If you were hired to be the closer on football recruits

[hogsanity]

AR has 5 recruits on the top of their board.  All of them have multiple offers from SEC, BIG12, ACC schools. All have the Hogs in their top 4.

what would your pitch be to our top 5 targets:

A 4 star DL from Anacoco, LA
A 5 star Safety from Benoit, MS
A 4 star MLB from Jackson, TN
A 4 star WR from Hugo, Ok
A 5 star RB from Lagrange, GA

How would you try to close the deal with those recruits?

[TX HOG]

Jerry jones

[Poker_hog]

AR has 5 recruits on the top of their board.  All of them have multiple offers from SEC, BIG12, ACC schools. All have the Hogs in their top 4.

what would your pitch be to our top 5 targets:

A 4 star DL from Anacoco, LA
A 5 star Safety from Benoit, MS
A 4 star MLB from Jackson, TN
A 4 star WR from Hugo, Ok
A 5 star RB from Lagrange, GA

How would you try to close the deal with those recruits?

1.  Playing time
2.  Playing time
3.  Playing time
4.  Playing time
5.  RB U

[Adam Stokes]

"There's plenty of lions, tigers, and bears but there's only one razorback!"

[LRrazorback]

Get some "bag men".

[KlubhouseKonnected]

1. "Are you wearing a wire? I do not consent to this conversation being recorded."

2. "Nothing we discuss here goes on social media, nor any items that I may "forget" and leave here at you home.

3. "I am very forgetful, my friends say I may forget that I arrived at a place in a brand new vehicle and forget that I ever even had it if I was excited enough about something. Especially, something about razorback football."

[Huckleberry Pig]

1. "Are you wearing a wire? I do not consent to this conversation being recorded."

2. "Nothing we discuss here goes on social media, nor any items that I may "forget" and leave here at you home.

3. "I am very forgetful, my friends say I may forget that I arrived at a place in a brand new vehicle and forget that I ever even had it if I was excited enough about something. Especially, something about razorback football."

/thread

[The Kig]

Playing time
Playing time
Playing time

.....and titties.   Lot's and lot's of titties. 

[HeismanHawg]

Playing time
Family atmosphere
Coaches who cares about you
Being a part of something thats never been done before

[hogsanity]

Anyone see the problem?  Half of the posts offer illegal benefits, and half offer exactly the same things every other school does too.  Playing time is not an issue for top shelf players. Every coach says they care about you. As for family atmosphere, the kids can all stay in state and be close to actual family.

The Hogs have to come up with something unique, and I have no idea what that would be. 

[ldfergu]

"A NEW CAR"

[attachment deleted by admin]

[31to6]

There is a reason why there are so few true ace recruiters and why they are so valued.... there is no answer to this question.

Every recruit is unique and will require a different approach.

The only thing that is almost certainly true is that no cute 'quick sell' things will work. The recruiter will have to find the hook or hooks for that recruit and build and build on it.

That is why a recruiter like Pittman is the thing that makes it work: from all accounts in the press and the quotes from recruits it appears that he has a unique ability to connect strongly with people.

[Music City Hog]

$$$$$ and lots if it

[Music City Hog]

Playing time
Family atmosphere
Coaches who cares about you
Being a part of something thats never been done before

👎👎

[azhog10]

IMO Arkansas has one unique thing to offer, and that is that you will always be a Razorback and this state will take care of you post career. There is a lot of proof and people that would be willing to talk to that point, but the state of Arkansas really does take care of their Hogs after their careers are over. There are plenty of businesses in the state that will do just that. Not to mention we have guys like Jerry Jones and others who are always looking to help former Razorbacks out. It's a unique family and you aren't just a Hog for the 4 years you are here. You are one for life.

[Music City Hog]

IMO Arkansas has one unique thing to offer, and that is that you will always be a Razorback and this state will take care of you post career. There is a lot of proof and people that would be willing to talk to that point, but the state of Arkansas really does take care of their Hogs after their careers are over. There are plenty of businesses in the state that will do just that. Not to mention we have guys like Jerry Jones and others who are always looking to help former Razorbacks out. It's a unique family and you aren't just a Hog for the 4 years you are here. You are one for life.

This clearly hasn't worked based on dozens of years of it not working.
The only chance is to pay kids, creativity, young hip coaches, and moving Fayetteville to Georgia.

[Big Poppa Z]

.....and titties.   Lot's and lot's of titties.

Big firm ones.

