New Syracuse head coach Fran Brown’s road to being named 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year for the 2024 cycle began four years ago when he started recruiting a prospect who would ultimately finish as a five-star and the No. 1 cornerback in the class. Brown unearthed Ellis Robinson IV when Brown was the defensive backs coach at Rutgers, and that relationship carried over when he took the same position at Georgia.
“Fran was the first DB coach to believe in Ellis when he was a freshman,” Robinson’s father said. “He felt like Ellis was the best player in the country and he was extremely consistent with that. Fran was not just a coach to Ellis, he was more like a mentor, an uncle. The relationship we developed with him and his family was like family. Even though he’s at Syracuse now that (relationship) hasn’t changed a bit. One word that describes Fran is genuine.”
Brown helped recruit seven prospects to Georgia’s 2024 class, which finished No. 1, including two other five-stars — top-ranked linebacker Justin Williams and top-ranked safety KJ Bolden. Bolden flipped from Florida State to Georgia Dec. 20, on the first day of the early signing period.
Even though Brown was already working from the corner office at Syracuse, he helped Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs close that recruitment.
“Just his consistency,” Bolden’s father Kai said. “He just always reached out, and it was not always about football. He wants them to be better men. He wants them to be good guys in the locker room. He wants them to be good fathers when that time comes. It’s all about molding them. He makes a parent like me feel comfortable that he has his best interest (in mind).”
Brown also helped the Bulldogs land No. 6 safety Demello Jones and No. 9 cornerback Ondre Evans, the latter of whom flipped from LSU to Georgia. Both were Top100 prospects. Defensive lineman Jordan Thomas (No. 75 overall) and offensive tackle Nyier Daniels (No. 222 overall) were also recruited by Brown.
“I really, really do enjoy building relationships,” Brown said, “and I really enjoy when people understand and know that we have to compete. On the trail, the relationships, man, really just meeting people and developing good relationships with high school coaches or other college coaches — when you get an opportunity to go out and meet with the families you’re developing genuine meaningful relationships and not BS. I’m not going to talk to you if there is not substance behind it. I don’t have time for BS.
“I want to go out and hit the schools, see the players I need to see, the coaches I need to see, and talk to the families on the phone. I’m away from my wife and kids (so much), so when I am away for work, I’m going to work. There is a sacrifice, me going out, so I recruit very hard and build relationships. It also shows my family why I’m not there. I’m sacrificing and putting in a lot of work, and they can at least appreciate this is why.”
Former Alabama wide receivers coach Holmon Wiggins (now at Texas A&M), Miami defensive line coach Jason Taylor, LSU running backs coach Frank Wilson and Oregon wide receivers coach Junior Adams round out the top five recruiters in the country.
Brown doubles as the SEC Recruiter of the Year, Taylor wins the ACC honor and Adams takes the Big Ten title. UCF defensive backs coach Addison Williams tops the Big 12 list.
“Teaching the young dudes coming up that, at one point, you’re looked at as just a recruiter,” Brown said, “but if you work hard at recruiting, that can help you achieve all your dreams and everything you’re looking for.”
Brown added that he learned a lot from Kirby Smart in his two years in Athens.
“One thing people don’t know about coach Smart — and I got a chance to see it — (is that) he’s got his own method to recruiting,” Brown said. “He makes decisions that are not best for him but are what’s best for the kid.
“He says, ‘I won’t be helping his life if that happens.’ It makes me want to recruit for him even harder. It showed me he cares about the kids, how he tries to maximize them all and how he makes them practice the way they practice.
“At some point, you’re going to play — and he never acts like you won’t play, no matter who you are. At some point, you’re going to be in the game. And when you’re in the game, you’re the starter.”
Another wrinkle in Brown’s run on the trail in 2024 was what he did at Syracuse in a tight window.
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The Orange finished the 2024 cycle strong as Brown led the recruitment of 247Sports Composite four-star defensive back Marcellus Barnes, who chose the Orange over Ole Miss, among others, during the All-American Bowl.
