Mike London, W&M cast recruiting nets west, while UR stays focused on regional prospects
William & Mary coach Mike London (left) is looking beyond the state and region for recruits, while Richmond coach Russ Huesman says the Spiders will continue to take a regional approach.
Richmond coach Russ Huesman
William & Mary, founded in 1693, has considered itself a national school for generations. The Tribe football program may grow closer to that description Wednesday, which opens the early signing period for high school prospects.
In Mike London’s first full recruiting cycle as W&M coach, the Tribe have several scholarship offers in California and Texas. Others were distributed in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio. This is a departure from the way W&M went about its recruiting business when the coach was Jimmye Laycock from 1980 to 2018, and prior to his tenure.
“With coach London there now, they’ve made an effort to really expand their recruiting areas. So they’re going after a lot of people in a lot of different areas,” said Russ Huesman, Richmond’s coach. “Nothing wrong with that. … We’re going to stay regional. We think there are enough players regionally that we can get to know and have a good feel for.”
Huesman was a W&M assistant during 1984-97, and a UR assistant during 2004-08. He became the Spiders’ head coach prior to the 2017 season. Huesman noted that W&M and UR recruiters over the years typically recruit “the same type of kids,” but because of the Tribe’s geographically diversified search, “maybe this year, we won’t cross paths as much.”
William & Mary will open next season in California, with a Sept. 5 game at Stanford. That will be the Tribe’s first game on the West Coast in program history. The W&M men’s basketball team lost 81-50 at Stanford on Nov. 21.
London, well-known for his recruiting touch at several schools at which he previously worked, suggested he has no intention of allowing the Tribe’s recruiting presence in Virginia to erode. Speaking of the state area codes W&M will continue to target, London said his staff is committed to, “not only down here in the 757, but also in the 804 area, 703, 540, all those other areas.”
When it comes to James Madison, Virginia’s third member of CAA Football, the Dukes tend to recruit at a higher level than UR and W&M. According to Huesman, Spiders assistants are more likely to see Ivy League recruiters during their stops than JMU representatives.
Starting in 2017, a December signing period was available for prospects who had already determined which schools they wanted to attend. The traditional signing period, which begins on the first Wednesday in February, remains in effect.
Division I programs typically sign most of their recruits in December, though there usually have been a handful of additions at each program in February. And in recent years, an increasing number of transfers moved from the FBS to the FCS as the year progressed.
“In an ideal world, I want to build this program on high school kids, develop them, redshirt them, keep them here their fifth year and be very limited in the number of transfers you take,” Huesman said. “Every year, there could be a [transfer] need, but I don’t want to take five or six transfers every year.”
- By JOHN O’CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
- 5 hrs ago
William & Mary coach Mike London (left) is looking beyond the state and region for recruits, while Richmond coach Russ Huesman says the Spiders will continue to take a regional approach.
- ALEXA WELCH EDLUND/TIMES-DISPATCH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Richmond coach Russ Huesman
- DANIEL LIN/DAILY NEWS-RECORD
William & Mary, founded in 1693, has considered itself a national school for generations. The Tribe football program may grow closer to that description Wednesday, which opens the early signing period for high school prospects.
In Mike London’s first full recruiting cycle as W&M coach, the Tribe have several scholarship offers in California and Texas. Others were distributed in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio. This is a departure from the way W&M went about its recruiting business when the coach was Jimmye Laycock from 1980 to 2018, and prior to his tenure.
“With coach London there now, they’ve made an effort to really expand their recruiting areas. So they’re going after a lot of people in a lot of different areas,” said Russ Huesman, Richmond’s coach. “Nothing wrong with that. … We’re going to stay regional. We think there are enough players regionally that we can get to know and have a good feel for.”
Huesman was a W&M assistant during 1984-97, and a UR assistant during 2004-08. He became the Spiders’ head coach prior to the 2017 season. Huesman noted that W&M and UR recruiters over the years typically recruit “the same type of kids,” but because of the Tribe’s geographically diversified search, “maybe this year, we won’t cross paths as much.”
William & Mary will open next season in California, with a Sept. 5 game at Stanford. That will be the Tribe’s first game on the West Coast in program history. The W&M men’s basketball team lost 81-50 at Stanford on Nov. 21.
London, well-known for his recruiting touch at several schools at which he previously worked, suggested he has no intention of allowing the Tribe’s recruiting presence in Virginia to erode. Speaking of the state area codes W&M will continue to target, London said his staff is committed to, “not only down here in the 757, but also in the 804 area, 703, 540, all those other areas.”
When it comes to James Madison, Virginia’s third member of CAA Football, the Dukes tend to recruit at a higher level than UR and W&M. According to Huesman, Spiders assistants are more likely to see Ivy League recruiters during their stops than JMU representatives.
Starting in 2017, a December signing period was available for prospects who had already determined which schools they wanted to attend. The traditional signing period, which begins on the first Wednesday in February, remains in effect.
Division I programs typically sign most of their recruits in December, though there usually have been a handful of additions at each program in February. And in recent years, an increasing number of transfers moved from the FBS to the FCS as the year progressed.
“In an ideal world, I want to build this program on high school kids, develop them, redshirt them, keep them here their fifth year and be very limited in the number of transfers you take,” Huesman said. “Every year, there could be a [transfer] need, but I don’t want to take five or six transfers every year.”
