Assistant Coaches Whose Recruiting Skills Could Lead to Future Head Coaching Job

Recruiting is the backbone of college football, and it's the lifeblood of any legitimate college football program.

Head coaches are judged by wins and losses, but they also are evaluated by their abilities to recruit and retain good players.

Being a good recruiter is one of the keys to being a successful college football coach.

There's rarely a recruiting experience more valuable or demanding than being an assistant coach at the college level. We look at a Nick Saban or Urban Meyer and often forget that even these legendary coaches started as assistants.

As an assistant, you have specific regions you must target, and you're usually charged with forming and maintaining the one-on-one relationships with your school's targets. Often, these are the relationships that recruits base their decisions.

The experience gained as an assistant on the recruiting trail can often translate to a head coaching job. If you're a good assistant coach with a successful recruiting resume, chances are eventually you'll receive a few calls about vacant positions.

The following list is a group of successful assistant coaches who also are extremely good recruiters. For the record, I've compiled the list by using the new 247Sports Recruiter rankings. 

These assistants are so good, in fact, that they might be able to parlay their skills into a head coaching position:

5. Derrick Nix, Ole Miss, Assistant Coach; Running Backs Coach

Assistant coach is just one step down from head coach, so Derrick Nix isn't that far away from a promotion in regard to ranking—especially if he continues recruiting at such a high level.

Ole Miss was arguably one of the hottest programs on the 2013 recruiting trail, and Nix deserves credit for the Rebels' success. He's attributed six recruits from that class, and that includes one of the 5-stars that Ole Miss was able to land, safety Tony Conner. He also brought in an outstanding group of running backs.

Nix has already started strong in the 2014 cycle, presently ranked No. 12 overall. He's landed four recruits, including 4-star safety C.J. Hampton.

He has a good track record as a recruiter, and he even has time as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons (per his Ole Miss bio).

If Ole Miss can put it together on the field while simultaneously maintaining its recruiting success, Nix could become a strong head coaching candidate for a program looking for a new front man.

4. Darrell Wyatt, Texas, Co-Offensive Coordinator; Co-Recruiting Coordinator

Darrell Wyatt has a plethora of coaching experience under his belt, 24 years to be exact, and that's at the college and professional level.

He played wideout in college, but now he coaches wide receivers and is the co-offensive coordinator at Texas.

Not only is Wyatt an accomplished coach and former player, but he's a talented recruiter. Presently, he's one of the best recruiters in the nation.

Texas recruiting is back in business and Wyatt is one of the major reasons. He's had a hand in recruiting five out of Texas' 14 current commitments, and that includes 4-star dual-threat quarterback Jerrod Heard and 4-star guard Demetrius Knox.  

Wyatt is ranked as the No. 6 recruiter in the 2014 cycle, and he finished 2013 ranked No. 14.

3. Demetrice Martin, UCLA, Passing Game Coordinator; Secondary Coach

Demetrice Martin was one of the standout recruiters of the 2013 cycle, so he definitely deserves to be on this list. 

UCLA had an epic year on the recruiting trail, and Martin played in integral role in the Bruins' success. 

Jim Mora's program brought in 26 commitments in 2013 and 16 of those commitments can be attributed to Martin.

He's listed as the primary recruiter for standout recruits Priest Willis, Kylie Fitts and Tahaan Goodman among others. 

Martin was formerly with the Washington Huskies, and he was a graduate assistant at USC after a three-year stint at Mt. San Antonio College.

He's rising up the ranks and is making a name for himself as a recruiter.

2. Jeremy Pruitt, Florida State, Defensive Coordinator

Jeremy Pruitt is one of the hottest assistant coaching names on the recruiting trail, and we've yet to see him coach a game as defensive coordinator for the Florida State Seminoles.

Pruitt spent three years as defensive backs coach at Alabama before Florida State was able to lure him from Tuscaloosa. In the process, Pruitt was able to transfer the attention of major recruits to Florida State.

A notable instance was the flip of 4-star defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who decommitted from Alabama in favor of Florida State soon after Pruitt took the job.

Another recruit that Pruitt was able to flip was 5-star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who was formerly committed to USC. Pruitt is cited as a major reason Ramsey chose FSU over USC.

Recently, Pruitt made a major impact on the 2014 recruitment of 5-star inside linebacker Kain Daub, so this is obviously becoming a trend. Daub is now committed to Florida State, and Pruitt is listed as his primary recruiter.

Not surprisingly, Pruitt was ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in 2013, bringing in nine recruits, including two 5-stars: linebacker Matthew Thomas and Ramsey.

If Pruitt finds success as Florida State's defensive coordinator during the next few years, that plus his abilities as a recruiter should make him a major head coaching target eventually. 

1. Kirby Smart, Alabama Defensive Coordinator; Secondary Coach

Kirby Smart is arguably the best assistant coach in college football. It's not a coincidence that he works for arguably the best head coach in college football.

Smart just got a contract bump (Alex Scarborough/ ESPN) and that contract has at least two more years left on it, so he'd qualify as a long-term prospect on this list.

That said, last year he interviewed for the Auburn job, so if the price is right and a program is willing to pay the big bucks, Smart is easily the hottest assistant coach commodity out there. The buyout to get out of his contract would be $72,000 (Scarborough/ ESPN)

On top of being an outstanding defensive coordinator, he's also a phenomenal recruiter. 

What he's done with Alabama's defense is nothing short of phenomenal and elite defensive recruits have notice.

He was ranked as the No. 2 overall recruiter, according to last year's 247Sports Recruiter Rankings, and this cycle he's already ranked No. 9 and is moving up.

Last cycle, he was responsible for bringing in six recruits, two of those recruits being 5-star players: No. 1 ranked inside linebacker Reuben Foster and No. 1 tight end O.J. Howard. 

For a program looking for a great head coaching candidate who also will be strong on the recruiting trail, Smart would have to be the No. 1 option.