Is recruiting just a numbers game?

[BigRedBeliever]

According to Rivals recruiting website for the Huskers, it shows 294 known offers which have went out for the 2018 class.

Of those 294 offers, we have had 59 official visits scheduled. In other words for every five offers we can get one official visit or a 20% close rate.

Of those 59 official visits we have 14 commits to date. In other words for every 4.2 visits we get a commit or a 24% close rate.

In summary for every 21 offers we can get one commit.

With ten assistant coaches, they have to work an average of just over 29 athletes each to get a commit.

Its kind of like sales, one has to do marketing to see if an athlete is a good fit for us, work him and develop a relationship, get an official visit and eventually get a commit. We have to work the numbers in order to get the type of class we want.

I know our coaches will work the system like no other. They expect our players to work hard, I know the coaches will work very hard as well.

 

[barney44]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

 

[RedSea]

Well clearly it is partly a numbers game. But it also depends on who you ask.

 

[21Husker1984]

Someone should email this info to recruiting@huskers/scott.frost;jpeg and give them these statistics. Good stuff.

 

[dinglefritz]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

That's not how the story goes. The question is a little different than that.

 

[Solana Beach Husker]

Mack Brown might offer 50 kids and get 20 commits...Florida has a top class despite having a horrible year and settling for their 3rd candidate...its all about location and perception. NU will rarely have shiny classes, we had a few in 95-98 when we were a dynasty, we do need to pull some great players at times because some of our all time greats were top 25 players in the nation at their position. The real challenge will be to decide how much time to spend on the top 20-30 players in the nation because talent(especially at QB, and on the lines) still wins championships.

 

[Bugeater]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

I got a lot of wrong numbers!

 

[Yolobomb]

We can get players like Suh and Lavonte David here. There is no reason to not go after them.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

You must have read the book "How to Pick Up Women". That was the theme throughout - you can't make the sales if you don't make the calls.

 

[redfanusa]

I think to a degree it is a numbers game. However, I think actually getting a commitment takes time, and relationship building. I don't think you can just throw out 500 offers, sit on them, not have any contact with the recruit, and expect to have any success. Better to identify recruits early, stay in contact with them, build a relationship, and seal the deal on their official visit or in-home.

Also, I think it is important to identify a lost cause and avoid wasting your time. If a kid lives in Mississippi, both of his parents went to Ole Miss, and he's a life-long Ole Miss fan who has dreamed of playing there his whole life, it's better to just move on. I don't know how the NU AD tracks recruits, but I would think the better recruiters have some sort of database where they track everything. Knowing that a recruit's aunt was sick before making a call can really help connect with a guy. "How's your Aunt?" That sort of thing. It would take a lot of organization to track hundreds of recruits.

 

[Sinomatic]

I was a Navy recruiter for a little while, and you have to be constantly moving to get activity in recruitment.

Some months I could make 150 calls and not get one one person wanting to come in for an interview. But some months I could make 5 phone calls and make goal in 2 weeks.

If those averages are correct in the past then I hope they improve. But from what I've seen from SF QB recruiting is he seems to know how to land good QB recruits, and that is fantastic.

 

[Nebraska Fan]

Having your name out there 294 times is better then 94. Even if it's unlikely you land the kids you send to the HS coach knows your interested in his product.

 

[GretnaShawn]

It’s essentially sales. So yeah, it’s a numbers game. But people buy from people. So it is also about relationships. Relationships help improve the numbers a hell of a lot.

 

[vs540husker]

Keep in mind, those numbers aren't crazy. Georgia for example offered 289 recruits this year. Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, etc. are all similar.
The only ones that stood out were Alabama and Clemson for both being very short offer lists. But with their recent success and "special incentives programs" that's to be expected that they can be far more selective.

 

[FeelingFrosty]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

What if they all say no?

 

[BigRedBeliever]

Keep in mind, those numbers aren't crazy. Georgia for example offered 289 recruits this year. Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, etc. are all similar.
The only ones that stood out were Alabama and Clemson for both being very short offer lists. But with their recent success and "special incentives programs" that's to be expected that they can be far more selective.

Can you discuss what those "program" are?

