New head coaches making moves on the recruiting trail

The coaching carousel last year produced a record-breaking number of high-level job openings in college football. Included in that list were traditional powers like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, Oregon, LSU, Miami and USC.

Four of those jobs were filled by coaches not only new to their programs, but new to being head coaches at the Power Five level as well. Of the group, only Florida’s Billy Napier had been a head coach at the college level. The learning curve for first-time coaches is challenging, but especially so when taking over a program that at one point or another in the past 20 years has been at the top rungs of the sport.

The brand name provides a recruiting advantage, no doubt, opening doors that would otherwise be shut. But it also comes with immediate expectations, whether you’re replacing a coach who was fired or left for another program.

And while the first-year recruiting “bump” — prospects being attracted to schools with fresh, new leadership — is very real, four coaches hired this past cycle have thrown down the gauntlet and built legitimate momentum on the trail.

Billy Napier — Florida

Napier was a hot name in each of the last few coaching cycles as he built a powerhouse at Louisiana. But he was extremely strategic in which jobs he wanted to pursue, waiting for the right opportunity. Florida gave him that, a program with plenty of recent success, a rabid fan base and arguably the most fertile recruiting ground in the country. His early returns at the end of the 2022 cycle were positive, namely flipping four-star Georgia safety commit Kamari Wilson.

The start to the 2023 class was slow, though, and the success-starved Gators fan base grew restless. In June, Napier wrote an open letter essentially asking for patience and for continued investment in the program. After the Gators lost out on four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada, the target of a reported massive NIL battle, questions were rampant.

Napier and Co. responded in the month of July, adding eight commitments, including a trio of wide receivers that On3 is much higher on than the rest of the recruiting industry. The first two weeks of August have proven equally fruitful, with the Gators beating out Alabama for top-60 defensive lineman Kelby Collins and locking in On3 top-25 prospect Kamran James, who Georgia was pushing hard for. A handful of top targets remain available, none bigger than Five-Star Plus+ cornerback Cormani McClain.

Landing the No. 3 prospect this cycle would be a resounding win, but even without McClain, the Gators have made their message clear: The apathy toward recruiting under Dan Mullen went out the door with him.

Dan Lanning — Oregon

Like Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Lanning continues the trend of younger coaches getting major Power Five opportunities early on in their careers. The 36-year-old spent the past three seasons helping Kirby Smart build the country’s best defense at Georgia, both on the field and the recruiting trail. Lanning’s savvy in the latter made him a prime candidate at Oregon after the Ducks lost elite recruiter Mario Cristobal to Miami.

When he arrived in Eugene in mid-January after Georgia’ national championship win, Oregon’s 2022 class had been picked apart by other programs. The crown jewel of Cristobal’s class, five-star Kelvin Banks, opted to sign with Texas. And top-50 wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan defected for league rival Arizona. Lanning, in addition to building out his staff and recruiting operation, had to keep the Ducks’ class together as much as possible.

He managed to salvage the No. 12 class in the country, including a very late recruiting win for top-40 offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. Now, with a full cycle underway, Lanning has raised some eyebrows across the country. The Ducks are one of just seven programs with two five-star prospects committed: Detroit (Mich.) quarterback Dante Moore and San Jose (Calif.) wideout Jurrion Dickey. Even more impressive is that Lanning identified Dickey as major target long before the rest of the country caught on to how good he actually was.

Oregon has also amassed talent at the skill positions — running back, receiver and defensive back — as well as nabbing top-200 defensive lineman Terrance Green out of Texas. Without much of a recruiting base locally, the Ducks will have to be a national presence, which Lanning and his staff have done by making a name for themselves early on.

Brent Venables — Oklahoma

No coach in recent memory was more precise about finding the right first-time head coaching gig than Venables. After more than 15 years as defensive coordinator at Clemson and Oklahoma and a number of opportunities elsewhere, Venables seized on the chance back in Norman when Lincoln Riley bolted for USC. He’s made headlines for his eccentric energy and comments about modern recruiting. But he has quietly been a force on the trail.

After holding together the Sooners’ 2022 class and (somewhat miraculously) finishing with the No. 8 class last cycle, Venables had a slower start to this year than OU fans were used to. Coming into July, Oklahoma only had nine commitments on board, with seven ranking outside the top-400 of the On3 Consensus. Like the Gators, though, the seventh month of the year was a big one, with Venables and Co. reeling in nine verbals.

They locked in top-75 prospect Cayden Green, holding off a late push from Missouri. Two days later, they went back into Kansas City and landed On3 five-star and top-10 prospect Adepoju Adebawore, edging Missouri, Georgia and a handful of others.

At the same time, four-star running back Daylan Smothers and top-70 wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway gave their commitments, and the Sooners sealed the deal on three more blue-chip defensive players: four-star Kissimmee (Fla.) EDGE Derrick LeBlanc, Tampa (Fla.) linebacker Lewis Carter, and Spanaway (Wash.) CB Jasiah Wagoner. And over the weekend, On3 top-40 prospect Jacobe Johnson, the No. 2 player in Oklahoma, committed to the Sooners over Alabama, Michigan and a handful of others.

Now, the focus turns to five-star Katy (Texas) Paetlow defensive lineman David Hicks, who would be the cherry on top of an excellent first full class for Venables.

Marcus Freeman — Notre Dame

The 36-year-old Freeman was given no small task in replacing Brian Kelly, the most successful Notre Dame coach since Lou Holtz. After serving as Kelly’s defensive coordinator for a season, he was handed the keys to a proverbial Ferrari. The Fighting Irish were very good on the recruiting trail under Kelly’s watch, especially in recent years. He expanded the recruiting footprint to be more national, dipping into talent-rich states like Florida, Georgia and Texas.

But a big reason for Freeman’s hiring over more experienced options was his recruiting prowess. Through a partial 2022 cycle and thus far in the 2023 class, he has proven the Irish brass correct. Notre Dame ended with the No. 6 class in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings last year, its highest finish since 2013.

He has carried that juice into this cycle, where the Irish sit at No. 2 nationally in the team rankings. That includes a trio of On3 five-star commitments in EDGE Keon Keeley, offensive tackle Charles Jagusah, and safety Peyton Bowen. Not only has Freeman kept a foothold in the Midwest — Notre Dame’s biggest recruiting pipeline — but he has dipped into Florida, Louisiana and Texas to take away prospects from the in-state powers there.

Now, the key will be holding onto those commitments as others try to pick them off. Both Keeley and Bowen have become flip targets for the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Along with winning on the field, keeping both of those players in the class will be crucial to keeping the momentum he has built.