The college football recruiting landscape has changed immensely, and it's fun to see collegiate athletics programs catch up and try new things to appeal to recruits.
Back in the day, recruiting was a formal affair. Coaches would attend practices and games, visit families over dinner and sell the player and his parents on things like education and the upstanding reputation of a given university.
Sure, some of those things still happen today, but with social media outlets like Twitter and Instagram, coaches have to adjust on the fly. When they aren't on the field, most players spend the most time on their social media accounts. It's now part of our culture and that's how they relate the easiest.
MORE: Will Florida State Land 5-Star QB Justin Fields?
There are plenty of coaches who still have that old school mentality and refuse to hop on social media. I highly doubt we will see Alabama front man Nick Saban on Twitter anytime soon, but let's be honest, he doesn't need any help on the recruiting trail.
Larry Fedora though? The North Carolina head coach isn't scared to break down the walls and have a little fun, especially if it means landing some of the nation's top prospects.
On Thursday night, the UNC football Twitter account released this hilarious (yet awkward) video of Fedora attempting to appeal to the 16-19 year-olds he's recruiting. It was clearly a parody of the classic "This Is Sporscenter" commercials, and Fedora absolutely nails it.
Luckily @CoachFedora is hip, really hip. #ThisIsCarolinaFootball pic.twitter.com/VtHcMzd3Cs
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) June 15, 2017
For a guy who is known to be really intense (says he drinks nine red bulls a day), it was cool to watch him have some fun with Migos, fidget spinners and rain drop, drop top. Clearly the fine folks in the SID office at UNC put this whole thing together, but I'm genuinely curious if Fedora had heard of any of the things he was talking about before the filming of the video.
Either way, stuff like this can only help UNC recruiting. It paints Fedora as a coach who likes to have fun and can relate to his players — things that high school kids actually care about.
We will see if the outside-the-box thinking translates to wins on the filed when fall rolls around.
