Recruiting update from Paul Tidwell

With the verbal commitment from wide receiver Cody Hoffman, BYU now has 21 verbal commitments.
Signing day is a little more than a week away. I got a chance to talk to recruiting coordinator Paul Tidwell this week to find out his thoughts on BYU’s class of 2009. Here’s an excerpt of the interview.
Q: How are things for you this time of year?
Tidwell: It’s pretty hectic. But it’s a good hectic. We’re bouncing around all of our recruiting areas making sure our committed guys stay committed. We continually visit with them. We don’t take anything for granted. We visit them once a week and work on those who are not committed and try to get them committed. One recruit who committed told us, ‘You don’t need to have Coach Mendenhall visit me. I’m solid. I’m coming to BYU.’ But Coach Mendenhall visited him anyway.’
Q: On top of recruiting new players, how tough is it to keep track of all of the players who are leaving for and coming back from missions in relation to the number of scholarships you have available?
Tidwell: ‘It’s a juggling game and it takes coordination. Coach Mendenhall has a board for recruiting with a list of all of the missionaries out and their return dates, through 2011. We keep track of who’s out and when they’re coming home and it can get pretty complicated sometimes.’
Q: Has there been concern on the part of those you are recruiting about BYU losing its last two games of the season?
Tidwell: ‘There’s been some concern. But the players we’re recruiting see the whole picture. Coach Mendenhall is making this a sustainable, successful program. You never want to end the season with two losses. For the most part, most players who are interested in us know it’s going in the right direction. BYU offers a lot more than football ‘ like a great education and opportunities for spiritual growth. But it’s important to win to continue to get the top LDS kids.’
Q: Talk in general about the class you expect to sign on Feb. 4.
Tidwell: ‘It’s a really good class. We’re excited about those who have committed and we feel really good about this class. We always hope that the current class is better than the previous one. BYU is a unique place. Our recruiting pool is not as large as most schools. So when you have a good class of LDS athletes, it can be very exciting.’
Q: There is an impressive crop of LDS recruits out there this year — perhaps one of the best ever. Do you feel like the program will be able to fill certain needs with this class?
Tidwell: ‘We want to fill our needs and get the right players in the right positions. We may not have a need at a certain position but when there’s a great LDS player out there, even without a desperate need, we need to look seriously at that player. We’re always battling that ‘ making sure we fill our needs, but we don’t want to miss out on great LDS players who want to come to BYU.’