Class of 2010: Top 25 recruiters
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Rivals.com has named its top 25 recruiters for the class of 2010. Here is a closer look at the coaches who made the list.
RIVALS.COM TOP 25 RECRUITERS
RIVALS.COM RECRUITER OF THE YEAR
TOSH LUPOI, CAL
Buzz: The numbers on Lupoi's resume from this recruiting season speak for themselves - two five-star players and four four-star players. While that matches what others on this list accomplished, what's more impressive about Lupoi's results is his haul came from five states. He landed five-star Keenan Allen and four-star Chris McCain from North Carolina, reeled in Nick Forbes from Maryland, five-star Chris Martin from Colorado, Gabe King from Oregon and Cecil Whiteside from California. He also managed a difficult situation with Allen after he de-committed from Alabama. Lupoi got several national prospects to take a long look at Cal, and many of them are moving across the country to Berkeley.
MORE RIVALS.COM TOP 25 RECRUITERS
STEVE ADDAZIO, FLORIDA
Buzz: Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio had a big recruiting year for the Gators. Addazio had his hand in recruiting two five-star defensive tackles from the Northeast in Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley. Floyd and Easley are the nation's top two defensive tackles. That he signed them from Pennsylvania and New York, respectively, made his feat more impressive. Addazio also helped Florida sign three four-star players in offensive tackles Ian Silberman and Chaz Green and safety Jonathan Dowling. Floyd, Easley, Silberman and Green are all members of the Rivals100. In addition, Addazio also recruited two quarterback prospects in three-star Trey Burton and two-star Tyler Murphy.
CHRIS BEATTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Buzz: Beatty did a tremendous job pulling in talent from Virginia and Washington, D.C. He also managed to keep the WVU class somewhat intact after the departure of Doc Holliday to Marshall. Beatty signed four-star offensive lineman Quinton Spain and three-star running back Trey Johnson. He lured three-star offensive guard Marquis Wallace from the Richmond area, and kept four-star wideout Deon Long in the fold out of prep school. Add defensive back Ishmael Banks and athlete Avery Williams, and Beatty is the main reason West Virginia won the recruiting title in the Big East.
TOM BRADLEY, PENN STATE
Buzz: Bradley picked up commitments from Rivals250 prospects Mike Hull, Paul Jones, Thomas Ricketts and Miles Dieffenbach. Hull wasn't a challenge to land, but Jones flirted with plenty of other schools. What's even more impressive is that Ricketts and Dieffenbach both have strong connections to the Pitt program, and Bradley was still able to sway them both to Happy Valley. Bradley also picked up three-star offensive guard Luke Graham from western Pennsylvania.
GARY CAMPBELL, OREGON
Buzz: Campbell, Oregon's running backs coach, was given the task of luring the best rushers in the country to be a part of the Ducks' spread offense. Boy, did he deliver. Campbell only landed three prospects, but what a three they were. He went into Big 12 territory to reel in five-star running back Lache Seastrunk of Temple, Texas. He did it again with four-star Dontae Williams out of Houston. Campbell also provided one of the biggest Signing Day surprises when he was able to land Josh Huff. The four-star all-purpose back was committed to TCU, but Campbell convinced him that Oregon's offense was the best fit for him.
JAMES COLEY, FLORIDA STATE
Buzz: Coley was involved with almost every top recruit that ended up choosing the Seminoles. He was instrumental in the recruiting turnaround at FSU when Jimbo Fisher replaced Bobby Bowden. Lamarcus Joyner, Jeff Luc, De'Joshua Johnson, Greg Dent, Mike Harris and others are all on Coley's recruiting resume. All in all, he is credited with bringing or assisting on nine recruits, with five of them ranked four stars or higher. Coley is the main reason, aside from Fisher, FSU finished in the top 10 and had the top class in the ACC.
LAWRENCE DAWSEY, FLORIDA STATE
Buzz: Dawsey did a tremendous job recruiting wide receivers and other athletes to FSU this year. He reeled in Christian Green, Kenny Shaw and De'Joshua Johnson, as well as athletes Greg Dent and Jarred Haggins. Add defensive back Terrence Brooks, and Dawsey has six signees on his resume - with four being ranked as four-star prospects.
BRANDON DOMAN, BYU
Buzz: Doman helped the Cougars land one of the best classes outside the "Big Six" conferences. He signed all the in-state recruits for the Cougars, including talented prospects Algrenon Brown, Toloa'i Ho Ching, Tuni Kanuch, Joey Owens and Bryan Sampson. But where he really made his mark was with the recruitment of Jake Heaps. The nation's No. 1 quarterback, Heaps was recruited by a host of national programs. However, Doman convinced Heaps that Provo was the best place for him. Heaps could play as a freshman next season. Without Doman, Heaps wouldn't have signed with BYU.
