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Fresh off a national championship season at Indiana, Director of Player Personnel Mike Ferrara joins the show for his first-ever podcast interview.   Mike's path is the blueprint for breaking into personnel: from selling hats at Tennessee sporting events to working junior days, through Texas A&M and LSU, to helping build a title-winning roster in Bloomington under Coach Curt Cignetti. We go deep on how he did it — and how his department actually runs.   Topics include: The "relentless pursuit of innovation" mindset that separates good staffers from great onesWhy empowering student interns builds championship departmentsWhat it's like evaluating alongside Cignetti and his production-over-projection philosophyHow Indiana splits high school and portal responsibilities across a lean staffWeekly stock reports, and setting coaches up to win on the road.  Timestamps: (0:00) — Welcome + a championship two-year run at Indiana(1:34) — Mike's journey: selling hats at Tennessee → junior days with Bob Wilton → breaking into the office → A&M → LSU → Indiana(15:00) — The "relentless pursuit of innovation": self-taught Excel/tech skills, finding where you add value, why great students make great departments(29:30) — Paying it forward: developing interns who carry the process to new buildings(31:00) — Working under Coach Cignetti: production over projection, the Saban recruiting-coordinator roots, learning how a head coach watches tape(44:15) — Inside Indiana's personnel structure: HS vs. portal split, stock reports, advance work before the portal opens, and setting up coaches to recruit at full speed(55:00) — The NFL-college gap in roster management(56:00) — The most important question: where do you take the scouting staff for margaritas? 🌮  Up Close in Personnel is the definitive front office playbook for college football. Send mailbag questions to [email protected] & thanks for listening to the show!

Texas Tech General Manager James Blanchard was the first member of Joey McGuire's charter staff — and one of the most inspiring self-made stories in college football.   Before the No. 1 transfer class, the Big 12 titles and the CFP berth, Blanchard spent five years grinding for free: a kid from Orange, Texas posting highlight tapes on message boards, trying to get players from his hometown recruited. He never charged a family a dollar. Then Matt Rhule hired him off Twitter, and everything changed.   Topics include: The five-year unpaid grind and the Evan Cooper advice that turned it into a careerEarning his "bachelor's degree in evaluating" under RhuleHis "master's in scouting" with the Carolina PanthersWhy the pro-scout seat was the most valuable room he's ever sat inThe truth about Texas Tech's budget and how he actually allocates the cap by positionBuilding relationships with agents in the new economyWhy he makes his staff produce a Texas Top 100 and a "no offers" list every yearAnd how a GM fights complacency after winning.  Timestamps: (0:33) Welcome — and why Blanchard is always pushing other people's names(4:49) Orange, Texas: helping his hometown get recruited, and getting his cousin offered by Nick Saban as a sophomore(9:11) Five years for free — and the Evan Cooper advice that changed it: charge the schools, not the kids(11:18) Matt Rhule hires him off Twitter(12:43) The Rhule school of evaluation: height, weight, speed, traits, verified times(14:07) Leaving Baylor for the Carolina Panthers(16:34) What a pro scout actually does — and why Rhule overruled him on the job(19:31) Bringing NFL scouting language back into the portal era(23:20) Joey McGuire, autonomy, and how one head coach changed the GM role nationally(29:01) Why standing on the table matters even when you lose the battle(33:34) The Cody Campbell misconception — and how Texas Tech really builds a budget(38:49) Agents as partners: "97.5% of those guys are good people"(41:24) Fighting complacency as the hunted(43:37) The Texas Top 100 and the "no offers" list(45:32) Learning to lead a department(47:29) Symposium advice: talk to the person to your right and left(52:40) Where to eat in Lubbock 🍱  Plus: the best advice he's ever heard about networking — and where to eat in Lubbock when you finally make the trip!   Up Close in Personnel is the definitive front office playbook for college football. Send mailbag questions to [email protected]

