Madison Uses Current Roster To Woo Recruits

College football coaches and their assistants spend the better part of two or three years trying to build relationships with prospects they eventually hope to land on National Signing Day. From initial interactions on social media to handwritten letters to in-home visits that could last three or fours hours, coaches work relentlessly trying to gain the trust of that sought-after recruit.

But, what could make or break the high school standout’s decision, are the current players those coaches have on their roster.

James Madison coach Mike Houston, who inked a 25-man recruiting class last week, said he leans on his team when prospects take official visits to Harrisonburg. JMU uses its players to host prospects and inform them about the program.

Houston said he went out of his way to thank his players during a team meeting the day before National Signing Day.

“It’s huge,” Houston said. “I think our roster has heavily impacted our ability to sign this class.

“When you talk to parents of prospects at the end of the weekend, that is always the highlight — the enjoyment of being around our current players. We do a players’ panel and the coaches leave the room, so there are maybe six players on the panel and they have interaction with the families. That’s always something parents come away impressed with.”

Northwestern High School (Rock Hill, S.C.) quarterback Gage Moloney is the centerpiece of JMU’s signing class, so it wasn’t a mistake when he was paired for his official visit with rising-senior quarterback Bryan Schor.

Fresh off of leading Madison to its second-ever national championship, Schor was the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year, the College Football Performance Awards FCS Performer of the Year and the Dudley Award Winner — an award given to the top college football player in the state of Virginia.

Moloney led Northwestern High School to a state title in 2015 and was the Mr. Football Award winner in the state of South Carolina for the 2016 season.

“We talked about a number of things,” Moloney said of Schor. “He told me how special JMU was and how good of a decision I was making. He just backed up everything I thought.

“He’s just so humble for how good he is and what type year he had, which made it a humbling experience for me as well.”

Houston said JMU matches players and prospects based on personality or interest or where they’re from.

JMU cornerbacks coach Tripp Weaver recruited Moloney, Freedom High School (Morganton, N.C.) defensive tackle Marcus Hawkins and played a part in helping the Dukes land both Benedictine (Fredericksburg) corner Taurus Carrol and Northwest High School (Germantown, Md.) corner Wesley McCormick.

Weaver said he tries to use what he’s learned during the time he’s spent getting to know the prospect in order to match the prospect with the right player.

“It really falls a lot of times on the recruiting coach, so what you try to do is find that kid’s personality and who most closely correlates to him on the team,” Weaver said. “We used [rising-junior cornerback] Rashad Robinson and [rising-senior safety] Raven Greene to recruit [Carroll and McCormick] and they did a great job of selling this program.

“They do a nice job of telling the parents and the players all the other things that we as coaches can’t get to — the days in their lives.”

Oakdale High School (Ijamsville, Md.) running back Percy Ageyi-Obese said rising-junior running back Trai Sharp did a great job when he made his trip to campus.

“He showed me around,” Ageyi-Obese said. “He introduced me to the other players. I got to meet Khalid [Abdullah] and Cardon [Johnson]. I had a good time with him as my host.”

Sharp also played host to Georgia Tech transfer running back Marcus Marshall, when he took his visit to JMU in December before enrolling in January.