With the prospect of playing football no longer an option, in 2014 senior Carlyle Garrick was faced with a choice. He could leave the Oregon football program behind and become a regular student, or he could assume a different role.
He chose to stay with the team and contribute however he could. The position: recruiting assistant. Garrick, who suffered three ACL tears and a diagnosed heart problem during his career, was now tasked with watching two hours of film per day. He evaluated over 800 high school football players and as for the Ducks’ 2015 recruiting class, he likes to take credit for a couple.
For Garrick though, his primary job consisted of giving tours during unofficial visits. On game days throughout the fall, Garrick guided visitors around the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, but typically found he didn’t have to talk much.
“The building makes my job a little easier,” Garrick said. “Every time we walk in and out of a room, everyone’s mouth is open.
“I don’t have to say a lot.”
As Garrick can attest, the state-of-the-art facilities Oregon now possesses render most individuals speechless. As for the “wow” effect, the Ducks may provoke the highest intake.
The $68 million, 145,000 square foot megacomplex that was built in 2013 has undoubtedly attracted a number of recruits. It even had current players salivating at the idea of walking in to the complex as a prospective recruit.
“As a recruit, to be able to step in there, I mean if I had to do it all over again and I stepped in there, I’d tell coach (Chip) Kelly that I’d sign the paperwork then and there,” quarterback Marcus Mariota said in August of 2013.
Despite that though, a new element into alluring recruits will become more and more omnipresent. Regardless of if Oregon has the flashy uniforms, national prominence or attractive facilities to match any other program, the cost of attendance and the added financial benefits they can provide to athletes will now factor into the equation.
Head coach Mark Helfrich said during a press conference on National Signing Day that the topic was discussed with “some” recruits in this year’s class.
“We’re in a place where we’re fortunate to do everything possible,” Helfrich said. “From a legality standpoint, we can budgetarily handle everything for all of our student-athletes. That’s a huge deal.”
But as for the future and how it may sway a potential signees’ decision, coaches around the nation have vocalized how much weight it could carry. Penn State head coach James Franklin told USA Today Sports that it would be naive for anybody to think that this wouldn’t become a factor.
During the half hour that Helfrich answered questions about Oregon’s 2015 recruiting class, his signature phrase was “honesty.” He said it may’ve been a reason why some prospects committed elsewhere.
That approach may deal with more complicated honesties in the future, such as cost of living adjustments mixed in between what a player’s four year track may look like.
The full cost of attendance that Power Five conferences have granted will cover the cost of living expenses outside of the athletic scholarship. Stipends for those individuals are determined by federally created guidelines and have been estimated at $2,000 to $4,000.
How that will impact recruiting remains to be seen, according to Oregon senior associate athletic director for marketing and public relations Craig Pintens.
However, Pintens does not expect the added benefit to sway those who understand what the cost of attendance is defined as.
“It should have little impact on those who understand the cost of attendance formula,” Pintens said.
Helfrich also confirmed how supportive he was of the new measure.
“We are certainly in full support of everything that has been done initially, of supporting these guys in any way we can,” Helfrich added.
But there’s no doubt recruiting efforts for Helfrich and his staff, as well as every other Division I sport at Oregon, will be conducted under a new model. As Pintens said though, how that model effects recruiting remains to be seen.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise
