A Historic Announcement
At 12:16 PM CST on Thursday, June 23rd, Isidore Newman School quarterback Arch Manning tweeted below “Committed to the University of Texas. #Hookem”.
Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/jHYbjBaF5K
— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022
These words reverberated throughout all of the college football. If you are not familiar with Arch Manning, you soon will be. He is arguably the most publicized recruit in high school history. But even if you don’t know who he is, you most certainly are familiar with his famous family. Arch Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, and the grandson of Archie Manning. The future Texas Longhorn is a third generation quarterback and member of American football royalty.
The question becomes how did the Longhorns secure the services of the coveted prospect and what can all leaders learn from Manning’s decision. In this post The Athletic’s Sam Khan Jr. explored the reasons why.
Recruiting Generational Talent Takes Creativity
Along with head coach Steve Sarkisian, quarterback coach A.J. Milwee was the main point of contact with the Manning family and Newman’s head coach Nelson Stewart. During the six-week spring evaluation period when coaches could be on the road, Milwee would often be the first person in the weight room at Isidore Newman.
Stewart said, “When A.J. came down this spring two times, he turned the lights on in the weight room. That’s how early he got there.” This leads to the second point.
Recruiting Generational Talent Is Very Hard Work
An argument could be made Coach Sark and Coach Milwee simply outworked everyone else. Coach Stewart would agree. He said, “No staff, no coaches have worked harder than Coach Sark.” The Texas coaches were relentless in building the relationship with Manning. Both spoke with Manning every week.
Recruiting Manning was a team effort for the Longhorn staff. Special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Jeff Banks and secondary coach Terry Joseph were also applauded for the amount of work they put in.
Recruiting Generational Talent Requires A Clear And Compelling Vision For The Future
Though the Longhorns lost six consecutive games in 2021, it is their vision for the future which mattered to Manning. Coach Sark’s first recruiting class last year was ranked 5th nationally. It contained a number of offensive and defensive lineman. This will be critical to competing in the SEC in a few years.
Coach Stewart said, “They’re building it. To me, it’s all about the future. When he says it’s All Gas No Brakes, it’s always moving forward… It really just has been all about the relationship and the vision for Texas long term.”
Recruiting Generational Talent Requires You Give Them Special Attention
Put simply, you have to show them the love. Coach Sarkisian put all his chips in the center of the table with Manning. He was recruiting no other quarterbacks. There was no back-up plan. Manning’s other two top choices, Alabama and Georgia, were recruiting other quarterbacks as well. In fact, Alabama had already signed four-star Louisiana quarterback Eli Holstein.
Elite talent always have multiple options for their services. If you wish to secure their talents, you must make them feel especially valuable.
Recruiting Generational Talent Requires A Proven Track Record Of Success
Coach Stewart said, “Sark is universally respected across college football and professional football, and his work speaks for itself. I understand the business of winning, but there’s an understanding about the build. … It takes time.”
Check out the list of first round quarterbacks Coach Sarkisian has worked with:
- Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer at USC.
- Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinhart at USC.
- Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama.
- Mac Jones at Alabama.
- He has even worked with future Hall of Famer Matt Ryan while with the Atlanta Falcons.
To accelerate Manning’s development, Coach Stewart has implemented much of Sarkisian’s offensive system at Newman. When Manning steps on the Texas campus, he will already be very familiar with the Longhorn offense. Coach Stewart said, “(Manning) will have an array of knowledge (in this offense), so hopefully he can get right in that room and understand some things and put his best foot forward.”
Recruiting Generational Talent Requires Elite Intelligence
Generational talents are often savants. Coach Stewart said, “Arch is a football junkie. He loves it, he loves consuming it. The presentations have to be clean, the language, all that.” Nothing impresses elite talent more than making an intellectual connection.
Coach Stewart noted that Milwee’s football IQ is “off the charts. He has a beautiful football mind.” Along with Coach Sark, the two immediately connected with Manning about the intricacies of offensive football.
Recruiting Generational Talent Is All About Relationships
People often say “Love” is the most important word in the English language. The most important word is actually “Relationships” because relationships are the tracks love runs on. When Manning made his first visit to the Austin campus in June, it felt like he and Coach Sarkisian already knew each other.
Coach Stewart also said of Coach Milwee, “He is as real and authentic and regular as possible. We don’t just talk about football. … The way that he carries himself, everybody likes him. There’s no ego with A.J.”
Coach Sark said, “We pride ourselves on the ability to develop the relationships with the kids, their families. You earn trust. If I didn’t feel good about a situation, I would go in another direction.” He obviously earned the trust of the Manning family.
Coach Stewart concluded, “I really admire and respect the way they’ve gone about this. They really are about the kid and the relationship. There’s never negative recruiting. It’s all about positive experiences and what they’re doing. They’re really special.”
Conclusion
Creativity, hard work, a compelling vision, special attention, a proven track record of success, intelligence, and most importantly elite relational skills. If you possess these seven skills, you have a chance to be really special at recruiting generational talent as well.
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