ACC recruiting confidential, Part I: Hardest-working coaches, impressive assistants, more

Even though the importance of the transfer portal has continued to increase, most college coaches still believe the foundation to winning long-term starts and ends with the talent you bring in from the high school ranks.

In the ACC, Clemson has long been the best at it. Dabo Swinney’s Tigers have had a top-10 recruiting class every cycle since 2018, which explains why the program won the ACC title again in December. That, of course, didn’t necessarily equate to Clemson signing the best recruiting class for 2023. Miami and Mario Cristobal shot up to No. 4 in the 247Sports Composite through the early signing period, the Hurricanes’ highest ranking since their 2008 class finished No. 1 overall.

Florida State, the fastest-rising program in the ACC, reeled in the third-best recruiting class in the league (20th overall).

So, what’s working for Miami on the trail? Is it simply LifeWallet’s NIL deals? Which recruiters at ACC schools are doing the best job? Who is doing their homework? Where are they getting beat and why? How much of an advantage do the SEC and Big Ten have in certain states or recruiting grounds?

Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina remained the most fertile recruiting states for all 14 ACC schools in 2023. But nobody is just staying in-state to find players.

Clemson’s push in the state of Alabama continued. Louisville took four recruits from California. Pittsburgh signed seven players out of Florida. Wake Forest didn’t sign a single in-state player and instead went hard in Florida and Georgia, with nine of its 19 signees coming from those two states.

To gather intel on what is happening across the ACC recruiting footprint, we reached out to high school coaches and recruiting coordinators. In Part I, the focus is on programs and coaches. In Part II, which will be published Tuesday, the coaches discuss NIL and how it has influenced recruiting at their schools.

We talked to three coaches from South Florida, a recruiting coordinator from Central Florida, a coach and recruiting coordinator from Georgia, two coaches from North Carolina and one coach from South Carolina, Virginia and New England. They were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor.

Which schools work your area the hardest?

Georgia recruiting coordinator: Georgia State. Every Friday I get a text. That counts a lot. North Carolina hits our school hard. Georgia Tech, I’d say (defensive line coach Andrew) Thacker does a good job. Florida State is another one.

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: Pittsburgh. Miami has jumped in the boat for real since Cristobal has been there. After that, Clemson, Florida State. (FSU defensive line coach Odell) Haggins is like a mainstay in our area. Georgia Tech is pretty strong, too. Iowa State is another school that’s here all the time. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen Ohio State the entire time. Without question before Cristobal, it was mainly Pittsburgh. (Safeties coach) Cory Sanders has done an unreal job in the four years I’ve been here.

New England coach: Miami, Pittsburgh and Virginia from the ACC and then Michigan State, Texas A&M, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, South Carolina and Ohio State from elsewhere. Those were the main ones.

South Florida coach 1: Pittsburgh from the ACC. After that, the SEC and Big Ten do a great job. They’re more active with us than the ACC schools. Schools like Michigan State, Penn State and Alabama.

South Florida coach 2: Florida State. North Carolina State has been really good, too. Their coaches seem to always send me a little text message the week of a game. Pitt has been pretty good with that. Miami of late has been pretty good with that. But I would say North Carolina State, Pitt, Florida State and Miami in that order. Outside the ACC, I’ve always had a good relationship with Georgia. Florida has done a good job lately. Alabama. Big Ten, it’s been Penn State, Ohio State and a little bit of Michigan.

South Florida coach 3: Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina call all the time. Miami, as of late, we never hear from them.

North Carolina coach 1: I’d say probably North Carolina. Proximity is part of that. I think the one thing that they do a good job of is they have whoever is in charge of that area, but then they also do a good job of piggybacking the position coach if they want a guy. The coach that has your area is on it, but then the position coach will also be heavily involved, too. So it’s almost like for every kid they’re recruiting, they’re really throwing two or three guys at a kid. I will say, some of the more underrated guys, the guys at Wake Forest. I think they’re — they do a really good job there. And obviously they don’t have maybe the resources the other schools in the conference have, but I think they do a really good job and they’re very, very good at relationships and being relational.

North Carolina coach 2: I think every ACC school’s been here at least once. The in-state schools probably the most.

Georgia coach: Well, (I hear from) Georgia Tech the most without a doubt, because they’re right in our backyard. And so I’m gonna see those guys, whenever they can go out on the road, they always come see us. Clemson’s not too far away. So it’s pretty common to see them quite a bit, as well. After that, it would probably be — Duke and Wake Forest are here very regularly. After that it’s probably NC State, and then after that, it probably just depends on the year and who they’re recruiting.

