Over the past several seasons, the fastest growing area within football programs across the country is arguably the recruiting department. FBS programs have spent some major coin upgrading their personnel with full-timers and interns to make sure the recruiting efforts hum like a well oiled machine.
Here, NC State details how their recruiting department sets up their campus visits on game day, and how they structure their week from a recruiting standpoint in general, starting with director of recruiting operations John Laidet.
"Our goal as a recruiting staff is to leave no stone un-turned," Laidet explains. "Once they step on campus, they come through The Murph, we tour the facility, we have a strength and conditioning tour and a nutrition tour and then we go to the free expression tunnel and see the brickyard and everything like that so they know exactly what the atmosphere is like once they get here."
"Then we bring them down to the field and try to get them around their position group, close to the position coaches that they'll be working with the most. Coach Doeren will obviously come and talk to them pregame. We like to keep them down on the field as much as possible so they can see the fireworks and the run out, and the student section. It's a really great atmosphere for the kids."
Once a week, the entire recruiting staff will meet about their plan of action with certain guys and coaches, Cullen Homolka, the director of player personnel explained.
"We'll talk about what we need to do differently from the week before, and who needs to talk to who this week, and try to make sure that coach Doeren gets to communicate with every single kid that he can possibly communicate with in a week. Coach Doeren is very hands on in recruiting, so the more that we can give him, the more he's willing to take on, and the more it shows those kids that we care."
"All I'm trying to do is make sure we're bringing in quality kids that care about NC State." Homolka added
Hear a few more members of the recruiting staff weigh in on how they operate beyond game day below.