Tucker Finds That Buffs Brand Still Strong Across Nation
February 07, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Mel Tucker was out on the road making recruiting calls for the first time as Colorado's football coach, he discovered that CU is still a well-known brand — especially among high school coaches and parents.
It is a brand Tucker is selling with gusto, and one that helped him produce a top-50 class in his first recruiting go-round in Boulder, despite having barely two months to pull it together.
"On the recruiting trail, coaches — especially high school coaches — every day would say 'Man, you guys, I remember when that thing was rolling in the early '90s. I remember Heisman Trophies, Thorpe Award winners, national championships,'" Tucker said at his Wednesday afternoon signing day press conference. "Everyone now is looking at us and saying, 'I think these guys can get Colorado back to that.' That's translating to the players as well."
What Tucker discovered when he hit the recruiting road is that prospective student-athletes wanted to know about what was in place in Boulder today. They wanted to know about facilities, the school, the community and the overall environment.
Tucker had plenty to sell in that regard. The world-class Champions Center, the university's outstanding education reputation and the beautiful backdrop that has made Boulder famous nationwide were strong points of emphasis.
"The cupboards aren't bare here," Tucker said. "There's really good players here on both sides of the ball that can make plays for us. We have excellent facilities, we have strong, experienced leadership, we have a great university to sell, great academics and you have the Flatirons. You stand out there and think it's a postcard and it's not. It's live, it's right there. You'd be surprised how many people know that."
Those things struck a chord immediately with recruits, their parents and coaches.
"Everywhere I go, high school coaches, parents, they say, 'You guys get that going at Colorado, it's going to be great. I remember when it was this, I remember when it was that,'" Tucker said. "I think people want to see us succeed. Coaches want their players to play for us. Parents see that we're genuine and we're going to care about their sons. We're about business."
And, of course, recruits wanted to know what Tucker and his staff will do for them. That, he said, is what young players want to know the most. It's not about the past — even the recent past.
It is about the present and future.
"They're always looking for what's right now," Tucker said. "That's a sale for you no matter where you are. It's really not about what you did a year ago, it's about what you're doing right now and what they think you're going to do in the future. Players don't even care what you did two years ago. They really don't."
Tucker said that even when he was recruiting at Georgia, players were more concerned about the future than the past. They want to know how they will fit into the program.
"At Georgia, we had just played for a national championship — we didn't win, but we played for it," Tucker remembered. "But the players you're recruiting, they want to know what can you do for me right now? How can you help me graduate, how you can help me get a great education, how can you help me get on the field, how can you develop me into an NFL player? Like right now? What's happened with the guys before, that's good — but they really want to know what you can do for them today."
What Tucker was able to offer his first recruiting class at Colorado was a chance to join a program with established players — but one that still has room for newcomers to play right away. It is a program that won five games in a row to start the season in 2018 and reached the top 25 — but one whose depth quite clearly needs bolstering.
Simply, it is a program that holds promise right away — exactly what potential recruits are pursuing.
At the same time Tucker and his staff were wrapping up the 2019 class, they were heavily invested beginning the process of putting together the 2020 group. He said CU coaches have already made offers to 2020 recruits, as well as 2021 and 2022 players.
"We'll be in the best homes," Tucker said. "We're going to recruit the best kids in our state and across the country."
Tucker also believes he has assembled a staff that will make Colorado a recruiting giant. It includes three holdovers from the previous staff as well as seven new assistants, along with new quality control assistants. Also new are Recruiting Director Cymone George and Director of Player Personnel Geoff Martzen.
"The coaches that we retained, they were very passionate about CU," Tucker said. "That's important. The coaches that we hired and brought in all really wanted to be here. If you're passionate about the university and the team, you're going to do a great job of selling the program. Our coaches, they're great X and O guys, they're great scheme guys, but they're also great recruiters."
The recruiting portion, Tucker said, is every bit as important as the Xs and Os.
"You can't really be on this staff if you're not committed to recruiting, because recruiting at the end of the day is the name of the game," Tucker said. "We've got to have players that fit what we want to do. All of our coaches are all hands on deck recruiting. Our recruiting department does a great job. We recruit all day, every day and that's the way it's going to be."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu