Coyotes sign 30 new recruits
Volante reporter Payton Randle asked head football coach Joe Glenn about this year’s National Signing Day.
Payton Randle: What does the recruitment process involve?
Joe Glenn: We start off with approximately 1,000 candidates that we evaluate. These are people that are recommended to us by coaches and recruiting sports data. We start watching our areas, and we start tracking them, watch and get statistics and go from there. When our season is over, we go out and start hitting the high schools, see the kids, meet the coaches. It becomes a process that boils down to 25 after starting from 1,000.
PR: How is the position offered to a player?
JG: Coaches will go to their high school after Dec. 1, visit with them and ask them to come for an official visit. They spend the weekend on campus and do it all. After the weekend is over and they’ve met all the coaches, I meet with them before they leave and we make them an official offer. They can be anything from a full ride to not very much at all.
PR: How would you sum up this year’s recruiting class?
JG: Our staff did a really terrific job at recruiting the type of athlete it takes to win at the University of South Dakota. We have a quota at almost every position.
PR: What was Signing Day like this year compared to other years?
JG: Signing Day to me is like Christmas to a 10-year-old kid. It’s the culmination of so much hard work from throughout the year.
PR: Are there any key players to look out for?
JG: Every year you think you know, but last year we recruited Riley Donovan who was supposed to just red-shirt, but after filling in for a few players who were hurt, he became Freshman of the Year at wide receiver. We had no idea he would turn into that, and he did that in a half a season. If you would’ve asked me a year ago who the best player we recruited was, there was no way I would say him.
There are a few guys on my list who stood out, but if you look on our list I’d probably say the junior college transfers. They’ve played two years of college football, and they have a better chance of coming in and contributing immediately.
PR: What does this class mean for Coyote football?
JG: I tell every one of them, get yourself ready as if you’re going to be a starter. At the end of fall camp, we decide whose in the mix. I’m just hoping we have a lot of kids here who can get right in the mix. We’re just a couple of athletes away from having a really good football team, and I think a lot of these kids can really help.
For an interactive map from signing day, click here.
