This week, Rivals.com is releasing its Next Up series looking across Power Five football at assistant coaches or recruiting department staffers who could emerge as the next big-time names in the sport. Today, we close the series with the Pac-12.
THIS SERIES: Ten up-and-coming recruiters in the Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
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Robert Blechen - Utah
Still in his early 30s, Blechen has done a phenomenal job recruiting to Utah, and especially finding players that fit coach Kyle Whittingham’s system and philosophy and then maximizing their abilities once on campus. That is the secret sauce at Utah, which has won nine or more games in seven of the last eight full seasons. Blechen has to juggle players that are underrecruited in many instances, players going on missions and so much more and he does an incredible job with all of it.
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Marshall Cherrington - Cal
Cherrington has been involved in the recruiting world since he was a teenager and is now one of the more well-connected staffers in the Pac-12 - if not the country. Cal offers a ton both on the field and educationally, but it also has to be selective in which recruits it pursues because of academic considerations. That’s where Cherrington, who also has experience at USC and Washington, does a great job of targeting top Golden Bears’ prospects and then getting them to Berkeley.
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Annie Hanson - USC
The USC recruiting department is incredibly deep and incredibly talented, and Hanson as the executive director of football recruiting is a big part of the operation. She was a big part of it under coach Lincoln Riley when he was at Oklahoma and now has similar responsibilities at USC, which Riley is trying to rebuild into a national power again. This time around he has one of the richest recruiting bases literally right down the road. From officials to unofficial visits to junior days, Hanson has a lot of responsibilities, but a lot of recruits are highly interested in the Trojans again.
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Spencer Henkle - Washington
Washington needed a restart and a refresh, and after bringing in coach Kalen DeBoer - and Hinkle as the director of recruiting - the Huskies got what they needed. The UW program has done a phenomenal job this past season in DeBoer’s opening campaign and recruiting has gone really well under Henkle, who came to Washington from Oregon. The Huskies have a lot to offer, and Henkle and his staff are doing a great job selling the program – and it’s all paying off on the field.
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Jason Mohns - Arizona State
One of the best high school coaches in Arizona state history at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro, Mohns is now the tight ends coach on coach Kenny Dillingham’s staff at Arizona State, and Mohns brings a tremendous amount of coaching experience and knowledge to the college game. What he also brings is a wealth of recruiting connections throughout the state of Arizona, which will be a focal point for the Sun Devils’ recruiting efforts. Winning recruiting at home is crucial for all programs, and Mohns knows everybody in the state.
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Viane Talamaivao - Stanford
In recent months, Talamaivao had planned to leave his GA opportunity at Oregon to become Northern Arizona’s offensive line coach, but the same position opened at Stanford and it was too much for the 27-year-old to turn down. A former four-star offensive lineman from Corona (Calif.) Centennial, Talamaivao has already proven to be incredibly valuable not only coaching the position he played but also in recruiting. This is especially true within the Polynesian community and throughout the West, but mainly in Southern California.
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Rashad Wadood - Oregon
A three-star defensive back in the 2011 class, Wadood is from Lakewood, Calif., and continues to have extensive recruiting ties into Southern California now as the director of community engagement at Oregon. Wadood had a personal hand in landing high four-star Rodrick Pleasant away from USC, along with getting four-star DB Daylen Austin to flip from LSU in the 2023 recruiting class. More recruiting wins could be on the way.
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Nick Williams - Colorado
With analyst experience at Georgia and Texas A&M, Williams is coming in as Colorado’s new defensive line coach on Deion Sanders’ staff with a tremendous amount of experience and connections. Williams is seen as one of the fastest risers in college football, especially because he’s also a top recruiter. Williams had tremendous success landing elite players and building connections during his most recent stop in College Station, and now with Sanders’ recruiting prowess and Williams using his abilities in that area top players are looking at Boulder again.
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Brian Wozniak - Oregon State
There were only two Pac-12 tight ends invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. One was Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, who could be an early-round pick, and the other came from Oregon State in Luke Musgrave. Wozniak as the tight ends coach in Corvallis has recruited well, found underranked and underappreciated prospects and maximized their abilities. He’s been a massive part of Oregon State’s turnaround in the Pac-12.
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Ethan Young - UCLA
Coach Chip Kelly has a unique way to recruit, and it's not bringing in tons of recruits and showering offers across the region. That makes Young’s job as director of player personnel more focused and more important. Young has been up to the challenge so far as the Bruins’ ship has definitely turned in recent years. UCLA does an excellent job of finding players that fit Kelly’s system well, and Young is a bright, intelligent guy who’s well-informed and well-connected in his role.
