DRC FB final recruiting push for Bruce Bell

[OldTimer]

Football: A final recruiting push for UNT’s Bell

Coach begins last year as coordinator with first visit

08:08 AM CST on Saturday, January 14, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Bruce Bell has watched the world of college football recruiting change dramatically during his tenure as a high school and college coach.

Bruce Bell

When Bell started out in the high school ranks more than 20 years ago, letters were a staple of recruiting and there were no Web sites that rank players from across the country.

Today those Web sites are a part of a new recruiting landscape that includes text messaging, e-mail, recruiting services and a host of newspaper and Internet rankings that evaluate just about every college prospect around.

That new atmosphere is one UNT and Bell will continue to adapt to today when he heads into his final season as the Mean Green’s recruiting coordinator. Bell and the rest of UNT’s coaches will host eight high school prospects this weekend, the first of the Mean Green’s three consecutive official visit weekends.

“Recruiting has changed a lot over the last few years,” said Bell, who is retiring after national signing day on Feb. 1. “Now you can text message kids and before we didn’t have an Internet recruiting service. Now I can go through the recruiting service we use and bring up all the kids we are recruiting.”

UNT has used recruiting services in the past, but has added Internet services and a personal scouting service in recent years. Those services supplement the evaluations of UNT’s coaches.

UNT defensive coordinator and former recruiting coordinator Kenny Evans said the Mean Green’s staff has begun using text messaging on a small scale. NCAA rules do not address text messages, but limits phone calls and personal contact.

Recruits are also taking advantage of the technology available. The plethora of rankings both in newspapers and on the Internet give players a better idea of where they stand among prospects.

Lists of players who have committed to schools are updated on a daily basis and are readily available to athletes who are deciding where they might get the most playing time.

“Players have a much better understanding of the recruiting process and how to keep up with things,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “They read the paper and hear where they are rated. They are also getting better advice from their high school coaches and academic advisers.”

UNT’s coaches read the newspaper and Internet rankings just like fans and players, but trust their evaluations and those of the services they subscribe to when they make decisions on which players to offer a scholarship.

“You can’t let the rankings influence you,” said Evans, who handles junior college recruiting in addition to recruiting high school players for the Mean Green. “You have to go on your needs and go after who you think the best players are. I think the rankings are biased. If a kid is committed to Texas, he is going to be rated higher than he is if he is committed to North Texas.”

UNT has had several players who were not highly regarded out of high school excel, including former national rushing champion Patrick Cobbs and all-conference wide receiver Johnny Quinn.

UNT is hoping to use the technology at its disposal to find a few more hidden gems and sign a few highly regarded players who can help the Mean Green bounce back after a 2-9 season. UNT won four straight Sun Belt Conference titles before enduring a disappointing 2005 campaign.

The obstacle that season presents in recruiting is one the Mean Green believe they can overcome while trying to fill a few voids in their roster.

UNT plans to sign several offensive and defensive linemen after inking a class heavy on defensive backs and athletes last year. The Mean Green honored just 10 seniors before its 2005 finale against Arkansas State, but could sign as many as 25 players in its 2006 class.

The Mean Green have already signed four junior college players who transferred to UNT at the semester break.

“How many players we will take will depend on how many players return, which we won’t find out until next week,” Dickey said. “We will probably be able to offer all 25, but there is a small chance we might not be able to.”

UNT is taking advantage of more technological advances than in previous years to supplement what Dickey called the Mean Green’s best asset, a history of success in the Sun Belt and a top-notch university while filling out its next recruiting class.

“Our reception is still very good based on our facilities and what we have accomplished in the past,” Dickey said. “My first year here we almost had to break into peoples’ houses. Now there are some great things going on, people are learning how great a university this is and they have seen us have success in sports. … Some of our best recruiting tools now are kids who have played here and are going back to their high school and spreading the word. ”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com