Scott Satterfield Recruiting Both Talent and Character
To say that Scott Satterfield and the rest of his coaching staff have been on a recruiting hot streak would be a gross understatement.
In his first full recruiting cycle, the second-year head coach of the Louisville Cardinals football program has attracted a 2021 recruiting class that ranked No. 26 in the nation (No. 25 immediately after Derrick Edwards' commitment), and is the sixth-best in the ACC.
Of course as a Power Five head coach, your main objective when recruiting is to bring in guys that can help you win games, conference & national championships. But to go with that, Satterfield is also placing a huge premium on who they are as a person.
"We're looking at film, we're seeing if these guys can play. That's number one. Then the second thing is - and most important thing is - who are these people?" Satterfield said in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday. "What makes them tick? What do they stand for? What type of character do they have? That's what we're looking for."
Satterfield wants to put together a class full of like-minded individuals, who not only passionate about being good football players, but are also passionate about academics and being good citizens of the community. As he as done that, the recruits that he has landed so far have started to forge relationships between one another.
"You put all those guys together, and they just started creating a bond," Satterfield said. "With the technology that we have now, these recruits can be from all over the United States that we're recruiting, but yet they can still have a bond through social media and through all the things that we're able to do. I think it's awesome."
Satterfield believes that because of the bonds that have been formed between each of the recruits once they become a part of the class, that it makes it makes it difficult for them to want to pursue other opportunities.
"Once that bond is created like that, it's hard for them to want to go somewhere else," he said. "Obviously as a coach you worry about that, we see some guys flipping here and there. But hopefully these guys have created a bond that's good enough and it's tight enough that they'll want to play for each other and be a part of something special that's going on. That's what we're trying to create."
Satterfield also believes that the culture he and his coaching staff have helped established is a contributing factor as well to keeping guys as well.
"I think if you create a great culture and a great atmosphere where guys want to be a part of this, then you don't have to worry about that."
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