Up Close in Personnel is back after five years — and this time it’s the definitive playbook for front offices across college football.   Host Alex Brown opens Season 5 with the full story: 17 years in football, from volunteering at the bottom at Houston to Director of Recruiting at Rice, GM at SMU, Director of Player Personnel at Ole Miss, and Mid-South area scout for the Atlanta Falcons. Then, the day after the draft, he was told it was time to move on.   This episode covers all of it — the SMU full-circle story (told no as a volunteer in 2014, hired as GM nine years later), replacing eight draft picks at Ole Miss, what an NFL area scout’s calendar actually looks like, and an honest conversation about getting fired: the grief, the reframe, and why he finished every BLESTO report anyway. Plus: where the show goes from here — leadership, team building, cap strategy, department structure, retention, and how front offices really operate at both levels. Guest #1 will be Texas Tech General Manager James Blanchard.   Time Stamp of the Show: (0:00) Mic check — five years later(0:21) What this show is, and 17 years in football: Houston → Rice → SMU → Ole Miss → Atlanta(3:09) Why now: from a “survival kit” for a first-time director to the definitive front office playbook(4:30) Guest hall of fame — where 56 episodes of guests are now: Carrington, Price, Hodges, Crowley, Kovach, Washington, Yray, Cherington, Johnson, Merritt, Thamel(7:28) Rice, 2021: the foundation that made everything after it possible(8:30) SMU full circle — told no as a volunteer in 2014, GM nine years later(10:30) Building a “startup Power Four”: AAC title, the ACC jump, and learning to lead(13:00) The Ole Miss call, and the Moneyball problem: replacing nine draft picks(15:30) July 4th weekend and a phone call from Shelly Harvey — the NFL dream(17:00) Inside the area scout job: the accordion calendar, BLESTO, life on the road(19:00) The day after the draft(21:00) Marcus Aurelius and the third thing: finishing the reports anyway(22:30) Nobody tells you how it feels — grief, denial, and owning it(24:00) The reframe: a month without film, a marathon, AI, and building something new(26:00) Eric Galko, the Shrine Bowl, and going back to where it started(27:30) What’s coming: shorter episodes, mailbag questions, leadership content(29:00) “Leave it better than you found it”(30:00) Season 5 kicks off with Texas Tech GM James Blanchard  Send any and all mailbag questions to [email protected] & enjoy the show!

Heading into Week 3 of College Football, we are joined by a repeat visitor in Carina Hargreaves - Director of On-Campus Recruiting for Georgia Tech!   In her last appearance on Up Close In Personnel for Episode 12 - "Inside The Process Of Coordinating Campus Visits", Carina talked through her personal journey in the world of college football, her football background and how she approaches setting up recruiting visits! This week, we briefly touched on her training camp internship with the Cardinals and honed in on what all goes into a GAMEDAY recruiting visit. It was a fun episode to record, we broke down what coaches and recruiters should be paying attention to during the interactions with recruits and their families, and so much more!   Please be sure to like, share, retweet and respond with what you liked from the show, and stay tuned for more from Up Close In Personnel! Lastly, you can find and follow Carina on Twitter at @CarinaH_GT!

Week 1 across the country is HERE for college football! This week we're joined by my good friend, Bryan Carrington - Offensive Quality Control Analyst with the USC Fighting Trojans!   Since his last appearance on the show for Episode 1 - "Building Relationships with College Recruiters", Bryan made the move from recruiting at UT to coaching running backs at USC in Los Angeles! We discuss how he made the move, how he's advanced his football knowledge through interning with the Rams and the growth he's experienced along the way! It's a great episode for coaches and recruiters alike, especially when it comes to working cohesively as a staff!   Please be sure to like, share, retweet and respond with what you liked from the show, and stay tuned for more from Up Close In Personnel!

It's fall camp for football teams across the country (and games have started for some high school teams as well)! With that being the case, I decided to bring in my first scouting mentor - Russ Lande to talk about his scouting process!   Notes for the next couple of episodes will be sparse due to the business of this time, but this is one episode you'll need a pen and paper nearby! We talk through Russ' approach to teaching the art of scouting, how he evaluates practices, his thoughts on organizational culture, and much more on the evaluation process!   Please be sure to like, share, retweet and hit me back with what you learned from the show!

Joining the show this week, Zach Brandon with the Diamondbacks breaks down his job as the Mental Skills Coordinator and unpacks what his role is in the team building process.   From the selection process in the MLB Draft to on-boarding and player development, Zach explains why mental skills are more important than ever to identify, train and develop. Physical ability sets the bar of what we can achieve, but mental skills are what allow us to reach peak performance and how consistent we are able to do so!   I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording! Please share from whatever platform you're tuning in from, let us know what you took away from Zach & be sure to follow him on Twitter at @MVP_Mindset!