Virginia coach 1: Wow. I’ve had everybody from Arizona to Miami and Florida State and everything in between, northeast. I’ve had people from all over and I think I’m in a unique situation because being in the Mid-Atlantic, I see people from the North, I see people from the South. … Oregon, when Coach Cristobal was at Oregon. Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, I see a lot. I don’t see a lot of NC State at all. It’s hit or miss with Clemson, to be honest with you.

Do you hear from the entire league or just schools in your area?

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: The schools I already mentioned plus Florida. Michigan is a big one. I need to add Georgia in there. But Pittsburgh recruits us harder than anybody. West Virginia, too.

Georgia recruiting coordinator: Boston College, NC State mostly, but I hear from the entire league. Duke has done a phenomenal job.

New England coach: Not necessarily every school, but Miami, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Clemson mostly. Some don’t reach out at all. Wake Forest and North Carolina called or stopped by once, but not really. Virginia Tech, not so much.

South Florida coach 1: Florida State, Miami we hear a lot from because we’re in-state. Virginia has always done a good job recruiting our school since I’ve been here. Boston College, too.

South Florida coach 2: Surprisingly, Miami has been one to pick things up. We’re in your backyard. Why has it taken you so long to get here? Since Mario has taken over, Miami has picked it up with us a lot. There’s some kind of communication with us every week. That going from no communication has definitely helped. (North Carolina’s) Mack (Brown) is somebody I know from a distance. North Carolina hasn’t been here a lot. But I know him from Texas.

South Carolina coach 1: I definitely don’t hear from the whole league. And that’s been pretty consistent throughout. Part of the issue with the ACC is that its geographic footprint just stretches so far that they don’t have — teams like Syracuse and Boston College and Pitt — they don’t have area recruiters per se, stationed in South Carolina, and they probably shouldn’t. Everybody’s in Florida because Florida has so many kids — they’ve all gotta go somewhere. But I think they just try to cherry pick and they show up when they need to a recruit a kid. And I can’t say that I blame them. It takes a lot of time and a lot of resources for these guys to just get around their own geographic footprint.  So I personally don’t expect them to do that, unless there’s a player that they’re trying to recruit.

North Carolina coach 1: Maybe it’s proximity, I’m sure that has a lot to do with it, but in my years as a high school coach in North Carolina, I always felt like Mack Brown, Dave Doeren and Dave Clawson were always the head coaches in the ACC that I always felt were very, very visible on the recruiting trail. And part of that is proximity. Those are the only three head coaches that I’ve actually ever had come to my school that are currently in the ACC. … You know what, Dino Babers (at Syracuse) has been at my school. I forgot about that.

Virginia coach: More now Duke, now with the new coaching change. North Carolina, yes. Wake Forest, yes. NC State, no. Virginia, Virginia Tech, yes. Boston College, yes. Miami, no. Pitt, for sure. Syracuse, I mean, it’s almost like a courtesy visit. They don’t spend a lot of time here. They don’t recruit our kids at all. Florida State has no idea. Georgia Tech has only been in this building once. Miami’s never been in this building. UNC spends a lot of time here. NC State does not recruit our building at all. When Shane (Beamer) was at Oklahoma, make sure you hear me clearly, he spent more time in our building than NC State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Boston College. When he was at Oklahoma.

Georgia coach: I have had contact with everybody in the league, but not on an every-year basis.

Mario Cristobal has made a strong impression in his brief time at Miami. (Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)

Which head coach do you hear from the most?

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: It’s got to be Mario (Cristobal). You can call Mario at 10 o’clock at night. That man is picking up. There’s no one out here like him. He’s different when it comes to this recruiting stuff. He’s dialed-in 24/7. After him, I’d say Jason Candle from Toledo.

Georgia recruiting coordinator: Ohio State’s Ryan Day does a good job at our school. He’s always here when he can be here. We connect well. I’ve known him for a while. Then, probably Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. They pay attention to what we tell them. Harbaugh was unreal when he came in. I showed him the film. He says ‘Coach, overwhelm me.’ He sat down with us for two hours last month. Kirby is just fun to be around. Our building goes bananas when he comes in. In the ACC, Dabo Swinney stands out. He calls me by my whole name. I go to Clemson once a year. His personality is unreal. He doesn’t come down often, but he stands out to me a lot by making me feel at home.