[hogsanity]

IMO Arkansas has one unique thing to offer, and that is that you will always be a Razorback and this state will take care of you post career. There is a lot of proof and people that would be willing to talk to that point, but the state of Arkansas really does take care of their Hogs after their careers are over. There are plenty of businesses in the state that will do just that. Not to mention we have guys like Jerry Jones and others who are always looking to help former Razorbacks out. It's a unique family and you aren't just a Hog for the 4 years you are here. You are one for life.

a 18 yr old kid out of LA most likely does not care about that, true or not. They have no thoughts of moving here, playing for 4 years, then staying here to get a job. Most 18 yr olds do not think like that.  And I will venture to guess that other schools have their own ' Jerry Jones" and their own network to take care of former players.

[Music City Hog]

a 18 yr old kid out of LA most likely does not care about that, true or not. They have no thoughts of moving here, playing for 4 years, then staying here to get a job. Most 18 yr olds do not think like that.  And I will venture to guess that other schools have their own ' Jerry Jones" and their own network to take care of former players.

100% true story. Most of these kids don't give a flip about any of that. They care about prestige, winning, image, uniforms, reputation, cred with they peers, swag, and then playing time, coaches, and maybe location. 

[The Kig]

The Hogs have to come up with something unique, and I have no idea what that would be. 

In all seriousness, you are spot on.  Selling the "program" is a challenge, since every other team in the SEC can tout much of the same benefits. 

Some teams have absolutely no regard for the rules and take the win at all costs approach to offering illicit benefits to get players on campus.  As with an iceberg, for every sCam Newton we hear about, there are likely 20 that never surface.  The NCAA has proven themselves to be a paper tiger in dealing with big name programs that cheat ever since seeing the nuclear wasteland they left at SMU.  The monster that college football has become produces so much revenue and the beast must be fed.  The NCAA knows that if they do attempt to crack down on a major program, they risk being eliminated from the equation entirely when conferences "decline" their oversight in the future.  Unless the conferences decide that they are going to "take action", which is laughable because they would be penalizing teams that win... and wins equal revenue, this cycle will continue regardless of who is making the rules.

If we intend to, as Bielema has indicated, run a clean program doing things the right way and taking the high road, then we need to hire better sales people.  I have been in big ticket healthcare sales for over 20 years and can tell you that this dynamic mirrors the corporate sales landscape.  The "rainmakers" in sales are the people who can deliver results regardless of product, company, territory, or competition.  Granted, there are those who are snakes and make promises they can't deliver on, but they don't generally last.  The thing that differentiates the true rainmakers from the rest of the pack is their ability to figure out what's really important to the customer and sell the "vision"... make the complex simple, paint a picture of how their product does a better job of addressing the individual needs of that person.

Bielema has to find a "rainmaker" and figure out a way to keep other programs from stealing him away.  For my money, finding a Pittman produces results, but you always knew that it wasn't a long term deal.  Find a guy that is young, home grown, and "gets it".  Sounds easy, but the reality is those guys don't grow on trees.  It may take 5+ years to find one... but I can assure you that you will never find one if you aren't specifically looking for them. 

[BirdDawg]

A more interesting question is who are these 4 or 5 recruits? I follow recruiting pretty regularly and am not familiar with these players. Please share names and info. Sounds much better than what reports I am hearing or have seen.

[Music City Hog]

A more interesting question is who are these 4 or 5 recruits? I follow recruiting pretty regularly and am not familiar with these players. Please share names and info. Sounds much better than what reports I am hearing or have seen.

None we have any chance at getting so don't sweat it.

[Music City Hog]

In all seriousness, you are spot on.  Selling the "program" is a challenge, since every other team in the SEC can tout much of the same benefits. 

Some teams have absolutely no regard for the rules and take the win at all costs approach to offering illicit benefits to get players on campus.  As with an iceberg, for every sCam Newton we hear about, there are likely 20 that never surface.  The NCAA has proven themselves to be a paper tiger in dealing with big name programs that cheat ever since seeing the nuclear wasteland they left at SMU.  The monster that college football has become produces so much revenue and the beast must be fed.  The NCAA knows that if they do attempt to crack down on a major program, they risk being eliminated from the equation entirely when conferences "decline" their oversight in the future.  Unless the conferences decide that they are going to "take action", which is laughable because they would be penalizing teams that win... and wins equal revenue, this cycle will continue regardless of who is making the rules.

