Texas Tech University Athletics
Raider Recruiters Vital To Success
June 21, 1999 | General
Ask any college coach what is the key to producing a successful program and chances are he will say recruiting. Hundreds of publications each year attempt to monitor the best high school players and which schools they will choose to attend, knowing that fans want to see who their team's next star will be.
But what makes player X choose university A over university B?
That is where the Raider Recruiters enter the picture. Each season this group of Texas Tech enthusiasts help Tech's football, basketball and baseball coaches sort through lists of names and get to know the faces and personalities behind them.
"These kids are bombarded with information," 1998-99 Raider Recruiter Head Coordinator Trudy Kellogg said. "So anything we can do to break through that to give Tech an advantage is what our group is about."
The unique touch of the Raider Recruiters takes effect starting with the first letters that prospects receive. Each coach is assigned seven or eight recruiters to whom he gives the names of the athletes he will be contacting. In order to help Texas Tech stand out among piles of mail, the recruiters decorate envelopes to be sent to recruits.
Once initial contact is made, the recruiting process begins to take shape. In the fall, high school players will often make an unofficial visit to Lubbock during which they attend a Red Raider football game. Before the game Raider Recruiters accompany the athletes to the sidelines of Jones Stadium during pre-game festivities.
"It's fun to watch recruits when they come into the stadium," Kellogg said. "To see them get into college football and realize that they could be here one day is exciting."
When football season comes to a close for high school players and college coaches, the recruiting season heats up. Each weekend from December to February has the possibility of being a big one for Texas Tech as recruits begin making official visits. For the high school seniors visiting Texas Tech, the weekend includes an on-campus meal on Friday, lunch and dinner on Saturday as well as a tour of the campus and a night out hosted by a member of the Red Raider football team. Each high school player is assigned a Raider Recruiter when he arrives on campus to guide him through the weekend and make him feel at home.
Tommy McVay, Texas Tech Director of Football Operations, says that the Raider Recruiters are essential to the Red Raider's ability to recruit high school athletes because they are able to answer questions from a student's perspective.
"They're honest about their experience at Texas Tech," McVay said. "If they're happy at Texas Tech then that is the picture they're going to project and the recruit is going to feel he is getting the honest picture from a student rather than just what the coaches have told him."
Kellogg says that she most often hears that it is the people of West Texas and Tech's coaching staff that influence high school players to pick Texas Tech. She also feels that it is important for the families of the high school players to feel good about Tech and for the players themselves to realize that Lubbock is a college town.
By the time a high school athlete becomes a bona-fide Red Raider star, he may not remember what his Raider Recruiter told him during his visit, but he will remember the hospitality he received in Lubbock.
"The Raider Recruiters do a good job of showing you a good time, letting you know about the school and encouraging you that this is a great university," senior defensive end Montae Reagor said. "The big part of it is the way they treat you which shows the atmosphere around here, that it is one big happy family where everyone is just so close."
By Chad Conine
