3/16/2023 football Edit

Rivals Camp Series Los Angeles: Prospects talk top head coach recruiters

Nick Saban (© Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)

Clint Cosgrove • Rivals.com

National Recruiting Analyst

DOWNEY, Calif. – The first stop of the Rivals Camp Series was Sunday at Warren High School and we took the opportunity to do a player survey with the question being "Who is your favorite head coach as a recruiter and why?"

Here's a look at their responses.

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Husan Longstreet: "I am going to have to go with Nick Saban. He has the greatest leadership in my opinion and he has the background. LSU, Alabama, he's done it all."

Bekkem Kritza: "I'd say coach (Mario) Cristobal at Miami. He's just a cool dude and probably the most down to earth coach I have met so far."

Jackson Taylor: "Kenny Dillingham. I've spent the most time with him at Arizona State. He's just such a down to earth dude, so fun to hang around and always there to laugh. With his football IQ, I've learned so much from him. He's got the best of both worlds, so definitely him."

TJ Lateef: "I'm only a sophomore so they can't really contact me, but I'll go with Kirby Smart. It's Georgia, you know. I like how he conducts his program and he has good things going for them at Georgia."

Jordan Davidson: "There are a lot of cool coaches out there. I might have to say coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) or coach Kirby (Smart). They are just cool people off of the field. You can just tell that they love their players both on and off the field. You get that feeling that it's way bigger than football."

Dajon Doss: "Probably Jedd Fisch from Arizona. He always stays in contact with me."

Jordan Lockhart: "I'm kind of open right now, but my early favorites are probably Lincoln Riley, Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh and the list could really go on. I like it when coaches are really down to earth and get to know you as a person and talk about things besides football. Just taking the time out of their day to figure you out as a person and that is where the true relationship comes in."

Marco Jones: "I like all of the coaches that I've talked to and don't have a favorite necessarily. I've probably had my best interactions with (Brent) Venables and (Dan) Lanning. Venables is the one who gave me my offer. That was pretty cool just knowing his background and all of that stuff. He is a legend."

Dutch Horisk: "I'd probably have to say Nick Saban just because of the culture they have there. I like the way they compete. They keep it going all of the time with recruiting and all of that."

Enzo Hall: "The first one that comes to mind is probably Kenny Dillingham at ASU. He's young and has some energy to him."

Jensen Somerville: "Coach (Blake) Anderson from Utah State. He's a really good guy to talk to on the phone and I like the direction he is taking that program."

Manoah Faupusa: "That is a tough question but probably (Jedd Fisch) at Arizona because he has really pushed for me and I like their energy there."

Keenyi Pepe: "That's hard, probably coach (Mike) Norvell at Florida State. He's just a really cool guy, really open and we are close."

Chinedu Onyeagoro: "Coach (Kalen) DeBoer at Washington. I'm grateful for the opportunity that he gave me to be a part of his program."

SJ Alofaituli: "I'd say (Mario) Cristobal or (Brent) Venables. I feel like they just have something special going on with their programs. I always see their posts and they are doing good things. Good energy. That is what I like."

Stacy Dobbins: "Coach (Jason) Eck and his staff at Idaho. I like the staff over there and they stay in contact. He's a funny dude."