It takes an army — and plenty of data — for Nebraska's recruiting system

Coach Matt Rhule has a literal army for his recruiting staff at Nebraska. Plus, a whole custom database of information.

Photo courtesy Nebraska Athletics

The world of college football recruiting is ever-changing. Take signing days as an example. What used to be one day in February is now two with the addition of the early signing period in December. More than likely, those two days will become three with a June signing period that will make July a dead period and shift the date of the December signing period up by a couple of weeks.

Add to it a shift in the transfer portal’s postseason timeframe — as well as a change to the number of days coaches can recruit each spring — and you’ve got yourself quite a bit to sort through. You know, on top of everything else required to stay on top of recruiting for any university.

Good thing coach Matt Rhule has a literal army for his recruiting staff at Nebraska. Take Vince Guinta, for example. The Huskers’ senior director of player personnel used to be part of a staff of three. Now he has a team of 20 people, all of which are ready and willing to get to work to build the best recruiting classes possible for Nebraska.

“Coach Rhule never wants to rest,” Guinta said during a media availability on Wednesday. “There’s never a rest. We never pause. I think that’s a little similar.¹ That’s the fun and the challenge, too, right?

“Every day is another day to recruit, and every day is a new opportunity to recruit.”

Guinta wasn’t the only one to meet with the media on Wednesday. Director of recruiting systems and strategies Ryan Callaghan, director of player personnel Keith Williams, director of football advancement Chris Coulter and director of recruiting operations Avery Gossett were also all available to break down the ins and outs of the behemoth that is Nebraska recruiting under Rhule. It was important to Rhule for his recruiting staff to get some time with the media because while we see his assistant coaches on the road, it’s the staff behind-the-scenes making it all happen.

In fact, Nebraska now boasts about its data analytics on the recruiting trail. 

"I'm proud of the fact that we as a staff here have built the best recruiting database in the country. We also have some of the best processes in college football," Callaghan said. 

The actual data and information of the database are tightly guarded, but it’s essentially a way for Nebraska to personally keep track of the information it needs. Williams said, for example, that he had evaluated more than 500 prospects during the spring evaluation period. That includes walk ons and scholarship potential athletes, and Nebraska uses a color-coded system that allows the staff to quickly sort categories of data.

And Callaghan has to be ready to provide that to Rhule whenever asked.²

"With that being said, though, we ultimately understand those are just tools,” Callaghan said. “At the end of the day each of us has to recruit. And recruiting still comes down to relationships with both the parents and recruit."

Yes, relationships still remain paramount — even with a custom database at Nebraska’s fingertips. It has to be though. There’s a reason 10 coaches were on hand to visit Millard South tight end Chase Loftin in early May. It’s a big investment of time to do that though.

The recruiting visit rules shifted this year, limiting staff to 140 days to recruit this spring during the contact period. That means those 10 full-time assistant coaches in that photo used one of the 14 days they each have available to see Loftin. Or, in simpler terms, 10 out of the 140 days available staff-wide were used.

Sending a large number of staff members to see recruits is common. Another example of this was when the Huskers sent six staff members to see Lincoln Southwest athlete Jackson Carpenter this spring. Between Loftin and Carpenter, that’s 16 days out of 140.³

But those relationships are vital to Rhule and his staff. More often than not, recruits' families will visit the school when the staff shows up in force like Nebraska’s does. In the photo shared for Loftin’s visits, his parents are standing in the photo too. That’s valuable.

There still has to be a rhyme and a reason though. That’s where Nebraska’s recruiting staff comes in. From the analytics and database to the research and preparation, every role in Rhule’s recruiting world plays a piece in the overall success.

Gossett, for example, runs the operations for official and unofficial visits at Nebraska. Her goal is simply to make those who visit feel like they’re at home in Lincoln.

“Whether you’re a walk-on or rated five-stars,” she said, “Everybody’s the same. We want (everybody) to have the same experience.”

There’s no better time to ensure just that as camp season gets underway in Lincoln. Rhule uses these camps as an evaluation period of sorts too, putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to scholarships.

And then there are the summer official visits, which always kick off with a “Big Red Welcome” on the east side of Memorial Stadium. With only 48 hours to make an impact, Gossett is hard at work making sure Nebraska is as ready as possible to welcome the athletes and their families. Just like camps, every moment counts in both evaluation and in making players feel like Lincoln might be their future home.

It takes a lot of work to make the whole operation run. Guinta joked that he probably won’t be home very much in June, which will be the case for the entire recruiting staff.

After all, the world of college football recruiting never stops. It’s also ever-changing.

Can you imagine what it would be like if Nebraska didn’t have the army of support that it does now?

1. Guinta was referring to his time working for coach Bill Callahan at Nebraska. Guinta was an intern for the football operations office during Callahan’s tenure, to which he noted a similar work ethic between the former Nebraska coach and Rhule on the recruiting trail. Considering Callahan was known for his recruiting strengths — Ndamukong Suh was certainly a win — it’s a pretty strong endorsement for Rhule’s recruiting.

2. He now has it available on his phone for this exact reason.

3. You can see how this adds up quickly, or subtracts quickly I guess you could say.