This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Dec 2, 2008 Kiffin hired for recruiting expertise
By Leonard Butts
KNOXVILLE -- Lane Kiffin shouldn't lack the energy and stamina to do what he promised on Monday when he was introduced as Tennessee's new head football coach.
At only 33 years old, Kiffin has time on his side for handling the rigors of recruiting -- the main ingredient for success in any college sport, but especially in Southeastern Conference football as it currently exists.
"He's energetic, charismatic, consumed with recruiting," UT men's athletic director Mike Hamilton said of a hire that could have significant ramifications on Hamilton's own tenure.
And the emphasis in that praise was clearly on recruiting.
Although you're sure to get an argument that Tennessee's struggles in 2005 and again this season have had more to do with the lack of player development than with the quality of talent that arrives on campus each year, Hamilton begs to disagree.
Once a recruiting guru in his own right, Phillip Fulmer has in recent years found the familiar environs of adjoining states being encroached upon by charismatic coaches and successful programs. The top recruiting classes continued to appear now and then at UT, but the choices weren't panning out the way they once did.
If there was any doubt about what his primary charge will be, Kiffin made sure everyone understood with his first words about the new job. "We're going to hit the road recruiting," he said.
And that means right away. Following the press conference at UT, Kiffin said he was flying to Memphis to talk with the top prospect in the state, who also happens to be one of the best receivers in the country.
The first recruiting trip for the 21st coach in the program's history conveniently highlights a two-pronged objective -- keeping Tennessee's foremost prep players at home and improving the talent base by ranging as far from Knoxville as necessary to secure the finest players available.
"We've got to put a fence around the state of Tennessee," he said. "We've got to make it so that there is no reason a player from Tennessee should ever leave this state and go anywhere else. They need to be here playing for us and winning championships for the University of Tennessee."
Kiffin later discussed his recruiting role as an assistant at USC, relating how coach Pete Carroll put him in charge of recruiting every state but California itself, which the remainder of the staff handled.
"It was really good to be able to go everywhere, and it's helping me today," he said. "The relationships I have throughout the country and with coaches where I've recruited or signed people have been very helpful to me.
"You learn to deal with different people in different parts of the country."
And when asked what best qualifies someone to be a head coach of a Division I program like Tennessee, his answer was not unexpected -- "The best preparation is being a recruiting coordinator," he said.
The rest will be up to his assistant coaches, some of whom he is still recruiting to provide the experience and focus on Xs and Os that he might lack, which is as it should be. A captain, as they might say in the Vol Navy, is only as good as his crew.
UT tight end Luke Stocker will testify to that.
"He had a lot of energy and a lot of excitement, and everybody felt that," Stocker said of the recent team meeting with Kiffin.
"I felt like he was recruiting me."
Leonard Butts is sports editor. Write to him at The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802, or e-mail him at leonard.butts@thedailytimes.com