Colorado State football embraces social media in recruiting

Collin Hill had never been to Colorado.

He didn't know what the state was like, let alone the university in Fort Collins that was recruiting him to play football.

So he started paying more attention to what coach Mike Bobo, the CSU football program and the university in general were sharing on their social media accounts. The more the quarterback from South Carolina saw on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, the more he liked.

"That definitely was beneficial, because before you get out here, you get a feel for what you're getting yourself into, like what you're about to see," Hill said before a recent practice. "So, from that aspect, it was pretty cool."

Nobody's going to choose a college football program simply because of what they see on social media. But that interaction helps get the conversation started, third-year Colorado State coach Mike Bobo said.

CSU posts regular videos, titled "The Grind" on YouTube, and Bobo and members of his staff frequently share pictures of Fort Collins and the surrounding area, the facilities in CSU's new on-campus stadium and inspirational messages from the coach and others he has speak to his team.

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Any prospect can see what the program has to offer and decide for himself whether or not it might be the right fit. Social media has allowed CSU and other schools in the Mountain West to recruit nationwide.

"You can come in contact with a guy instantaneously and get instant feedback and start communication," Bobo said. "The days of having to be in front of that kid and constantly in contact or being in close proximity, your school to their school or their home; I don't believe that (is important) anymore. I think you can build a relationship a lot earlier, and it's through social media."

NCAA rules limit the face-to-face contact and phone conversations college football coaches and their staff can have with prospects. But there are no limits on text messages or conversations through social media.

"(With) the sheer number of guys that we have to recruit, it's an easier method to stay in contact with more people," he said. "If you're trying to talk on the phone to a hundred-plus guys, you can't do it. But I can manage a hundred-plus guys through Twitter direct messaging or text, and that's how they communicate."

Besides, Bobo said, many 16- to 18-year-olds are more likely to respond to texts and direct messages on social media than they are to answer a phone call, anyway. So it's easier for everybody involved in the early part of the recruiting process.

"That's how I did most of my (recruiting) stuff," said Hill, who started three games for CSU as a true freshman last fall before a knee injury cut his season short. "A lot of coaches would kind of reach out through Twitter and that kind of stuff, and then you'd get in contact with them. Honestly, I didn't even use (Twitter) before, but that's kind of the avenue they went to reach out to me."

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CSU, like many schools, has football staffers create graphics specifically designed for prospects to share on social media, putting the players' faces, names and numbers on Rams uniforms when they make an offer. Prospects are quick to share those graphics in posts announcing they've received an offer. Other graphics are provided for them to announce their decisions if, and when, they make a verbal commitment to the program.

Fifteen athletes entering their senior year of high school have used graphics the school has provided on social media to announce their plans to sign with CSU's football program this winter. The most recent came Friday from Quinn Brinnon, a safety at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. Brinnon told his followers Thursday on Twitter that he had narrowed his choices down to three schools, using graphics provided by each of the three — CSU, Fresno State and Wyoming — and that he would announce his decision at a specific time (11 a.m. PDT) Friday. His pledge to CSU was made in a tweet that included a note about his decision, several thank-yous, a Bible verse, a line from the CSU fight song and a Ram emoji, accompanied by two graphics the Rams had provided.

Commitments like that, made on social media, tend to carry a bit more weight than those given directly to a coach, players said. It's harder to back out of a pledge you've made to several hundred followers, many of them fans of the school you've chosen.

It's a commitment that works both ways, though, CSU cornerback Anthony Hawkins said.

"I feel like I was connected more," said Hawkins, a sophomore from Arlington, Texas. "I liked it, because they were pretty open with it; they bought into me, so I bought into them. They didn't hide me; they showcased me. They put me out there on the billboard, and I liked that. They put Colorado State across my chest, so I wear it across my chest."

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Bobo is quick to note that CSU doesn't make offers to prospects through social media. The school simply uses those platforms to initiate the recruiting process and stay in touch with prospects they're interested in.

Geoff Martzen, the program's director of player personnel, new recruiting coordinator Emily Laff and a half-dozen or so student interns maintain the school's recruiting lists and verify whether or not a particular athlete meets the Rams' needs. They check out his grades, test scores and eligibility status with the NCAA Clearinghouse. They arrange official recruiting visits and work with the coaching staff to set up personal phone calls and face-to-face meetings with the athletes and their families, sometimes the high school coach, too.

Coaches still have to do their homework before offering scholarships, and prospects have to do theirs, as well, to make sure the fit is right.

"You've got to find out all the factors once you've started a relationship really through social media," Bobo said. "… Eventually, you get face-to-face, and you're going to get them on campus. But the building of a relationship for young people now is through text."

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news and listen to him talk CSU sports at 11:30 a.m. Thursdays on KFKA radio (AM 1310).

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