PETE CARROLL'S PROMISE TO RECRUITS AT USC

At USC, we were very sensitive about making typical hard-sell promises to our recruits. So we promised them one thing: an extraordinary opportunity to compete for a position from the moment they arrived on our campus. In my nine years at USC we had freshman starting at every position, including the quarterback.

The competitive opportunities proved to be an incredibly powerful recruiting tool. However, we didn’t have this policy just to attract recruits. We discovered that by setting these high expectations and using supporting, consistent language, we could enable a freshman to contribute immediately.

From "Win Forever" by Pete Carroll