Recruiting an Inexact Science

COLUMBIA -- Lou didn't want to do it. Lou didn't want him.

Assistants pleaded with him to take a look, just a look, at the kid. But he had already made up his mind.

Gaffney High's Sidney Rice was too slow. End of story.

Finally, there was a reprieve. Finally, someone got through.

Clyde Wrenn, a staple in the South Carolina athletic department, convinced then-head coach Lou Holtz to go to the Upstate and get to know Rice.

Wrenn had a feeling. Evidently, it was a good one.

Rice signed in 2004 and went on to be a two-year, record-setting phenomenon for the Gamecocks. He's now emerging as one of the

NFL's most dangerous downfield threats.

But Rice very nearly wound up elsewhere. He might have played basketball elsewhere.

That one worked out for South Carolina.

So did this one.

With Atlanta product Eric Norwood's grades on shaky ground, schools began backing off in a hurry.

That includes Georgia, only a little more than an hour from Norwood's home in the city's northern suburbs.

Shane Beamer, now the recruiting coordinator at South Carolina, held the same position at Mississippi State when Norwood was a prospect.

He recalls the Bulldogs' assistant that recruited Norwood informing Beamer that Mississippi State was halting its recruiting of Norwood.

"You look at it and (the two schools) were about the same, fighting to win games," Beamer said. "For whatever reason, we didn't think Norwood could help us. Then he comes (to South Carolina) and he's arguably one of the greatest players we've had here.

"Eric still won't let me forget that."

South Carolina got Norwood into school through its special admissions board, and he wound up being an exemplary student and player.

Norwood, who played Saturday in the Senior Bowl, left USC as the school's all-time leader in sacks and tackles for a loss.

He also has a degree in criminal justice.

And, yet, Norwood had little to no hype coming out of North Cobb High.

Same could be said for Kenny McKinley, who was a three-star quarterback at South Cobb High.

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier and his staff, just after arriving at South Carolina, thought perhaps McKinley could play receiver. It was a from-the-hip decision. Just thought they would give it a try.

So they held onto McKinley's commitment through the coaching change, from Holtz to Spurrier. And McKinley went on to be the school's all-time leader in receiving yards.

Clemson has also unearthed its share of undervalued prospects.

Of the 1987 signees, Levon Kirkland, a 6-0, 190-pound linebacker, had the shortest bio. He was an admitted fringe signee by former coach Danny Ford.

Current coach Dabo Swinney notes Clemson was the only major program to offer receiver Tyler Grisham. Both went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The inexactness of the recruiting process has been written about every which way. Mostly, though, it's the tales of the busts that are highlighted. Rightfully so, in certain ways, considering the amount of hype and attention with which some young men arrive on campus.

But schools also find utterly stunning gems along the recruiting trails.

Beamer said sometimes opposing coaches will call, text or ask in person why you are recruiting a certain player. They will look down their noses and even laugh.

All a coach can do to respond is smile and hope. Hope that one day that player will wind up making something of himself, developing into someone that provides a told-ya-so moment.

There are two questions to this equation: What causes a sleeper to become one? And what causes a sleeper to then excel?

During the recruiting process, it's possible for players to slip through the cracks when there are certain stigmas attached to players and their high schools.

For instance, if a high school is not known for churning out prospects, maybe it could be overlooked by a vast majority of coaches. The lack of history or resources could minimalize a high school's visibility, and thus a recruit's visibility.

And, with an individual player, perhaps he has the reputation of not being tall enough or is too heavy or (in Rice's case) too slow. Once those drawbacks are assigned, word travels through the coaching circles and media circuits and the player is basically blacklisted and forgotten.

That is, until a coach sees fit to take a chance. Like in Wrenn's case with Rice. Or like in the Gamecocks' case with Norwood.

It does not work out every time, but it takes some intuition to set the stage for the signing of sleepers.

"The best recruiters have a feel for those kinds of kids," said Phil Kornblut, the veteran Columbia-based recruiting analyst. "It's a sense to know when someone's been overlooked or been undervalued."

What about the high from unearthing a gem like Norwood? How does that make a coach feel?

"You're proud when you see a guy you recruit come in and be successful, no matter what," Beamer said. "But I think guys take an added satisfaction when not much is expected of him."

But, being honest, it's not just about coaches finding the players. It also entails the players working hard and developing through their careers.

Beamer said there's a chip-on-the-shoulder quality that often comes along with lightly recruited players.

Former USC offensive line coach Eric Wolford often talked about seeking overachievers who didn't necessarily have high school glory attached to their names.

Kornblut makes an interesting point of noting that those underachievers often become team captains -- just as valuable off the field as on the field.

The cases of McKinley and Norwood are particularly interesting because they involve the unique recruiting beast that is the Atlanta area.

Schools split the South's hub into thirds. One assistant handles inside the Perimeter, Interstate 285. Another takes the schools west of Georgia 400, and another takes the area east of Georgia 400.

You figure with 100 or so recruitable schools in the metro area, the number of hidden-gem players increases. That creates more possibilities for stories similar to McKinley and Norwood's.

It's certainly something to remember as you see high-hype news conferences for the nation's top prospects.

While they are doing their thing in the public eye, there is a McKinley, Norwood or Rice waiting to make their story known on the field.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the South Carolina blog at www.postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks.