http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/01/recruiting_season_means_lots_o.html#incart_river_home_pop
The Southeastern Conference head coach was feeling sick but recruiting never stops, and that meant an in-home visit with a top target.
As the head coach met with the family of the desired player, he saw dinner had already been prepared.
Chicken curry.
He knew he had to eat it to avoid possibly offending the family, but it was the last thing he wanted at that moment.
"I needed that like I needed a hole in my head," he said laughing about the whole experience.
During the hectic recruiting months of December and January, college coaches are on the road a lot trying to convince high school players to come to their school. As the saying goes, recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, and that makes signing the top players essential to long-term success. It means going into homes and sharing a meal with the player and his family, anything to better the chances of signing a highly-regarded 17-year old kid.
As college coaches told AL.com, that usually means eating a lot in January. Sometimes the food is good, and sometimes it is not.
"One of the most different would probably be nachos and cheese," said Alabama offensive line coach Brent Key. "With some jalapenos on top."
"I've had it all," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "A lot of the same things."
Bobby Williams got his first college coaching job in 1982, and his career has taken him everywhere from Michigan State to the Miami Dolphins to his current role as a special assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama.
As he went from place to place, he experienced all kinds of different cuisine during his recruiting travels. Years later, he can still remember his first recruiting trip down to Louisiana. Not only is the state known as an important recruiting area, but offers a diverse, even eclectic collection of food staples. That presented a challenge as he walked into one recruit's home and sat down for dinner.
"We had a meal once, and I had no idea what I was eating," Williams said. "He just said sit there and eat it."
The coach's leap of faith was rewarded. He later found out it was boudin balls with rice and red gravy. "It was very good, very spicy."
Alabama running backs coach Burton Burns relishes any chance he gets to visit the Bayou State. The New Orleans native, who signed running back Eddie Lacy and linebacker Tim Williams among others, knows he'll get a great meal each time he has to visit his recruiting territory in Louisiana.
"Being a Louisiana guy, I know what the good food is," Burns said. "When you go into a home visit, you know it's going to be a good meal."
There is a certain amount of pride attached to serving a good meal to visiting coaches. Five-star Alabama signee Tua Tagovailoa served pork chops, lawlaw and rice when Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian made the trip to Hawaii. When Kirby Smart went in-home with Georgia quarterback signee Jake Fromm, a former Alabama commit, he was treated to a catered meal of pulled pork, brisket, turkey and sausage. "We had a whole big bang," Fromm said. "It was really good food."
Carolyn Williams, Tim's mother, went all out when Saban dropped into Baton Rouge for an in-home visit with the then-four-star recruit.
"He got that Louisiana special," Tim Williams said. "Crawfish etouffee and everything. My mom always brings that 'A' game. Coach Saban had to pick up that fork to get that food."
**
When recruiting is in its full throes, college coaches could make multiple in-home visits on a single day.
That often means multiple big meals on the same day, sometimes as many as four or five.
"You get fat," said Clemson special teams coordinator Danny Pearman.
It puts a coach's dietary routine to the test, with some staying true and others giving in to the temptation.
"Tosh doesn't eat it," Alabama's Key said. "He eats protein bars."
"Seeds," said Alabama co-defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi. "Sunflower seeds."
"Look at me," said Key, a former Georgia Tech offensive guard. "You come in the morning, and they offer you biscuits and gravy. I'm going to eat the biscuits and gravy. Tosh is going to eat a little bit."
"Sunflower seeds and coffee," said Lupoi who ranks as Alabama's top recruiter this cycle.
"At lunch, go get a big sandwich," Key said, "I'm going to eat the sandwich. Dinner I'm going to load down with pasta and eat it all. You have to be nice; mama taught you that. Mama taught you not to be rude so you can't turn down food."
Key, who spent a decade at Central Florida before coming to Alabama, has enjoyed good food all over the country because of recruiting. He currently recruits parts of Florida and Alabama for the Crimson Tide, but fondly remembers exquisite Italian dishes eaten in New York City. The Alabama native states plainly, though, that "you can't beat the South" and rattles off fried fish, fried steak, fried chicken, hush puppies, mashed potatoes and casseroles as just a few of the foods he's enjoyed during in-home visits down south.
To no one's surprise, the food offered during in-home visits usually isn't the healthiest. And not only is the intake of said food high, but the time to work out is limited. Coaches spend a lot of time traveling -- planes and cars, mostly -- and sitting in living rooms and gymnasiums. Some like Lupoi, who looks like he could still play defensive line despite his Cal career ending more than a decade ago, are diligent about creating time to exercise.
But it isn't easy.
"Staying in shape and getting a workout in that's the toughest time of the year," said Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier who is expected to become Arizona State's offensive coordinator. "When you are on the grind and moving from city to city and school to school, it requires a lot of self-discipline. Definitely an issue."
Said Burton Burns: "The road is always a challenge."
Pearman, who previously coached at Alabama in the 1990s, accepts the fate of this time of year. When asked about how coaches try to keep off the pounds in the final weeks leading up to National Signing Day, his answer summed it all up perfectly.
