Five things we’ve learned about the Arizona Wildcats’ recruiting strategy under Kevin Sumlin

Sumlin already 'getting his elbows dirty'

When he was putting together his staff, new Arizona Wildcats coach Kevin Sumlin made one thing clear: He wasn’t looking for assistants who could do only one thing.

Sumlin wanted teachers, football gurus and ace recruiters.

“I wanted to have a staff that was well-rounded,” Sumlin said earlier in the offseason. “Those guys are hard to find. But this is an experienced staff. … We checked the boxes.”

No quality was more important than any other. But without the recruiting component — without talent — the other two aspects would have their limits.

Put simply: Sumlin and his staff need to recruit better than the previous regime for Arizona to compete annually for the Pac-12 South title. Based on initial impressions, he seems to have put the right pieces in place for the Wildcats to improve their ability to land top talent.

New cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin was one of the premier recruiters for UCLA, which regularly landed high-ranking classes during his six years with the Bruins. Having coached in the Pac-12 for more than a decade — including two years at USC and three at Washington — Martin knows what that grind is all about.

“It is a marathon run at a sprinter’s pace,” Martin said Thursday after Arizona’s seventh spring practice, a full-pads scrimmage inside Arizona Stadium.

Martin and his fellow assistants follow Sumlin’s lead. He wouldn’t ask his staff to do everything if he wasn’t doing so himself.

“He’s getting his elbows dirty,” Martin said. “He’s constantly talking to recruits and their parents. It’s pretty good when you’ve got the head man helping you like that. That’s always a trump card.”

Martin was the third assistant coach made available to the media since spring ball began. Through those interviews, an outline of the staff’s recruiting strategy has emerged. Here are five of its main tenets:

1. The coaches will build on relationships

Like Sumlin, Martin uses the word “relationship” a lot. Nothing is more important when it comes to winning over talented players.

“That’s the main thing,” Martin said. “Being able to relate to the kids nowadays. Being able to lock into their parents. Show them that you can help build their brand at the university that you’re representing.”

Even though nine of Arizona’s 11 full-time, on-field coaches are new to the school, they aren’t new to most of the high school and junior-college coaches they’re dealing with on the recruiting trail. Sumlin made sure his staff had all the areas that would be most important to Arizona covered: California, Texas, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

But pre-existing relationships sometimes expand beyond those boundaries. For example, Arizona was able to land class of 2018 quarterback Kevin Doyle in large part because of offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s relationship with the coach and athletic director at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where Doyle played as a senior.

“They called,” Mazzone said. “We talk all the time anyway. They had been sending me his film.

“I watched him (and) got a chance to meet him. He came out to visit us. I really liked the kid. So that’s how he ended up here.”

2. They will do their homework

Demetrice Martin says he doesn’t focus primarily on 7-on-7 — or as he calls it “pajama ball” — when he recruits. “You can have a Tarzan in pajama ball, but when you put on them pads, he might play a little closer to Jane than looking like Tarzan.” pic.twitter.com/8ZxK9lQs2H

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 30, 2018

Martin has relationships with many of the coaches who run 7-on-7 teams. Mining the 7-on-7 circuit has become a critical component in recruiting, especially in talent-rich Southern California. Martin’s recruiting territories include parts of Los Angeles County, the nearby Inland Empire and the Dallas area.

But just because a 7-on-7 coach recommends a player doesn’t mean he has all the right stuff. Beyond size, speed and agility, Martin is looking for toughness and competitiveness, both on the field and off it.

“It still boils down to your own eye,” Martin said. “We always call it ‘pajama ball’ with 7-on-7. You can have a Tarzan in pajama ball. Then when you put on those pads, they might play closer to Jane.

“You’ve gotta do your homework. You’ve gotta watch film. You’ve gotta dig deep.”

3. They aren’t going to rush it

Jeremy Springer on giving scholarships to players: “You can’t just give out scholarships. ... By the time summer ends, we’ll know better where the numbers are at.” pic.twitter.com/euW8UOdCjJ

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 29, 2018

Doyle was the only recruit Sumlin added for 2018 who hadn’t previously signed or committed to the Wildcats. He has stressed repeatedly that he wants to use spring football to evaluate Arizona’s roster and determine its strengths, weaknesses and biggest areas of need.

“After spring ball, we’ll assess what we have,” Martin said. “We’ll come together and see what our needs are. Then we’ll get on the road and address those needs. We hit the ground running right then.”

At the moment, the staff isn’t sure how many scholarships it will have available in the next recruiting cycle. Coaching changes invariably lead to personnel changes. It’s a virtual certainty that a handful of players will transfer or medically retire before training camp.

“People don’t understand the numbers involved,” special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “You can’t just give out scholarships. You might have a cap. The number’s going to change.

“Some guys get hurt. They get medically DQ’d. A scholarship can open up. By the time summer ends, we’ll know better where our numbers are at.”

According to 247Sports’ database, Arizona had offered 116 players for the class of 2019 as of Thursday. The Wildcats don’t have any commitments — yet.

“We want to build a program,” Sumlin said. “It takes more than a couple recruiting classes to build a program.”

4. They will recruit Texas

It wasn’t until late in his tenure that former UA coach Rich Rodriguez fully recognized the importance of recruiting Texas — even though several of predecessor Mike Stoops’ best players had come from that football-mad state.

Sumlin and his staff won’t make the same mistake. Several of his coaches worked with him at Houston and Texas A&M. Springer was one of them. His main recruiting areas are Houston and Austin. As mentioned, Martin’s responsibilities also include Dallas.

“It goes back to relationships,” he said. “You have that reputation of, ‘Hey, we can let our kid go there and play for you. We know you’ll take care of them.’”

Of those 116 players who have been offered, 30 are from Texas — or 25.9 percent. That’s in line with the 2018 class, which features four Texans among its 20 members. The current online roster features only two players from Texas, one of whom is a walk-on.

“I’ve gotta get ’em out here,” said Springer, who’s from the southern Texas town of Los Fresnos and went to college at UTEP. “If you’re a Texas boy, you come and see these mountains, the weather, you would definitely love it.”

5. They have a game plan

Through social media and other means, Sumlin and his staff have been touting the “New Era” at Arizona. “EraZona” has become one of their go-to hashtags.

One of Martin’s main selling points is the opportunity to build something from the ground floor.

“A lot of kids want to be a part of that,” Martin said. “Other schools might have something that’s built already. Now I’m looking for the guys that want to build something.”

Springer is new to Tucson, but he already understands how big a deal the University of Arizona is in this town. He believes he and his colleagues can sell that too.

“Everything’s built around this university,” Springer said. “It’s not like Houston or (other) different cities where you’ve got the city, then it’s the university. It’s the university here.”