AU FOOTBALL: Luper on recruiting: If it ain't broke ...

Why mess with a good thing?

That’s Auburn recruiting coordinator Curtis Luper’s opinion when it comes to tinkering with Big Cat Weekend, which will go through its second edition near the end of May.

All the way down to the name, Luper doesn’t see much worth fixing.

“It is a Big Cat Weekend and it will continue to be a Big Cat Weekend,” Luper said Tuesday in an interview with the Opelika-Auburn News.

Luper touched on a number of recruiting issues in his conversation with the News on Tuesday inside the Auburn Athletic Complex:

OAN: Recruits have said the best part of Big Cat Weekend was that it focused less on football and more on fun. Would you agree?
Luper: That’s the uniqueness. As a staff, we sat down and said ‘How can we be different?’ You know, we made it a social event. That’s what those guys like.

OAN: Did you expect it to be so successful?
Luper: We really were fortunate in the quality of athlete that we were able to attract. It headed off well. We were surprised by the success and the quality of it and the response from players that were there, players that weren’t there, players this year that want to be there. We were, and are and continue to be surprised by the effectiveness of it all.

OAN: Will it be easier to draw big-time recruits this year because of the added exposure Auburn now has?
Luper: I don’t know if it will be a lot easier, but the simple fact that there is some name recognition of Big Cat Weekend (helps). Players in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, they’ve heard of it and there’s some anticipation.

OAN: Will there be added caution because of the six secondary violations incurred at last year’s event?
Luper: We moved past last year, we’ve learned from last year. This is a new year and we’re going to make this year bigger and better in every way.

OAN: You’re also bringing back Tiger Prowl. What made that successful last year?
Luper: It’s a lot more than just a limo. It was an opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to the state of Alabama and to get to know the teachers, players, coaches, administrators in this state. Coach Chizik, Coach (Phillip) Lolley and Coach (Tracy) Rocker were the only ones that spent a significant amount of time in this state. The rest of us needed to get to know the state, and I thought it really helped us to learn about the state and we’ll do it again this year with the same intent.
Obviously, we’ll go out and see prospective student athletes, but it’s still about the people. We love meeting the people, students and teachers and principals.

OAN: Did it help when it came down to going head to head with Alabama for the state’s top talent?
Luper: I think, relatively speaking, we were very successful in the state of Alabama. From what I’ve read and what I know, we signed five of the top 10. So, to be able to compete with Bama for five of the top 10 with them winning the National Championship, it was noteworthy. It’s not where we want to be; we want to be better. I think we’re headed in the right direction.

OAN: Do any of yours or Trooper Taylor’s ideas get shut down by Chizik?
Luper: He’s pretty tough. He was tough on Tiger Prowl. He was tough on Big Cat. He’s a tough sell. You have to really be able to justify your means. He gets his shotgun (shotgun noise) and shoots them down. He looks at it from a different perspective, obviously, with how it will affect the entire program. Tiger Prowl was the hardest sell for us for him.

OAN: Why?
Luper: Naturally, people started to question the expense of such an event or an endeavor. It turned out to be less expensive. Instead of sending seven coaches in seven different directions with seven different two-way flights and seven different hotels and seven different rental cars, we just sent seven coaches in one direction with one vehicle and we came back every night. We didn’t spend one night out. It turned out to be a genius move by Coach Chizik.

agribble@oanow.com | 737-2561