Former USC Football Coach: Coaching Is More Important Than Recruiting

Former USC football coach Mike Ekeler’s recent thoughts on recruiting and coaching shine a light on present concerns surrounding the Trojan staffing changes.

If the best thing you can say about a coach is that he’s a great recruiter, then there is probably something wrong.

That’s the message former USC and Georgia linebackers coach  and new North Texas defensive coordinator Mike Ekeler shared in his exit interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"“People talk about hiring great recruiters; I think that’s an absolute joke. If you’re labeled that, 99 percent of the time that means you can’t coach a lick. That’s a fact. There are very few exceptions. Ed Orgeron is a fantastic recruiter and he’s probably the best defensive line coach of them all. The guy is big-time. It’s great to recruit 5-stars, but then they come in and play like 2-stars. It’s too bad that’s how this profession is, but that’s part of the deal now. “It’s not about recruiting, it’s about evaluating. That’s one of the things I learned from Ed Orgeron. It doesn’t matter if he’s a 2-star or a 5-star, it’s how you evaluate it and what you think you can do with him. That’s what I learned from him. Again, you recruit them. But there’s only about five players in the country that are totally different than everybody else. Everybody else can fall into a similar category. At that point it’s about developing and teaching. It’s about evaluating and developing your talent. And that’s a fact.”"

Ekeler’s words feel particularly relevant to USC’s current situation.

Despite boasting the nation’s second-best squad in terms of recruiting stars, according to the 247Sports team talent composite, the Trojans have posted win totals far below those of the other teams at their level.

USC’s lack of payoff when it comes to top recruiting classes could be connected to NCAA sanctions on some level, but that explanation only goes so far. Take the Clemson squad which just made it to the College Football Playoff title game. The Trojans have more four-star players available to them than all of Dabo Sweeney’s three-star athletes.

Recruiting matters in college football, but quality of coaching matters more.

That is why the departure of quarterbacks coach Marques Tuiasosopo to UCLA is no huge worry. And why the promotion of wide receivers coach Tee Martin to offensive coordinator raises concern.

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• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

Tuiasosopo was considered one of the top recruiters on USC’s staff. But, as Ekeler points out, being considered a top-notch recruiter first and foremost might not be a great thing. The Trojans’ tight ends did not exactly thrive under his tutelage while it could be argued that the nine games under Tuisasosopo were the worst stretch of Cody Kessler’s career at USC.

For his part, Tee Martin has produced a Biletnikoff winner and two semi-finalists for the award since joining the Trojans in 2012, so he must be doing something right as a coach. Still, Robert Woods’ 846 yards are the most a No. 2 USC receiver has gained in that time, as supporting characters in the Trojan receiving corps have been largely absent during his tenure.

Discussions about the importance of keeping Martin on staff following Clay Helton’s promotion largely revolved around his necessity as a recruiter, not a coach. That’s a red flag Martin will have the opportunity to address in 2016 with an offensive depth chart stacked with talent but in need of coaching up.