Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
FOOTBALL RECRUITING Irish Ramp Up Marketing And Promotions Recruiting is not all that different than sales. This year Notre Dame's focus in that department was updating its pitch to fit the 21st century modes of communication. That means a bigger presence on social media outlets and a constant assault of promotion via the post office. "We're going to stay on the cutting edge of that," head coach Brian Kelly said. "That allows us to get a 16-year-old who doesn't know who Jerome Bettis is. He has no idea who Rocket Ismail is, and this allows us through our marketing to then get in and tell our story. "That's what we've learned, that we've still got to get to those 16-year-olds, and we'll have to do it through their medium, and I think we're getting better." Kelly hopes to expand the number of employees he has at his disposal in the recruiting office moving forward so that Notre Dame can continue to flood a market of high school athletes with their message. Last summer they hired recruiting intern J.R. Sandlin, who appeared to spearhead a lot of the promotion of what they were doing via social media. Sandlin left South Bend in January for a coaching and recruiting coordinator position at Jacksonville State. On National Signing Day, Kelly praised Dave Peloquin, Notre Dame's director of player personnel, for orchestrating the effort throughout the season. Peloquin and Sandlin's most visible marketing tool was what they called the "Pot Of Gold." The school inundated their top targets and committed players with hundreds of letters all in a single delivery to show their interest. A handful of players received a package of 477 letters, one for each draft pick Notre Dame has sent to the National Football League. Stories of football programs stuffing the mailboxes of prospects with scores of hand-written notes are not new, but the Irish seem to have taken that approach to a new level. While the mailings are exorbitant by most standards, they served their purpose of creating a temporary buzz in the recruiting world and making the prospects feel loved. "All of our coaches are weighing in on, 'Hey, I need you to help me get my foot in the door here, and what ways are going to allow me to do that?'" Kelly said. "If we can get one of our coaches in the door to tell the story about Notre Dame and talk about what we can do for you, we've got a shot. "That's how we came up with those discussions to be more creative." — Dan Murphy ers from Texas: defensive end Grant Blankenship, linebacker Kolin Hill and cornerback Nick Watkins. He said the Shamrock Series victory at Cowboys Stadium last Oct. 5 versus Arizona State aided the recruiting efforts in the Lone Star State that is led by cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks, and helped draw some interest from 2015 prospects. "Are we going to get three kids from Texas every year that get offered by Texas? That's going to be tough sledding," Kelly admitted. "But there are going to be years that I think we're going to be able to do well in Texas." • Kelly said Notre Dame will not attempt to glam- orize anything the wrong way. "We do not want to go out there and say, 'Come to Notre Dame for these reasons: we'll get you an apartment off campus and we'll help you go pro early.' "I just wanted to be clear that these are our dis- tinctions, and you're shopping down a different aisle. We're not better than anybody else, but this is what you're going to get if you shop down this aisle. When we get into signing day at the end, I pretty much know which way you're going to go." ✦