Konstantinos Kosmakos’ coaching buddies kept telling him it looked like a fun trip. But it was no vacation.



Sausage in Germany, fresh crab in France, moose in Finland and cathedrals all over the European continent. The photos Kosmakos posted on social media last month sure looked like any other tourist.



But the Towson defensive line coach wasn’t there to experience history and cuisine. He was there to see football players.



College football recruiting has found the next frontier. Recent years have seen a greater influx of European players coming to American colleges — Eastern Michigan had three this past season — but this cycle is different. More programs, including Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Temple and others, are sending coaches to the continent to meet and find players.



No one explored Europe like Kosmakos, who traveled nearly 12,000 miles through nine countries, visiting six of them to find football players at...