocks closed strong, including a four-prospect haul on signing day.
With the new staff’s first full year to recruit a class, South Carolina had its most fruitful month with seven of Class of 2017 commitments in June. In addition to longtime in-state receiver target Shi Smith from Union, six pledges were from on-campus camp evaluations. Smith is the lone four-star commitment of the in-progress, 17-member group.
Another pitch from a Gamecocks’ perspective is opportunity, according to Derek Tyson, SEC recruiting analyst for ESPN.
“The biggest selling point is that they are coming off a 3-9 season and there are holes to fill,” Tyson said. “You are playing in a great conference in the SEC and there are holes to fill. Coach Muschamp can show them that on tape. He was an excellent recruiter at Florida and everywhere he has been. I don’t see that being any different at South Carolina.”
USC is expected to sign a full class of 25 for 2017 with as many as 12 who could enroll in January, Muschamp said. Signing day falls this year on Wednesday, Feb 1.
The Muschamp staff will continue to emphasize player evaluations, relationship-building, and getting prospects and their families on campus, Robinson said. The summer recruiting season concludes this Saturday with a cookout that’s more meet-and-greet than anything else.
“We’re going to outwork people until we get the best players,” Robinson said. “It will come. We’ve got to win some games and you will see recruiting pick up.”
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-recruiting/article90939077.html#storylink=cpy
THE STATE
