Coaches on the recruiting trail

[GwillMac6 20,671]

Link yah yah yah I KNOW I KNOW its al.com article but it was a great article to give us a little inside look on life on the recruiting trail for our assistant coaches.

Quote

 

Tim Horton never gets tired of his job. There's an element to it, even after nearly three decades, that he has come to appreciate.

For college coaches, the annual calendar is cyclical, and it helps keep job duties fresh throughout the year and devoid of monotony.

"The one great thing about our job is about the time you get tired of spring practice, you go spring recruiting," Horton said last month. "About the time you get tired of spring recruiting, you go into the camp season. About the time you're sick of camp, you go to vacation. Then vacation you go to fall camp and then you go to the season."

It's a series of routines, and the seasonal shifts in focus are part of what Horton -- a 28-year coaching veteran -- said keeps the job fun after all this time.

With spring practice now wrapped up for Auburn, and the NCAA evaluation period underway, it's again time for the Tigers' coaching staff to shift their focus toward offseason recruiting -- and plenty of time on the road.

"Your favorite recruiting trip stories are when you get the fish," Horton said. "It's like you go fishing and you go to special spot and it's a special spot because you caught that big bass there. For me, just being able to get that guy, when he tells you, 'Coach, I'm coming,' that's the best kind."

With so many recruits often making their commitments while on campus or on National Signing Day, however, those "big bass" moments are more rare -- leaving coaches with plenty of room for other memories during these road trips that they have come to embrace.

****

Recruiting trips mean lots of time spent on the open roads of Alabama, Georgia and Florida for Auburn's coaching staff. That is, unless head coach Gus Malzahn is along for the ride, in which case charter planes are the usual form of transportation.

"The one good thing when you go with Gus, most of the time you fly so you get to go back home at night and sleep in your bed," Horton said.

Otherwise, it's hundreds of miles and countless hours spent in the car to visit prospective student-athletes, their schools, coaches and families.

Auburn linebackers coach Travis Williams answers questions Tuesday, March 28, 2017, during a press conference at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)Julie Bennett 

"It's fun," linebacker coach Travis Williams said. "It's fun, and you travel with Coach Malzahn, travel with coach (Rodney) Garner and coach (Kevin) Steele or whoever. Everyone has a different personality. Some people talk in the car. Some people are quiet in the car. Some people are on their phone. Some people, it's just different."

There's an eclectic mix of personalities on Auburn's staff, but unlike the rest of the year when they're on the football field or within Auburn's athletic complex, those personalities are confined to a much tighter space on recruiting trips when packed into a car.

Williams is one of Auburn's more talkative coaches on road trips, claiming he and defensive line coach Rodney Garner are the most boisterous of the bunch when traveling in cars. Williams also prefers to be behind the steering wheel on such trips, a preference he shares with wide receivers coach Kodi Burns.

"Yeah, there's some guys you have to watch when they drive," Burns said. "You're always hitting bumps and making sure they're awake. There are some guys I try not to let drive."

Neither Williams nor Burns would name names of the nefarious drivers on Auburn's staff, but offensive line coach Herb Hand wasn't about to throw stones from his glass house when asked, either.

"I'm not driving Miss Daisy over here," Hand said, referencing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play (and subsequent 1989 movie) of the same name.

Beyond avoiding the more questionable drivers on staff, Burns has another reason for his desire to drive on road trips: control of the in-ride music. When Burns is behind the wheel, there's no struggle for the coveted aux cord.

"I don't want anyone else playing some stuff I don't want to hear," Burns said. "... I kind of run that deal."

At times, the music can drown out the noise in the car; the constant conversation admittedly bothers Burns sometimes, and though road trip music is essential, it's not always necessary.

While the long drives are ideal for staff bonding -- joking around, building more personal ties to each other away from the football field --they can be beneficial in other ways too. The staff often uses the prolonged time on the road for brainstorming sessions.

"Those are the times you really bounce off ideas and just talk about life," Burns said.

****

Williams is entering just his second year as an FBS assistant coach, but he already knows the golden rule of recruiting trips, especially once you step foot inside a prospect's house during the contact period between the end of the regular season and signing day.

"Rule No. 1 is you can't go to a house -- if they offer you food, you got to eat it," Williams said. "You got to eat it, so I don't care if they're cooking whatever. You may not know what it is on that dish, but you better eat it."

None of Auburn's assistant coaches would divulge the worst meals they've had on the road, out of respect for the families of their players and others they have recruited, but many of them have enjoyed some memorable meals on their recruiting excursions.

For Williams, it was the odd pairing of steak and spaghetti that he described as "awesome." The personal favorite for Burns during a recruiting visit was when once prospect's family whipped up some barbecue shrimp.

"That was like second to none," he said. "It's probably one of the best things I've ever had."

"Rule No. 1 is... if they offer you food, you got to eat it" -- Travis Williams

 

Entering his 27th year as a college coach, Hand has had his share of good meals on the road. His personal favorite was last summer, when after the team's satellite camp in Miami, the convoy of coaches went to Joe's Stone Crab (one of the premier restaurants in Miami) on South Beach -- and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele "was kind enough" to pick up the tab.

Hand, the Tigers' second-year offensive line coach, has a reputation as a foodie; he appeared on an episode of Food Network's competitive cooking show "Chopped" in 2014 when he was an assistant at Penn State, and he is known for preparing epic feasts for his linemen when hosting them at his home.

It can be, at times, intimidating for a recruit's family.

"The moms always say... 'Oh, Coach, you're coming, so we got to make sure the food is good," Hand said. "I just say, 'Do what you do, and it's going to be awesome."

