Viewpoint: Recruiting tougher for football coaches

Recruiting has changed a lot in the last couple of years. In 2007, the NCAA banned coaches from text messaging high school recruits, much to the chagrin of technology-friendly coaches. This year, the NCAA banned football coaches from recruiting off campus from April 15 to May 31. It's been called the “Saban rule” after Alabama coach Nick Saban, a talented recruiter but also one of football's most zealous coaches in the recruiting game. The reason for the rule stems from a growing concern over the last few years that head coaches have spoken with recruits on spring visits, which would be an NCAA violation. Now, head coaches are relegated to sitting in their offices, writing e-mails and sending hand-written letters. The burden of recruiting during this period falls to assistant coaches, who are still permitted to go on the road and recruit during the time period head coaches are banned. Saban has reportedly already found a way around the rule, using a web cam that is a part of a recruit's high school curriculum. At Northern Illinois, new head coach Jerry Kill, who has called himself a “recruiting machine,” is not a fan of the new rule. “My situation, with taking over a new job, I certainly don't like it,” Kill said. “(Recruiting) is my strength. I'm not a guy that loves sitting in the office. It really hamstrings me.” There's also a growing concern from coaches that reporters from Internet-recruiting services, like Rivals.com and Scout.com, can be influenced to recruit for the schools they cover in exchange for access and information. Illinois head coach Ron Zook, another coach who has been one of the most successful recruiters but who has also come under fire for his zealous recruiting, has been the most outspoken of these coaches. It has prompted the recruiting services to answer back. The Editor-in-Chief of Rivals, Bobby Burton, posted a letter on his site and addressed it to Zook. “The new rule has come about because of your profession's inability to work within the rules that govern them,” Burton wrote. “Simply put, the NCAA doesn't want its head coaches going out in the spring because they don't trust you and your brethren. “This new rule has nothing to do with Rivals.com; it's not our job to recruit players, nor is any writer paid to recruit players to a school. It's our job to report about recruiting. Instead, the new rule has everything to do with your profession's inability to follow rules.” The Mid-American Conference, being a smaller fish in a huge pond, doesn't have the same potential problems with these recruiting services as the bigger schools. “I think that's all overrated,” Kill said. “The bottom line is that you better have damn good assistants. I'm fortunate to have good assistants.” From my standpoint, I'm OK with this rule. I didn't see anything wrong with letting high school recruits live their lives without the hassle of a 3 a.m. text message from an overzealous coach and I don't see anything wrong with this rule. Too much is made of recruiting anyway. When Terrelle Pryor, this year's No. 1 recruit, chose Ohio State, countless people locked him in as a first-ballot Hall of Fame player before he even played a down for the Buckeyes. It's all approaching the ridiculous point where coaches are judged almost as much on their ability to recruit as they are on their ability to develop these players and, you know, win games. This new rule gives the chance for assistant coaches to improve their resumes by proving their worth in the recruiting game. There's nothing wrong with that and it makes the coaching staff as a whole better for it. Teams can still recruit. The process just got toned down a little bit. Sports reporter John Sahly can be reached at jsahly@daily-chronicle.com.