 

[Dean Pope]

Ask one girl at the bar for her # and you might leave disappointed. Ask 10 and you may be surprised..

Or the Foster Sarell and Cav example, spend all night at the bar making conversation with someone else's fiancee. Ignore the other good looking chicks around and while leave the bar alone (again), you brag to your friends that she called you a "nice guy" and "a friend".

 

[z28craz]

It’s not kind of like sales, it is sales. A certain, small percentage of clients (recruits) are going to buy your product or service simply because they know, they love it, and wouldn’t change for anything. Then there’s another small percentage that will never try your product or service because they have it elsewhere and their loyalties lie elsewhere. Then the overwhelming majority are all leads who have varying degrees of want and willingness to consider your product or service and it all comes down to the value you provide along with that product or service. Recruiting is no different.

 

[Crushinator]

What if they all say no?

Aim lower or develop an appreciation for manual labor

 

[vs540husker]

Can you discuss what those "program" are?

Bama handing out cars to virtually everyone and two assistant coaches getting caught directly paying recruits and paying players families bills.
Dabo's mega church that he's a prominent member of, fired it's pastor after finding out he was funneling money to Clemson recruits/players.

 

[barney44]

What if they all say no?

Ask 10 more..

 

[barney44]

That's not how the story goes. The question is a little different than that.

It's still fun to say..

 

[barney44]

You must have read the book "How to Pick Up Women". That was the theme throughout - you can't make the sales if you don't make the calls.

I had a buddy when we were younger who followed that line of thinking. Soon as we went in to a bar he had to go talk to all the women he could and the guy never had trouble picking them up.

 

[barney44]

Bama handing out cars to virtually everyone and two assistant coaches getting caught directly paying recruits and paying players families bills.
Dabo's mega church that he's a prominent member of, fired it's pastor after finding out he was funneling money to Clemson recruits/players.

Cheating? Noooooooooo....

 

[BigRedBeliever]

Bama handing out cars to virtually everyone and two assistant coaches getting caught directly paying recruits and paying players families bills.
Dabo's mega church that he's a prominent member of, fired it's pastor after finding out he was funneling money to Clemson recruits/players.

I talked to an ex-FSU player at a restaurant while wearing my Husker gear. He said oftentimes before/after practices there would be cash in their helmets and lockers.

 

[FeelingFrosty]

Ask 10 more..

Just being realistic. You'd probably get kicked out of the bar by then.

 

[Scrunge68]

Those numbers are exceptionally skewed this year because we basically had to different staffs recruiting 2 separate type of players between the old and the new. Frost came in and put out a bunch of new offers. In a normal year you wouldn't be putting putting out all those extra offers because you would already have your board set up and have laid a solid ground work and built relationships.

 

[nebcountry]

Yes, it is a salesman numbers game. There's no reason to only look at 2018 offers. Here's previous years according to Rivals:

2017 290 offers
2016 266 offers
2015 253 offers
2014 308 offers
2013 236 offers
And I stopped there.

Unless you have potential recruits so devoted to NU that they commit on the initial offer, they're casting a big net and gauging interest.

Of course there's a lot of work and communication going into the recruitment process. But if you never ask, you don't get.

 

[BigRedBeliever]

Yes, it is a salesman numbers game. There's no reason to only look at 2018 offers. Here's previous years according to Rivals:

2017 290 offers
2016 266 offers
2015 253 offers
2014 308 offers
2013 236 offers
And I stopped there.

Unless you have potential recruits so devoted to NU that they commit on the initial offer, they're casting a big net and gauging interest.

Of course there's a lot of work and communication going into the recruitment process. But if you never ask, you don't get.

As a result, our coaches need to work harder and smarter than coaches on other teams. No taking the day off but work it hard when they can.

I noticed OSU only takes 4 in-state players. If they can travel the country, so can we. But the big difference maker is the scheme and the close relationships our coaching staff brings to the table. I'm so excited about our team and what it can do in the future.

 

[TheBeav815]

Part of it is a numbers game, but there's also a ton more to it than that. If you only offered 30 guys, that would be a BAD cycle. But if you offered any 300 guys willy nilly, that's not how it works, either.

You need to target good players and good fits for your system, but you also have to be ready for a bunch of them not to be interested in your school.