LSU RBs Coach & Recruiting Godfather Frank Wilson Joins The Jordy Culotta Show
Joining the Jordy Culotta Show for an endlessly fascinating, near hour-long interview, LSU’s ultimate Assistant Coach Frank Wilson stopped by for an extended chat covering his life, coaching career, his Tigers return after 7 years, LSU’s recent recruiting surge, the future of LSU under Head Coach Brian Kelly, all while revealing some untold, juicy recruiting stories from years past.
The longtime coaching legend discussed his return to LSU right out of the gate, pointing out a few factors which ushered his move back:
“There was a change at LSU and Coach Kelly reached out to me. I got a chance to visit with him and it was a great meeting for several hours, he and I. I just felt that he was a head coach that had experience, leadership skills and was one of a handful of people that I can learn from and continue to grow from professionally.”
When Jordy asked Coach Wilson about changes within college football since he was last at LSU, the former Geaux247, NFL.com and Rivals.com Recruiter of The Year acknowledged college football’s recent upheaval due to NIL or the rise of the transfer portal, while seeming to embrace these changes:
“It’s like anything, you either adapt or you die, so we’ve adapted to it. I like us…I like where we are right now. I like where we’re trending. I think we’re ascending. I think our program is under the right leadership, with the right type of staff and support staff….with the right A.D and the right president to take LSU back to its rightful place…back to the top.”
Turning their focus towards the Tigers’ recent recruiting spree, rising from lukewarm rankings into a consensus top 10 position, Uncle Frank shed light on how Coach Kelly’s staff are winning critical battles on the recruiting trail, both nationally & locally, grabbing double digit commitments throughout July, including 5 star WR Jalen Brown, four top tier defensive ends, plus a key in-state commitment from elite Louisiana running back Kaleb Jackson.
“It starts with 2022, you look at us getting here in January and trying to assemble a recruiting class…and really taking a look at the portal. I think we took 15 guys out of the portal and 7 or 8 of those guys are from Louisiana. You look at the high school portion of the other 10 guys we took, those guys were Louisiana……and we throw in Harold Perkins with that (group), although he played his high school football in Texas. And that’s LSU. That’s 10 high school guys and 7 transfer guys, that’s 17 out of the 25 to start building it the way Coach Kelly saw it, the way that we see it and it’s allowed us to go into a 2023 campaign that’s starting to hit stride, both near and abroad, we’re getting guys that fit LSU……that fit us.”
Next, Jordy pointed out Frank’s strength for recruiting to the depth chart, switching their conversation over to the topic of roster management.
Asked about managing the Tigers’ tattered roster this off-season, Frank didn’t hold back.
“How do we get good now in the midst of attrition and losing quality players? You replace them with veteran quality players and so we made a conscious effort to go get those guys we thought can come in and help us in being immediate impact players for us. I thought we did a really good job in doing so and fulfilling our needs.”
“Roster management is everything and so you recruit to the need, to the number, based on the attrition that happens year in and year out. You can anticipate those guys that are seniors, you can anticipate those guys that may have a career-ending injury, but what you don’t account for is the young guy who decides to go back home or to go to another place….you weren’t prepared for it. I think as you look at the NCAA and legislation is being brought about that now puts timetables…so you can recruit to your roster, instead of being shocked…signing a class and then losing people. There’s some legislation that is favorable, that’s going to help us manage that better. But you know, we want to do well with our high school coaches: we want to start in the state of Louisiana…and then go from inside out…the way we’ve always done it. And that’s exactly what Coach Kelly wants to do…that’s something we all are on the same page with.”
It’s no secret Head Coach Brian Kelly hired Frank Wilson to be his “Louisiana Godfather”, hoping to recapture the same perennial top 5 classes from Frank’s 2010-2015 heyday. Culotta’s question concerning the staff’s national background & Wilson’s role as “Louisiana Czar” drew an intriguing answer:
“You know, I think BK’s outlook, his view is spot on. He knows what he wants, he knows what we need. He said from the very beginning, ‘I’m going to recruit Louisiana first’ and that first week on the job, the first thing he did was go down to the high school state coaching clinic in downtown (New Orleans) right before the state championship and said that to our high school state coaches. So, I do think that’s real, that’s evident with the class of 2022, you’re starting to see 2023 here…it’s starting to go in that direction as we start to galvanize and get some of these in-state players on our roster. I think there’s more to come right now. I think we do have a wide range, we can cast our net probably further than we’ve ever done before, because we have so many coaches with great relationships throughout the entire United States.”
Emphasizing LSU’s national brand, Wilson told Culotta, “whether it’s East Coast, West Coast, North or South we can spread in there. That’s a good thing for LSU and it’s ability from a branding standpoint….to be a national brand, because we are. But I don’t think we’re going to lose sight of the Great State of Louisiana and doing a great job here as well.”
Discussing his current running backs room, Coach Frank Wilson detailed his excitement over John Emery Jr, as well as his belief in Noah Cain, Tre Bradford and Armoni Goodwin.
