The onus is often on top assistants to build relationships from the early going, help get prospects to campus and seal the deal for their commitments. Over the past two weekends at the Rivals Camp Series presented by adidas stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco, we surveyed the top prospects on the West Coast to find out who their favorite assistant coaches are and why the coaches have made such a good early impression.
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ARIZONA CORNERBACKS COACH DEMETRICE MARTIN
Why: He just keeps it real. I don’t think he sugarcoats anything he says. What he says he means and he always keeps it 100 with you.” – Three-star athlete Keithan Gooden
ARIZONA SAFETIES COACH JOHN RUSHING
Why: “John Rushing is a guy that’s got out to me from Arizona. The coaching staff is new, and now I have a couple of connections to them.” – 2019 athlete Trey Paster
Why: He’s nice. He gets to you and talks to you about the small details that you need to focus on. He makes sure your craft is there at all times and he’s a great coach to be around.” – Three-star quarterback/athlete Cameron Williams
ARIZONA STATE RUNNING BACKS COACH JOHN SIMON
Why: “That’s a coach I really like. I got to sit down with him and it wasn’t just a football conversation it was a life conversation. He was one of the coaches that I really liked.” – 2020 running back Kendall Milton
CAL DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH GERALD ALEXANDER
Why: “I’m definitely liking (Gerald) Alexander from Cal. He’s just real – he tells you everything straight-up, isn’t fake about anything.” – 2019 athlete Zach Larrier
COLORADO QUARTERBACKS COACH KURT ROPER
Why: “He’s really honest with everything that he talks about. He’s straight-up with everything. He tells you how it is. His knowledge of the game is just so vast that any questions I have he’s usually able to answer. He’s been in the game for 20 years, he worked with Eli Manning, and Peyton Manning knows, and he’s just a great guy to talk to. Connecting with him has been pretty easy.” – 2020 quarterback Aidan Atkinson
INDIANA QUARTERBACKS COACH NICK SHERIDAN
Why: “He’s just really genuine and he cares about more than just playing football. He cares about you as a person, too. He wants what’s best for you. It’s beyond football for him. It’s about real-life lessons and stuff, and that means a lot.” – 2021 quarterback Jacob Garcia
IOWA STATE WIDE RECEIVERS COACH BRIAN GASSER
Why: “Brian Gaser and kind of the whole offensive staff over there. They’re super into me and they all check up on me every now and again. I keep in contact with them very often.” – Three-star quarterback D’Shayne James
IOWA STATE TIGHT ENDS COACH ALEX GOLESH
Why: “He’s the tight ends coach and the recruiting coordinator and we’re really developing a tight relationship. I just like how he’s really personable. He’s gotten to know my family really well and they really him. My little brother really likes him, too, so that helps.” – Class of 2020 offensive lineman Carson Lee
Why: “He’s really cool. He always sends pictures with my name and stuff on them. I can feel a positive vibe from him and he’s always very encouraging and telling me good luck on my games. Sending me nice texts and stuff like that.” – Three-star running back Sitiveni Kaufusi
OREGON WIDE RECEIVERS COACH MICHAEL JOHNSON
Why: “He’s just cool. We have a great bond and I like him a lot.” – Three-star wide receiver Drake London
OREGON OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS COACH DONTE WILLIAMS
Why: “He was pretty cool when I first met him. – Three-star 2019 defensive tackle Jalen Rudolph
Why: “Donte is a real cool dude. You can talk to him about other stuff outside of football. He gets you because he’s from L.A. I think that was a good hire.” – Rivals100 defensive back Max Williams
SYRACUSE QUARTERBACKS COACH KIRK MARTIN
Why: “I know coach Martin came from a high school in Texas and now he’s there at Syracuse and he’s a cool guy for sure. I think it might be because of his high school background but he can relate to us pretty well and the other guys I’ve talked to that are getting recruited by them have said the same thing. He’s down to earth and just pretty easy to talk to.” – Three-star quarterback Gunner Cruz
USC DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH RONNIE BRADFORD
Why: “He just knows what he’s talking about and he’s close to home so we’re talking almost every day and building a good relationship.” – Max Williams
USC QUARTERBACKS COACH BRYAN ELLIS
Why: “He texts me just about every day. I talk to him a lot. Phone calls, they've slowed down a little bit now that I decommitted. He wants to give me a little bit of space but he writes me hand-written letters every day and that's a little different than what a lot of schools do. He's just constantly calling and staying in touch." – Rivals250 quarterback Cade McNamara
USC LINEBACKERS COACH JOHNNY NANSEN
Why: "Right now, it's USC and coach Johnny Nansen. I've been talking to him and it's going pretty good with him. I'm looking to check out UCLA and Cal, and so I've been in contact with those coaches. I'm still a sophomore so I've barely checked out colleges. USC is the first big one I checked out. They have great facilities and they have a lot of things I wanted to check out. I want to major in business and minor in education and they have great things on it. The football is also really great over there." – 2020 defensive end Jamar Sekona
Why: “He’s the linebacker coach and I had a chance to meet him and work with him at their camp. When I see him do drills he’s a good coach and teaches me what to do.” – 2020 defensive tackle Kobe Pepe
UTAH CORNERBACKS COACH SHARRIEF SHAH
Why: “We have a nice vibe and we talk a lot. It’s not just about football it’s about life, too.” – Three-star linebacker Jalen Perry
WASHINGTON WIDE RECEIVERS COACH MATT LUBICK
Why: “He’s a cool guy. I feel like he’s really real with me and he’s more open and welcomes you more. He made me feel at home when I took my visit over there.” – 2019 running back Johnny Williams