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Writer's pictureAlex Brown
Jun 6, 20202 min read

Listen Now to Episode 10 - Featuring Matt Lindsey

Ole Miss General Manager, Matt Lindsey joins us this week to take a deep dive into the processes behind building teams and player evaluation.



During our conversation, we covered the evolution of recruiting and the emergence of personnel jobs in college football. With Matt having the experience of working at both pro and college levels of ball, his perspective and awareness on player evaluations is extremely insightful. I wound up having over 3 pages worth of notes, so definitely have a pen and paper ready for this one!



From an evaluation perspective, Matt doesn't give any quick-fix tips on how to be a pro at studying film. He breaks down how it truly is a process of building a foundation, learning what good athletes look like, putting the work in constantly and over time developing a feel for players by extensively combing through film. Matt mentions the Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hours principle and that is so relevant in this world of recruiting. The biggest area for advice may be that to truly evaluate a player's potential, you have to first be able to evaluate your own team's roster.


Additionally, I loved his approach to learning and growing. He calls it, "Plus-Minus-Equal".

  • Plus: Find someone older than you or ahead of you in the business to learn from

  • Minus: Find someone younger than you or that reports to you & learn from them

    • To do that, he allows his interns to present or clinic to the recruiting staff on a topic of interest.

  • Equal: Find someone in a similar role or at a peer level to bounce ideas off of

What stands out with a guy like Matt, is how defined he is with his vision for a recruiting department and his attitude towards continually learning/refining his craft.


As always, here's your listening guide for topics covered:


Ep. 10 - Matt Lindsey - The Role of a GM & The Art of Team Building

  • Challenges Involved in Transitioning to a New Team (4:37)

  • "Big Pretty" and the Alabama Personnel Pipeline (8:00)

  • Building Your Own Foundation for Player Evaluation (11:37)

  • Ed Marynowitz and his influence on Matt (19:31)

  • The "Plus-Minus-Equal" Approach to Learning (21:20)

  • Love & Passion for the Player Evaluation Process (27:19)

  • The Hudl Film Librarian, AKA Matt Lindsey (30:04)

  • Scouting with the Philadelphia Eagles (32:10)

  • The Expansion of Personnel Jobs in College Football (33:51)

  • Building the Brand: Reaching Recruits and Fans (35:45)

  • Why Your Players Are Your Best Recruiters (40:00)

  • What Does the GM Role Look Like? (42:10)

  • How-To on Assembling a Recruiting Staff (44:22)

  • Finding Diamonds in the Rough (46:26)

  • Vetting Out Character during the Recruiting Process (49:23)

  • Philosophy on Recruiting Tape & Advice for Highlights (58:34)

  • Advice For Recruiting Assistants on Evaluating (1:06:39)

  • Establishing Your Recruiting Footprint (1:11:21)

  • Javon Kinlaw's Path to the First Round (1:15:45)

  • The Importance of Self Scouting & Advance Scouting (1:18:48)

  • Sendoff Advice for Recruits, Parents & Coaches (1:20:34)

Thank you for tuning in to the show! If you're looking for Matt, you can find him at @MattLindseyFB.

And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe, rate and share the show!


Send in your questions for the next episode by commenting below or via email at upcloseinpersonnel@gmail.com and check my Twitter on Monday for the announcement of our next guest on the show!


Thank you as always for your time, stay blessed & stay safe! -AB

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