Football Recruiting 101

**warning: Jay pride ahead**

read only if you too have Jay pride ;)

Signing day was yesterday.
Signing day is a big deal in the football world.
It is the "end" of recruiting for the year.
And when I say end,
I really mean the start of recruiting for the next year.
Thats the thing with recruiting,
It. Never. Ends.

BUT on the first Wednesday of February, for a moment, all the coaches hard work is on display.


I believe Jay is one of the best recruiter out.

(I mean how else could he convince a

 wildly self directed wandering 18 year old girl 

he picked up hitch hiking 

and her parents 

that she should be his eternal teammate)

Jay can tell you the height and weight of any recruit and be within 1/4 of an inch or within 5 lbs.  I have always claimed to be 5'9" and he was adamant that I am not 5'9" so he measured me to prove himself right and of course he was.  I am 5'8 and 3/4" (so basically 5'9") I told him not to guess my weight LOL.

He has a "type" for each position on the field and his accuracy has been proven to me over and over.  He looks at everything from body type(some positions it really makes a difference if they have skinny calf and ankles), size, ability to grow (he is usually right when he sees a kid that looks like he will still grow or has done all his growing and if a frame can put the needed weight on or off), talent (raw or polished), athleticism and personality.  He is a good unbiased judge of character. 

And then he walks into the recruit's home with the information the kid need.  He has done his homework and has a plan for them educationally.  Knowing the exact gpa and test scores they need. Many times getting the kid graduated a semester early and getting them to the university and working out with the team before graduation. Which blows the parents away who tell hime not one other recruiter has given them that information. 

He makes sure to have a great relationship with the coach knowing which coaches exaggerate and by how much.  If a coach says I have a kid that is 6'2" and run a 4.4 Jay knows the kid is probably 5'10 and a 1/2 and runs a 4.7 because of the relationship and the consistency in his recruiting.

He now is prepping his coaches to be just as effective having specific recruiting teaching meetings where he shows them how to watch the film of a recruit.  More than the highlights, do they get up quickly after a play, do they run off the field or walk.  Film shows more than just the big plays and big hits.  Just the other day He told a coach, measure the kid shoes off, mark the wall, in front of the coach so he knows the right way to tell us size. 

The coaches go to the recruits until weekends in December and January, that is usually when the recruits come on an "official" visit and come to the school. This is a 48 hour period when the school can pay for the kid to fly or drive to the school, pay for their hotel, meals and entertainment while visiting.  The kids get to see the facilities and the campus.  Check out their school of interest, be it business, engineering, education, medical or whatever their fancy.  They get to see the dorms and where they can eat if they are awarded a meal card.  They also meet current players who's job is to host them and answer questions they might have.


Here at Weber State some of the entertainment or activities are tubing and surfing.  This obviously is to provide fun and entertainment.

But it also gives Jay an opportunity to see the recruits toughness, ability to overcome fears (surprising how many kids are afraid of water, snow, cold, new unfamiliar things)

And it is very entertaining for the spectators :)

Here is a room full of recruits, their parents, players, coaches and a few wives.

 This was just before one of the recruits stood up, hushed the room and announced his commitment to Weber State.  There is such electricity and excitement that surrounds a kid who valiantly pledges to a school.  It's not often it is announced like this but I have heard it many times as I am near Jays phone when a recruit calls to commit.  I love it!

Jay is often stopped to meet or visit with fans.  

I imagine that at sometimes my "Jay Pride" gets annoying but he is just so good at what he does.  I absolutely love watching him.  He has always requested I come to the dinners with the recruits to talk to the parents.  Many times all I was able to get in was a "hello how are you" and was super shy to talk to them.  Felt like I was just there adding to the restaurants total bill.  Until I stepped out of my shell and had a fantastic conversation with the parents.  Their son committed the next day and I dubbed myself the closer.  And with that mindset I have closed many deals....(LOL) Not really BUT the symphony of coaches, their wives, the players who host, the athletic department and support staff who all give endless time, energy and love to be in those saturday fights to win 12 games. 

Viva Las Vegas!

Jay loves Vegas...
He defends it to his friends and family.
He recruits it every January May and Fall.
He recently presented at a convention there with this guy and this guy
We tricked our kids there
We even honeymooned there. (Thanks again Uncle Rob!)

This is us on the same corner of Caesars Palace we spent our first New Years together as a married couple over 12 years ago.

This past weekend we headed to 'sin city' again....
Jay left tues night or wed morning? and I met him Thursday afternoon.

Spring recruiting does not let you visit/contact the recruit in person. So Jay is left to talk to the recruit's coaches and counselors making sure he is taking the right classes. Building a relationship with the H.S. coach is crucial so that coach funnels the best kids to Utah. Jay also checks out track meets or other athletic events the recruit is involved in to assess his overall athleticism. Spring is different than the fall when nights are spent visiting recruits and their families in their homes getting them to commit to play for the best team; UTAH.

So with that synopsis of NCAA rules and guidelines, I guess what I am saying is since Jay had his evenings free I went down to play with him.

As soon as Jay picked me up from the airport we headed to the pool and did some serious people watching. "your four o'clock" and "tattoos on the left" and lots of "cougar" (not the byu kind). The whole weekend we were able to talk without any interruptions. (well, a few recruiting calls, but those never go away)

Jay got tickets to the Lion King, it was amazing. I forgot my glasses in our room and he booked it up there while I waited for our dinner to come. The make-up and costumes were amazing. I loved every minute. I wished the girls could have seen it, they would have loved it. (Felt a little guilty they missed it)


Checking out the gift shop before taking our seats. Jay is still packing around my glasses.


It was a good thing it was short trip. Why did I feel guilty for being all by myself. I still feel a little guilty... morning in the spa with a short massage and reading the gossip in Vogue Magazine.
I need to learn to let the guilt go, but how do you?
I went to the pool til Jay was done.
We checked out a track meet together.
Man it was scorching hot.

We both picked a show, I chose Jay Leno for Friday night. (Actually, I picked both of them, Jay wanted to see Phantom) It wasn't a production of his show but just him doing stand up for 90 minutes. He was side splitting AND I am going to say probably the cleanest act in the city. Leno's opener was a group called Mosaic. It was IN-sane what they could get to come out of their mouths.


When we were walking into the lion king I told Jay to go up to the desk and see if they could move us up or upgrade our tickets. He said he just got them that morning and didn't think they could do anything. So when I went to pick up our tickets for Leno, I asked if there were any closer that they could upgrade for us. Not only did the dude move us up 12 rows to great aisle seats where we could see perfectly he refunded us over $15!!?! He said why but I didn't hear him very well and didn't want to question. It never hurts to ask.



I took this picture of Jay but should have taken the picture of the chick who was so overwrought at our choice to buy a frozen drink without alcohol. "Uh, if it is the same price, why not get it with the alcohol?" over and over she kept asking if we were sure? We quoted her to each other the rest of the night.

What's a trip to Vegas without Elvis? As Jay was taking the picture, he whispered I do this for tips. I apologized, Ooops, I don't have any cash! Sorry dude. And he let us take the pic any way

Darth Vader didn't say anything about tips?


Glad it was less than 48 hours away from my crazy monkeys, glad we stay at the end of the crazy strip, glad I reconnected with that crazy man I love.