Can Lovie Smith recruit college athletes to Illinois? 'Do you ride a bike?'
lovie by anti java, on FlickrIllinois football coach Lovie Smith says getting back into the recruiting groove should not be a problem. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)Teddy Greenstein Chicago TribuneApril 15 It's a question looming over a program whose coach last recruited when the internet was in its infancy, back when people used cellphones to, well, make phone calls."It's amazing, man," Lovie Smith says in that familiar southern drawl. "'Lovie, you're going to Illinois. You sure you can recruit? You haven't recruited in a long time.'"Do you ride a bike? Me too. Some things you do not forget how to do."Smith is schmoozing high school players and their parents for the first time since 1995, when he coached defensive backs for Ohio State. But he doesn't see it that way. He never stopped selling during his two decades in the NFL, working to persuade ownership and players to trust him."I would like to think I'm a people person, that I relate to people, that I can go into an environment and blend in," he says. "That's what recruiting is. You meet different people from all different walks of life. A melting pot. And you have to be able to sell what we're doing."He'll be selling again this weekend. One fortunate happenstance of hiring Smith in early March and delaying spring football is that Illinois will host an open practice Saturday under warm, sunny skies. (Northwestern was forced inside for its final two Saturdays.) More than 55 recruits and their families are expected to visit."Parents have been star-struck at times: 'He's the head coach? Can I get a picture?' " says linebackers coach Tim McGarigle, the former tackling machine at Northwestern and St. Patrick High School.McGarigle says Smith jumps in on phone calls to recruits whenever he is asked."They know they are talking to Lovie Smith," he says.Yes, that voice.Smith developed it early, becoming a full-time college assistant at Tulsa, his alma mater, at 25. Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School produced some of the state's best talent, so Smith sought to bond with its coach, the late Larry McGee. If McGee didn't like you, you would get frozen out.As Garrick McGee tells it: "My dad would say: 'I have what they want, I've got the players. So I don't have to play by their rules or be nice to them. Some of these college coaches come here like car salesmen, just telling you what you want to hear.'"Coach Smith broke through that, and he and my dad became really close. My dad said: 'I trust that guy.' "Trusted him with Garrick, a star quarterback. Smith successfully recruited him to Arizona State in 1991.He recruited McGee again last month, persuading him to leave Louisville and become his offensive coordinator despite a reported $200,000 pay cut to $650,000."We have a saying: 'If we can just get the kid to Coach (Smith), we're going to have a shot at him,' " McGee says. "Every kid who comes out of his office has a smile on his face. He'll sit in there all day and all night talking to every single kid."OK, but what is Smith selling?Illinois football has had two exceptional seasons in the last 20. A sliver of the student body normally attends games. Smith's spartan office reflects a small-time vibe. There's talk of a major facilities upgrade, but it's years away.But Smith can sell opportunity. And he must sell himself."I was sitting back in Tampa, planning to take the year off unless a great opportunity came around," he says. "That's how I saw the University of Illinois. So I should be able to go out and sell it."For people to want to know how we will do things ... come. That's all we're asking. Come look at us. Talk. Listen. Do your research."I remind Smith of why the recruiting questions loom.Players will respect him and give effort. The Illini will be strong schematically. But will they reel in enough talent to beat Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern and Minnesota in the Big Ten West?"That question mark should be there," Smith says. "But like everything else, you attack it. Do you have a good product? The degree, what does it mean? Great school. Have any good football players come through the University of Illinois? Yeah. Red Grange. Dick Butkus played a little bit. (Ray) Nitschke. (Kevin) Hardy. We have not consistently won, yes, but that is the draw."Chicago is right up the street. St. Louis. There's a triangle: Chicago-Indy-St. Louis. Texas, we have strong ties. (Smith is from Big Sandy, 110 miles east of Dallas.) Florida, we have strong ties also. And we're not going to stop there."Smith has met with students, including those from the university's enormous Greek system."Had a fraternity guy in here last week: 'Coach, what can we do?' I think when you're new, they will give us a chance," he says. "That's all we are saying: 'Come. Come out.' In order for Memorial Stadium to be a tough place to play, it's about the students. I think they will show up."Now we have to have a decent product on the field — and in time, a very good product."One more thing: Smith doesn't agree with the perception he was a closed book with the Bears, reflecting the culture of NFL secrecy."It's a misnomer I was that way in Chicago," he says. "If you're dealing with a bunch of jerks, you don't deal with them a whole lot. And people weren't really looking to find out who we, I ... (some) were looking for a different angle. I'm not going to deal with those people, still. But I'm always selling our program."You asked to speak with me. Let's do it. If guys want to come and report on what we're doing, yes. I just didn't want to get in the gutter with a lot of guys who were looking for a different (negative) angle. But I feel I was always accessible."[email protected]
