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http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs...501240327/1006
With less than 10 days to National Signing Day, many college football programs already have fat commitment lists and most of their scholarships are already spoken for.
Louisiana Tech, however, plays the recruiting game a little differently. Bulldog coach Jack Bicknell is not one who is eager to fill up a commitment list too early in the recruiting game.
"We could fill up with commitments by Dec. 1," Bicknell said. "But we want to have some spots at the end. We want to be patient."
So far the Bulldogs have received verbal commitments — which are non-binding — from about half of the total players they will eventually sign on Feb. 2.
The reason for Tech's patience is twofold. One, Bicknell wants to make sure that when a kid commits, he commits. Secondly, as Tech continues to try to upgrade its talent level to compete with the teams on its schedule, it takes a great deal of diligence to land players of that caliber.
"We haven't pushed for early commitments because of the fact we want to make sure that a kid comes on his visit and likes what he sees before he commits," offensive coordinator Conroy Hines said. "Jack wants a kid if he's going to commit, commit — he's sold, we're sold and everyone sticks with it."
Having a player reverse field on his commitment can cause major headaches for the jilted program. When a team secures a commitment from one player, it usually means they tell other players they are recruiting at that position to look elsewhere.
"I only want a kid to commit if his family is dead sure," Bicknell said. "You're depending on them coming."
Bicknell also wants some flexibility late in the game if a player being recruited by the larger schools gets bumped from their priority list.
"If you want to try and get higher-caliber players, you've got to wait and let them shuffle through everything," Tech recruiting coordinator Greg Malo said. "Coach Bick's philosophy is that sometimes you have to wait and see on some guys. You can't do it with every guy."
Two prime examples of Tech's patience paying off from last year's recruiting class are running back Freddie Franklin and linebacker Barry Robertson.
The 6-0, 190-pound Franklin was one of the top running backs in the state out of Carver High School in New Orleans. Several larger schools recruited Franklin, but they were waiting to see if he would become academically eligible.
Tech stayed on Franklin hard and when the other schools opted to go with other players, Tech got their man. Franklin eventually became academically eligible and played in 11 games as a freshman.
Franklin gained 204 yards in 45 carries and caught five passes for 56 yards. He is now the heir apparent to record-setting rusher Ryan Moats, who gave up his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.
Robertson was a 6-3, 240-pound linebacker out of Pearl River (Miss.) Community College and at the top of Tech's defensive wish list. Texas A&M wanted Robertson, but in the end, he and wife Kathleen settled on Tech.
Robertson did not disappoint. In his first season at Tech, he played in all 12 games and started six. He finished the season fifth on the team with 68 tackles, including eight for loss, three quarterback sacks and one interception.
Robertson should be one of the defensive anchors this season.
"They told me they wanted me and they knew other people wanted me," Robertson said. "They said, we know we don't have as good of facilities as the other schools, but we have a good school and you will get the chance to start.''
The straightforward nature in which Tech recruits its players is also a Bicknell hallmark.
"That's one thing our head coach is adamant about and that is being honest," Malo said. "You might get burned every once in a while, but you can sleep at night knowing you did the right thing."
Tech's straight-up approach was one reason receiver Josh Wheeler from Liberty-Eylau High School in Texarkana, Texas, recently committed to the Bulldogs.
"The one thing about Josh is he's very intelligent and he didn't feel like they put up a lot of smoke screens," Liberty-Eylau coach Pat Brady said. "When people tried to recruit him, that old -fashioned style didn't impress him. He didn't get that with the Louisiana Tech staff."
Nothing breeds discontent like telling a player one thing and doing another.
"When we talk to a kid we want to gray-shirt, we tell him that," Hines said. "A lot of schools will oversign then tell a kid he's being gray-shirted. Jack would rather approach things honestly."
Which isn't always the case in recruiting, one of the seemier sides of college athletics. "They used to say about Coach Bick's dad (former Boston College coach Jack Bicknerll Jr.) that he would be a bad used car salesman," Malo said. "That's rubbed off on Jack. Coach Bicknell has three kids and he realizes that is somebody's kid.''
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Originally Posted by Bossdawg
