The Pac-12 is nowhere to be found, while the greatest threat to its recruiting pipeline is spending four days on the sport’s grandest stage in the conference’s backyard.
SAN JOSE, Calif — The marauders were neatly dressed in gray and crimson, with closely-cropped hair, slight smiles and measured words. Positioned 20 yards from each other during a media event Saturday in San Jose, Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and assistant coach Jeff Banks politely answered dozens of questions about Clemson and the national championship game.
But when the topic turned to the recruiting benefits that come with playing in the Bay Area, the tone shifted subtly.