If we intend to, as Bielema has indicated, run a clean program doing things the right way and taking the high road, then we need to hire better sales people.  I have been in big ticket healthcare sales for over 20 years and can tell you that this dynamic mirrors the corporate sales landscape.  The "rainmakers" in sales are the people who can deliver results regardless of product, company, territory, or competition.  Granted, there are those who are snakes and make promises they can't deliver on, but they don't generally last.  The thing that differentiates the true rainmakers from the rest of the pack is their ability to figure out what's really important to the customer and sell the "vision"... make the complex simple, paint a picture of how their product does a better job of addressing the individual needs of that person.

Bielema has to find a "rainmaker" and figure out a way to keep other programs from stealing him away.  For my money, finding a Pittman produces results, but you always knew that it wasn't a long term deal.  Find a guy that is young, home grown, and "gets it".  Sounds easy, but the reality is those guys don't grow on trees.  It may take 5+ years to find one... but I can assure you that you will never find one if you aren't specifically looking for them. 

Usually takes a James Franklin, Bruce Pearl type personality.  I don't dislike BB, but I wish we had Franklin.  Dude recruited to Vanderbilt and now has one of the top classes in the country at PSU.  That's the type guy you need at a school like Arkansas. 

[hogsanity]

A more interesting question is who are these 4 or 5 recruits? I follow recruiting pretty regularly and am not familiar with these players. Please share names and info. Sounds much better than what reports I am hearing or have seen.

I just made up the players, for the sake of the conversation.

[Uncommon]

1. Sell Coach Bielema's stellar APR history at Wisconsin, our +20 APR improvement the one year he's been the head coach, the academic support staff, and the resources they will have available to them for their specific major.  Sell this first since if you win the parents over, you've won 25-50% of the battle depending on the individual.

2. Sell what campus life is like since that is a crucial off the field factor.  Sell the friendly environment the campus exudes.  Have an interactive tour that will show them where they will eat, sleep, study, and hang out with other fellow student and student athletes when it is the offseason.  Inform them of restaurants and fun activities around NWA.

3. Sell Coach Bielema and his accolades while he was at Wisconsin (Big Ten championships and Rose Bowl appearances/championship experience).

4. Sell the SEC and the SEC West.  Best conference in the country and best division of a conference in the country.  Has the most draft picks and most 1st round draft picks.  Sell that the SEC West has won the past 5 SEC Championships and therefore have played in the last 5 national championships.  You'll play against the best therefore you will have more national exposure because of it.  Therefore, you will more than likely be viewed by NFL scouts since that is where the best players and teams are.

5. Sell Arkansas's previous championship contending seasons 2010 and 2011.  Tell them that Arkansas can be that contender once more if we get some more pieces to the puzzle.  We believe you are that piece.

6. Sell the facilities. Sell Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the Fred Smith Football Operations Center, the student athlete academic success center that is currently being built, War Memorial Stadium, our grand weight room, and the practice fields.

7. Sell our rabid and loyal fan base.  Show our high attendance percentages even throughout the last two brutal seasons.  Show a video of the Hog Walk before the 2010 Alabama game and how loud it was at that game after Ronnie Wingo Jr. walked into the end zone.

8. Sell Bielema's Wisconsin NFL success and his recent success at Arkansas with 4 NFL Draft Picks (Travis Swanson, Chris Smith, Kiero Small, and Zach Hocker).  Show the Emory Sports Marketing Analytics research that shows how successful Coach Bielema and Wisconsin were at producing NFL players from players not recruited very hard such as JJ Watt to players who were being recruited hard such as Montee Ball.

9. Show how Wisconsin was able to remain stable as a program throughout most of Coach Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin even when most of his coaching staffs were hired away to other programs due to lack of financial support.

10. Sell Bielema's ability to produce a traditionally BCS caliber team throughout his tenure at Wisconsin.  Also sell some of the program traditions Arkansas has to offer such as great running back success and good offensive line success.

11. Sell the SEC Network and how it will be on every cable and satellite provider (DirecTV is the only major one left).  Also sell how ESPN/ABC perceives the SEC as where college football lives therefore they will be on TV on primetime most weeks.

12. Sell where Forbes had Arkansas within the Top 15 programs in the country as far as monetary resources.  Assure them that we have the resources to be a college football power.  Now all we need are more great players like him to make that happen.

[Music City Hog]

1. Sell Coach Bielema's stellar APR history at Wisconsin, our +20 APR improvement the one year he's been the head coach, the academic support staff, and the resources they will have available to them for their specific major.  Sell this first since if you win the parents over, you've won 25-50% of the battle depending on the individual.

2. Sell what campus life is like since that is a crucial off the field factor.  Sell the friendly environment the campus exudes.  Have an interactive tour that will show them where they will eat, sleep, study, and hang out with other fellow student and student athletes when it is the offseason.  Inform them of restaurants and fun activities around NWA.

3. Sell Coach Bielema and his accolades while he was at Wisconsin (Big Ten championships and Rose Bowl appearances/championship experience).

4. Sell the SEC and the SEC West.  Best conference in the country and best division of a conference in the country.  Has the most draft picks and most 1st round draft picks.  Sell that the SEC West has won the past 5 SEC Championships and therefore have played in the last 5 national championships.  You'll play against the best therefore you will have more national exposure because of it.  Therefore, you will more than likely be viewed by NFL scouts since that is where the best players and teams are.

5. Sell Arkansas's previous championship contending seasons 2010 and 2011.  Tell them that Arkansas can be that contender once more if we get some more pieces to the puzzle.  We believe you are that piece.

6. Sell the facilities. Sell Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, the Fred Smith Football Operations Center, the student athlete academic success center that is currently being built, War Memorial Stadium, our grand weight room, and the practice fields.

7. Sell our rabid and loyal fan base.  Show our high attendance percentages even throughout the last two brutal seasons.  Show a video of the Hog Walk before the 2010 Alabama game and how loud it was at that game after Ronnie Wingo Jr. walked into the end zone.

8. Sell Bielema's Wisconsin NFL success and his recent success at Arkansas with 4 NFL Draft Picks (Travis Swanson, Chris Smith, Kiero Small, and Zach Hocker).  Show the Emory Sports Marketing Analytics research that shows how successful Coach Bielema and Wisconsin were at producing NFL players from players not recruited very hard such as JJ Watt to players who were being recruited hard such as Montee Ball.

9. Show how Wisconsin was able to remain stable as a program throughout most of Coach Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin even when most of his coaching staffs were hired away to other programs due to lack of financial support.

10. Sell Bielema's ability to produce a traditionally BCS caliber team throughout his tenure at Wisconsin.  Also sell some of the program traditions Arkansas has to offer such as great running back success and good offensive line success.

11. Sell the SEC Network and how it will be on every cable and satellite provider (DirecTV is the only major one left).  Also sell how ESPN/ABC perceives the SEC as where college football lives therefore they will be on TV on primetime most weeks.

12. Sell where Forbes had Arkansas within the Top 15 programs in the country as far as monetary resources.  Assure them that we have the resources to be a college football power.  Now all we need are more great players like him to make that happen.

90% of which kids don't care about. 

[Dr. Starcs]

Sell Crystal Bridges. (Not the art museum)
Or tell them Ralphie May represents us.

Oops. Wrong forum. Lol

[CoachBacon]

What about getting Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and/or Jamaal Anderson to reach out to them via Twitter? Instagram? There's definitely something to be said when an NFL star reaches out to you and with social media, it's easier than ever to do so!

[Speedracer]

You can start, go pro in 3 years
You can start, go pro in 3 years
You can start, go pro in 3 years
You can start, go pro in 3 years
You can start, go pro in 3 years

[SPAL]

Arkansas will never outrecruit most of the SEC. We will have some better classes under CBB with better kids In general , but we will always be near the bottom In the SEC. THAT is never going to change. So ideally, you have to have a coach that can maximize that talent. CBP was good at getting the most out of his offense. He wasn't a good recruiter. Its No Surprise that his best talent was in state, but his system allowed him to excel at arkansas.

I believe CBB will recruit better and will develop his talent to  be a effective. Once we start winning and being present in the NFL, we will land more of those big time talents who may think about arkansas, but ultimately go elsewhere. That said, we shouldn't expect to outrecruit most of the SEC. 

[Tusks]

Get some "bag men".

[hogsanity]

What about getting Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and/or Jamaal Anderson to reach out to them via Twitter? Instagram? There's definitely something to be said when an NFL star reaches out to you and with social media, it's easier than ever to do so!

And Bama can do that with their players in the nfl, so can LSu, Auburn, Tn, Ga, Ou, Okie St. Still nothing special there.

[The Kig]

Usually takes a James Franklin, Bruce Pearl type personality.  I don't dislike BB, but I wish we had Franklin.  Dude recruited to Vanderbilt and now has one of the top classes in the country at PSU.  That's the type guy you need at a school like Arkansas. 

Agreed... but doesn't necessarily have to be the HC.  A solid recruiter can be groomed...

Yes, they are the face of the program and people like Franklin sell the program, wherever they are... but Vandy is case in point for a coach punting when a better opportunity came knocking.  Pearl has personality, but he also has shown that he doesn't think all the rules apply to him. 

What I was saying was the CBB needed to recognize the value in finding a rockstar recruiter that he can keep here. 

[footballfan]

If you were hired to be the closer on football recruits


This would be me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZg_ALxEz0

I am an alpha that no doubt rules in every possible way.

[Country Stylz]

For the last 15 years or so our recruiting pitch has been "hushpuppies"

[GalaHawg]

1. Cash money
2. Hot girls
3. NFL in three years

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Do like I used to do with women it worked every time.  You act disinterested like they are lucky to be getting your time and if they turn down your offer there are dozens of other waiting to take their place.  I don't need you, you need me.

[Al Boarland]

Unfortunately, the only thing we have to sell right now is what UTenn is selling.  Playing time and the "you can build something here" pitch.  Seems like they are doing a better job of selling it.

[Country Stylz]

I've come to the conclusion during the last decade plus that we are a school that the NCAA doesn't allow to cheat. Auburn and Alabama they will turn a blind eye to. If we try it they will come down on us hard. I'm interested to see how we will compete once the SEC breaks away from the NCAA.

[Paul]

For the last 15 years or so our recruiting pitch has been "hushpuppies"

So true & kinda sad

[Tusks]

1. Cash money
2. Hot girls
3. NFL in three years

[Country Stylz]

So true & kinda sad

"I got them hushpuppies right hur!"

[footballfan]

I've come to the conclusion during the last decade plus that we are a school that the NCAA doesn't allow to cheat. Auburn and Alabama they will turn a blind eye to. If we try it they will come down on us hard. I'm interested to see how we will compete once the SEC breaks away from the NCAA.

Horse crap. There's no conspiracy against us. We just have a terrible recruiting situation and have hired terrible recruiters, which magnifies the problem.

[Country Stylz]

Horse crap. There's no conspiracy against us. We just have a terrible recruiting situation and have hired terrible recruiters, which magnifies the problem.

We have awesome facilities, Fayetteville is freaking beautiful, we play in the SEC, what is so bad about our situation? Enlighten me?

[Piggfoot]

I've come to the conclusion during the last decade plus that we are a school that the NCAA doesn't allow to cheat. Auburn and Alabama they will turn a blind eye to. If we try it they will come down on us hard. I'm interested to see how we will compete once the SEC breaks away from the NCAA.

We've been in the NCAA doghouse since Broyles was duplicitous with the NCAA investigation of the Ted Harrod case. Broyles lost respect with them after that. Our football and Basketball recruiting suffered.  That is why we can't afford to do anything that is not on the up and up.

[Al Boarland]

We have awesome facilities, Fayetteville is freaking beautiful, we play in the SEC, what is so bad about our situation? Enlighten me?

See the bold text for your answer.

[1highhog]

Playing time
Playing time
Playing time

.....and titties.   Lot's and lot's of titties. 

I hope you're not talking about the Bottoms Up club, 

[Speedracer]

I hope you're not talking about the Bottoms Up club, 

Haha! Haven't heard that name in years.

[Country Stylz]

We've been in the NCAA doghouse since Broyles was duplicitous with the NCAA investigation of the Ted Harrod case. Broyles lost respect with them after that. Our football and Basketball recruiting suffered.  That is why we can't afford to do anything that is not on the up and up.

Didn't the Ted Harrod case pale in comparison to other schools violations? Didn't we just overpay some athletes by a few hundred dollars? Auburn paid 180,000 for Cam Newton. Johnny Football is running around making thousands signing autographs. Nothing done to them. We have been getting screwed.

[footballfan]

We have awesome facilities, Fayetteville is freaking beautiful, we play in the SEC, what is so bad about our situation? Enlighten me?

Our football facilities (with stadium included) rank behind Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, LSU, and probably Tennessee and A&M when they get done- maybe even South Carolina. All those teams are in states that produce MUCH more talent than Arkansas. Whether a college down is "pretty" ranks pretty low on these kids radars when deciding where to go. All those teams except A&M have produced more draft picks than us in the last ten years. We've also produced 7 first rounders since we joined the sec, behind the big 6 and tied with south carolina.