Willie Taggart's Use of "Saturday Night Live" Camp, and how it Impacts Recruiting
The new age of recruiting is among us, and standing at the forefront is none other than new Oregon head football coach, Willie Taggart. Taggart has brought energy and attention to the program in a much different way than the previous coaching regime under Mark Helfrich, utilizing social media and stretching recruiting boundaries.
After the recruiting coup that Taggart put on during the spring game, which saw some seven commitments from high school prospects, it was clear that Taggart was was going to prove himself as an elite recruiter. His recruiting prowess was to be expected; however, as he received praise from former coaching colleagues David Shaw (Stanford head coach) and Jim Harbaugh (Michigan head coach) upon his hiring for his elite ability to recruit.
Taggart recruited tirelessly bringing the Ducks to a top three recruiting class by the month of June, and named the hottest recruiting program for the spring. But even with all of this success, many wondered how Taggart would be able to sustain this unprecedented success. Well, those who questioned got their answer with the “Saturday Night Live” football camp Taggart and his coaching staff put on.
Usually when it comes to camps put on by major schools, you think of satellite camps in which the schools go to the prospects, similar to Michigan’s satellite camp at the IMG Academy in Florida. But Saturday Night Live is different, in that Taggart had the prospects come to him. The genius in that idea is that prospects get to come visit the campus and all of Oregon’s elite facilities, as well as get a chance to meet all of the coaches. But that’s not all; Taggart threw a twist into the idea for the camp. He designed the camp to take place in Autzen stadium, and invited all fans near and far to attend free of charge. All in all the prospects got to see the campus, facilities, and meet the coaches, as well as get a chance to perform inside of one of the crown jewels of stadiums in college football in Autzen stadium in front of thousands of football thirsty fans.
Not only was this a great idea, but it worked tremendously. By the end of the day, Taggart had secured commitments from prospects Miles Battle (4 Star wide receiver, Houston, TX), Teagan Quitoriano three Star Tight End/ Defensive End, Salem, OR), Verone Mckinley III (3 Star Cornerback, Carrollton, TX), and Arjei Henderson (4 Star Wide Receiver, Richmond, TX). After the slew of commitments received after the camp, Taggart found himself with a top five recruiting class in the nation.
Although commitment weren't received, the camp also gave the opportunity for Taggart to show highly touted in state prospects Talanoa Hufanga (Crescent Valley), and Chase Cota (Medford) what Oregon is all about.
Similarly to Cota and Hufanga, every recruit at the camp at least got a chance to visit Oregon, which is the part that has the biggest impact. Prior to Taggart, Oregon had never done anything even close to what Taggart is doing. Things were often very secretive, and the coaches rarely put their names in the headlines, which frustrated many Duck fans. Taggart has taken all of that and everything Oregon was prior to his arrival, and flipped it on its head. With more moves similar to the ones he
’s taken so far, it's certain that the hype train will continue to make its way through Eugene. Don’t be surprised if other coaches around the country follow suit after Taggart, and start implement some of his ideas into their own recruiting efforts.