"You don't," he said. "You wait until after recruiting and try to lose it then."
The Southeastern Conference head coach was feeling sick but recruiting never stops, and that meant an in-home visit with a top target.
As the head coach met with the family of the desired player, he saw dinner had already been prepared.
Chicken curry.
He knew he had to eat it to avoid possibly offending the family, but it was the last thing he wanted at that moment.
"I needed that like I needed a hole in my head," he said laughing about the whole experience.
During the hectic recruiting months of December and January, college coaches are on the road a lot trying to convince high school players to come to their school. As the saying goes, recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, and that makes signing the top players essential to long-term success. It means going into homes and sharing a meal with the player and his family, anything to better the chances of signing a highly-regarded 17-year old kid.
As college coaches told AL.com, that usually means eating a lot in January. Sometimes the food is good, and sometimes it is not.
"One of the most different would probably be nachos and cheese," said Alabama offensive line coach Brent Key. "With some jalapenos on top."
"I've had it all," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "A lot of the same things."
Bobby Williams got his first college coaching job in 1982, and his career has taken him everywhere from Michigan State to the Miami Dolphins to his current role as a special assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama.
As he went from place to place, he experienced all kinds of different cuisine during his recruiting travels. Years later, he can still remember his first recruiting trip down to Louisiana. Not only is the state known as an important recruiting area, but offers a diverse, even eclectic collection of food staples. That presented a challenge as he walked into one recruit's home and sat down for dinner.
"We had a meal once, and I had no idea what I was eating," Williams said. "He just said sit there and eat it."
The coach's leap of faith was rewarded. He later found out it was boudin balls with rice and red gravy. "It was very good, very spicy."
Alabama running backs coach Burton Burns relishes any chance he gets to visit the Bayou State. The New Orleans native, who signed running back Eddie Lacy and linebacker Tim Williams among others, knows he'll get a great meal each time he has to visit his recruiting territory in Louisiana.
"Being a Louisiana guy, I know what the good food is," Burns said. "When you go into a home visit, you know it's going to be a good meal."
There is a certain amount of pride attached to serving a good meal to visiting coaches. Five-star Alabama signee Tua Tagovailoa served pork chops, lawlaw and rice when Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian made the trip to Hawaii. When Kirby Smart went in-home with Georgia quarterback signee Jake Fromm, a former Alabama commit, he was treated to a catered meal of pulled pork, brisket, turkey and sausage. "We had a whole big bang," Fromm said. "It was really good food."
Carolyn Williams, Tim's mother, went all out when Saban dropped into Baton Rouge for an in-home visit with the then-four-star recruit.
"He got that Louisiana special," Tim Williams said. "Crawfish etouffee and everything. My mom always brings that 'A' game. Coach Saban had to pick up that fork to get that food."
**
When recruiting is in its full throes, college coaches could make multiple in-home visits on a single day.
That often means multiple big meals on the same day, sometimes as many as four or five.
"You get fat," said Clemson special teams coordinator Danny Pearman.
It puts a coach's dietary routine to the test, with some staying true and others giving in to the temptation.
"Tosh doesn't eat it," Alabama's Key said. "He eats protein bars."
"Seeds," said Alabama co-defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi. "Sunflower seeds."
"Look at me," said Key, a former Georgia Tech offensive guard. "You come in the morning, and they offer you biscuits and gravy. I'm going to eat the biscuits and gravy. Tosh is going to eat a little bit."
"Sunflower seeds and coffee," said Lupoi who ranks as Alabama's top recruiter this cycle.
"At lunch, go get a big sandwich," Key said, "I'm going to eat the sandwich. Dinner I'm going to load down with pasta and eat it all. You have to be nice; mama taught you that. Mama taught you not to be rude so you can't turn down food."
Key, who spent a decade at Central Florida before coming to Alabama, has enjoyed good food all over the country because of recruiting. He currently recruits parts of Florida and Alabama for the Crimson Tide, but fondly remembers exquisite Italian dishes eaten in New York City. The Alabama native states plainly, though, that "you can't beat the South" and rattles off fried fish, fried steak, fried chicken, hush puppies, mashed potatoes and casseroles as just a few of the foods he's enjoyed during in-home visits down south.
To no one's surprise, the food offered during in-home visits usually isn't the healthiest. And not only is the intake of said food high, but the time to work out is limited. Coaches spend a lot of time traveling -- planes and cars, mostly -- and sitting in living rooms and gymnasiums. Some like Lupoi, who looks like he could still play defensive line despite his Cal career ending more than a decade ago, are diligent about creating time to exercise.
But it isn't easy.
"Staying in shape and getting a workout in that's the toughest time of the year," said Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier who is expected to become Arizona State's offensive coordinator. "When you are on the grind and moving from city to city and school to school, it requires a lot of self-discipline. Definitely an issue."
Said Burton Burns: "The road is always a challenge."
Pearman, who previously coached at Alabama in the 1990s, accepts the fate of this time of year. When asked about how coaches try to keep off the pounds in the final weeks leading up to National Signing Day, his answer summed it all up perfectly.
"You don't," he said. "You wait until after recruiting and try to lose it then."