CORNELL FORD, MISSOURI
Buzz: The Tigers' class was one of the biggest surprises in the nation. Mizzou landed a top-20 class, and Ford's efforts had a lot to do with the Tigers' success. Ford landed four-star receiver Jimmie Hunt early in the process. He also got Rivals100 offensive tackle Nick Demien and swayed Tyler Gabbert to switch from Nebraska to Missouri. He supplemented his class with three-star lineman Anthony Gatti. For the first time in six years, Missouri landed the top three players in the Show-Me State.
JAMES FRANKLIN, MARYLAND
Buzz: Franklin had a hand in 10 commitments for Maryland, and he did a great job keeping local talent at home. He flipped linebacker Javarie Johnson back to Maryland from Miami, and he pulled in four-stars Titus Till and Nathaniel Clarke. Franklin also brought in quarterback Tyler Smith from Pennsylvania and helped Maryland hold onto prep school standout David Mackall. Franklin remains Maryland's best recruiter, and he's one of the best in the ACC. He pulled in an amazing haul for a 2-10 team.
RODNEY GARNER, GEORGIA
Buzz: Year in and year out, Garner is one of the most consistently successful recruiters. This season was no different. The Bulldogs didn't land their typical stellar class, but Gardner did his part to keep the Dawgs in the top 20. Garner pulled in Rivals100 recruits in defensive end T.J. Stripling and safety Alec Ogletree. Garner also signed four-star defensive tackle Mike Thornton and four-star running back Ken Malcome.
CALE GUNDY, OKLAHOMA
Buzz: Oklahoma is used to success in the Midlands Region, especially in Oklahoma and Texas. But Florida and California have never quite been fertile recruiting territories for the Sooners under Bob Stoops. However, Gundy went into California to land four-star Brennan Clay and into Florida to land four-star Roy Finch. Clay was one of the most heavily courted players in the Golden State, and numerous ACC and SEC programs wanted Finch. What's even more impressive is that Clay and Finch both rank in the top four in the all-purpose back position. Convincing one top back to come is tough, let alone two. Gundy is also Oklahoma's recruiting coordinator.
CHARLIE HARBISON, CLEMSON
Buzz: Harbison had a banner year for Clemson, pulling three prospects out of Georgia and three from Alabama. In Georgia, he won the battle for Darius Robinson, Corey Crawford and David Beasley. In Alabama, he took away Desmond Brown, D.J. Howard and Demont Buice. In a year where a lot of prospects in the state of South Carolina left home, Harbison's out-of-state efforts were key for Clemson.
TODD HOWARD, UCLA
Buzz: UCLA clearly needed to sign some impact defensive linemen in this recruiting class. When the Bruins needed to close along the defensive front, they sent Howard to seal the deal. Howard was responsible for helping reel in top-10 prospect Owamagbe Odighizuwa, arguably the most highly regarded player signed by UCLA in the Rick Neuheisel era. Howard also helped turn Cassius Marsh, another top-100 prospect. Howard also had a hand in many of the Bruins' other d-line commits, like Derrick Bryant, Wesley Flowers and Sealii Epenesa.
DAVID KELLY, UCF
Buzz: Kelly, one of the best recruiters in the game, might have been responsible for more recruits than any other coach in the country. Kelly was responsible for 14 of the Knights signees, including two four-star prospects and six three-star prospects. Kelly also made UCF a big factor in Miami's Dade County, one of the best areas for talent in the country. Kelly's biggest signees were four-star offensive linemen Torrian Wilson, three-star quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey and four-star receiver Joshua Reese.
BOBBY KENNEDY, TEXAS
Buzz: Kennedy assisted Will Muschamp with Reggie Wilson and Jackson Jeffcoat, plus he was the lead on Taylor Bible, Adrian White and Adrian Phillips. Kennedy also helped piece together one of the nation's top receiver classes with Mike Davis, Darius White, Chris Jones, Darius Terrell and John Harris. Each receiver was a four-star prospect, and many - especially Davis - could see the field quickly for the Longhorns.
