Power Ranking the 10 Best Recruiting Coordinators in College Football

Recruiting coordinators are almost as important to a program as the head coach. Many head coaches find themselves so busy with the million things they have to do every day that they need someone to oversee the day to day duties of the recruiting operations of the program.

Not every program lists a recruiting coordinator, but those that do appoint coaches who put together the recruiting plan for the program, manages the rest of the staff's recruiting duties and keeps the head coach updated on where the program stands with each player it is recruiting, among many other responsibilities.

The title isn't listed on every staff, so for this read I chose to stick to the coaches who officially have the title of "Recruiting Coordinator" only.

Here are the top 10 recruiting coordinators right now.

10. Peter Sirmon, Washington

Sirmon coaches linebackers for Steve Sarkisian and helps Justin Wilcox with defensive game-planning duties, but his top responsibility is coordinating U-Dub's recruiting efforts.

He's got great help to run the recruiting outfit for the Huskies as DL coach Tosh Lupoi is one of the top recruiters in the game today. Sirmon coordinated a staff of recruiters who brought in a top 25 class for Sark in 2013.

9. George Barlow and Josh Gattis, Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt recruiting has ascended and these two play a big part in the football renaissance taking place in Nashville.

Barlow runs the defensive recruiting board for James Franklin, while Gattis is in charge of offensive recruiting.

Franklin has a ton of energy and is always attacking the trail, but these two are the top two assistants who point him in the right direction.

Barlow and Gattis are huge reasons why the Commodores have brought in two consecutive top 30 recruiting classes (No. 19 in 2013 and No. 29 in 2012), according to Rivals.com

8. Bruce Chambers, Texas

Chambers has been helping coordinate Longhorn recruiting since 2005. He's been with Texas for 15 years and has connections to high schools all over the Lone Star State.

Mack Brown is a great recruiter via the phone, Skyping and in-person communication. It's Chambers who helps coordinate the staff's legwork of sorting through which prospects should be brought to Brown's attention.

It's not overly hard to recruit at Texas, but Chambers helps makes things even easier. Larry Porter will help going forward.

7. Joker Phillips, Florida

Phillips is only ranked this low because he hasn't been on the job for long. Will Muschamp hired him on as the WR coach/recruiting coordinator for the Gators just a few weeks before national signing day.

Yet, Phillips was part of a staff that brought in the No. 2 recruiting class in the country in 2013, according to ESPN.com. He knows how to really strike a chord with young men, communicates well and will only help Muschamp's program bring in another top class. 

6. Ed Orgeron, USC

There was a time when Orgeron may have been No. 1 on this list, perhaps as recently as a few months ago. Yet with how things ended for USC in 2013 recruiting, Orgeron gets slotted here.

He's truly one of the best recruiters in history and has helped put together many all-time great classes for USC, especially in the Pete Carroll era. 

Orgeron helps Lane Kiffin, a former recruiting coordinator himself, bring in elite talent to USC and is a tireless recruiter. 

5. Angus McClure, UCLA

McClure is the DL coach for the Bruins while also serving as the recruiting coordinator. He seems to have found the touch under Jim Mora, as the Bruins' recruiting has greatly improved.

Mora's enthusiasm along with hiring a staff of coaches who also are great recruiters has shown to be a fantastic recruiting combination. McClure is in charge of coordinating everything and overseeing the everyday recruiting duties. 

4. Frank Wilson, LSU

Wilson can recruit with anyone and was named Rivals' Recruiter of the Year in 2011. He's also the RB coach for Les Miles, but his recruiting prowess is his most valuable attribute.

Wilson knows the South extremely well and knows where all the hot spots are. He runs all of the recruiting stuff for Les Miles and leads a staff that consistently recruits at a remarkable clip.

3. Clarence McKinney and David Beaty, Texas A&M

McKinney served as the recruiting coordinator for Kevin Sumlin last year, but with his promotion to offensive coordinator, Beaty is likely going to take the lead recruiting role.

Both guys are among the best in the business. McKinney has a background as a RB coach, while Beaty helps coach up the receivers for the Aggies.

Together, these two helped Texas A&M bring in a top 10 class in 2013, according to ESPN.com, and they've already gotten the Aggies off to a great start for 2014. 

2. Tony Alford, Notre Dame

Alford is responsible for the RBs and inside receivers for Notre Dame as well as coordinating Brian Kelly's recruiting operations.

The Irish brought in one of the best recruiting classes in school history on paper for 2013, which Alford coordinated. He has great connections in Florida (Greg Bryant come to mind?) and probably has the toughest job of any recruiting coordinator at a major school.

The Irish almost exclusively recruit on a national basis, because the talent in Indiana is always great. Plus their reach is to both coasts and Alford has helped them make inroads in the Sunshine State.

Alford is the prototypical recruiting coordinator.

1. Chris Kiffin and Maurice Harris, Ole Miss

The Rebels pulled off what may be the biggest one year recruiting turnaround in history during the 2013 cycle. Kiffin is the DL coach and also chief of the defensive recruiting efforts for Hugh Freeze.

Harris coaches tight ends and is chief of everything that is offensive recruiting in Oxford. Both of these guys coordinated a plan that brought studs like Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Antonio Conner and Laquon Treadwell to Ole Miss.

Since this is a "power" ranking for how things sit right now today, the Kiffin-Harris recruiting coordinator combination is tops.

Edwin Weathersby is the College Football Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. He has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects and writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (formerly ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL Draft magazine.