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Max Emfinger was recently asked some questions about how he got started in recruiting and he shares those answers with you!
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2005 SUPER SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR MAX EMFINGER!*
COVINGTON, Louisiana - Recently, I was asked some questions about how I got started in the recruiting business and about some of my most unusual recruiting stories and I have decided to share these stories with all of my subscribers.
Here is a look at those stories!
AUGUST 8, 2005 UPDATE |
QUESTION #1 – How did you get into the recruiting business?
In 1972-74, I was a graduate assistant at North Texas under Coach Hayden Fry. I worked in recruiting with Recruiting Coordinator Billy Brasher who was also the Defensive Coordinator.
I interviewed for a Recruiting Coordinator job with Coach Jim Carlen when he came from South Carolina and took over at Texas Tech. I also interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys for a scouting job, but I did not get that job either so I went into Sales with Lanier Business Products in Dallas.
A year later, in 1976, Gil Brandt called and asked me if I was still interested in getting into scouting and I jumped at the chance, because it was a dream come true.
I was the youngest scout for the Cowboys and I worked in the office, most of the time with Brandt. About a year later, I was offered a fabulous job with Lanier as Branch Sales Manager in Midland, Texas. It was so great of an opportunity, financially for my family, I had to give up scouting and go to Midland.
I did very well in Midland for about 2 years, but I got an even bigger opportunity to be a branch manager of a word processing sales company in Houston and they moved my family to Houston.
In 1979, I decided to start my own recruiting service and pattern my recruiting service just like the Dallas Cowboys.
QUESTION #2 – Who are some of the best players that you have ever seen play?
Two wide receivers from Texas that I will never forget were Roy Williams from Odessa Permian and B.J. Johnson from South Grand Prairie in 1999. Future Texas teammate Brock Edwards from Fort Worth Christian is still one of the best high school tight ends that I have ever seen.
Jeff George will always be a standard as he was one of the first great high school quarterbacks that I had ever seen. He was from Indianapolis Central, Indiana. He came out in 1985 and was on my 1985 Fall Cover. That same year, Melvin Foster came out of Houston Yates and he is still one of my All-Time favorite linebackers.
Ahman Green and Kevin Faulk came out in 1995 and they were two of my All-Time favorite running backs. Green, from Omaha Central, Nebraska became an All-American at Nebraska and Faulk, from Carencro, Louisiana became an All-American for LSU. Two offensive linemen that I really liked in that recruiting class were Matt Stinchcomb from Lilburn Parkview, Georgia and Matt Rosenthal from Mishawaka Penn, Indiana.
Three running backs that were on my 1986 Fall Magazine Cover included Emmitt Smith of Pensacola Escambia, Florida; Darren Lewis of Dallas Carter, Texas; and Brian Cleveland from West Orange Stark, Texas. The fullback, also on that Cover was Leonard Russell from Long Beach Poly, California.
In 1985, I remember driving to Hempstead, Texas to see All-American running back Harvey Williams play. His team lost when his quarterback faked a pitch to Williams on a play late in the fourth quarter. If he had of pitched the ball to the All-American running back, Hempstead would have won.
Three of my All-Time favorite offensive linemen were from Texas. Blake Brockermyer from Fort Worth Arlington Heights, Texas was one of my high school All-Americans in 1990. David Richards from Dallas Highland Park and Alan Faneca of Lamar Consolidated, Texas were two other offensive linemen who I really loved. I actually went to see all three of them play. They were lightly recruited until they committed to Texas, SMU, and LSU. Richards played in 1983. Thurman Thomas from Fort Bend Willowridge was also in that 1983 recruiting class. Thomas was an All-State Defensive Back as a junior and I thought that he would play that position in the NFL.
Chris Spielman from Massillon Washington, Ohio was on my 1983 Cover and I had him rated as the #1 linebacker in that recruiting class. Randall Godfrey from Valdosta Lowndes County, Georgia was my #1 rated linebacker in 1991.
Quarterback Shea Morenz from San Angelo Central was my Offensive Player of the Year in 1991. He threw 41 touchdown passes in 1991. QB Danny Kanell and TE David Lafleur were on that 1991 Fall Magazine Cover along with Godfrey and cornerback Jason Parker of North Garland.
Three of my All-Time defensive linemen were from Houston, including Defensive End Santana Dodson from Houston Yates; Defensive Tackle Sam Adams from Houston Cy-Creek; and Defensive End Broderick Thomas of Houston Madison. I actually became very good friends with all three of these players. Adams was a senior in 1989, went to Texas A&M, and is still playing in the NFL.
Two quarterbacks who were on my 1996 Fall Magazine Cover were Tim Couch from Hyden Leslie Co, Kentucky and Quincy Carter from Georgia.
