Any recruiting fan has undoubtedly seen the arms race that is today's recruiting flyers. Recruits ask for edits and receive mail and photos online of them photoshopped into college uniforms, holding the national championship trophy, the Heisman Trophy, and in any other way that might help that school stand out from the sea of other mail these kids receive.

From Georgia getting hand-drawn portraits done to Oregon creating a comic book for Jonathan Stewart, getting creative with your mailers is now as much a part of the recruiting process as visits, phone calls and cookie cakes have been.

While no recruit picks a school solely on how cool their edits are, kids admit that it makes a difference. It catches their eyes and the publicity these photos generate on social media is great advertising for any program. Good looking graphics are important. That's where these guys come in.



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Aaron Bills has been a Michigan fan for as long as he could remember. A self-described "semi-poor kid" in West Michigan who couldn't get into Michigan games, he began doing graphic design for the high school team he coached. Eventually, he moved over into making graphics for fun and tagging some of the players in his posts. It was a hobby, although he was beginning to get freelance work.

Then some of the Michigan players brought up his work to then Director of Player Personnel Chris Singletary.

"Chris got ahold of me originally via his assistant on Twitter and eventually via phone call," Bills said. "They brought me in and asked if I could do a few samples. Some of the players on the team told them about my work."

From there, he began designing playbooks, posters, shirts, highlight films. Pretty soon, the coaches he watched and admired on television were in contact with him about what they wanted to see next.

"Sometimes I get a request with a direction we would like to take it, other times the creative process is all on me," he says. "It works great either way. The staff and I constantly bounce ideas off one another."

Bills now says he works, on average, around 60 to 70 hours a week and loves every minute.

"It doesn't even feel like work. I just love the fact that I get to help Michigan football be better in my own way."

To see the reaction his work gets from fans, players, prospective players, and others, and now instantly via the internet, is another perk of his job.

"That is one of the cool things about social media. You will know if the design hits home or not. Good or bad, you will know. I am always interested in checking out how our designs resonate with the audience we are trying to reach with any given piece."

That kid who once could not get into games is now on the sidelines for games, gets to meet former players he used to admire, and his work adorns the team's playbook and hangs in Schembechler Hall. Occasionally, he gets asked other design questions by the staff. In short, Bills says he still cannot believe this is what he does for a living.

"I honestly feel like I have the best job on earth. It is awesome."



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While this is Bills' full-time job now, that is not the case for the high school student (who wishes to have his name withheld) who runs Spartan Designs. It may be some day though, as his work is quickly being recognized by Spartan fans, recruits, players and coaches alike.

"I am taking graphic design courses and putting what I learn to use on the many edits or graphics I create," he said. Three years ago, I started using various apps to edit photos that I would post on Instagram. You are really limited with apps, so when I found out what Topaz Labs, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator were, I fell in love."

So did those who saw it. That includes some of the football staff at MSU.

"The staff has contacted me a couple of times, but I have never been given an idea or asked for something from me," he said.

His recent line, combining recruit photos with designs inspired by the movie "300" has been a hit. The more recruits and fans have picked up on his work, the more the artist has been inundated with other requests.

"After spending around an hour on an edit for a player or commit, it's pretty relieving when the player or recruit expresses their gratitude, or even better when they recommend you to others."

High school will soon end for him, and guess where he wants to go?

Regardless of if life's path brings him to East Lansing, he is still thrilled to see his work make a difference for the school he loves.

"As someone who would love to attend Michigan State University, it is incredible to see the affect that my work has had on the appeal of Michigan State. As my work improves, I am excited to see how the impact of these simple edits or designs may have on MSU recruiting."



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Imagine you are an Ohio State fan and alum and you have been tasked with the exciting job of creating graphics for the team, and finally, you get to meet head coach Urban Meyer for the first time, and upon making his acquaintance, you commit a party foul.

That's what happened to Samuel Silverman.

"The football staff was celebrating National Signing Day at Mike Vrabel's house," Silverman said. "All the coaches were there and I was still pretty behind the scenes in the workplace, but they were all aware of my work, including Coach Meyer. I told my friend that I had yet to actually meet him face to face, so we walked over to him and his wife, Shelley Meyer.

"I introduced myself and congratulated him on the most recent recruit class and he was telling me how he admires my work and loves how much it helps with recruiting. As we wrapped up the quick conversation, I was shaking his hand.. and as I began to retract my hand, I ended up knocking my drink completely off the table.. smashing to the ground and spilling all over the floor as I snuck away in embarrassment. And that's how I made my first impression on Coach Meyer."

Luckily for Silverman, he does such great work that no one, not Meyer, or anyone else in the athletic department cannot forgive his instance of kultziness.

He graduated with a degree in industrial product design from Ohio State and says he dabbled in freelance graphic work. His hope was to design athletic equipment, possibly shoes for a company like NIKE.

After school, he volunteered to help with design work for recruiting both because he was a fan and wanted to help, and because he thought it would be a great resume piece.

"After a three-month unpaid internship, the role turned into a two-year full-time internship, and, most recently, a full-time graphic design job with OSU Athletics. I haven't looked back since. It's too much fun creating impactful work that captures a ton of exposure and benefits your alma mater."

Silverman says last season's national championship winning run was one of the most incredible moments he has been a part of. He also says that the staff has been nothing but a joy to work with.

"Growing up in Youngstown, I was a Buckeye fanatic way before this opportunity, and being engulfed by the Ohio State culture, tradition, and history truly sparks the passion to create the highest quality of work."

As it is with others who do similar work, Silverman never dreamed this hobby would become what it is today. The immediate feedback and positivity from the Ohio State community is what fuels his creative process.

"The best part of the job, because it creates value for the football program and design in general. Seeing people react with so much positivity, encouragement, and support is an incredible and humbling experience. I never thought making college football designs would take off how it did."

Recently, Ohio State hired another designer, Carl Harris, to lighten Silverman's workload and accelerate their work. Silverman continues to work closest with Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni on creating slogans, content and other types of inspiration.

And his relationship with Meyer since that infamous Signing Day party?

"Luckily that didn't affect our relationship. Coach Meyer is awesome. I was honestly star-struck the first couple of times we talked because, well, he's Urban Meyer and he's one of the greats. He's also very involved with the creative process and his passion for his craft is contagious. Our interactions are great because he get's so pumped about the work we put out and he, just like many others, understand the value of having exceptional design work illustrating everything that has an impact on recruiting.

"More importantly, he has real conversations with you. He wants you to think about your future. I've had talks with him where we just talk about life and then, out of the blue, he'll ask me what my 5-year plan is. What do I ultimately want to do? What do I need to do in order to get there? It's really cool to have conversations like that with someone who's so accomplished, genuinely interested in your goals."





