College Football Recruiting 2012: Which New Coaches Will Recruit the Fastest?

December is always the time of year where we get a ton of coaching changes in college football. It's a bittersweet time, as fan bases get news of firings and resignations, but also are ignited by the hire of a new coach.

As I always, always, always say: recruiting is the lifeblood for every college football program in the country. So one of the very first things a new coach does is hit the phones and get out on the trail.

I've got five newly-hired coaches that I think should do well in recruiting, and do it quickly.

5. Mike Leach: Washington State

Leach wasn't a recruiting juggernaut per se at Texas Tech, but he knew how to find players that fit what he wants to offensively, i.e. QBs and WRs.

Washington State is is a Pac-12 school, plus California breeds QBs and WRs year in and year out. Even the guys USC and Oregon overlook still go on to become stars in this conference. 

Add that with the fact that Leach has a quirky aura to him, and you start to see why he's got a chance to land some solid players before February comes.

4. Larry Fedora: North Carolina

Fedora is the new man on Chapel Hill and has energy to spare. He brings fire, competitiveness, moxie and confidence to UNC. 

But what Fedora needs to do is just follow the blueprint Butch Davis and his staff were following, because UNC had become one of the top stops for NFL scouts due to their talent level.

Obviously, that stems from evaluating and recruiting well. If Fedora can combine his plan with what UNC was doing under Davis recruiting-wise, he should be more than fine going forward.

3. Kevin Sumlin: Texas A&M

Once the Aggies fired Mike Sherman—a move I did not agree with—I figured Sumlin would eventually land here. Sumlin turned Houston into a BCS-caliber team and he's an excellent coach.

With the resources A&M has, plus what they're adding to their arsenal by joining the SEC and the excitement of Sumlin's hire due to his high-octane offense, you have to see that the Aggies have the makings of becoming a recruiting powerhouse.

That growth could start very, very quickly under Sumlin.

2. Jim L. Mora: UCLA

Mora is building his coaching staff the right way. As an NFL guy with little experience in recruiting, Mora has gone out and hired Steve Broussard and Adrian Klemm, two of the better recruiters in the country.

Noel Mazzone is also on the staff, and so is Demetrice Martin, a solid recruiter who knows the Los Angeles area. Also, Mora is an energetic players' coach, which will also work well in homes and visits.

Look for UCLA to start being more known on the trail very soon under Mora and his staff.

1. Urban Meyer: Ohio State

Come on, who else did you think would be No.1 on this list? Meyer is one of the very best recruiting head coaches of all-time, and he showed at Florida that he can just flat out choose who he wants.

He's already gotten Ohio State in 5-star DE Noah Spence's top five, has convinced RB Brionte Dunn that he needs to stick with his commitment and not go to Michigan, and took DE Se'Von Pittman and DT Tommy Schutt from Michigan State and Penn State, respectively.

The Buckeyes will become a force again in recruiting, and Meyer has already gotten them there in just a few short weeks.