I drove to Dallas to watch quarterback Tommy Maddox and linebacker Jessie Armstead play in the Texas High School All-Star Game. Maddox was from Hurst Bell and Armstead was from Dallas Carter. I also became real good friends with both players after the game.
In 2004, Ryan Perrilloux from Reserve East St John, Louisiana reminded me a lot of Jeff George when he threw “frozen ropes” on his out patterns. Perrilloux has not played a down in college football yet, but he has the potential and the talent to be one of the best college quarterbacks that I have ever seen.
Demarcus Granger of Dallas Kimball, also in the 2004 recruiting class is one of the best defensive linemen that I have ever seen in over 30 years of recruiting.
The 2001 recruiting class produced two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever come out of Texas HS Football. I saw Vince Young and Reggie McNeal play three times as a senior, had them ranked as the top two quarterbacks in the country, and they have not disappointed anyone at Texas and Texas A&M.
My All-Time favorite Texas High School quarterback has to be Drew Brees. I watched him lead his Austin Westlake team to a perfect 16-0 record and I saw him play in the Semi-Finals and Finals, both in the Astrodome. I had him rated as one of the top quarterbacks in the country after that 5A State Championship game, but every team had already selected their quarterback. He got an offer from Purdue in late January.
Four quarterbacks in the 2005 recruiting class that are as good as I have ever seen include Zach Frazer of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Matthew Stafford of Dallas Highland Park, Texas; Jevan Snead of Stephenville, Texas; and Tim Tiebow of Ponte Vedra Beach Nease, Florida. Frazer has already committed to Notre Dame; Stafford has committed to Georgia; and Snead has committed to Florida.
Out of my Top Four Ranked quarterbacks in the country, Frazer and Snead will play in my Second Annual All-American Bowl Game Classic. Frazer will play for the East and Snead will play for the West. The West will be coached by Coach Les Koenning, Sr who is a retired Texas High School Football Coach. Coach Koenning coached defensive tackle Sam Adams; offensive guard Dan Neil; and quarterback phenom B.J. Symons.
QUESTION #3 - Who is your All-Time Favorite Player?
I could pick a lot of playerts, but Tim Brown was an incredible specimen! His story is also incredible.
It was at least 20 years ago when I met Tim Brown for the first time. I will never forget that day that I was able to meet him for the first time. I was living in Houston and he was living in Dallas.
Each year, in the spring, I would have a player photo shoot and I would invite all of the top junior players in different areas to come together and then we would take individual and team photos of all of the top players that we could find in the area.
In Houston, we would always have the "photo shoot" at Spring Stadium and we would have players from all over the Houston area to show-up and we would meet them, meet their families, and take their photo for our NHS Magazines. We did the same "photo shoot" in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl.
That May, when we got to the Cotton Bowl, Robert Williams, my assistant, and I were looking around and we saw this great looking physical specimen filling out his player questionnaire.
I went over to him and asked him who he was and he told me that his name was Timmy Brown. He told me that he was from Woodrow Wilson High School and that he had made All-District second team as a defensive back as a junior.
I was so impressed with him, when I got back to Houston, I immediately put him on my Pre-Season All-State team and put him on my top recruiting lists.
Although I thought he was a fabulous football player, he was not heavily recruited until a fellow by the name of Lou Holtz came down to Dallas and offered him a scholarship. This had to be in December or January of his senior year.
I guess the rest is history, because that same Tim Brown was selected as the Heisman Trophy winner in 1987 for Notre Dame. He played in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.
At Notre Dame, he caught passes, ran back punts and kickoffs, rushed when necessary, and he drove the defenses crazy by being on the field.
Brown (6-0, 195, 4.4) is not huge by NFL or college football standards, but he possesses great speed, is elusiveness in the open field, and he has sure hands. He is also a very smart football player.
Although he was a relatively unknown player coming out of high school, and he played a lot of positions, including quarterback, and he was not heavily recruited, Tim Brown has been playing for the Oakland Raiders, who selected him as their number one pick in the 1988 NFL draft.
”For all of you players and parents that are not getting recruited as hard as you feel that you deserve, just must remember a few things. First of all, you only need one offer to fulfill your goal of playing college football and to get your college education paid for.”
The guy who threw passes to Tim Brown and Jerry Rice in that Super Bowl was Rich Gannon and he played college football for some team named Delaware. Rice played his college football for Mississippi Valley and Steve McNair who lost to the Raiders before they went to the Super Bowl played for Alcorn State.
And what about the "Beerman" of the New Orleans Saints who has been selected to play in the Pro-Bowl for the last two years as a return man. Michael Lewis did not go to college and he was driving a beer truck before he went to a New Orleans tryout camp and made the team when he ran a 4.25 in the forty. The "Beerman" never gave up his goal of playing in the NFL.
