The Rocky Mountains can be alluring. Just ask high school running back prospect Tony Jones.
“When I was on the highway, I was going to Boulder and I just saw the mountains and the mountains look great,” said Jones, who arrived from Don Bosco (N.J.) Prep on Friday for his official visit. “It was just beautiful.”
But not all recruits can be swayed by the scenery. Often, it takes more. One aspect of recruiting that is overlooked is a Colorado Buffaloes football player hosting a recruit.
Junior cornerback Jalil Brown hosts up to five recruits a year and has been a player rep since he stepped foot on campus. Brown explains the simple, yet delicate process.
“It’s definitely an interesting experience,” Brown said. “Here comes a guy coach is recruiting and the recruit wants to come to the school. We show him a good time and try to encourage the commit to come to your school.”
What constitutes a good time? Well, it isn’t drugs, sex and alcohol, Brown said.
Brown said player reps cannot give a recruit alcohol, CU gear and must have a recruit back into their hotel room by midnight as some examples of cleaning the program’s image since Dan Hawkins was named head coach. But it doesn’t mean they are handcuffed.
“They pretty much get whatever they want within a certain dollar amount,” Brown said. “You could take him to the dorms if there’s a freshman in the dorm to let them converse about what they like and don’t like. The big thing I like to do is to take them to the locker room or the weight room and work out with them.”
Other places Brown might take a recruit is to a coach’s house for food, his own place, the movie theaters, bowling, the Hill or Dave & Buster’s.
“It all depends on what the recruit is interested in,” Brown said.
Brown remembers his visit to CU as a recruit. Former Buff Terrence Wheatley, currently with the NFL’s New England Patriots, was his host.
“He’s a great guy,” Brown said. “He saw that I was pretty big on sports. He took me to the Rec Center and we played some basketball.”
What Jones, whose player rep was redshirt freshman outside linebacker Doug Rippy, remembered about his trip was the Kansas State vs. CU men’s basketball game he attended Saturday and the conversations he had with Rippy.
“He just really talked to me about what they do and what I have to do when I go out there, like working hard and not slacking off,” Jones said.
Brown has his own memories too as a player host. Once, Brown hosted a recruit and had a NCAA Football video game tournament. According to Brown, the recruit was winning handily until it was his turn. Then, Brown beat him “pretty bad” and said he thought it was “funny” because the recruit was a very competitive guy.
But the lesson is to make the recruits feel like they are at home because if not, even the Rocky Mountains can’t save the day.
“Most recruits are being recruited by several schools,” Brown said. “If you have a guy hosting and the recruit is not enjoying himself or you mess up the trip, then he may not come. The better you host, the better your chances of getting the guys. Without that, guys would have a harder time making decisions. They may make their decision in like a catalog or something.”
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Cheng Sio at Cheng.sio@colorado.edu.
