Why Being Recruited Rules

Let's not beat around the bush here—everyone likes to be wanted.

Whether that's by some girl who keeps giving you the eye while you're standing at a bar, being one of the first selected during a pickup basketball game with buddies or, if lucky, being recruited to play a sport, it makes someone feel special knowing their skills are desired by someone else.

And with college football's national signing day coming Wednesday, Feb. 4, I'm giving you a few examples of past instances that prove why being recruited absolutely rules.

Would You Commit to Us Right Meow?

In a maneuver to get ahead of other schools in the recruiting race, some coaches will go to hilarious lengths to get a kid to commit to their team.

We've all heard about teams getting a verbal agreement from a middle schooler—which has happened on more than just a few occasions—but one move is head and shoulders above every other ploy.

That would be writing a letter to a recruit's cat.

Yep, that did happen early in 2014 when the Rice Owls sent a few words to 3-star quarterback JT Granato's kitty, hoping it would help land the kid.

Ironically enough, it did work, making me wonder if other schools are engaging in the same type of tactics.

James Young Gets Some Rihanna

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Worth a reported $510 million, it's true that rapper Jay Z really is a business, man—not a businessman—proving that he makes the right calls when it comes to different projects.

One of his many roles happens to be a sports agent—no joke.

So when he was recruiting former Kentucky Wildcats and current Boston Celtics guard James Young this past spring to join him as a client, Hova busted out ol' reliable to secure the 18-year-old's signature—Rihanna.

Rather than just flash some goods like a Maybach, Jay had sex sell, sitting Young next to RiRi during a Brooklyn Nets playoff game to show him the real benefits of working with the longtime emcee.

As one would imagine, it worked, with Young signing on.

Imagination Land

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Playing for just his original team, the Denver Nuggets, and his current one, the New York Knicks, it might be difficult for some to imagine what All-Star Carmelo Anthony would actually look like in a different uniform.

But during his free-agent recruiting period this past summer, Melo got the chance to see firsthand how a new team's colors would look on him, as both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls made mock-ups of him donning their kits to help him really feel like part of the team.

Unfortunately, the plans didn't work, as Melo re-upped with the Knicks for another five years—but the near-$130 million may have had a bigger affect than figuring out what colors he wanted to wear.

The Forging of Signatures

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Thanks to the up-to-the-second news cycles provided by Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, there's almost no hiding anything anymore.

But when a high school recruit is making his decision on what college he is going to attend, that's typically something his mom shouldn't have to find out from anyone other than the player himself.

It's too bad that wasn't the case back in 2011 though, as Floyd Raven's mom forged his signature and faxed in the form to Ole Miss, as she believed he had made up his mind to become a Rebel.

C'mon, mom, you're embarrassing him!

It turned out Floyd actually wanted to become a Texas A&M Aggie, causing some confusion but ultimately getting the player to the school he wanted to be at.

A Little Vocal Swooning

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Serenading someone with song is typically reserved for guys in an attempt to score a lady—uh, remember the bar scene in the movie Top Gun?

So it was a pretty hilarious to hear that former NC State Wolfpack head coach and current Akron Zips defensive coordinator Chuck Amato did it on two separate occasions in an attempt to get what he wanted.

The first time came as head coach of the Wolfpack, where he called recruit A.J. Davis and sang him Dean Martin's "Return To Me," after the cornerback had flip-flopped from NC State to another school.

It's odd, but it actually landed Davis.

The next time happened when Amato was interviewing for the defensive coordinator position at FSU, with the barrel-chested coach singing, of all songs, "Take A Chance On Me" by ABBA.

The Recruitment of LeBron James

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When the best basketball player on the planet is without a contract, teams will go to great lengths to make sure they cater to every one of his requests.

That was the case with LeBron James in both 2010 and 2014, when he hit the free-agent market as the most sought-after free agent in sports history.

We all know how it went down in 2010, with James signing with the Miami Heat to join forces with his buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, ultimately winning two titles in their four straight NBA Finals appearances.

So what convinced him to spurn his hometown love in Northeast Ohio? Pat Riley and his flashy championship rings—which, at that time, James was still lacking.

Unfortunately, for Riles and Heat fans, 2014 wasn't as productive, as James followed his heart and returned to his Ohio roots to help win a championship for The Land, signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In both cases, James was surely treated like, well, a king, setting precedents which teams had to follow—like talking only with his agent—in order to even be considered.