So what does this mean to High School football players? Well, it means this! Never give up your hope of fulfilling your dreams by playing college football!
My main goal in putting together my 2005 All-American Bowl Game was to get some super players, who had been flying under the recruiting radar screen, some exposure and a few offers. In our first game, we got 24 players a scholarship off of the All-American Bowl Game highlight film. Most every player got multiple offers. I had already told many of them that they only needed to get one offer to get their education paid for in college. Drew Brees, Barry Sanders, and Kliff Kingsbury only had one offer and they all went to New York for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony."
QUESTION #4 - What is the most unusual or most interesting recruiting story that you can remember?
Jacob Gutierrez (5-8, 170, 4.4) of San Antonio Madison, Texas is one of the most phenomenal recruiting stories of the year or any year. He is one of the best little running backs that I have ever seen play, but a lot of schools had backed off of recruiting him, because of the perception that he was "just to small" to play Division I football.
It made absolutely no difference to most schools that an Oklahoma All-American running back by the name of Quentin Griffin was not even as big as Guierrez was when he came out of high school four years before. All of the "big-time" college coaches were using their patented "tunnel-vision" recruiting methods of recruiting Gutierrez and other super players just like him.
Gutierrez should have turned some recruiting heads with his senior season when he rushed for 1,815-yards, had a 9.2 yards per carry average, and scored 25 touchdowns. He already had 2,692 career rushing yards before his senior season so he finished with 4,507 career yards and 54 touchdowns.
The San Antonio Quarterback Club sure did not use the same "tunnel-vision" when they made their selection of the Area's finest player. Gutierrez accepted the San Antonio Quarterback Club Area MVP Trophy.
One of the reasons that the Oklahoma Sooners are at the top of the College football world is their ability to judge talent and not be afraid to make a decision on what they see on film and not let other factors ruin or derail their judgement.
Everyone knows about Quentin Griffin now, but another one was Josh Heupel, who was an obscure Junior College quarterback who eventually was a Heisman Trophy runner-up. The recruiting world did not have Griffin or Heupel rated very high, but the Sooner coaches saw something in them that told them to recruit them. It was basicly the intangibles that surrounded them.
On Thursday, a week before National Signing Date, Sooner Super recruiter Bobby Jack Wright was getting ready to board a plane when he got a call from Head Coach Bob Stoops on his cell phone. The conversation went something like this: "Have you seen the latest highlight on the Madison running back," said Coach Stoops. "Yeah, I've been telling you about him all year," said Coach Wright.
"Cancel your flight and go see Coach Jim Streety and Jacob Gutierrez at Madison High School," said Stoops.
Wright cancelled his flight to Houston and went straight to San Antonio Madison and offerd Gutierrez a scholarship and he accepted. Within the next six hours, and after the coaching world started to buzz about the verbal, Gutierrez had six more scholarship offers, including Kansas, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin.
Gutierrez could become another Sooner All-American running back before he is through. He will also play against a lot of teams that thought that he was "just too-small" to play for their team.
With true freshman running back Adrian Peterson running wild this year, we might forget this other kid named Gutierrez, who is a red-shirt freshman right now until some game in the future when he gets his big break and gets a chance to play. Gutierrez bench pressed over 400-pounds last spring.
QUESTION #5 – Who was one of the most interesting players that you ever saw play?
In or around 1983, I was talking to a UCLA coach and he told me about a linebacker from Irving MacArthur that he thought was very impressive on film, but he was not getting the kind of attention that everyone that had seen him thought that he deserved, so I called the MacArthur coach and asked him about his Star Linebacker. “Brian is a pretty good linebacker, he has no fear, and he will take your head off on every single tackle.”
This player signed with Oklahoma, helped them win the National Championship in 1985, and won the Dick Butkus Award as the Outstanding Linebacker in the Country in both the 1985 and 1986 football seasons.
He left the University of Oklahoma after three seasons after graduating a year ahead of his class and entered the NFL's supplemental draft in 1987 and he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks. He signed what was then the largest rookie contract in NFL history with the Seahawks in 1987 with a contract covered 10 years at $11 million.
This guy wore jersey #44 and his name was Brian Bozworth, although commonly known as "The Boz" in the Sports world and also in the Movie Industry. I still love that Movie called "Stone Cold" that "The Boz" played the Super-Star! It was billed as a cop who enforced his own brand of justice.
In the film, "The Boz" played a tough, go-it-alone cop, with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. In his film, he continued to be The Enforcer, just as he had been at linebacker at MacArthur, The Sooners, and The Seahawks.
QUESTION #6 - Who is the strongest player that you ever saw?