New England area coach: Ohio State’s Ryan Day and BC’s Jeff Hafley. They’re at the top. I know Ryan from his days at BC 20 years ago. (Rutgers) Greg Schiano and (Pitt’s) Pat Narduzzi. (Notre Dame’s) Marcus Freeman visited once. Oregon’s Dan Lanning is another great guy. A lot of positive energy. I met him when he was in Georgia.

South Florida coach 1: Mario (Cristobal) does a really good job. He’s a good recruiter. That’s just his nature. He takes a lot of pride in developing relationships. When Derek Mason was at Vanderbilt, I heard from him a lot directly. When a head coach calls, it’s more of a philosophical conversation with regards to the nature of your program or the health and well-being of your program. When you talk to assistants, it’s very specific — whatever player they’re recruiting or what players they should be recruiting.

South Florida coach 2: Cristobal since he took the job and (Georgia’s) Kirby Smart. Dave Doeren at NC State has sent me messages before games.

South Carolina coach 1: Clemson being such a big part of our state, they do a great job with their assistants and relationship building, but I can tell you if you compare the amount of times I’ve spoken and interacted with Coach Swinney compared to Coach Beamer, it’s night and day. And to me, that’s a little weird just because Coach Swinney has been in the state for so long now and he’s been the head coach at Clemson for a long time. I think they do a great job. I’ve visited there and been there in the spring and watched practice and they’re welcoming, they’re awesome people. I love what they stand for. But as a head coach in-state when there’s only two major schools, I don’t feel like I’ve ever had or built any kind of relationship with him at all unless he was recruiting one of my kids.

I feel like as Clemson has gotten more and more national in their recruiting, I think some of the connection to in-state schools (has waned). Just because they have to spend so much of their resources taking kids from California or Texas or wherever they’re trying to get them. And sometimes it feels like, I guess when you’re in a small state like South Carolina, you want that tight interaction … and I don’t necessarily feel like that’s the case. Maybe some coaches feel very differently.

Georgia coach: A couple of years ago, I would have said (Duke’s David) Cutcliffe. But that’s changed. It’s hard to say. I’ve had a little bit of interaction with the new guy at Tech (Brent Key). The guy at Florida State (Mike Norvell) actually, I’ve talked to a couple times. Honestly on top of that, not hardly any of them.

North Carolina coach 1: We’ve had plenty of head coaches that came through, but as far as the ACC goes, like I said, Coach Babers came once, but then really Clawson, Doeren and Coach Brown came a lot. Coach Cutcliffe came a couple of times. Since I’ve been at (my current school), I ain’t seen anybody. Maybe that’ll be a quote that I’ll give you: They do a good job when you’ve got players. But if you don’t have players, you’re probably not gonna hear from them.

North Carolina coach 2: That’s a tough one. I’ve had the longest relationship probably with Dave Clawson. You talk to these guys more if you have a kid they’re interested in, right? So that’s really what’s driving it. I’d say just on the fly, Mack Brown’s done a good job. Dave Doeren sends me texts on big games. (Duke’s) Mike Elko’s done a nice job since he’s been there. He’s just trying to meet people. I have not heard from the out-of-state head coaches. I’ve talked to them. I’ve not heard from them like the in-state guys.

South Florida coach 3: Mike Norvell. He just calls to shoot the s—.

Virginia coach: In the past, it was, sheesh, probably Dave Clawson at Wake. Currently, it’s Brent Pry (at Virginia Tech). And when you ask me about the past, I would say (former Virginia coach Bronco) Mendenhall and Clawson. Those were the two.

Which assistants have impressed you?

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: Larry Scott when he was an assistant was relentless. In his time at Miami, Tennessee and Florida, he was always that way. He’s a head coach now (at Howard). Assistants? Pittsburgh’s Cory Sanders for sure now. West Virginia’s Chad Scott. Georgia’s Bryan McClendon, for sure. He’s the only coach I don’t have to give directions to. He’s probably the No. 1 assistant coach and it isn’t even close.

Georgia recruiting coordinator: I like Robert Gillespie at Alabama. He’s going to be a head coach. I have so much respect for Travis Williams (formerly at UCF, now the defensive coordinator at Arkansas). He’s one of the best coaches out there. His relationship with me is phenomenal. Georgia’s Dell McGee is very calm. He knows what he’s talking about. He doesn’t overtalk. He wants to understand what’s important.