While he tries to take the pressure off families, when Hand is on the road he likes to take a more hands-on approach when he's visiting with recruits. Hand always offers to help out in the kitchen; it's a good way, he says, "to score some brownie points with moms or grandmoms."

The best intentions can sometimes backfire, however.

One time on a recruiting trip in South Florida, Hand was visiting a prospect of Caribbean background and went into the kitchen to check out what the recruit's mother was preparing for dinner that night. He lifted up the top off a pan as he asked what was cooking in it, and before the mother could respond, the steam from the Caribbean-spiced dish blasted Hand in the face.

Auburn offensive line coach Herb Hand watches players Tuesday, March 7, 2017, during spring football practice at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)Julie Bennett 

"The steam that came out of that pan was like pepper spray," he said. "It hit me in the face and I almost choked out. It was a fish dish; it was very spicy, but it was delicious. The steam that came out hit me in the grill, and she was like, 'oh no, don't do that yet.' I was like oh, boom. I got pepper-sprayed."

Others on the staff aren't as adventurous as Hand or as gung-ho about the food, but they still understand the need to take one for the team -- though not necessarily in the same sense that Hand did that one night in south Florida. Anything for that coveted commitment, after all.

"This sounds bad and I hope these mothers of some of our players don't take it bad but I like my mom and my wife's cooking," Horton said. "I appreciate other people cooking but hey, I'm partial to my people. As you can tell, we don't go hungry on the road but I'm partial to my mama and wife's cooking.

"There's some, and I'm kind of a picky eater, there's some that you got to kind of pick around a little bit. It is what it is and you do what you have to for the team."

****

Not every memory on the recruiting trail is a fun one. For every "best meal ever" and "big bass" reeled in, there's the occasional nightmare scenario.

For Burns, one of the worst days of his life was also one of his all-time favorite recruiting memories.

Last year, while traveling from Chicago to New Orleans, Burns' luggage was left behind in Chicago. That was just the beginning for the Tigers' wide receivers coach.

When he arrived in New Orleans, the airline told him his luggage would arrive at the airport on a later flight and be there by 6:30 p.m. He returned at that time after spending his day recruiting the area only to find out his luggage still hadn't arrived. This time he was told it would be there by 11:30.

Midnight struck, and Burns' luggage finally reached its destination at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The problem for Burns, however, was that he was scheduled to be in Pensacola, Fla., the next morning.

Auburn co-offensive coordinator/receivers coach Kodi Burns answers questions Tuesday, March 28, 2017, during a press conference at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com))Julie Bennett 

"I get those bags, I drive to Mobile just to try to stay the night," Burns said. "This time, it's 2:30 a.m., I hit a hotel, no rooms. I hit another hotel, no rooms. I hit about five hotels, no rooms."

Turns out, there was a big conference in Mobile that week, and vacancies were hard to come by. Flustered, Burns decided to hop back in his car and drive the additional hour through Florida's panhandle to Pensacola.

He rolled into town at about 3:45 a.m., only to be turned away at the first hotel he tried because there were no rooms. By the third hotel he tried, at 4 a.m., the front desk employee told him he would have a chance to find a room across the street. When he walked across the street, the front door to the hotel wouldn't open since it was so late and he didn't have a key. Making matters worse, there was no one sitting at the front desk to let him in.

"I knock on the door, nobody comes," Burns said. "I knock on the door again, nobody comes. About ten minutes later I'm calling, I hear the phone ringing, nobody comes. So, I just sit down on the bench outside, and I'm like this -- this is probably one of the worst days in my life."

Feeling defeated after a long day of travel issues, Burns decided to sit down on the bench outside the hotel. Ten minutes passed before a hotel employee finally came outside and asked Burns if he wanted a room. He got three hours of sleep that night before hitting the recruiting trail again in the morning.

"Looking back on it now, those are the times that you laugh at, definitely fun," Burns said. "That's part of recruiting. It's a grind all the time, and you just kind of have to embrace it."

Until the next season within the season rolls around and it's time to embrace that one, too.

 

 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

21 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2017/04/long_drives_spicy_food_and_los.html yah yah yah I KNOW I KNOW its al.com article but it was a great article to give us a little inside look on life on the recruiting trail for our assistant coaches. 

Many Thanks (though, may I miss Mr. Fifty?). EXCELLENT off-season stuff.

Aside to denizens of the "All Things Considered" fora - some items of interest here? and fodder for new threads?

WDE

[GwillMac6 20,671]

50 minutes ago, AUinTLoosa said:

Many Thanks (though, may I miss Mr. Fifty?). EXCELLENT off-season stuff.

Aside to denizens of the "All Things Considered" fora - some items of interest here? and fodder for new threads?

WDE

yah! where did fifty run off too?! it was bam bam bam! then nothing! haha.

[ellitor 33,091]

@GwillMac6 Paste articles in the future if you can.

[GwillMac6 20,671]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

@GwillMac6 Paste articles in the future if you can.

That is def above my pay grade in here! I am not ready for that level of responsibility! haha. I appreciate the hook up tho.

[thaitopher 807]

25 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

That is def above my pay grade in here! I am not ready for that level of responsibility! haha. I appreciate the hook up tho.

It's ok. I still haven't really figured out how to do it either. ???

[GwillMac6 20,671]

9 minutes ago, thaitopher said:

It's ok. I still haven't really figured out how to do it either. ???

lol. I seriously thought I was the only one! 

[ellitor 33,091]

7 hours ago, thaitopher said:

It's ok. I still haven't really figured out how to do it either. ???

Lol. Computer class 101. Copy then Paste. I can later edit or quote something for you if need be.