College Football 2012: 7 New Coaches Looking to Expand Their Recruiting Prowess

As usual, this winter we saw coaching changes at various programs throughout the country.

It's a part of the game and the business of coaching.

We have several head coaches at new schools that have a chance to do some damage on the recruiting trail. Whether it's a coach moving from a mid-major to a major FBS school or a known coach that has a chance to show if he can recruit at his new school, expanding recruiting prowess is the subject.

Here are seven coaches at new schools who have a chance to bolster their recruiting swagger.

Paul Chryst (Pitt)

Chryst was the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin the past several seasons and now takes over as lead Panther in Pittsburgh.

He already showed he can hold onto a 5-star prospect by convincing Rushel Shell to sign with Pitt last year. 

Wisconsin isn't a sexy school in recruiting, but the Badgers find guys that fit their profile. Chryst has a chance to do just that while also tapping into the rich talent that lies within the Key Stone State. 

Hugh Freeze (Ole Miss)

Freeze was the offensive coordinator in Oxford a few years ago, so he knows how to recruit at Ole Miss.

He got DE Channing Ward to come to Ole Miss last year, received a commitment this year from safety Antonio Allen and has made inroads with DB Antonio Conner.

A very talented coach, Freeze has what it takes to start to make some noise in SEC recruiting.

Tim Beckman (Illinois)

Beckman takes over for Ron Zook at Illinois, coming over from Toledo. Just the fact of being in a high-profile Big Ten program will help Beckman in recruiting.

He has to attack the Chicago area, of course, and then branch out around the Midwest. Having better resources than what he had at Toledo gives him a chance to really spread his recruiting wings.

Charlie Weis (Kansas)

I thought Weis would choose to stick around at Florida for awhile, but he likely feels he's a head coach at heart.

So, he left for Kansas.

We saw the classes and offensive talent Weis assembled at Notre Dame, but at Kansas, he won't have the resources and national acclaim he enjoyed with the Fighting Irish.

If Weis can recruit at Kansas—a perennially lowly ranked recruiting program—half as good as he did in South Bend, then his recruiting legacy will certainly be enhanced. 

Mike Leach (Washington State)

Leach was at Texas Tech when he really became a known head coach, and now he's at Wazzu.

The Cougars are not a sexy school in Pac-12 recruiting, but they could be a sleeping giant. In a passing conference, Leach certainly will attract good QBs, RBs and pass-catching TEs.

In time, he'll sell the Cougar program and the small-town feel of Pullman and get some good players to Wazzu.

Larry Fedora (North Carolina)

Fedora took the Tar Heel job last winter, bolting from Southern Mississippi.

He has extreme passion for what UNC has to offer, and I think he could transform this sleeping giant of a program into a productive one that will attract recruits.

UNC has great facilities, and we all know there's great talent in the Carolina region. Fedora's energy and the resources he now has available to him at UNC could exponentially increase his recruiting prowess. 

Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M)

Last year, Mike Sherman got off to a great start in recruiting and had a top-10 class in the works before he got fired.

Kevin Sumlin did an excellent job of keeping just about all of the class intact upon his arrival in College Station. That really showed that Sumlin knew A&M isn't Houston and that he needed all the talent he could get.

A&M has a great new class working this year, and Sumlin is showing he can get it done for the Aggies on the trail. With Texas A&M moving into the SEC—and being located in the super hot-bed state of Texas—Sumlin may have hit the jackpot.