Like any thief, Rusty Wright had a hard time sleeping earlier this week.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach hadn’t committed any real crime, of course, but when trying to fill a recruiting class at the Football Championship Subdivision level, he knows that sometimes quality prospects fall through the cracks of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Those players are known as “steals,” and getting commitments from them was just the first part of Wright getting away with it.
He completed that step over the final weekend before the first Wednesday in February, the traditional national signing day. However, Wright didn’t want to come on too strong while also eager to reaffirm by any means that the player would sign – much like anyone entering into a new relationship.
“You’re thinking of every scenario that can go wrong,” Wright said. “You don’t think that everything’s going to work out (and) it’s going to be good. Your mind is spinning on everything. That’s human nature.
“You get to the point where it’s like, ‘Do I text him now? Am I texting him too much?’ Because everybody’s different. That’s what racks your brain, that’s what just wears you out, but at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of somebody being comfortable enough and signing.”
Wright agreed the period from commitment to signing was similar to the process of ending a first date that seems to have gone well.
“So what do I do?” Wright said with a laugh Wednesday. “Do I kiss her as I walk her to the door? If I kiss her and she likes it, do I do it again? That’s what the final part of the process is like, but it’s different. The bad part about it is every kid is different, and then every parent’s different because you get to the end and you feel like you’ve got a guy and then you have to figure out who is truly making decisions. Is it him? Is it them? Is it a coach? So you’re like, ‘How much do we hammer him? How much do we hammer them?’
“Then once you figure out who the decision maker is, the person they’re listening to the most, then you sell them on the pros while keeping the kid involved in it to a certain degree. You’ve got to find out who the decision maker is: Even though it’s supposed to be the kid, it’s not always we’re dealing with that.”
Fast-forward to Wednesday, and a helpless feeling washed over Wright and his assistants, because they all had no other choice but to await confirmation of the players’ decisions to sign. There were some instances in which Wright felt like the team outkicked its coverage with a player joining the Mocs, such as offensive tackle Adorian Favors, who had offers from Boston College and Coastal Carolina before an injury cost him his entire senior season.
Oak Ridge athlete Kendall Jackson recently announced a top-three list of Kentucky, Memphis and Tennessee. But when he decided to stay in state, it was to sign with UTC on Wednesday.
Combined with the early signing period in December, a total of 14 players have signed as part of the Mocs’ newest class: Three defensive linemen (Nick Charles, Montrell Henderson, DeAndre Jones), two quarterbacks (Preston Hutchinson, Luke Schomburg), two offensive linemen (Favors, Will Collier), two linebackers (Jestin Gilmore, Alex Mitchell) and a receiver (Jalen Jude), a tight end (Camden Overton), a defensive back (Jimmy Bowdry), an athlete (Jackson) and a kicker (Andrew Southard).
Recruiting isn’t done – it never is, especially now with the NCAA transfer portal and rules permitting immediate eligibility after a first transfer – but the Mocs are in a good spot with what they’ve done to this point. So after two hours of rest Monday followed by a trip down to Mobile, Alabama, to check out former Mocs offensive line Cole Strange at Senior Bowl practice, Wright was hoping to get some rest.
“Now it’s relief,” he said. “It’s like all the blood comes back in your body, right? Because it’s been up here in the top of your head for like three days, and all of a sudden it’s like you just got out of the shower and you’re relaxed. It’s like, ‘We’re doing the right thing.'”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.