A college football coach is responsible for more than just coaching his team to victory.

Coaches have the job of putting all the pieces together and making the program run as smoothly as possible. They achieve this by recruiting players that best fit their program.

NIU assistant football coach P.J. Fleck is the wide receivers coach, but also takes on the responsibility as the Huskies’ recruiting coordinator.

“We recruit a lot more than we coach,” Fleck said. “You’re a coach during the season for about four months, then you recruit for eight months. You’re a recruiter then a coach.”

Recruiting is about a two-and-a-half-year process, Fleck said.

It all begins when college coaches travel to the different high schools in their region. Once there, they talk to the high school head coaches and find out who are the top players on the squad. During the visit, the high school coach gives his feedback, which includes the player’s personality and ability on the field to the college representative.

But as always, the job of recruiting is a team effort.

“Assistant coaches all have a certain area. Each coach is given a state or two,” Fleck said. “I have an area covering 65 high schools in the west suburban area.”
The recruiter then evaluates film and gives the prospect a grade.

Fleck said after the coaches spend multiple hours in the film room they come together. During these meetings, the coaches collectively make decisions on players. He stressed how everyone is involved in this process.

“Everyone does it,” Fleck said. “It’s very similar to shaving. If you don’t do it everyday, you’re going to look bad.”

Academics also play a significant part in the grading process of recruitment.
“You can tell a lot about a player from film and his guidance counselor,” Fleck said. “The first thing we do when we walk into a high school is talk to their counselors and see how they perform in the classroom. We want to make sure that academically, these kids are legit and can fit into our program.”

Getting to know the players is important piece of the puzzle that is recruiting.

The players have to have a personality that fits that of the university and the football program.

“You get to know [the players] and you get to know their families,” Fleck said. “You try and get a good feel for them. Coach Kill is a hard-hat, lunch pail, blue-collar kind of guy. We want a hard-working, blue-collar kid that loves the game.”

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