The Art of College Recruiting

An interesting article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution sheds light on the art of recruiting in college football. And it involves a three letter word-Mom. As stated in the article,"...when it comes to recruiting, everyone knows if Mama ain't happy, her kid won't play for your team."

According to some recruiting experts, persuading a mother can outweigh charming the son. One coach that apparently knows this better than most is none other than Bobby Bowden. One Georgia high school coach gives an example. "Last year, a kid was being recruited by [several schools]; his mother met Bobby Bowden and that was it, that's where her baby's going. Bobby is as good as there's ever been because he directed the whole spiel to the mom and what he was going to do to watch over her son."

The importance of the mother-son bond recycles each football season. A well known recruiting service this weekend will be hosting the first of several college football information fairs for top high school juniors. Each player can bring an adult they trust. According to the national recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree, three of every four athletes bring their mom. Mother knows best.