We've all known that NIL rules would be coming into effect for quite some time and now that the time has arrived here in July of 2021, I figured it was time to bring in an expert to weigh in!   For those unfamiliar, NIL (which stands for "name, image and likeness") now allows athletes to capitalize on their name, image and likeness in ways previously not allowed. Players are able to seek marketing representation or advisory, participate in marketing or branding off their own likeness, open a business, start a camp or clinic, or engage in non-profit activity.   It's a big step in the right direction in allowing athletes to prepare themselves for the real world, but there needs to be education to avoid potential pitfalls.   That's where someone like our guest, Luke Fedlam comes in for support. He's had over 15 years of experience working with professional athletes in representing (or protecting as he says throughout the episode) their marketing interests. On the show, Luke brings valuable insight on defining what the rules are today, trends through the first month of NIL and lessons on what to look for in contracts.   The Timeline: 5:00 - "This is what I wanted" & Luke's Passion for NIL 9:15 - Luke's "Aha" Moment for NIL Education 13:00 - "Without using your job title, who are you?" 19:40 - Branding Advice: Character & Authenticity 25:00 - Defining NIL & What It Means 28:50 - Early Trends in the First Month of NIL 35:34 - The Role of Athletic Departments, Compliance and Advisors in NIL Education 41:46 - Lessons Learned from Zion Williamson's Contract 48:36 - Wanting to be President of the US as a kid   To find and follow Luke Fedlam's work, check him out on Twitter at @LukeFedlam! Also, the interview by Columbus CEO that was referenced in this episode can be found at the following link - "In the new world of NIL, Luke Fedlam guides athletes on money, deals and the future"!   Thank you for taking time to listen, please let me know what you thought of the show and don't forget to leave a review after you drop that 5-star rating!

Stepping to the stage this week is one of the most inspiring people you will meet. Jake Langi may appear on the peripheral to just be another recruiting analyst at a blue-blood, power-five program.   That blanket statement could not be further from the truth. Overcoming setbacks after high school, serious health concerns following the birth of his son, to being overlooked while at Texas State, Jake kept his head down and did the lonely work it takes to "make it".   In this episode, you hear how Jake established credibility for himself at Texas State as an undergraduate assistant, working odd jobs throughout his time in school, and how he's navigated the most recent coaching change at the University of Texas.   It's one word - "value". Networking, as he referenced in the interview, is transactional. That is to say, "What can you do for me?"   Without spilling too much of the episode, we talk through the value Jake brings to Texas, to his fellow colleagues, and how important family is to him. Jake truly has a heart of gold and UT is fortunate to have such a genuine person on their front lines of recruiting!   As always, please let me know what you thought of the show and don't forget to leave a review after you drop that 5-star rating!   To find and follow Jake, check him out on Instagram and Twitter at @JakeLangi!

Joined by nobody but yours truly, I decided to take a solo venture for my return episode in recapping a busy, wild and fun month of June recruiting!   Now on episode 50 of the show, eclipsing 10,000 downloads and heading into a brief summer break, this was my way of letting you all inside my mind for once. From talking through the context of how unique and rare this time period has been, to the inner workings of unofficial visits, official visits, camps and more, I hope that this week's edition gives you insight to develop as a coach/-0pppppsewascout/recruiter or learn more about the process as a prospective recruit!   Moving forward, we will return to our traditional format of bringing guests onto the show but this is my way of giving back to you all and I hope you enjoy listening! Send me any and all questions you had while listening, and I look forward to continuing to push out content on evaluation, recruiting and team building topics!!! You can find me on twitter at @alexm_brown or email the show at [email protected]!

Joined this week by one of my former players - Brandon Wilson, a kick returner extraordinaire and defensive back for the Cincinnati Bengals - we talk through his football career to date and walks through pivotal moments along his journey.   Becoming a father during the pandemic and fighting to prove his worth to the Bengals in the final year of his rookie contract, we started out by discussing the challenges and stresses that the 2020 season brought.   More than anything, Brandon simply cares about other people. Whether that's being close to his family and keeping them healthy, or looking out for his teammates, the conversation always deflected praise to others. I really have a ton of respect for this young man and it was a blast to talk through his early days in the game, high school recruiting process, college experience and current NFL day-to-day grind.   Something I wanted to harp on was Brandon's overall character and getting a glimpse into his mindset, as it's important to be able to recognize high character, high performers when you see them.   Here are some key qualities of Brandon that I wanted to highlight from our conversation: 1. Be coachable "I never talked back to a coach." Always the first in line and attentive to detail, Brandon takes pride in how coachable he is as a player. 2. Put the team first No matter what position he was put in, Brandon only wanted to be the best teammate he could be and help his team succeed. 3. Do the right things off the field "We all know what's right. Just make the right decision." This one is self-explanatory, but as a collegiate athlete (and now NFL athlete) the spotlight shines brightest on you. The same can be applied for coaches and scouts alike. 4. Commit to recovery That looks like long contrast baths, eating healthy (no fried food or pork for B-Wil) and 8 hours of sleep. To perform at a high level, you've got to focus on keeping yourself healthy and rejuvenated (both as an athlete and as a coach)   With camp season right around the corner and recruits getting ready to step foot on college campuses, I felt it would be timely to have someone with an elite mindset like B-Wil to talk shop with! Let me know what you thought of the show and don't forget to leave a review after you drop that 5-star rating!   To find and follow Brandon Wilson, check him out on Instagram and Twitter at @ItsBWilson_!