There have been a couple of players each year who have stood out, strength-wise, but Mike Kudla may be the strongest player that I have ever seen, although Myron McKinney in the 2005 recruiting class recently squated 710-pounds!
Here is his Story!
It was August 3, 2001 when I met Mike Kudla!
Mike Kudla (6-4, 235, 4.46) from Medina Highland, Ohio was and still is one of the most incredible physical specimens that I have ever seen play. He was also the strongest football player that I had ever heard of in high school football. He gave Coach Jim Tressel a verbal commitment to play his college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Coach Tressel came back to Columbus from his summer vacation to meet with Mike Kudla and his parents, Paul and Mary Fran Kudla. "This was actually an academic meeting, but Coach Tressel came back from his summer vacation to meet with us," said Paul Kudla. "He spent one and a half hours with us and we all were very impressed."
"Coach Tressel explained to us that the Big-10 offenses were changing and that the defenses would also have to make a change to battle them," said Kudla. "Coach Tressel told me that at least two more of the Big-10 offenses were going to change to a passing-type of spread offense and that the rush-end position would become one of their most important defensive positions. It would be just like the similar positions in the SEC at Florida or Tennessee and also at Florida State."
"He said that with my size, speed, and strength, I would make a great defensive rush end. I would play about 65% of the time as a stand-up defensive end and play the other 35% as an outside linebacker. I really like their defensive scheme and it would give me a quicker chance to get on the field as a true freshman and that is very important to me," said Kudla.
As a senior in high school, this remarkable athlete could already bench press 485-pounds, dead-lift 575 pounds, and squat another 650-pounds. So how did he get this strong?
"I’ve worked very hard," says Kudla. "I’ve been lifting weights since the fifth grade. I also helped a teammate, Bobby Guccion, bail hay on his 1,100-acre farm."
When a kid lifts 5,000 bales of hay during the summer, you must realize that he might get a little stronger than the kid who is at home watching the television. Then, when you realize that each bail of hay weighs from 70-80 pounds, then we are really talking about throwing some weight around. If each bale of hay was only 70 pounds and he did 5,000 of them, which he did, then Kudla threw 350,000 pounds of hay around last summer. Now remember! This was before he went to his afternoon weight training class.
"It’s funny, because people don’t believe me when I tell them that what I am benching," said Kudla. "Kudla is unbelievably strong," says another teammate Chris Coleman. "He probably bench presses more than any two players put together and he’ll probably be benching 500 pounds by next year."
His weight room performance was already mind-boggling and the performance would put most NFL Scouting Combines in awe. He had already done 30 reps of 225-pounds. His chest measureed 56 inches and his waist is a slim 34 inches.
Some recruiting services did not feel that Mike Kudla belonged on their initial National Top 100 and so they left him off. I evaluated him in two games on game tape and deemed him as one of the finest football players in the 2001 recruiting class, obviously making my National Top 100. Kudla is also a valued member of our USATODAY.com Top 125.
Since his name did not get out there to the coaches until the evaluation periods began in May, he did not have as much attention and publicity as other linebackers in the country. When the word did finally get out, around 80 different college coaches traveled to Medina in May to see this linebacker phenom.
"I ran two 4.5’s at the Ohio State Camp, and they were after we had done a lot of drills," said Kudla. "They wanted to see how fast we could run in the fourth quarter when we were tired. That was a pretty good time, but my best time in the forty is a 4.46 that I ran this spring in practice."
"The sky is the limit for Mike Kudla," Head Coach John Hopkins said. "With his work ethic, anything is possible. The way he approaches the weight room, the way he approaches his playing, and the way he approaches his schoolwork, he doesn’t do anything halfway."
Another thing that stood-out about Kudla was his box-jumping. Most kids jump boxes to get faster and they might occasionally jump-up onto a 24 or 36-inch box. Kudla had already progressed to the 36 and 48-inch box and he occasionally jumped-up onto a 54-inch box.
Now think about that. Can you even visualize a person jumping-up onto a four-foot box; jump back down; and then jump back up onto the four-foot box. I can always remember the his box-jumping highlight tape that his dad, Paul, sent me. It was and stilll is totally mind-boggling to see him jumping boxes. I still have that tape.
Kudla carried a great 3.86 GPA in college prep courses and he had already scored an impressive 29 on his ACT test.
Kudla had around 40 scholarship offers before he decided on the Buckeyes.
QUESTION #7 – How much film do you watch in a recruiting season.
I have already watched film on over 500 of the top players in the country for this season! In my recent National Newsletter, I had 600 players listed and I had already seen 486 of those players. I probably have watched another 50 players since that newsletter, plus all of the 185 players that took part in my recent 7on7 National Championship. |