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Before guys made the NFL and before they became consistent starters or better in college, someone had to find them in high school. With that in mind, we’re starting an occasional series called Recruiting Tales, where we chat with the main recruiter of a Detroit Lions player from the college he went to. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Joseph Fauria may be known for playing tight end at UCLA, but the second-year Detroit Lions player began his career at Notre Dame, where he was recruited by then-special-teams coach Brian Polian. Polian is now the head coach at Nevada, which just finished the regular season at 7-5. Here, in Polian’s words, is what it was like to recruit Fauria. What stood out the most to you about his recruitment? Brian Polian: His grandfather. You walk into the house and the respect that his grandfather demanded. Joe was raised by a single mom and I can’t recall if they lived with the grandparents or they were just around a bunch, but I just remember thinking to myself how impressed I was by the grandfather and what a strong man he was and how much I enjoyed spending time with him in the recruiting process. I was disappointed Joe left Notre Dame, but Joe had some growing up to do and he did that growing up at UCLA. But sometimes you look at the histrionics after an 8-yard catch and you’d wonder. But I was at Stanford when Joe was at UCLA and we spoke a little bit before games and stuff. I felt, I knew in my heart that Joe could be a really, really good player because he had these unique skills and size and he just needed to grow up, and unfortunately part of that growing up process led to a change in schools. What was it about his grandfather? Polian: I don’t think the grandfather was as savvy in the recruiting process as other people think, but it was clear that Joe was not going to go to a school or be with a coach unless his grandfather approved of it. Just, I appreciated that. I enjoyed it. It was not too different than dealing with Brian Te'o, Manti's dad. They weren’t worried about how many stars a guy had in Rivals, that stuff never occurred. But in terms of how are we going to help him grow up as a man, tell me about your family, those types of things. The things that really matter. Joe Fauria’s grandfather wanted to talk about the stuff that really mattered, which I appreciated. How did you find him? What stood out? Polian: I recruited Southern California and Crespi was a school that we’d go to every year, and I walked in there and said, ‘Holy (expletive). Look at the size of that guy. He can catch the ball and run? OK, I’m good.' Well, he doesn’t block great. Well, that’s why we get paid. We get paid to coach those guys. There’s a lot of 6-2 tight ends that would block their tails off, but look at the size of this guy and the way he runs and catches. We’ll teach him how to block.
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