As we head into a new year on the show, I've decided to circle back with previous guests of the show that have risen to new roles since their last appearance.   Last week we checked up on Eric Galko and his new gig with the Shrine Bowl (click here to listen to that episode), and now we shift gears back to college recruiting and Gaizka Crowley!   Gaizka, who last appeared on the episode 8 to talk about the differences between FCS and FBS Recruiting, now is the Director of Player Personnel at UNLV and as real influencer in the college football personnel space. Teaming up with a host of sponsors (including Up Close In Personnel's OFFICIAL SPONSOR - War Room) and Nevada-Reno's Director of Recruiting - Lucas Gauthier (you can follow him on Twitter at @Lgauthier_), Gaizka is spearheading the first ever, DPP Spring Clinic.   This professional development opportunity is a big topic of discussion on this show, and will be commencing May 27-May 28 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, NV!   The format of the clinic will be panel-based, roundtable discussions led by thought leaders in the industry and recruiting/personnel members from across the country. Gaizka's main focus was to create an engaging, networking opportunity for people in the industry as we currently lack the connectivity that the coaching industry seems to have.   During the episode, there were some great nuggets on how Gaizka is approaching his new position at UNLV and also how he attacks job interview opportunities. Here are some key takeaways from the show:   On preparing for the interview, Gaizka works off a portfolio template that covers many things on the program he's interested in but two things stood out to me: Evaluate the most recent signing class (in as much detail as possible; he creates full, one page reports) Breakdown their recruiting "heat map", identifying their hot and cold spots (regionally) across the country, along with where there are potential market inefficiencies/areas to get more involved in geographically   In addition to more insight into how to prepare for the interview, Gaizka closed with stressing the importance of hitting home three key points. Know your strengths, know the language the team is speaking and their vision for the program, and don't try to do too much. To give an example of Gaizka's three main things, he brings up three traits that he will bring to the building every single day: Unbelievable Organization No Ego Gratitude   And before you ask someone for a job or toss out your resume, ask yourself one question - "How can I provide value to this person?" "What problem can I solve for them?" Then go out and execute!   It was another awesome episode with a great friend and impressive individual in the industry; to find and follow Gaizka, head over to Twitter @Gaizka_UNLV!   To sign up for the DPP Spring Clinic and get more information, also be sure to follow @FBPersonnel on Twitter!

In an encore performance, Eric Galko (previously featured on Ep. 26 of the show) breaks down his new exciting position as Director of Football Operations and Player Personnel with the East-West Shrine Game! Getting the shrine game was always a target of Eric's for more than just the football aspect, as a premiere all-star event for NFL scouts but primarily for its impact on the community and the Shriner's Hospital. As Eric details his job responsibilities, you can see that putting an all-star game together is much more than fielding a team of draft-eligible studs from across the country. Eric broke it down by simply stating he has 7 days or 168 hours to work with, so he's focused on three main things:  1. Players and teams will be able to meet in a very organized and professional manner (for interviews)  2. Players will be receiving first class treatment with meals, recovery technologies, etc.  3. Creating time and space for community events, specifically the Shriner's Hospital visit Moving onto the picking of players and building his boards, it's amazing to hear that Eric and his crew are already finishing up with the 2023 NFL Draft class. His focus, echoed throughout the show, has been and will continue to be eliminating bias in the process.  How do you do that? Be detailed, thorough and accurate with the background profiling of prospects, knowing who they are, where they're from and objectively assessing the athletic measurables. In talking through how he and his staff at Optimum Scouting are able to work so far ahead on underclassman, Eric repeated a mantra that earned the show its title and that is "know which question to ask next". You can have too much information as a scout and it's important to know when to put the book down. After you've fully evaluated the prospect, know what is your next question to answer and monitor that question or the development you're waiting to see.  From there, we touched on the fundamentals he teaches his scouts when evaluating players, what a "Demar Derozan-jumper" is in the scouting world, and how Eric stays up to speed on what is winning in the NFL today! It was a blast to record, as always with someone like Eric, and you can follow him on Twitter at @EricGalko! Thanks for tuning in, be sure to check out UpCloseInPersonnel.com for show notes/updates and have a blessed weekend!