CURTIS LUPER, AUBURN
Buzz: Luper landed two five-star prospects for the Tigers: junior college QB Cameron Newton and RB prospect Michael Dyer from Arkansas. He also helped the Tigers with Louisiana four-star athlete Trovon Reed. Three-star offensive tackle Ed Christian was also Luper's responsibility. Luper was also the primary mastermind behind "Tiger Prowl" and "Big Cat Weekend." Those two recruiting events helped create a great buzz for Auburn.
CHARLES MCMILLIAN, TEXAS A&M
Buzz: Even though he lost Corey Nelson on Signing Day, McMillian was huge in helping the Aggies become a force again in the Dallas Metroplex. McMillian landed three four-star prospects, highlighted by Rivals100 offensive linemen Luke Joeckel. McMillian also landed two other three-star standouts. It was vital for the Aggies to get back involved with many of the top players in Dallas. That fertile recruiting territory had become a wasteland for A&M over the past few years.
PAT MEYER, COLORADO STATE
Buzz: In the past three years, Meyer has gone from a strength and conditioning coach at Florida State to the offensive coordinator at Colorado State. Now, he's a member of Rivals.com's top 25 recruiters. Meyer was the lead recruiter on 12 of Colorado State's 27 signees. He went into Florida and convinced 10 players to head to Fort Collins. Meyer also went into Texas to help solidify Tony Drake, a one-time Michigan commitment. Meyer's effort helped CSU finish in the top 60 nationally and fourth in the Mountain West behind national powers Utah, BYU and TCU. The Rams also finished ahead of in-state rival Colorado largely thanks to Meyer.
WILL MUSCHAMP, TEXAS
Buzz: In addition to taking the lead role in the recruitment of prospects like Jordan Hicks, Jackson Jeffcoat, Reggie Wilson and Tevin Jackson, Muschamp was personally involved in the recruitment of each defensive prospect the Longhorns landed. Muschamp's final tally: two five-stars and nine four-stars. His haul included the No. 1 strongside defensive end, No. 1 outside linebacker, No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 4 strongside defensive end.
ED ORGERON, USC
Buzz: Looking for a reason why USC landed the nation's best recruiting class? Look no further than "Coach O." Orgeron, who was named Rivals.com's recruiter of the year in 2004, was back in his element in Heritage Hall. Time after time, Orgeron's name was mentioned by recruits signing with USC. "Coach O, he's the man," five-star receiver Markeith Ambles said. Orgeron is a tireless recruiter. Basically, if there's a player Coach O wants - particularly on the defensive line - he'll likely be a Trojan.
MORGAN SCALLEY, UTAH
Buzz: Scalley was responsible for recruiting the Houston area, and he managed to beat Big 12 programs such as Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Missouri for several players from Texas. Scalley's early evaluations on guys like Josh Huff, Archie Muniz and Terrell Reese were spot on. That became more apparent when several schools tried to poach his recruits. The biggest feat for Scalley was landing Reese, a Rivals250 receiver. Scalley stole Reese right from under the nose of Texas A&M, which is just a 50-mile drive from Reese's hometown. Scalley was also the recruiting coordinator for one of the top classes outside of the "Big Six" Conferences.
SAL SUNSERI, ALABAMA
Buzz: Sunseri helped sign four prospects for the Crimson Tide. He landed the nation's No. 2 pro-style quarterback prospect in Phillip Sims from Virginia. He also went to Maryland to land four-star offensive lineman Arie Kouandjio and to North Carolina to get four-star defensive end Alfy Hill. Sunseri also landed three-star defensive end Wilson Love.
TROOPER TAYLOR, AUBURN
Buzz: Taylor had a big year for the Tigers. He went to Mississippi and landed five-star offensive line prospect Shon Coleman. Taylor went to Louisiana to sign four-star athlete Trovon Reed. Taylor helped Auburn get a big one on Signing Day with four-star defensive end Corey Lemonier. Taylor also got three from Georgia: four-star wide receiver Antonio Goodwin, three-star defensive back Demetruce McNeal and athlete Shaun Kitchens. Four-star defensive end Joel Bonomolo is a junior college transfer from California. Taylor also landed a big in-state commitment in four-star wide receiver Jeremy Richardson. Seven of Taylor's eight prospects were from out of state.
LANCE THOMPSON, TENNESSEE
Buzz: Thompson and Jim Chaney were both instrumental in helping Tennessee keep its class mostly intact after Lane Kiffin left for USC. They both also played a huge role in Tennessee keeping all eight early enrolles. Thompson also recruited four-star prospects in running back Rajion Neal and offensive lineman Jawuan James. Athlete Marcques Dixon, defensive end Martaze Jackson, and linebacker John Propst are all three-star prospects who were recruited by Thompson.
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