New England coach: Pete Lembo from South Carolina stands out. Virginia’s (former) O-line coach Garett Tujague (now at NC State) is persistent. (Texas A&M’s) Steve Addazio is assertive and persistent. There’s a few guys in Florida. Alex Mirabal at Miami. We’ve known each other for a few years. Darnell Stapleton at Florida. He jumps out to me. Pleasant guy. Justin Frye at Ohio State. Coach (Chris) ‘Cap’ (Kapilovic) at Michigan State, the offensive line coach. LSU’s offensive line coach (Brad Davis) is another one. He was up here a couple times with (LSU special teams coach) Brian Polian. Akron’s Tre’ Bell was here on a cold day, working hard, not knowing they were going to get our guy. He still wanted to make the connections.

South Florida coach 1: (Pitt’s) Charlie Partridge does a good job developing relationships. So does Syracuse’s Nick Monroe. Outside of the ACC, I’d say (Penn State’s) Ja’Juan Seider. (Auburn’s) Roc Bellantoni would be an exceptional head coach. He understands people. He’s genuine, passionate. He’s articulate. He does a really good job recruiting.

South Florida coach 2: Bryan McClendon at Georgia has been a big-time guy with our school. Travaris Robinson at Alabama. Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke has done a pretty good job. Couple guys from NC State. After B-Mac, (Pitt’s Charlie) Partridge is the guy. He hits me up at least once a week. McClendon has everything you want in a head coach. He just has a way about him. They gravitate to him. He’s long overdue to be a head coach. Guys listen to him, have relationships with him.

South Florida coach 3: Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai. He’s sharp. Travaris Robinson, the DBs coach at Alabama. (Georgia’s) Fran Brown. Randy (Shannon at Florida State) calls a lot. I talk to him once a week. Pittsburgh’s Tyquan Thornton is really sharp. He did a good job at Rutgers as well.

South Carolina coach 1: (Former Clemson OC) Brandon Streeter has always been one of my favorites. I was fortunate enough to have him as my area guy for a while and he builds up a pretty good relationship. He was one of the ones that I felt like consistently showed up even when he knew we didn’t have a (kid). Those are the ones that you know and feel like they’re really trying to build relationships. The receivers coach at Wake, Kevin Higgins. Phenomenal guy. And I think it also helps that he used to be a head coach in our state (at The Citadel). I think he really likes South Carolina, I think he’s passionate about the relationships he built as a head coach. You can tell he’s at a stage in his career where he’s not trying to job hop and all that kind of stuff.

North Carolina coach 1: Oh gosh. Love Kevin Higgins at Wake Forest. I love, love Coach Higgins. I really like Brandon Streeter (formerly) at Clemson. I love Joker Phillips at NC State. Love Joker. Alex Atkins at Florida State, he’s one of my favorites. One of my favorite guys. That’s probably it.

North Carolina coach 2: I think Brian Mitchell’s done a great job at NC State. I’m a huge Tony Gibson (NC State) fan. Joker Phillips does a good job at NC State. I think the State guys that I’ve engaged all on staff do a really good job recruiting. I think (Ishmael Aristide) over at Duke, the new (cornerbacks) guy, I think he’s excellent at recruiting. I think he’ll be successful over time.

I love Kevin Higgins at Wake Forest, I think he does a really good job. I think (Wake Forest’s) Brad Lambert and James Adams are both really great guys that when they engage, it’s a very positive feel with those guys. I like Lonnie Galloway in Chapel Hill. I like (Tony) Tokarz at Florida State. Virginia has changed, but they have a guy, Marques Hagans, he’s been there a while, but I thought he does a really good job. Syracuse is kind of a drive-by. Derek Jones at Virginia Tech is excellent. He’s actually one of the very best I think.

Virginia coach: Coach (Nick) Tabacca at Wake Forest. He does offensive line at Wake Forest. The guys on Virginia Tech’s staff have done a great job. Coach (Keith) Gaither at UVa has done a great job. Galloway at UNC has done a great job. Zohn Burden at Duke has done a great job. (Wake Forest) is patient, they don’t make brash decisions. They communicate extremely well with you when they’re recruiting somebody. They give you detailed information. They wait, too, on their scholarships. They don’t just throw scholarships out there.

Georgia coach: Tony Elliott at Clemson was fantastic. Jeff Farris, who was at Duke (and is now at UCLA), he was always fantastic. Andrew Thacker at Georgia Tech has always recruited our area and he’s awesome. Alex Atkins (at Florida State). And Mickey Conn at Clemson, as well.

How many assistants come to your school without doing their homework and only offer players based on offers they already have?

