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The Campus Insiders staff completed a mock draft for “Recruit U,” also known as the ultimate university to recruit at in modern college football. 

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Imagine if your school magically evolved into the perfect scenario for all college football prospects. Picture what it would be like if your alma mater or favorite team transformed into a recruiting utopia.

Who would be the head coach? Who would be the coordinators? What perks would there be to help your staff recruit?

Well, that’s what we tried to figure out. The Campus Insiders staff got together and conducted a mock draft to build the perfect school for college football recruits. We call it “Recruit U.”

The rules were simple. You had to draft one of each of the following: a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, a stadium and city atmosphere, a set of facilities, a uniform combination and an x-factor. It operated like a typical fantasy draft, and you couldn’t demote head coaches to a coordinator role, nor could you promote a coordinator to a head coaching job.

Who came the closest to creating Recruit U?

Erik Czupryn

• Head Coach: Dabo Swinney (Rd 1, Pick 1)
• Offensive Coordinator: Matt Canada (Rd 6, Pick 42)
• Defensive Coordinator: Brent Venables (Rd 4, Pick 28)
• Stadium & City: Rose Bowl, Los Angeles, CA. (Rd 2, Pick 14)
• Uniforms: Michigan (Rd 5, Pick 29)
• Facilities: Clemson (Rd 3, Pick 15)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Clemson’s Social Media (Rd 7, Pick 43)

High school kids are very impressionable and are all about what’s hot now. Nothing is hotter (right now) than Dabo Swinney and Clemson. Fresh off of winning the National Championship, Dabo is the “IT” coach and (in my opinion) is very relatable and likable. Throw in Brent Venables (did you see how Clemson’s defense shut out Ohio State?), and you have a formidable one-two punch.

The Tigers are also unveiling a brand new football complex next season complete with a putt-putt course (what recruit wouldn’t love that?), so that was a no-brainer. My X-Factor… Clemson’s social media team. If you haven’t seen Tigers’ social media team at work, they’re arguably the best in the nation (rumored to have had a staff of 10 at the title game). Recruits love their social media, so you better believe I want to be all over Snapchat, Instagram and more.

Finally, give me the great weather and pageantry of the Rose Bowl, the classic looking Michigan uniforms (featuring the Jumpman brand) and OC Matt Canada to boot, and I’m ready to hit the recruiting trail.

Jonathan Bass

• Head Coach: Urban Meyer (Rd 1, Pick 2)
• Offensive Coordinator: Tee Martin (Rd 2, Pick 13)
• Defensive Coordinator: Jeremy Pruitt (Rd 3, Pick 16)
• Stadium & City: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA. (Rd 4, Pick 27)
• Uniforms: Oklahoma (Rd 7, Pick 44)
• Facilities: Texas A&M (Rd 6, Pick 30)
• Recruiting X-Factor: FSU Twitter (Rd 6, Pick 41)

My philosophy with the draft was fairly straightforward: first land great salesmen, and then give them an excellent product to pitch.

Urban Meyer was a no-brainer. He and Nick Saban are neck-and-neck as the nation’s best recruiters and coaches. And while Saban was still on the board, I opted for Meyer based on the fact that he’s 13 years younger – age will soon become a point of negative recruiting when competing heads-up against Saban on the trail.

Tee Martin locks down the California market, while also bolstering my foothold in the South. And, let’s be honest, we’re 300 days or so away from him coaching at his alma mater, Tennessee, so it’s like having another head coach on staff. All Pruitt does is lead top-flight defenses – be it under Saban, Jimbo Fisher or Mark Richt. He also helped bring Derrick Henry to Tuscaloosa, so title games and Heisman winners will be easy for this staff to pitch.

The weak points for this university are Oklahoma’s uniforms and Texas A&M’s facilities. Ohio State’s threads were still on the board, but I’m more partial to OU’s alternates – especially the Rough Rider unis. A&M has great facilities, they’re tremendous, maybe a hair under Oregon, Clemson and Alabama, but the margin is slim. If a team is only as strong as its weakest point, then we’re in the clear.

My two biggest steals are Sanford Stadium/Athens (4th round!) and FSU Twitter (my final pick). Athens is the quintessential college town. It’s idyllic. Once recruits breathe in the pageantry and pass Between the Hedges, they’ll be hooked. FSU Twitter adds an extra layer of support. There is no fan base more passionate than #FSUTwitter. They will have your back no matter what. Recruits can rest easy knowing that for the next four years nobody will come at their necks on social media, at least not without a vigilant army of rabid dogs ready to pounce. Hell, Danny Kanell and Mia Khalifa are part of #FSUTwitter. We’ve got members everywhere.

Great coaches, an iconic stadium, the country’s best college town, a circle of trust on social media and enough uniform variation to keep things fresh: Who’s got it better than us?!

Brian Stultz

• Head Coach: Tom Herman (Rd 1, Pick 3)
• Offensive Coordinator: Mario Cristobal (Rd 2, Pick 12)
• Defensive Coordinator: Dave Aranda (Rd 5, Pick 31)
• Stadium & City: Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA. (Rd 3, Pick 17)
• Uniforms: Miami (Rd 6, Pick 40)
• Facilities: Texas (Rd 4, Pick 26)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Dameyune Craig as Recruiting Coordinator (Rd 7, Pick 45)

Imagine this: living in Southern California, being surrounded by celebrities, working out at some of the best facilities in the country like Texas possesses, and being coached by the brightest young coach in America, Tom Herman. As Bob Ryan said on Entourage, “Is that something you might be interested in?”

