Time to Play Star Search

Somewhere in the middle of a whirlwind trip, in the middle of the Florida countryside, Pete Carroll pulled off the road to make a cellphone call. He looked up to find a rather large face staring at him through the car window.

“I’m looking right square at the nose of a bull,” he said. “I did not get out of the car.”

It was that kind of week for the USC coach and his assistants.

With a block of free time between the season-ending victory over UCLA and the start of Rose Bowl preparations, the Trojan staff hit the road to recruit.

First came brunch with a group of high school prospects the morning after the Bruin game. Then came long drives and plane flights to make home visits in cities ranging from Fresno to Seattle to Jacksonville.

The hectic schedule culminated Monday night in New York, where the coaches watched Reggie Bush speak at the Heisman Trophy banquet. It was a fitting conclusion if only because the previous week had been spent looking for the next big Trojan star.

“Recruiting is all about competition,” Carroll said. “It’s about the future, it’s everything.”

In college football, success depends on continually restocking the lineup. From now until signing day in early February, coaches from every major program will crisscross the nation courting fresh talent.

A number of top high school players made official visits to USC for the UCLA game. The next morning, instead of celebrating or sleeping in, the USC staff entertained recruits in Manhattan Beach.

After a team meeting on campus in the afternoon -- the Trojans watched the televised announcement that put them in the Rose Bowl against No. 2 Texas -- assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin hung around with a prospect whose plane did not leave until late. Other coaches boarded red-eye flights to the East Coast.

This round of visits focused mainly on prospects likely to announce their commitments soon. Carroll and his assistants declined to say who they were visiting, but their travels were well-publicized on recruiting websites.

There were reports of calls paid to a running back here, a quarterback there. Linebackers and defensive linemen, too.

Carroll, Kiffin and defensive line coach Jethro Franklin set out at 7 a.m. on Dec. 5, flying to Phoenix where they met for several hours with a defensive lineman and his brother in a nearby suburb.

By 3 p.m., they were headed to Oklahoma City to spend the evening with another prospect and his father.

Such visits can last for hours and aren’t limited to chalk talk.

“It could be playing video games with their little brother, it could be eating dinner with the family,” Sarkisian said. “It’s a chance to be normal, a chance for us to see who they are and for them to feel who we are.”

In the process, coaches watch for clues. Does this kid’s personality fit the program? How close is he to committing? Who will influence his decision -- parents, a high school coach, an uncle?

“You have to figure that out,” said Kiffin, who also serves as recruiting coordinator.

On Day 2 of the trip -- the morning of Dec. 6 -- Kiffin rose early for breakfast at the hotel in Oklahoma City, knowing it might be his last chance to eat until nightfall.

“If you’re with Pete, there’s not going to be a lot of food,” the assistant said. “You could stop for lunch, but that would cost you 10 minutes going through a drive-through.”

Recruiting with Carroll also means distractions: People recognize him in airports and lobbies, stopping him for autographs. When he visits schools, coaches want to talk strategy.

“I’m energized by all this,” Carroll said. “It’s important and it’s fun.”

At 8 a.m., he, Kiffin and Franklin boarded a flight to Houston for a home visit with Michael Goodson, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior from Collins High in Klein, Texas, who is one of the top-rated prep running backs in the nation.

That afternoon, they flew to Dallas to spend the evening with a linebacker. By 9 p.m., Carroll and Kiffin were on a plane to Jacksonville.

All of this traveling is bound to produce horror stories. Rocky Seto and Brennan Carroll, two assistants, have blown tires in the middle of nowhere. Kiffin recalled a visit to former receiver Mike Williams shortly after a 10-6 loss to Utah in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl.

“Go into that house after scoring six points and try to convince Mike that we’re going to be this great offense,” he said. “That’s not real easy to do.”

There are success stories, too.

Kiffin recalls a trip to New Jersey two years ago in which he was able to reassure a wavering Dwayne Jarrett. “That visit showed me how much they were interested in me,” Jarrett said. Last week, Seto drove to see a recruit in Fresno and got a pleasant surprise.

“They had a barbecue rib dinner waiting for me,” the linebacker coach said. “You get to meet a lot of people. Good people.”

On Wednesday, Pete Carroll and Kiffin awoke early in Jacksonville and picked up Sarkisian, who had taken a red-eye from Salt Lake City through Atlanta. They drove into the countryside where Carroll had his bovine encounter on a visit with Tim Tebow, a quarterback from Nease High in St. Augustine, Fla.

The coaches stayed for most of the afternoon before hurrying back to the airport for a return flight to Los Angeles.

Even as they came home, other assistants were leaving town. After more visits -- and a couple of practices over the weekend -- it was time for the Heisman presentation dinner.

Carroll sat beside Bush on Monday night and, during a brief speech, introduced his assistants in the audience.

“We’re all frustrated because we know they should be out recruiting,” he joked.

In terms of travel, last week pales in comparison to what lies ahead. After the Rose Bowl, the USC staff will embark on a more hectic round of visits.

“There are trips where we’re on 13 or 14 flights in four days,” Kiffin said.

Carroll sounded as if he couldn’t wait.

“You’re running the whole time,” he said. “It’s amazing how much ground you can cover when you get in that mode.”

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Times staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.