Recruiter Of The Year: Mike Groh

The 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year in 2013 is Alabama receivers coach Mike Groh.

Alabama's Mike Groh is the Class of 2013 National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports.

What He Did

*Groh served as the Alabama recruiting coordinator, directing the Crimson Tide to the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class. Groh and company reeled in a 26-player class consisting of six five-star prospects and 12 more four-star players.

*Fort Worth (Texas) Arlington Heights five-star two-way lineman A’Shawn Robinson was committed to Texas for about a year when he flipped to the Crimson Tide on National Signing Day. Groh was the lead recruiter for the 6-foot-5, 302-pound Robinson, who also took official visits to Florida State and USC before making his final decision.

"We formed a good relationship between us,” Robinson said of Groh. “It was really good.”

*Groh was responsible for another big flip in Muscle Shoals (Ala.) High defensive tackle Dee Liner. The 247Composite Top50 prospect had previously been a longtime verbal to Auburn before reopening the process on Jan. 14. He publically committed to Alabama the day before National Signing Day.

*Groh was the lead recruiter for North Little Rock (Ark.) West Top100 running back Altee Tenpenny, who committed to the Crimson Tide back in January 2012, but considered the in-state Razorbacks all the way to the end of the recruiting process. He is part of a four-man running back class.

"I think Coach Groh is the greatest recruiting coach out there,” Tenpenny said. “He is my favorite and a big reason I chose Alabama. Ever since I've committed he's stayed with me and made sure he kept me up to date on everything. He checks up on me and my parents love him. They think he's a great guy."

*Groh won a head-to-head battle with Ole Miss for the nation’s top prep school offensive tackle Brandon Hill, who enrolled in January. The turning point in Hill’s recruitment was following Groh’s in-home visit.

*Groh gets a huge assist in landing the nation’s No. 1 receiver Robert Foster of Monaca (Pa.) Central Valley, as the Crimson Tide beat out home-school Pittsburgh in a close battle.

What The Experts Are Saying

“With regards to some of the prospects that were sort of difficult to get, Mike Groh was heavily involved with them. A’Shawn Robinson and Robert Foster were two of the out-of-region big-time players and Mike Groh helped lead the charge. Sometimes it’s who you sign and sometime it’s where you go get them. He went and got them from places that even if you’re Alabama it’s 50-50 to beat the home team. Groh has always been an excellent recruiter and college coaches, kids and parents always speak highly of him in that regard. I think he was the logical choice.” -247Sports National Recruiting Director J.C. Shurburtt

“"I think what makes him a great recruiter is how hard he works. I talk to the kids and the people around him and he does his due diligence. Tenpenny is a prime example. Was a touchy situation with the four running backs but Altee knew what was happening every step of the way because Groh was honest with him. Kids respect that. He relates well to the kids and parents. He does a good job of building relationships and that's a key aspect of recruiting. He gets after it 12 months a year." –BamaOnLine senior recruiting analyst Tim Watts

Also Considered

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart
Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner
Florida defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson
Florida State defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt
Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison
Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff
Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford
Texas A&M receivers coach David Beaty
UCLA defensive backs coach Adrian Klemm

247Sports also released the Top50 recruiters from the 2013 recruiting cycle.

Steve Wiltfong is a national recruiting writer for 247Sports. You can follow him on Twitter here.

• Start Photo Feature ▶
• Showing photos 1 - 5 of 5