Chasing recruits lacks glamour
TIM CASEY
Sports Writer
It was 8 at night, 12 inches of snow covered the ground and they were trapped in a small rental car, heading to Columbia, S. C.
On their way to visit a recruit, they felt something ricochet off the side of their car.
Snowballs. Several people decided to pack some snow together and hit an innocent bystander.
Bet they didn't know the occupants were Bob Davie and Steve Addazio.
Sixty miles and six hours after leaving Spartansburg, S.C., at 12:30 a.m., the two Irish coaches finally arrived at their destination, a Marriott hotel. They had not eaten since noon, and most places were closed at the late hour.
So their dinner consisted of a small box of cereal. No milk, no fruit, just dry Froot Loops.
Then, recognizing Davie, one of the hotel workers offered the coaches some milk and bananas that were hidden in the back room.
"We were the kings of the world sitting there," Davie recalled. "We were keeping an eye on it so nobody would come in because there were other guests that were hungry."
Such is the life of a coach during recruiting season.
It's not the glamour associated with people who make six-figure salaries. The five-star hotels, the fancy restaurants and the cars mean nothing when you're trying to build a winning program.
There are long days and nights in unheard of places, far from family — all to chase 17-year-olds.
But this is when recruiting coaches realize that coaching is their first love. That in order to survive in the profession, they must work long days. That the only way to keep a job is to get players that can win at the college level.
Notre Dame received visits from 45 players this year. Davie visited each one at their homes. He traveled to Florida, Texas and California in search of talent.
"I was gone every day that you could be gone as the head coach," he said.
This work ethic is not limited to just the head coach. The assistants were assigned regions of the country. They evaluated players for months — some for more than a year — to determine which players they wanted to target.
Addazio, the tight ends and special teams coach, was instrumental in attracting players from the Northeast.
Through Kirk Doll's sales pitch, the Irish were able to land Carlyle Holiday.
Desmond Robinson, the running backs coach, was at home on Saturday, ready to go with his family to the Notre Dame-St. John's basketball game.
Then the phone rang around 1 in the afternoon. It was Davie, who told him to head to Tulsa, Okla., to meet with a recruit. He boarded the next flight and was at the recruit's house until one minute before midnight, the deadline for coaches to visit.
The recruit never signed with Notre Dame.
Then there's defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, whose physical presence and personable nature make him a nationally respected as a recruiter.
"We went up to [recruit Greg Pauly's] school Friday and everyone in that school knows Greg Mattison when he walks in," Davie said. "He knows where all the pizza lines are. He knows all the faculty members and they think he does a terrific job. He did a great job recruiting."
"I'm real proud of the effort our coaches have put into this," Davie added. "We've got some guys that can compete."
That includes Davie, who found out some bad news yesterday.
None of the names on the official list of signees came from South Carolina.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, February 3, 2000