Of course you would. Add in those beautiful dark green and orange jerseys that Miami wears, along with some of the top recruiters in the nation – Mario Cristobal and Dameyune Craig – and a helluva defensive coordinator in Dave Aranda and recruits would be knocking on the beach house door in no time.

Glenn McGraw

• Head Coach: Nick Saban (Rd 1, Pick 4)
• Offensive Coordinator: Kendal Briles (Rd 6, Pick 39)
• Defensive Coordinator: Todd Orlando (Rd 7, Pick 46)
• Stadium & City: Texas Stadium, Austin, TX. (Rd 5, Pick 32)
• Uniforms: Oregon (Rd 2, Pick 11)
• Facilities: Alabama (Rd 4, Pick 25)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Miami’s Weather (Rd 3, Pick 18)

Give the No. 1 coach in college football history and greatest recruiter of all time – Nick Saban – the No. 1 facilities – Alabama – backed by the No. 1 uniforms – Oregon (psst, Nike) – and the best year-round weather in the nation – Miami (with the weather comes the perks – i.e. beaches, girls, etc.) – and it’s a wrap.

Place it all in a setting as cool as Austin, Texas, where you get the best of both a college town and city and add on two young and proven coordinators who have landed elite talent and can also coach with the best of ’em and we’re playing on Heisman level. Did I mention said facility comes with 16 national championships? This program can hit you from every single angle. Good luck, everyone else.

Kurt Schwerman

• Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh (Rd 1, Pick 5)
• Offensive Coordinator: Lincoln Riley (Rd 3, Pick 19)
• Defensive Coordinator: Greg Schiano (Rd 6, Pick 38)
• Stadium & City: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL. (Rd 2, Pick 10)
• Uniforms: UCF (Rd 5, Pick 33)
• Facilities: Oregon (Rd 4, Pick 24)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Helicopter (Rd 7, Pick 47)

First of all, what recruit wouldn’t want to play for Jim Harbaugh? I mean not only is he a great coach, but the guy is taking his team to Rome this spring. Add in Lincoln Riley and Greg Schiano and you have a beast of a staff. Then you’ve got the UCF uniforms from Nike, which are awesome and offer up a ridiculous number of combinations. You could theoretically wear a different uniform combo every single game of the season. To cap it off, the Oregon facilities are new and first class, and with a helicopter available for Harbaugh to use, he can drop in on recruits quickly and in just about any location.

Robert Judin

• Head Coach: P.J. Fleck (Rd 1, Pick 6)
• Offensive Coordinator: Jake Spavital (Rd 2, Pick 9)
• Defensive Coordinator: Travaris Robinson (Rd 5, Pick 34)
• Stadium & City: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA. (Rd 3, Pick 20)
• Uniforms: Ohio State (Rd 7, Pick 48)
• Facilities: LSU (Rd 6, Pick 37)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Tosh Lupoi as Recruiting Coordinator (Rd 4, Pick 23)

I can’t lie. I was banking on Jim Harbaugh falling to me at No. 6, and when Kurt picked him at No. 5, I panicked. Kirby Smart was on the board, and if given a re-do, I would have selected the Georgia head coach. Having said that, it’s not like P.J. Fleck is a bad choice. The guy brings enthusiasm and energy that is infectious — especially with recruits. Fleck keeps it real. He can communicate and relate to prospects, and he’s already proving he can recruit at Minnesota. Now, imagine what he could do with the rest of the team that I built.

Jake Spavital got Tate Martell to commit to Texas A&M and probably could have turned the 5-star quarterback into an Aggie if he remained in College Station. But Spav went to Cal and led one of the most potent passing attacks this past season. He can recruit quarterbacks and wide receivers like there’s no tomorrow. I took Travaris Robinson solely for his recruiting abilities (which is the whole point). T-Rob is a defensive back whisperer, and he’s shown he can recruit at Florida, Auburn and now South Carolina.

Tiger Stadium and LSU’s facilities speak for themselves. They’re both elite, and Baton Rouge is a great place to be. Ohio State has a nice blend of classic uniforms with a new-school feel, and recruits love them. Plus, who wouldn’t want to try and fill up that helmet with stickers? My real golden goose is Tosh Lupoi. I took him as my x-factor because the guy is one of the top three recruiters in the country and can cover the entire west coast.

My staff is young, energetic and comprised of terrific salesmen. They could sell water to a whale, let alone those perks to a recruit.

Jeff Bartl

• Head Coach: Jimbo Fisher (Rd 1, Pick 7)
• Offensive Coordinator: Sterlin Gilbert (Rd 2, Pick 8)
• Defensive Coordinator: Bud Foster (Rd 5, Pick 35)
• Stadium & City: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI. (Rd 4, Pick 22)
• Uniforms: Notre Dame (Rd 3, Pick 21)
• Facilities: Ohio State (Rd 6, Pick 36)
• Recruiting X-Factor: Jedd Fisch as Recruiting Coordinator (Rd 7, Pick 49)

Jimbo Fisher is a relentless recruiter, with the best evidence being his six 10-win seasons in seven years as the head coach at Florida State. Toss in a national championship and Heisman Trophy winner for good measure, too. Giving him a staff of offensive wizard Sterlin Gilbert and defensive mastermind Bud Foster would only enhance his ability to bring top-tier players to his program.

Jedd Fisch helped Jim Harbaugh rebuild Michigan through recruiting. And speaking of Michigan, there are few atmospheres better than playing in front of 100,000-plus fans at the Big House. Add in Ohio State’s state-of-the-art facilities and Notre Dame’s tradition-rich history, it makes for the perfect recruiting tools to lure in plenty of 5-star prospects.

MORE: National Signing Day Countdown – Teams Poised For Strong Finishes