With the 2021 NFL Draft in the books, I decided to get my good friend - Matt Waldman on the show to discuss his process as an evaluator and how he's developed his craft in scouting.   Whether you're working at the high school, college or pro levels of football, we all must be able to identify, evaluate and project talent to an extent.   Matt, a former aspiring musician, writer and call center director, put the lessons he learned in the real world into practice and taught himself over the past 20+ years on how to assess NFL Draft talent.   Creator of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, Matt turns out the most comprehensive publication of NFL prospect analysis at all skill positions. Targeting fantasy footballers at the start, Matt's grown into one of the more respected evaluators in the NFL Draft sphere and I have a ton of respect for the work he does. If you have interest in checking out this year's post-draft edition of the RSP, click here for details.   As for the episode, we went deep into the weeds on developing a personal process for film watching, how we take notes, writing reports on players, self-evaluating previous misses, what compensating factors look like for prospects, defining the "IT Factor" and so much more in the episode.   What jumped out to me on this conversation was Matt's desire to accomplish two things in his scouting process: Define everything: When you define EVERYTHING that you evaluate and what you are seeing, you create consistency in communication across the organization. From the grading scale, to the traits, to how you define different levels of talent, you've got to be on the same page as an organization on "how you want to build it". Ask the right questions: Constantly evaluate hits and misses, and ask the difficult "why" questions. If you can't answer those, then it's time to reassess your process. The "what am I missing" mentality is critical to self improvement as a scout.   Also in the episode, you get a glimpse into Matt's personal growth and how he was able to teach himself over time how to scout. The quick bullet points for anyone wanting to grow as a talent evaluator: Watch as much film as possible: Matt described it as a game of "eye spy" early on When you come across things you don't know, seek the info: books, clinics, conversations, etc. Revisit your previous evaluations, see what you missed ("what am I missing" mindset) Be humble and open minded to learn from other evaluators that see it differently   The inflection point of missing on Dak Prescott's evaluation, might have been my favorite part of the show as Matt detailed his process, what he saw initially in Dak, how he grades traits in draft prospects and where he went wrong. The sign of a good scout is the awareness to know when you missed and learning from that mistake, and Matt breaks it all down for us.   Another great nugget of scouting wisdom, was Matt's description of compensatory factors and what he calls "winning combinations". There's more than one way to skin a cat, whereas one player may have a "breadth of talent" (wide range of solid skills) and another may have a "depth of talent" (limited range of excellent skill). This part of the show really goes to show that scouting is not an "inexact science", but rather a craft that includes a blend of both art and science.   In detailing that art and science, Matt uses the analogies of a chef and baker to breakdown two types of athletes: task oriented and creative. A baker locks into a process, follows every step to the "T" and requires the right environment, while a chef has the ability to work off schedule and improvise.   Listen to this one and I'm sure you'll have even more notes from this conversation. If you're obsessed with learning about the player evaluation process, this episode will be right down your alley. Hope you enjoyed it and see you all next week!   Be sure to follow Matt on Twitter at @MattWaldman, and don't forget to visit UpCloseInPersonnel.com for full show notes on all of our previous recordings!

Draft weekend is finally here and this was a phenomenal episode with insights from longtime NFL coach, Wade Phillips on the draft process! From career advice, to team building, evaluating and war room stories, there's so much to take away from this episode.   From a topic standpoint, we talked about how Coach sustained success for such a long period of time, how he approaches players and scheme, his University of Houston playing days, why he got into coaching, and the involvement of coaches in the NFL Draft process.   In discussing the right mix of scouts and coaches in the draft process, Wade emphasized alignment. No matter what the decision is (or who it's made by), the entire staff and front office must be all-in and committed to moving forward in alignment. He also brought up the importance of knowing your staff, who is a good evaluator and who is a good coach.   As it pertains to the predraft process for NFL coaches, we also take a deep dive into the high volume of responsibility and catching up that needs to be done. The end of season review, free agency, players reporting and draft prospect film watching all come to a head during this time of the year. Coach Phillips broke down how he approaches his evaluations and weighting the different pieces of information -most important being the film, followed by football knowledge and practice habits.   All this and draft day favorites were discussed, so enjoy the show and enjoy the NFL Draft this weekend!