Cougar Corner | WSU Football:Winning The Recruiting War-Part 1

The competition to attract the best high school prospects to play football for your university is getting tougher every day.

Coach Rich Rasmussen, recruiting coordinator and tight end coach for Washington State took time from summer camp for high school player preparations to share insights on the progress being made by the Cougar staff.

The planning and execution of a successful recruiting effort for Washington State is almost comparable to going to war. There are a number of battles that must be won to come out on top. Focus shouldn't be pinpointed on individual steps along the way. Taking the broader view of looking at how the strength of each incoming class fits into moving a football program forward will give you a better evaluation.

This spring is the second for Coach Rasmussen. April and May are busy months for all college programs. After wrapping up spring practice with the team, coaches almost immediately hit the road to visit high school programs. They are in search of student/athletes who will be a great fit for their football program.

The incoming Class of 2009 has the potential to be one of the best in the history of WSU football. Coming on the heels of that success, just how are things looking for the Class of 2010?

Coach Rasmussen is very clear about the prospects for the next class in his assessment of recruiting visits in May:

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"I think it went pretty well. We got to see a lot of guys face-to-face...in some spring practices and make some evaluations in person." - Coach Rasmussen

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Timing can be everything.

The WSU game plan for hitting the road includes trying to visit high schools at the right time.

Scheduling visits the last week of April through the beginning of May can be dicey. In many cases, high school football student/athletes are participating in other spring sports. That may cause them to miss all or a portion of spring football practice.

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"We pushed everything back (scheduling visits). It's a little bit of a challenge getting into schools with finals and so forth. But it went really well." - Coach Rasmussen

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NCAA rules make recruiting visits a real challenge when it comes to evaluating prospects. Coaches are not allowed to sit down with high school students to chat and get to know one another.

Football talent is one thing, but not the sole indicator of how a young man might fit in at Washington State.

Though coaches might be just a few feet away viewing a practice, they are not allowed to spend time getting to know the person off the gridiron.

Coach Paul Wulff continues to work on changing the football culture at WSU. Part of that is selling prospects on the many positives for Washington State. The NCAA rules clearly make that effort just a bit harder than it needs to be. Obviously, the character of the people comprising the culture dictates the overall tone and makeup.

The evaluation process of prospects is enhanced by the high school campus visits just completed by the WSU coaching staff. Though coaches weren't allowed to sit down and visit with prospects, seeing them in action during practice and how they conduct themselves on the sidelines provides insights not possible by simply viewing highlight films.

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"It's really important to have that opportunity to see them (prospects) during spring practices and see them out on the field moving around." - Coach Rasmussen

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Recent NCAA rules changes have restricted coaches to just one phone call to junior prospects between April 15th and May 31st. That is a very important time in the recruiting process because competition for the top student/athletes centers on that period.

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"For the most part, you'd like to save that phone call for when you are going to offer someone. But it's almost gotten to the point that we really rely on the prospects to call and contact us on a regular basis...it's gotten to the point where if you don't offer you can't get them to call you. But if you don't get a chance to talk with them, you're not sure you will be a good fit for one another." - Coach Rasmussen

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In an effort by the NCAA to level the playing field of recruiting, it's quite clear the process has become convoluted.

NCAA restrictions change the homework Coach Rasmussen accumulates to become part of the WSU evaluation process. He mentioned legwork done at the beginning of the year can include not just talking with high school coaches, but other coaches in the league to get opinions on the type of player a prospect is. Beyond the fact finding on what a player does on the field, Coach Rasmussen places importance on the character of the player. 

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"You try to talk to as many people as you can to try and get a feel for that prospect and if he a good person. It's important how he acts around the halls and how he interacts with his other students." - Coach Rasmussen

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There is a lot of effort and resource devoted to the recruiting of student/athletes for the Cougar football program. We'll continue in Part 2 learning more about what goes into the process and how Washington State is winning the war.

Orginally published on Examiner.com