Georgia’s prized recruiter puts pieces together

Athens — As Rodney Garner, Georgia’s football recruiting coordinator, visited with a reporter in his office a couple of days ago, an e-mail arrived from the mother of a star high school player. Garner eagerly opened it, finding an attached photo of a cake already baked to celebrate a big day in the kid’s life: National Signing Day.

The cake was shaped and decorated like a bulldog, with the icing forming a red sweater with a black “G”.

“Oh, man, it’s awesome,” Garner said. “She said she’s going to send me a piece.”

No doubt who her son will sign with on Wednesday.

The e-mail is an example of the close relationships college football recruiters — Garner is regarded as one of the best in the business — develop with prospects and their families.

Garner has signed a long list of future NFL players, starting with his very first signee: running back Stephen Davis for Auburn in 1992. On Wednesday, Garner said Georgia will sign 18 to 21 players — a group the recruiting experts say will rank among the nation’s top 10 classes. “You’re always anxious,” Garner said, “until you get that fax in” — the fax being the national letter of intent that binds player to school.

Garner discussed his philosophies and experiences on the recruiting trail:

• On the different aspects of a recruiter’s job: There are some people who can evaluate talent very well but may not be a closer, and there are some people who are closers but may not necessarily be a good evaluator of talent. If you can get both, that would be what everybody wants on their staff. And then coach and develop that talent.

• On what makes a good “closer”: To me, the first trait is you got to be honest. People, they’re going to see through a facade. You have got to be upfront with people, got to be very personable. You’ve got to have a great work ethic, be willing to go the extra mile and put in that extra hour to know his grandmomma, godmother, godfather, uncle — you got to find out who the key players will be when it comes down to decision time, who’s going to be able to push the buttons and make it happen. To know that, you’ve got to have a good relationship with a lot of people.

• On getting to know recruits: You should have tried to touch every base you could. When you walk into a high school and see a custodian, you introduce yourself and say, ‘What do you think about that kid? Is he a good kid?’ You’ll be surprised what you find out. I want to know if he’s respectful and well-mannered to the custodian and the teachers and the assistant principal.

• On who has the most influence over recruits: Mom is usually a major player with boys, I’m just going to tell you that. Don’t ever discount the mother. That is cardinal sin No. 1.

• On how much stock Georgia puts in recruiting-service rankings (five-star, four-star, etc.) of prospects: None. Zero. It’s not going to determine whether we recruit you, how many stars you have. … We’re looking for men of character first; we’re looking for some of the intangible things. And he has to be able to play. You’ve got to make sure the kids meet your criteria for what fits your system and what you’re trying to accomplish in your program. Because not everybody fits. And you shouldn’t force it. Don’t get greedy.

• On Georgia’s top sales tool: We have a brand name that sells, and that brand is Mark Richt. Trust me, we use it, we ride it.

• On the role of recruiting coordinator: I think recruiting coordinator is sometimes like quarterback. When it’s going good, he gets too much credit. When it’s going bad, he gets too much blame.