Brand Recognition = Everything: Social Media presence and functionality means just about everything in this day and age, especially when trying to attract the minds and hearts of teenagers. There are many “secret sauces” out there when it comes to what works and what doesn’t, and to get this post-NSD party started, here’s a little diddy about Penn State and their ability to get it done: https://www.inflcr.com/2019/02/05/penn-state-turns-to-inflcr-for-recruiting-boost/
Euro Step–Pigskin Style: We mentioned last week about Notre Dame (and others) that are making their way across the pond in search of that untapped mine, that honey-hole that’s going to produce the next best thing whether it’s from the trenches, or special teams, or even skill-spots in some cases. We mentioned that Germany was one of the hottest places for that trend, and with the proximity to another “foot”ball crazy country, Austria, one young man, and a school in the Rockies, found their guy. We invite you to read this story by Bud Elliot about Valentin Senn, a 6-7/280-lb OT that landed at Colorado: https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2019/1/2/18164134/valentin-senn-colorado-austria-gridiron-imports
This May Come As A Surprise: Believe it or not, there’s still some schools out there that have never had the honor of experiencing what it’s like to have one of those dudes with five stars next to their names. Some of these schools may surprise in a good way, and some may cause you to sit down and weep. Check it out: https://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2019/2/1/18204154/five-star-recruits-all-time
Friends in Low (or High) Places: Welp. The breakdowns are starting to pour in from all corners of the recruiting landscape as to how everyone did over the the two signing days from December and now yesterday. Some may be in complete rejoice, while others are literally looking for a place to hide or for someone to do something stupid and turn the attention away from them. (Hint: It’s like, half the ACC) One of our favorite follows on Twitter is @PickSixPreviews, and they produced some good stuff as always. Let’s give you a taste. Schools that experienced a 5-year high in recruiting yesterday were Texas A&M (4th), Oklahoma (6th), Oregon (7th), Florida (9th), Nebraska (20th), Purdue (#25), Wisconsin (27th), Indiana (38th), Virginia (39th), Iowa State (46th), and Boston College at 58th. Teams that wish this cycle never happened, experiencing 5-year lows were as follows: Ohio State (14th), Notre Dame (15th), Southern Cal (18th), FSU (19th), Miami (28th), North Carolina (32nd), UCLA (43rd), Pittsburgh (54th), Maryland (59th), Washington State (63rd), and Louisville at 73rd. One note on Ohio State they make mention of, is that while the size (quantity) of Ohio State’s class is what hurt them so much, their per player average (aka quality) was third.