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: That number has gotten better, but that is something that happens. Not to throw anyone under the bus, but there are coaches once they hear such and such has offered this kid, they don’t even need to see the film. They’re jumping in and offering him. But it has gotten better. A lot of times coaches are coming with a list of guys they’re interested in. I’ll mention someone else and they’ll tell me what they like or don’t like about that guy. So, it’s gotten better. COVID was the primary reason.

Georgia recruiting coordinator: A s—load. I’ve had head coaches and not been prepared because their people at the office didn’t prepare them. I saw it last year. A coach came in by himself and didn’t know what he was doing. He was from an ACC school. I have guys come in and not know who our best player is. That doesn’t sit well with me when a guy isn’t prepared. It’s gotten worse. I told somebody a couple years ago, “If you don’t know how a guy plays, come watch him.” I think it’s turning in the right direction. But I’m still not sure they have a grasp. I tell them don’t offer our kid unless you mean it.

New England coach: Most of the guys who came to our school had seen our kids at a combine. There were a few who came in unprepared or just offered based on others. But I admire most of the guys who make the trip to come see us.

South Florida coach 1: Lately, I don’t see that happening very often anymore. Before COVID, that was the trend. It really was. When COVID hit, the backlog began. Less high school recruits, more portal recruits. Now, (colleges) do their research. They know exactly who they want. They’re not just throwing offers out there and hoping for players to develop. They’re more fixated. It’s become more narrow based. They know who they want two recruiting classes out. So, a lot of the senior class is completed over the summer and they’re really on to the junior class by the time the season starts.

South Florida coach 2: There’s some guys who come in and we have to put film on for guys who have a number offers and they don’t even know who the kid is. This is three weeks before signing day. They go off lists. It’s crazy because you start to understand why some kids rack up offers and others don’t. The most embarrassing thing is when they butcher the kid’s name. That happens a lot. But there’s good ones. Ohio State’s Tony Alford, the running backs coach, was very impressive. He’ll sit in the film room for 45 minutes, break down your weaknesses, your strengths and all that stuff. He’s already reviewed the film. Brian Hartline is really good with that. Demarcus Van Dyke at Miami is really good with that. Rod Chance, who was at Colorado, was good with that. Guys who have South Florida roots are the guys who really know the players. T-Rob at Alabama is another one good with that.

South Florida coach 3: I’d say it’s 50-50. Some of them come with a list from a recruiting agency. If the kid has big-time offers, all they do is piggyback. When you come in and you see a kid’s film you respect that.

Virginia coach: Wow. If I said percentage based, I would say 35 percent of the time. We’ve had quite a few guys play in the ACC and play really, really well in the ACC, and I’ve had coaches come to me and not know anything about our program. They honestly say, “Oh I didn’t know you had this many athletes. I didn’t know where your school was. I’ve never seen your school. It’s a really nice school. What players do you have?” I don’t get it from BC. I don’t get it from Clemson. I don’t get it from Duke. They know.

Georgia coach: That’s a good question and a hard one to answer. Because even if they haven’t done their homework, they act like they have. But generally speaking across the league, I’m pretty impressed.

North Carolina coach 1: At that level, it’s pretty rare. At that level they’re not really gonna come in without doing their homework and that is mainly because … they have tons of people that work in those recruiting offices. So really there’s no excuse for them to come in unprepared because with the people that they have, that work in those offices, that send them out on the road with pretty much all the information they need. It’s pretty rare that that happens. I’m not gonna say that it doesn’t happen. But I would say at that level most of those guys have so much access to information and they also have access to personnel that work for them to provide them everything they need. We have this thing called the internet now.

Several coaches said they would want their son to play for Dabo Swinney. (Ken Ruinard / USA Today)

Which head coach would you want your son to play for?

Central Florida recruiting coordinator: Dabo Swinney is my answer for that one. That guy, if he can’t do anything, he sells the fact how much he cares about these kids’ souls more than how successful they are on the football field. People call him a bible thumper, but I’ve yet to talk to parents who don’t believe that guy really cares about their kid. I think he would get more of our kids but their recruiting process is different. They don’t offer kids until they take visits up there. Then, Mario (Cristobal) is very genuine. He’s got to be one of the most genuine coaches I’ve seen in my time. He has the ability to sit down with anyone and relate to them. The last one is Nick Saban. His track record is incredible. There’s just an aura about him.

