Curtis Luper's goal: Be No. 1 in recruiting

Curtis Luper assists head coach Gene Chizik in doling out recruiting assignments.

We just sat down with assistant coaches Curtis Luper and Tracy Rocker. I'll be sharing tidbits from the interviews over the next several days. Also, we should have official confirmation of Scott Fountain's arrival later tonight, along with a description of his role. Now let's hear from Luper...

The former Oklahoma State assistant gave up the title of assistant head coach when he left Oklahoma State. His buddy Trooper Taylor picked up the title at Auburn. So what was left for Luper? Recruiting coordinator.

"I never thought about it," Luper said. "We need the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. That's what I want. That's my goal. I had the assistant head coach title at Oklahoma State. Coach Chiz said he wanted to give me one for making the move, and that was the one he had for me. It wasn't about a title or anything, I just wanted to come and go to work. That's what I told him. He said, 'Well, I want to reward you for what you've done the last 15 years.'"

You may have noticed that Luper referenced the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. But wouldn't that entail a ranking, the scourge of coaches around the country?

Luper may be the first coach I've ever encountered who didn't profess to despise or ignore recruiting rankings and everything about them.

"If they're keeping the score, you want to win, right?"

Still, he said, coaches can't look only at the star system.

"You still have to evaluate if he fits into your system," Luper said. "If he's a three-star and you think he's the best offensive tackle in the country, then you take him. A lot of people get caught up in, 'He signed so many four-stars, or so many five-stars...' You still have to do a thorough evaluation process."

As recruiting coordinator, Luper is divvying out territories. Seven different coaches (eight, including head coach Gene Chizik) will have assignments in Alabama. That's about double the coaches Auburn used in the past.

The rough outline of the seven territories: Two areas in south Alabama, two areas in north Alabama, greater Montgomery, greater Huntsville, greater Birmingham and greater Lee County (including Columbus and LaGrange, in Georgia). Why the emphasis on Alabama?

"You know I'm a military man, right?" Luper said. "One of the basic elements of the military is that you protect your border. So we've got to protect our border. We're going to start right here in this state."