Nick Saban's Letters of Endearment

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With four national championships, anytime a high school football player gets anything from Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, it's never a bad thing.

And when that certain thing happens to be as many as 105 letters from Saban to help persuade the recruit to sign with the Tide, it's even better.

That's what happened with 4-star running back Alvin Kamara in 2012, with the tactic leaving enough of an impression on the player that he signed with the Tide—although he transferred after just one season.

There's no telling if Saban handwrote each and every letter, but with so many rings on his fingers, I'm sure he needed to break up the process a bit to get through them all.

Stephon Marbury Gets Stung

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There have been a ton of stories in which a top recruit admits that a university tried to show him a good time by wining and dining him during his official visit.

For all the reports there have been of kids getting pampered, though, there might not be a more intense, A-list-like recruitment than what the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets did for high school star Stephon Marbury in the mid-'90s.

Cutting a few checks to make sure "Starbury" played at the school, G-Tech spent more than $7,600 on the guy, including a private jet from New York to Atlanta, accommodations at the swanky Occidental Hotel and a catered meal at then-men's hoops coach Bobby Cremins' house.

When a school's going after a 5-star recruit, digging deep into their pockets to make sure the player leaves convinced it's where he wants to play is an absolute must.

Expect Some Monopoly Money

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If there's one thing we've learned in the recruitment of big-named players and coaches, it's that the team doing the pursuing will typically stop at nothing to get their guy.

And that's what the University of Michigan proved in going after their new head football coach—and alum—Jim Harbaugh, giving the guy a record $48 million deal.

And while most people refer to Mickey Mouse and Disneyland as a fairy tale, Harbaugh can thank the famous cartoon character for paying his salary each year, as the Big Ten's TV deal with Disney-owned ABC and ESPN will make Harbaugh the highest-paid college football coach in the country.

See, kids, Mickey really does make dreams come true.

Getting Exactly What You Want

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Know what's one of the best things about getting recruited? The fact that you get to call the shots.

That's right, just when you think you have no control over things, recruitment puts you in charge, allowing you to focus on any of the small things that might make you happiest.

And Auburn Tigers linebacker Cassanova McKinzy sure did take advantage of that.

A former top recruit who had plenty of schools hoping to sign him, McKinzy wanted his future school to have just one thing—a Chick-fil-A.

Yep, the kid actually chose the Tigers over other top candidates because of his love for the chain restaurant, as Auburn has one conveniently located on campus.

Football players need to get their protein, so Cassanova was just making sure he ate exactly what he wanted to.

The Painting Is a Gift, He's Keeping the Painting

With a 136-48 career record as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs football team, I always knew that Mark Richt could coach, but I had no idea he was such a regular Picasso, too.

Yet, when images surfaced that Richt had painted and sent a portrait to recruit D'Andre Walker back in early 2014, the entire college football world saw how talented the coach was with a brush—as well as how far a team will do to get their guy.

I'm not sure what Walker actually did with the drawing, but he seemed to be appreciative, as he committed to the Dawgs earlier this year to give the team a stud linebacker in this year's recruiting class.

Recruits Become Super Ducks

Receiving a hand-drawn portrait of yourself from a successful head coach is nice and all, but the Oregon Ducks football team took things to a whole new level back in 2005 to land top recruits.

That was when the Ducks—known for their flashy uniforms and explosive offense—went all Stan Lee on high school players, drawing them as comic book heroes.

Targeting the top 20 recruits that the coaching staff had on their list, Oregon sent each prospect one page during each week of the recruiting window, allowing them to look forward to how the story unraveled until they made their college decision—with one of those players, prized running back Jonathan Stewart, showing off what it looked like.

If that's not cool, I don't know what is.

Take a Ride Aboard the Swagcopter

I don't care who you are or how old you are, because everyone like flashiness and new stuff.

Knowing that, Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin decided he would land on recruits' high school campuses with something that would definitely make the player the BMOC—an Aggied-out helicopter known as the "Swagcopter."

Flying first-class is cool and all, but flying with one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football in a private chopper gives recruits bragging rights for years.

The good news for Sumlin is that it's working, with the Aggies currently holding the No. 9 spot in the 2015 rankings after top-10 finishes in 2013 and 2014, per Scout.com.