LSU Coach Frank Wilson Adapting to Ever Changing Recruiting World
For associate head coach Frank Wilson, the opportunity to come back to Death Valley and represent the LSU Tigers is everything.
Being on the opposite sidelines last year gave him a chance to fully understand just how much this university means to him.
After being picked up by head coach Brian Kelly and taking over an important role in recruiting and handling the running backs, Wilson is more than up for the challenge to get the Tigers back to the LSU standard of football.
“A year ago, I had the chance to walk into Tiger Stadium as the opponent with McNeese State and just that feeling of being in the Valley, it resonated,” Wilson said. “There is something special about this place. There’s something special about Tiger Stadium. The smell of the grass. The lights. The Tiger Band. When I was here this past fall, as an opponent, it just reaffirmed what it is to be a part of our flagship university.”
The Tigers hired Wilson knowing how excellent of a coach he is, but being a recruiting guru is what separates him from the rest. Securing elite talent in not only Louisiana, but the entire country, is what has Wilson so well-known across the college football landscape.
Immediately upon being hired, he had to hit the ground running to assemble a December recruiting class, facing a difficult challenge with such a short period of time to talk with prospects. Playing a little catch up and scurrying to get in front of blue chip recruits was the main mission upon accepting the LSU gig.
“The new normal is the December signing period but we knew we’d have another shot come February,” Wilson said. “So, to do due diligence and give ourselves an opportunity, but knew for many we were playing catch up. We had several of the top kids in the state that were mid-year signees, but also early enrollees. So, they were leaving in a week from the time that we had gotten here. So, we shot our best opportunity that we could. I was very proud of our class.”
Though for Wilson it’s a different game in recruiting. The effects of the new name, image and likeness rules changes the landscape of signing elite talent. A man who thrives off of relationships in landing the top guys, it gives him a bigger challenge now. Money talks and Wilson understands what the Tigers must do to land players. He detailed the “unorthodox” recruiting game nowadays.
“Challenging. Unorthodox in the sense of knowing that you could be your very best, do your very best, and sharing with a student-athlete all the things that are important in regard to education, culture, football opportunity and development,” Wilson said. “And that someone could realistically say I have a better NIL deal for you and be in position to get that kid away from you.”
LSU has made advancements in the NIL space, and with the help of Wilson, could put this program in position to routinely lock in the best players. Adapting and adjusting is what Wilson looks forward to as his tenure with the Tigers goes on, but this first go around was certainly a challenge given the learning curve.
“It’s changed college football,” Wilson said. “I think it was learning for so many of us throughout the country in this new deal called NIL. I think we’re progressing like many other schools are and I think we’ll be fine in the future, but it was very unique in this calendar year where it kind of took college football by storm.”
Getting local businesses to buy into this new normality is a piece of the puzzle that Wilson detailed most. We’ve seen businesses such as Gordon McKernan Injury Attorney’s ink deals with LSU athletes Kayshon Boutte, Kyren Lacy and many more, but to get the rest of the city on board will position the Tigers to keep up with the NIL race.
“I think we will be in accord and on par to compete with the teams in our conference and in the country on NIL,” Wilson said. “We’ve been meeting with the top business people in our alumni base to position ourselves, along with the Tiger Athletic Foundation, to give us the stability to be ethically on par… To do it the right way for student-athletes to use NIL to their advantage.”
Educating the student-athletes on name, image and likeness is important and Wilson has taken that challenge head on. Recruiting will be a focal point for him, but also being in charge of such a talent rich running back room is another priority. Taking over as the running backs coach for the Tigers helps add to this incredibly genius staff Brian Kelly has put together.
Returning stud freshmen Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin alongside Tre Bradford, John Emery and Josh Williams, this core group of backs is deep. Not to mention Penn State transfer Noah Cain now coming into the mix. A savvy veteran provides a calming presence to this room.
Wilson detailed what makes Cain so special, dating back to his time recruiting him out of high school.
“I had Noah Cain in camp here when he was 11 years old,” Wilson said. “So, I’ve known him through middle school through high school. I’ve watched him from afar certainly when he went to IMG. But still always had contact with he, his mom, his dad… We’re thankful we were able to get him here. I just think he brings a maturity, a toughness... I think we needed a mature, established guy.”
Wilson will surely have a myriad of responsibilities for the Tigers heading into next season, but a coach of his caliber is certainly up for the challenge. The mission is to get LSU back to their standard of football, and with Wilson playing a major factor in doing so, it sets this program up for success for years to come.