Georgia recruiting coordinator: Four guys, I’d say. Alabama’s Nick Saban would be No. 1 for sure. Then Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and North Carolina’s Mack Brown. Mack’s been around. He’d point my son in the right direction. You’d love to have your son groomed by Nick Saban. He’s one of the calmest men you can talk to. Smart does it right because he’s been under Saban’s tree. Tucker, I like how he operates. It’s a matter of fact. This is what it’s going to look like. There’s no gray area. Kids believe in what he’s talking about.

New England coach: I love (BC’s) Jeff Hafley. I think he’s a class guy. I also like (Pitt’s) Pat Narduzzi. But if I had to pick one — Hafley. Mario (Cristobal) I met once. Like him. Hafley came by one day when our best guy wasn’t here. He just sat here with me in our cafeteria. We sat for about an hour. Just talking about football. He’s just a genuine regular guy.

South Florida coach 1: (Miami’s) Mario (Cristobal), (Florida State’s Mike) Norvell, (Penn State’s James) Franklin, Nick Saban. I also loved Derek Mason as a head coach. The coaches who understand life and realize football is more about community, ministry and an opportunity to help develop men are the best head coaches. The guys who help them get on to the next chapter in their life, fatherhood, being a community leader. Coaches that have that perspective are exceptional leaders I’d want my son to play for.

South Florida coach 2: The first one is Nick Saban. Lot of the same values we teach here about accountability, details and the standard and some tough love in there. But there’s some other impressive guys. Kirby Smart is very intense, but I’ve also seen Kirby lay on a picnic table, show the little kid in him and joke around. Nick and Kirby are wired a little bit different. You see a little bit of that with Mario (Cristobal). These are the set of standards we’re not going to back down from. You see he and Kirby come from the same tree. Dabo Swinney is a little bit different in his approach. It’s more of a family atmosphere. Dave Doeren is another good one. I just like him because he’ll call you and talk football but also ask about what you’re going through. Randy Shannon is like that. He’ll come through and talk about football, but he’s really good about life.

South Florida coach 3: (Former Louisville and current Cincinnati coach) Scott Satterfield, Pittsburgh’s (Pat Narduzzi) and Florida State’s (Mike Norvell). For me, I like genuine, real people. Don’t BS me. Just tell me straight up. People who lie and BS, I’m not with that.

South Carolina coach 1: I can only speak to the ones I’ve met personally. And Mack Brown might be the most genuine head coach that I’ve ever met. He is totally down to earth and I know he’s got some old-school-ness about him and with that also comes him kind of wanting to do things the right way and in a way that reflects that strong relationship building.

North Carolina coach 1: Wow. Ironically, I’m gonna say a guy that isn’t one of those (regular) guys that came in. But I’d probably say Dabo Swinney. I would say because I’ve really come to see that he has a significant emphasis on making sure that his players grow more than just as football players. I would also say Dave Clawson, but maybe not so much because of Dave as much as I just think he’s surrounded himself with some really good people as assistant coaches. And I think that’s obviously pretty important, too. I know the quality of the men that coach for him and I know my son would be surrounded by some really good men in that building.

North Carolina coach 2: I’d probably say Dabo. From what I know of him and the guys that I do know well on his staff, I think the things that he talks about publicly, I think he even more emphasizes privately. I think his faith is genuine. I think the way that he expresses that and the way he coaches and builds a culture in his program is the kind of thing that I would want my son to be a part of. From what I can see and tell, I think kids genuinely feel connected.

I think Doeren has done that very well at State, too, for what it’s worth. I don’t think he’s as affable or as charismatic maybe as Dabo, but I think he was the only staff in the country last year that had every coach come back. And they have some really quality men and coaches on staff. So he probably doesn’t get enough credit frankly for what he’s done at NC State.

Virginia coach 1: I’ve got to say Coach Pry. Dabo talks really, really well. I don’t know the coach at Duke. I don’t know the head coach at Florida State. I don’t know the head coach at Georgia Tech. No at Louisville. I know Coach Cristobal at Miami. Mack is a little bit older, so he shares some wisdom, but eh. Doeren, I don’t know at all. I don’t know the head coach at Notre Dame. Coach at Pitt, no. Coach at Syracuse, no. So it would come down to UVa, Virginia Tech or Wake. Those are the guys that I’ve spent the most time around and I know really, really well.

Georgia coach: I would probably say Tony Elliott at Virginia. He and I had a few long conversations. I know where his heart is. I know what he’s in it for. He’s not in it for himself. He’s in it to make a difference in the lives of others.

(Top illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic)