At Auburn University, football coaches often are mobbed along with their players during the pregame “Tiger Walk” to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
In late April, Auburn’s coaches were swarmed on the open road.
Determined to combat recent shortcomings against rival Alabama in recruiting, Auburn’s new coaching staff spent four days touring high schools throughout the state in a Hummer stretch limousine. The ploy was praised by Auburn fans and ridiculed by Crimson Tide counterparts, but it gained significant attention for the Tigers, which was certainly part of the intent.
“After the first day, we had folks following us on the interstate and taking pictures,” Auburn secondary coach Phillip Lolley said. “Everybody started wondering if their school was going to be next. We drew some crowds.”
The unique tour occurred during the NCAA’s spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 to May 31 and allows coaches to be on the road for four of those six weeks. No more than seven coaches can be on the road at the same time, and they are not allowed to have prolonged face-to-face contact with prospects.
Lolley, running backs coach Curtis Luper and receivers coach Trooper Taylor were the only assistants who spent all four days in the limo.
“Everybody was recruiting pretty hard the whole time,” said Lolley, former North Jackson High School head coach. “There was really no time to relax. We were on the phones with coaches of schools that we would be attending, but we were also on the phones with out-of-state coaches that we couldn’t get to. We were constantly recruiting.”
Auburn followed its trek around the state with last weekend’s “Big Cat Weekend,” in which 21 recruits attended a rolling of Toomer’s Corner downtown — an autumn tradition after victories. Athletic department officials are looking into whether aspects of that event may have resulted in any NCAA secondary violations.
Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg believes Auburn’s recent recruiting tactics have been gimmicky but great.
“It was thinking outside the box, and that’s what Auburn needs,” Newberg said. “With the last two recruiting classes, Alabama has literally kicked their butts in in-state recruiting, especially with the elite kids. I’ve got all the respect in the world for (former coach) Tommy Tuberville and his staff, but that’s just the facts.
“That limousine will keep Auburn in the minds of kids, especially in the day and age when recruiting is every day.”
Alabama signed the state’s top seven prospects in February after signing the top five last year, while Auburn didn’t sign a single top-10 recruit either year. Auburn’s 17-10 win over the Tide at Jordan-Hare in ’07 was its sixth straight in the heated series, but Alabama emphatically halted that run last year with a 36-0 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The state’s top prospect for 2010, Millbrook cornerback DeMarcus Milliner, was excited to receive a visit from the limo.
“They pulled up in the Hummer, and it looked like it was off ‘Pimp My Ride.’ It was big,” Milliner told Rivals.com. “Students and teachers went out there and took pictures with the coaches and were trying to get autographs.”
It wasn’t enough, however, as Milliner committed Thursday to Alabama.
Recruiting in a limo was not new for Luper and Taylor, who did it for a day last year at Oklahoma State. New Auburn head coach Gene Chizik approved the plan, even though it contrasted his low profile to that point.
“Gene is a tremendous recruiter, and most coaches on this staff are tremendous recruiters,” Lolley said. “The whole deal is to get kids who want to come to Auburn, and not for just football. We want a family atmosphere, and it’s going to be a situation where we’re going to have to work very hard. That fits Gene’s personality.
“Plus, you just can’t stay the same in this game.”
Auburn’s signing class in February was ranked 19th by Rivals.com, but aspirations are much higher for 2010. The nation’s top three tailbacks — Lache Seastrunk (5-11, 192) of Temple, Texas; Marcus Lattimore (5-11, 210) of Duncan, S.C.; and Michael Dyer (5-8, 201) of Little Rock, Ark. — all have taken multiple visits to Auburn this year.
Luper’s father is Seastrunk’s pastor, and Dyer is being recruited by offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who held the same job at Arkansas in 2007.
“I don’t see them getting all three, but I think they can pull one and maybe two,” Newberg said. “Malzahn had success with two backs at Arkansas with Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, so that’s what they’re selling these kids on. That and being the next Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown.
“There is a long way to go, but at this juncture they’re looking good for all three.”
