College Football Recruiting: Cassanova McKinzy and the Role of Food

Before we dive deep into college football’s fastest growing trend, I must first preface this discussion with an admission: I love food. All types of food. Good food, bad food, unhealthy food, cheap food, expensive food and most of all, free food.

It appears I am not the only one that shares these sentiments. Shocking, really.

College football recruiting is competitive; it’s dirty; and it’s also a business. This business generates interest and obscene amounts of money for online locations that’s sole purpose is to report what hat a 17-year-old is considering wearing while he ponders his future over a podium.

These services have yielded detailed accounts of the recruiting process, and they have given us the opportunity to dive deep into the minds of these athletes.

Gone are the days of speculating if a recruit will choose a school for academics (pardon my seizure due to excessive evil laughter) or other perceived matters that once loomed large in this decision-making process.

There’s a reason that Oregon wears their technicolor spacesuits every so often, and there’s at least intent with Maryland’s collaborated attempt to portray themselves as a Medieval Times act. It’s intended to garner attention, blog posts, buzz, etc., and it's a tactic to appear cool to Joey Next Big Thing.

The latest recruiting trend, however, goes beyond being able to see your reflection in a helmet, the $25 million you just spent on your new university weight room, and a coach’s prestige. Shout out to all my "NCAA ’12" players on that last one.

It involves food, and more specifically the location and/or lack of specific restaurants on campus.

Birmingham, Ala., linebacker Cassanova McKinzy made National Signing Day headlines earlier this month when he chose Auburn over Clemson. This wasn’t what had the media clucking, but his reasoning for picking one school over the other certainly did.

"They had no Chick-Fil-A on campus," McKinzy said regarding Clemson. "You had to go 15 minutes off-campus to go to a real restaurant."

It turns out Clemson does indeed have a Chick-Fil-A on campus, something that became very apparent shortly after McKinzy signed his letter of intent. His fast food awareness, while certainly in need of improvement, wasn’t the real story here, and his reasoning went viral.

Instead, it was the fact that Chick-Fil-A (or perhaps the perceived lack thereof) was playing a role in recruiting.

Fun Fact: Auburn and Clemson will kick off the 2012 season on September 1  in a Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. The winner will receive an important first win of the season, valuable momentum and a trophy made of spicy chicken sandwiches. One of these is completely untrue, but I refuse to reveal the answer.

One out-of-nowhere decision from a player certainly doesn’t create a trend, but Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn has also added a few briquettes to the fire. Malzahn unexpectedly bolted Auburn for Jonesboro and is now recruiting as a head coach for the very first time.

When asked about his recruiting efforts by Jim Dunaway and the JOX Roundtable in Birmingham, Malzahn highlighted the eating establishments as a selling point for recruits.

“It’s got every eatin’ place that you’d want from Olive Garden to P.F. Chang's to everything as far as that goes.”

One would think that Malzahn’s BCS Championship ring would be a bigger carrot than bottomless breadsticks, but clearly he’s using every bullet in his recently acquired gun.

These developments have prompted the creation of the restaurant checklist, a must for all universities starting in 2012. If schools do not meet the requirements, then they could be seriously jeopardizing losing talented players and damaging their reputation in the future.

Our research (a chart colored in Crayola crayons with fuzzy stickers on it) shows that this will only become more prevalent in the coming years.

The Restaurant Checklist (aka The Five Star)

You Must Have a Chick-Fil-A Nearby: It’s magnificent, plain and simple. It’s already cost one school a player, and you don’t want to be the next Clemson. Nick Saban just read this and will soon have a Chick-Fil-A installed in his team’s locker room. The school won’t ask questions, and it will be built in three days.

Barbecue Can (and Should) Be Your Best Friend: There’s a reason why the SEC gets all the best players. It’s not because of the weather, beautiful women or the fact that they’re seemingly dominating college football. It’s because of BBQ, and not just BBQ, but quality BBQ.

“If in doubt, cook a pig and smother it in deliciousness.”—Abraham Lincoln, probably

Provide Options, Lots of ‘Em: We might as well call this the Gus Malzahn Rule, because he’s pointing out a very crucial part to all of this. Stopping with just two very different types of food, however, is simply not enough. If you can recommend a good Thai restaurant within five minutes of your quad, you are golden.

Forget the Steakhouse, It’s All About Price: Having a fancy option or two for the right occasion is fine, the parents love it, but overload on these and you’re asking for trouble. Instead, be very aware that the college athletes do not have deep pockets (unless you’re paying them) to consume filets regularly.

P.F. Chang’s should be the ceiling in terms of cost. Work down from there.

No-Limit Consumption: Anything that includes “bottomless,” “endless,” “all-you-can-eat” or even “buffet” (as long as it’s up to standards) is a wonderful thing. In fact, this stretches well beyond this exercise. 

Please, do your part and spread the word. The success of your school of choice could depend on it.