SI

The Twitter Recruiting Bat Signals of Every Power 5 Football Coach

Here’s how they let their fan bases know they’ve landed a commit.

Molly Geary

Last week was college football’s early National Signing Day, which meant recruiting SZN was in full swing—and so were the bat signals on Twitter. Bat signals are the tweets that many coaches make when they’ve landed a commitment. Coaches aren’t allowed to name recruits until they’ve officially signed with the school, so a bat signal is a way to let their fan base know they’ve earned someone’s pledge. Sometimes this sparks wild speculation in the replies over which recruit it might be; other times the replies take on a purely celebratory tone. In any event, the whole concept keeps us entertained.

Here are the bat signals we could find for every head coach in the Power 5, sorted alphabetically by league (and if you want to see what my colleague Dan Gartland ranked as the 10 best, click here).

ACC

Jeff Hafley, Boston College: “Let’s gooooooo!!!! #GetIn” with a GIF of an eagle, but he hasn’t done it since June.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson: Does not have a Twitter account.

Mike Elko, Duke: Has a standard three emoji ( 🔵👿🔐) with varied text or a #BLEEDBLUE hashtag.

Mike Norvell, Florida State: Series of tweets that allude to the player’s position or role. Such as:

“Great day to be a Florida State Seminole!! #Tribe24 has a Big Athlete coming to the trenches to be a part of the #NoleFamily Future is bright in Tallahassee #KeepCLIMBing”

Brent Key, Georgia Tech: Key was recently promoted to head coach. He doesn’t seem to have a bat signal yet, but he tweeted this silent video of the GT logo on signing day.

Jeff Brohm, Louisville: Brohm is not a big tweeter and, while new at Louisville, didn’t use a signal recently at Purdue, either.

Mario Cristobal, Miami: Usually uses #GoCanes with a Santana Moss GIF … but will also get creative, like using Bane from The Dark Knight Rises in a not-so-subtle nod to the landing of a recruit named Rueben Bain.

Mack Brown, North Carolina: Currently using a Michael Jordan–inspired signal since it’s the 2023 recruiting class.

Dave Doeren, North Carolina State: Often opts for a photo of the school’s famous bell tower lit red by night.

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame (the Irish are honorary ACC for these purposes): Briefly did a nifty “Here Come the Irish” bat signal last year, but hasn’t kept it up.

Pat Narduzzi, Pitt: A fiery video with the caption “PITT IS IT‼️” accompanied by three varying emoji.

Dino Babers, Syracuse: Orange emoji, but he adds one for each new recruit—which can get pretty crowded!

Tony Elliott, Virginia: Has not been using one.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech: A 15-second video that’s a collage of Hokies photos while the beat of “Enter Sandman” plays.

Dave Clawson, Wake Forest: Has not been using one, but these video animations announcing signed recruits last week were pretty sweet.

Big 12

Dave Aranda, Baylor: Used to post this dramatic video but hasn’t done it since May 2021.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State: Hasn’t tweeted since 2021.

Lance Leipold, Kansas: Has not been using one.

Chris Klieman, Kansas State: Has not been using one.

Brent Venables, Oklahoma: Has generally not used one, though he had a clever way of signaling the flip of Peyton Bowen from Oregon last week.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: A GIF of himself dancing with his team with a caption variation like: “It’s a great day to be a Cowboy!”

Sonny Dykes, TCU: A GIF of the all-powerful Hypnotoad (and he on occasion switches up the GIF!).

Steve Sarkisian, Texas: Has varied signals, including the horns-up emoji (🤘) and a photo of Bevo, a scrabble spelling of “Lockdown,” and more horns up. The below was used when Arch Manning committed.

Joey McGuire, Texas Tech: “Lets goooooooooooooo! #WreckEm🌵” complete with a Ric Flair GIF.

Neal Brown, West Virginia: The “keep it simple” of the league, Brown occasionally tweets a “Let’s Go!!!”

