Ambushing Arkansas

In order to “recruit this state like it’s never been recruited” you have to do something special.  Gus Malzahn and his staff are doing just that.  When the tweets started coming out that ASU fans would be proud of the Red Wolf coaching staff because what was about to come, many were intrigued about what it was going to be.  Few were thinking along the lines of such a recruiting adventure.   But now that the “A-State Ambush” is in full swing, only a few naysayers from other schools doubt the smarts of the plan!

“215 schools, 5 days, 1 staff, 1 purpose.”  The 215 school in the state of Arkansas have all been visited by an Arkansas State football coach before.  Steve Roberts and David Gunn made it a point to visit those schools.  I recall David Gunn saying that he walked into some schools that hadn’t seen an ASU coach since the Lacewell days.  But never has the ASU staff put such a focus on the entire state.  7 coaches (the NCAA maximum you can send on the road to recruit) hit the road Monday morning and will cover all 215 schools in one week.  It has taken Coach Gunn an entire year to make all those visits.  The opportunity to sell to the Arkansas high school coaches that Arkansas State cares about their thoughts and opinions is invaluable.  

Granted many of the 215 schools may never have a Division I scholarship player.  And even fewer will have an upcoming senior that can play at the level that Gus Malzahn and staff need to be a perennial top 25 team.  But there are a lot of other reasons that the Ambush is successful when it comes to recruiting.  First of all, there could be some kid that no one knows about that may be that hidden gem.  Casey Woods tweeted “Mayve found one hidden.  One of the perks!”  This is the number one reason behind why you do this.  Another is to look down the road.  There could always be an underclassman that is coming up and this the chance to get the first shot at those guys.  A big reason is the relationship building with those high school coaches.  It tells them that the A-State staff feels that the HS coaches are important and that they are needed in the process for ASU to become a top 25 team.  One of these coaches at a small school say like Hughes, could even end up one day winning state championships at a 7A school.  Heck he may even make it to be an offensive coordinator in the SEC and win a national championship.  Or is that too hard to imagine?

One of the greatest outcomes of the A-State Ambush is the national publicity that it has brought to Arkansas State.   After initial stories by the AStateNation.com, RedwolfReport.com and the Jonesboro Sun, this story was picked up across the country.  Rivals and FoxSports both ran it on the front page of their sites getting over a million hits per site.  It has been picked up by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CBS Sports, etc. and commented on by the national college football pundits.  There have been tons of tweets by the ASU coaching staff, Arkansas State media, Red Wolf fans, and even national college football gurus.  The publicity has been enormous, and I have to believe that high school coaches and football recruits nationwide are hearing the name Arkansas State Red Wolves more than they ever have. 

The A-State Ambush is a big deal!  Arkansas State Red Wolf fans should be proud of the hard work that the coaching staff is putting into this week in Arkansas and the following weeks when the ambush become more of a spread attack as the coaches hit the surrounding states to get the word out that the GAME IS ON!