College Football Coaches Who Could Easily Recruit for School's Basketball Team
Recruiting is all about presentation. You're selling impressionable, young athletes on an experience, convincing them the one you offer is better than what they can find anywhere else. The sport in question is only a small piece of the package and might as well not even be included in the pitch.
In that respect, great recruiters could probably convince prospects to come to their schools no matter what sport they played (or what sport the coach was from), right? That got us wondering which coaches from the college football ranks would be savvy enough to haul in top-tier talent for their men's basketball programs.
There are quite a few that could pull this off, but we've put together a list of football coaches who could be a level above the rest when it comes to selling their schools to basketball players just as well. Check out our picks, and give us your thoughts in the comments section.
P.J. Fleck, Western Michigan
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P.J. Fleck has turned Western Michigan's football program into a relevant one at the mid-major level, doing so with a dedication that extends to everything he does in life. That includes live-tweeting his own wedding just a week after hauling in another monster recruiting class.
The Broncos' 2016 class ranked 68th in the country, per 247Sports, far ahead of any other school in the Mid-American Conference and better than seven Power Five conference teams. And this wasn't the first time, as he also blew out the rest of his league on the recruiting trail in 2015.
Fleck's “Row the Boat” mantra for his football team could easily be sold to basketball players, helping Western Michigan pick up the kind of hard-nosed kids the MAC needs. This year's WMU basketball team went 13-19, finishing in last place in its division, and it's only made the NCAA tournament once in the past 12 seasons.
With Fleck luring in recruits, the Broncos would probably be a regular contender for MAC titles and NCAA automatic bids.
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
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Based on the lengths that Jim Harbaugh has already shown he'll go to convince high school football players that Michigan is their best option, we can only wonder what he would do to haul in hoops stars for John Beilein's basketball team. The sleepover angle might work, as long as it involves some late-night one-on-one or a game of H.O.R.S.E.
At least the sweatshirt and sweatpants will come in handy.
Knowing that it takes something unique to make his school stand out from the rest, Harbaugh is breaking the mold when it comes to recruiting. He's taken Michigan to Florida for spring practice, and he'll climb trees and bring in celebrities to announce new signings, so imagine what he'd do to grab basketball players.
Maybe a walk-through at Rucker Park in New York? Perhaps ensuring prospects that Michigan's new apparel contract with Nike means no more horrendous uniform combinations?
Les Miles, LSU
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His fondness for eating grass and his mastery of the English language in his own unique way somehow resonate with football recruits, who regularly sign on to play for Les Miles in Baton Rouge without any concern about his massive eccentricity. He's also managed to get strong performances out of these top prospects—and not just from an individual standpoint, the same of which can't be said for LSU basketball coach Johnny Jones.
Miles understands the nuances of making recruits feel special, finding ways around the rules to call them out on social media—some consider his use of "BUGA Nation" in reference to running back Leonard Fournette on Twitter in 2013 part of the reason the NCAA recently banned subtweeting—and remind them where they belong.
Twitter aside, Miles is a closer in person, too. He dominates his home state but also gets the guys he wants from the backyards of rivals, signing players from Alabama, Florida and Texas in this past recruiting cycle.
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Nick Saban, Alabama
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There's no shortage of moves from his football recruiting arsenal that Nick Saban could pull out to close on a recruit that would further the efforts for first-year Alabama basketball coach Avery Johnson. But if all else fails, Saban could just display all of his national championship rings on one hand and let the bling dazzle the prospect.
Though Saban makes sure to employ a top-notch crew of recruiters on his coaching staff, it's him that often has to make the final pitch for the big targets. This has resulted in six consecutive No. 1 recruiting classes, per 247Sports, though in basketball, it's harder to sell a prospect on coming to a school where he might not start for a year or two.
That's when Saban would bring out the rings, asking the kid where his priorities lie, and the commitment would probably come moments later.
David Shaw, Stanford
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David Shaw is part of the Jim Harbaugh coaching tree, serving as Harbaugh's offensive coordinator at Stanford before succeeding him as head coach in 2011. But that's about where the similarities end between the duo, at least when it comes to their personalities and the approaches they'd take to land a big recruit.
Harbaugh didn't become as much of a showman until going to Michigan, but he still landed quality prospects who laid the groundwork for Stanford to rise from the bottom of the Pac-12. That included Andrew Luck, whose commitment to the Cardinal helped the program turn the corner.
Shaw has continued this, bringing in talent who can also handle the school's rigorous academic requirements. Identifying players who fit the Stanford mold wouldn't just be limited to football, as Shaw could seek out hoops prospects who Cardinal basketball coach Johnny Dawkins would use to consistently make the NCAA tournament instead of vying for NIT titles.
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
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Clemson's monster run of five consecutive 10-win seasons, capped by last year's run to the national title game, has officially put an end to the concept of "Clemsoning" for the football team. The same can't be said for men's basketball at the school, which, after blowing an 18-point lead to Georgia Tech in Wednesday's ACC tournament game, is going to miss the NCAA tournament for the fifth year in a row.
Firing coach Brad Brownell might end up being the move the school makes to try to give basketball an opportunity to reach football-type levels of success, or it could just ask Dabo Swinney to seek out some better players.
Swinney has turned Clemson into a destination for top-tier football talent, and 247Sports ranked his 2016 class as the 10th-best in the country. The Tigers were a finalist for top overall prospect Rashan Gary, and they rarely miss out on a player from their own state. Compare that to the basketball team, which hasn't signed the top recruit from South Carolina since 2009.
Charlie Strong, Texas
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Texas' basketball team is in good hands with first-year coach Shaka Smart, who has reinvigorated a program that had been sliding back to mediocrity for several seasons. The same can be said about the Longhorns football team and Charlie Strong, though Strong hasn't had instant success on the field.
On the recruiting trail, though, Strong has proven his mettle each year on signing day with a massive haul of talent. Combine that acumen for acquiring prospects with Smart's coaching ability, and Texas would be a major challenger to Kansas for Big 12 basketball supremacy.
Strong would probably employ the same approach for hoops as he does for football, waiting until the last minute to land his best players. College basketball has two signing periods, which means Strong would find a way to pick up a bunch of signings in April after not making much progress in November.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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