Big Ten

Bret Bielema, Illinois: A silent school-branded video with the caption: “🤷‍♂️🏈🤷‍♂️”

Tom Allen, Indiana: A GIF of himself with the hashtag #LEO (the program’s motto: Love Each Other”

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: Does not have Twitter.

Michael Locksley, Maryland: A GIF of a closing wall, meant to signify a recruiting wall, with the hashtag #TBIA (The Best Is Ahead).

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: Hasn’t tweeted in more than two years.

Mel Tucker, Michigan State: “BOOM 👀#NEXT2T3P” plus an accompanying #NextStep GIF.

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota: An actual bat signal!

Matt Rhule, Nebraska: Recently back in the college game, he jumped right into engaging with Huskers fans as National Signing Day approached. Rhule has been sending a series of cryptic emoji as he looks to build momentum in Lincoln.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern: Active on Twitter, but no bat signal.

Ryan Day, Ohio State: Not active on Twitter, and has not been using one.

Greg Schiano, Rutgers: Has not been using one.

James Franklin, Penn State: A flashy video with the caption: #WeAre…Better.

Ryan Walters, Purdue: Just became a head coach this month, so stay tuned!

Luke Fickell, Wisconsin: Has quickly developed a signal with the Badgers, tweeting “#OnWisconsin” with a video montage from Camp Randall.

Pac-12

Jedd Fisch, Arizona: Various adorable cactus GIFs.

Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State: Only a month into the job, but he’s been ON his GIF game for commits, invoking everything from the movie Elf to the Sun Devils’ mascot bizarrely crashing the stadium.

Justin Wilcox, California: Does not have Twitter.

Deion Sanders, Colorado: Coach Prime is one of the more active ones on Twitter, and, as he begins his Colorado era, he had a simple message to signal an explosive signing day:

Dan Lanning, Oregon: 🦆 (two for a double commit).

Jonathan Smith, Oregon State: “DAM RIGHT 🦫✔️,” which he has even used for his own contract extension.

Troy Taylor, Stanford: Brand new to the FBS level from FCS Sacramento State, so it’s wait-and-see on the bat signal.

Chip Kelly, UCLA: Does not have Twitter.

Lincoln Riley, USC: The classic “fight on” gesture, ✌️.

Kyle Whittingham, Utah: Has sent only a few tweets in 2022, none of them bat signals.

Kalen DeBoer, Washington: A GIF of what appears to be a husky looking through the rain.

Jake Dickert, Washington State: Active on Twitter, but no bat signal.

SEC

Nick Saban, Alabama: The GOAT is not on Twitter, which is probably for the best, or he’d be sending out a steady stream of bat signals.

Sam Pittman, Arkansas: A “Turn That Damn Jukebox On” GIF.

Hugh Freeze, Auburn: Freeze is new at Auburn (and, according to Sports Illustrated‘s reporting, has university oversight of his Twitter account) but has already started a “bingo”-themed bat signal.

Billy Napier, Florida: 😎 (two for a double commit).

Kirby Smart, Georgia: “Go Dawgs !!”

Mark Stoops, Kentucky: Has not been using one. 

Brian Kelly, LSU: “The Path To The Boot.”

Lane Kiffin, Mississippi: For such a prolific tweeter, we were surprised we couldn’t find a bat signal for Kiffin (at least, beyond his ongoing “Come to the Sip” pitch). He does, however, frequently tweet photos of the airports he’s at on his recruiting travels, which provide clues to the fan base.

Zach Arnett, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs program is currently mourning the death of late coach Mike Leach, with Arnett having recently been promoted to the head job.

Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri: “#ZOU23 🔥🐯🔥” with a dramatic video.

Shane Beamer, South Carolina: Changes up the wording and videos accompanying his bat signals, but a common thread is the hashtag “#WelcomeHome” and talk of a recent “phone call.”

Josh Heupel, Tennessee: #GBO 🍊.

Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M: Does not have Twitter.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt: A GIF of the hashtag #GoldStandard23.

Published
Molly Geary
MOLLY GEARY

Molly Geary is an associate editor for SI.com. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Geary has worked for the company since 2014.

Home/Extra Mustard