Outlining John Emery Jr’s hard work and dedication this off-season, Wilson added, “…he has worked extremely hard, he has done the work and the things necessary to put himself in the position to be eligible, to be ready to go this upcoming fall….and we’re excited about the things he brings to the table.”
Later on, Wilson continued regarding Emery, opening up about his friendship with his parents dating back decades:
“Both Mom and Dad, we go back to high school & college days. I’ve known John, Mark Diamond, the entire family since birth. Even when I was in San Antonio and he was coming out of high school, I had conversations with him about ‘why LSU was the best place for him’ when he was committed to Georgia. So it’s good to finally be able to coach him and know him as a young man, because I had not seen him since he was a toddler.”
Talking about Noah Cain, Coach Wilson made sure to underline the former Penn State running back’s Louisiana background: “He’s a guy with Louisiana ties; he was born and raised in Louisiana even though he went to IMG. But he’s a guy that’s our program type prototype in a sense of physicality….downhill…moving the chains…we think he’ll be good for us.”
“They all have a skill-set, they all have a talent that they bring to the table. And they all have their strengths…and then we’ll be able…in our room, what we’ve done for so long is allow them to play to their strengths…where we compliment each other and get productivity out of all of ‘em.”
“We have a room full of mature young men, they all are I’m extremely excited about our room. It’s a group of guys that between Spring semester and Summer semester have really achieved in the class room, really achieved in the weight room and the strength and conditioning and have taken the next step. We’re in a great position, in all of the things we just mentioned, because of their work ethic and their understanding of the culture that Coach Kelly has put in place: accountability in everything that they do…”
Touching on the “humbling” experience of returning to LSU, Coach Wilson mentioned the word “serve” as he explained his relationship to the state of Louisiana:
“You go about your business of serving a state, of serving a city, of serving a University, and when you go back at times to be received well, it’s just human nature. It feels good for people to recognize ‘we know what you’ve done for this state, we' know what you’ve done for LSU, we appreciate you’….and that’s ‘it’ in it’s most genuine fashion. We’re a ‘people culture’ a ‘people society’ and we rely on those relationships.”
But things really became next level when Coach Frank Wilson told a bombshell story about Duke Riley’s LSU recruitment, centering around then-Kentucky assistant Bradley Dave Peveto. It turns out, Uncle Frank was able to grab a commitment from both player & coach:
“I call in and Duke says he’s ‘not coming on a visit to LSU because we don’t have a scholarship for him just yet’ and I go into my spiel of ‘who’s with you?’ He said ‘my entire family’. I said ‘put me on speaker’. So they put me on speakerphone right, and I go in…I go in to do what I do…”
JORDY: “You turn into Frank Wilson…”
“(laughs)….so it’s a great meeting, we hang up and three minutes later my phone rings and Peveto calls me. He goes ‘listen, I’m Bradley Dale, I know you don’t know me but I was doing my home visit and they put you on speakerphone and that was the most badass shit I’v ever heard. We’re going to work together. I told the kid ‘you go to LSU’. He told Duke Riley ‘go to LSU and I’m coming with you’, low and behold a year later, he came to LSU.”
Things continued in the same enlightening, comedic vein with a great “bathroom recruitment” story, an anecdote where Frank followed Leonard Fournette’s father into the bathroom for a one on one conversation during a St. Augustine game.
However, an emotional weight came to the fore when Tyrann Mathieu’s name entered the conversation, Coach Wilson covering the LSU Legend’s high school days at St. Augustine High all the way to his final day as a Tiger.
No stone was left unturned, Wilson unveiling a long history concerning LSU’s defensive G.O.A.T, featuring a recruiting trail argument with Coach Ed Orgeron over Mathieu’s ability, how a conversation with Wilson changed how St. Augustine utilized Mathieu, the evolution of Tyrann as a Super Bowl champion & father against all odds, and at one point, Coach Frank even recounts a tearful moment where he was tasked with personally telling Mathieu of Head Coach Les Miles’ suspension decision.
During their epic conversation, Jordy asked about Wilson’s relationship with LSU’s newest member of the #7 club, Kayshon Boutte, and the Louisiana Godfather offered a revealing answer:
“He was my first guy…because we was a little unsure…” confirming that Wilson, once again, came to LSU’s rescue.
“He’s deserving of #7, he embodies it…I’m excited for the young man. He’s extremely talented. He’s driven…and I think he’ll wear it well in honor of all those who came before him.”
When Host Jordy Culotta asked Wilson if he “wanted to be a Head Coach again?”, Frank seemed more at peace with his current role. In reply, Coach Wilson told Jordy he “wasn’t sure”, instead opting to stay in the now, focusing on being the best assistant for LSU’s program in 2022.
As Wilson continued, LSU’s recruiting mastermind shared his candid and often humorous thoughts on various topics, including conferences (“the SEC West is second to none”), Coach Kelly’s staff (“everybody is respectfully the head coach of their own room…they exude confidence in their profession…we’re able to move in harmony because there’s no egos…”), offering insight into his ability to develop running backs and much, much more.
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
