Accompanying her son Jordan Elliott on a visit to Texas during the spring of 2015, Tamara Dean vividly remembers her first interaction with Longhorn head coach Charlie Strong.

Strong pulled Dean and Elliott into his office and plopped his legs up on the couch. For 10 or 15 minutes the trio discussed subjects ranging from the campus to how Elliott’s junior year was going.

They touched on a lot of topics – except football.

“He had his little legs up on the couch in his office, and it was such an easy conversation,” Dean said. “It was just regular life stuff. I really, really liked him.”

The dialogue eventually ambled to Strong’s vision for Elliott on the field, but the theme of the talk was crystalline for Dean – Strong cared about more than Elliott the football player.

“I could trust him,” Dean said.

Strong, a 55-year-old head coach with almost nonexistent ties to the state of Texas when he arrived in Austin two years ago, has cobbled together two straight Top 11 recruiting classes in the 247Sports Composite rankings to start his Texas tenure. He’s done so in spite of an 11-14 overall record, the worst for any Texas head coach since prior to World War II.

How?

He wiggled his way into living rooms, charming, impressing and chopping it up with one family at a time.

Reshaping Texas’ roster through dismissals and talented signing classes, Strong utilizes a seemingly simple stratagem in ‘crootin. He recruits the players and the family with a blend of blunt honesty and familial familiarity.

“If he wants you, you’re going to end up with Coach Strong,” said Texas signee Jean Delance.

This is how a coach with rumors swirling about his job security in 2015 took back the recruiting mantle in Texas.

The Strategy

Strong held court following his 2016 haul on National Signing Day. An often reserved speaker at press conferences, especially following losses, Strong crackled with positive energy. The Longhorns had just signed 24 players, including 10 prospects committing in the last week of the process, and Strong grinned and joked his way through a 51-minute press conference – nearly twice the length of his normal pressers.

“Today was a big step forward for our program,” Strong said.

Downright jovial, Strong boasted about his class and explained Texas’ process for recruiting players.

“I just always try to find the angle,” Strong said. “In the recruiting process there’s always a broker. ... You find out who the decision maker is, and then you work them. I don’t take no for an answer.”

Most of the time that decision maker is a parent or family member, and Strong focuses much of his attention on winning over mom, dad, grandma or whoever that influencer might be. But Strong also appeals to players for a variety of reasons. One of which is that he doesn’t push for commitments.

“I just try and tell them that I don't need a commitment right now, you go ahead and visit where you want to,” Strong said. “We are still going to be here."

Texas running back Kyle Porter appreciated that Strong gave him space.

Winning over Players

Kyle Porter, a four-star running back from Katy, didn’t talk to Strong or Texas’ coaches much – or anyone really – during the recruiting process.

Sure, the pair spent time together during Porter’s official visit – Strong even gave him a bit of a separate tour because Porter was sick – but Strong never touched much on Porter’s recruitment. Porter, an introvert, disliked nearly everything that came with the recruiting process.

Strong respected that.

“He never put any pressure on me, not even at the end,” Porter said. That helped.”

In an era where decommitments are commonplace, Strong encourages prospects to take their time. Actually, he’s told more than a few not to commit to him when the urge strikes.

Delance, an elite left tackle from Mesquite, leaned toward going out of state for college. But Strong remained patient, and his persistence won over Delance in the end.

“He’s going to give you time to breathe,” Delance said. “He’s not going to judge you because you committed to another school.”

Of Texas’ 24-man 2016 class, four were committed to other schools before eventually signing with the Longhorns. Of Texas’ initial 30-player 2015 class, the first full class Strong signed, another five were committed to other schools before Strong flipped them.

Chris Daniels, a four-star defensive tackle from Trinity, originally committed to Oklahoma. But Strong and his staff persisted and eventually he signed with Texas, which led to the quote of National Signing Day.

“All I've got to say is that if you don't want to go to Texas, don't let him get on your couch,” Daniels said. “That man is very persuasive. He’s like an uncle to me. Uncle Charlie, for real.”

Texas offered Daniels one day prior to his commitment to Oklahoma in December – less than two months until signing day. But Strong wiggled his way on the couch with his feet up, of course, and showed he could be trusted.

“Everything he says is 100,” Daniels said. “He told the truth about everything, and didn’t bash no other colleges. He just told me what he could do for me.”

Trust is important, but Strong also manages to come off as relatable. In spite of his multi-millionaire status, daily pair of khaki shorts and his trademark Birkenstocks, Strong connects with players on a level that goes beyond a player/coach relationship.

“I can’t even explain it,” said Texas signee Denzel Okafor. “He’s a guy that just engages you. He’s just like another guy your age playing around with you. He has a fun side to go along with his serious side. He’s going to take care of you.”

Winning over Parents

The recruitments of four-star cornerback Eric Cuffee and Delance were similar. Both were in-state All-American prospects who looked heavily at other schools before eventually deciding around December to play at Texas.

As for their parents, their minds were made up much before that.

“Charlie Strong made a huge impression on me the first time I met him,” Eric Cuffee Sr. said. “We walked and talked going to Moncrieff, and from that point I knew I wanted Eric to go to Texas.”

“The first conversation I had with (Strong), I knew I wanted Jean to attend that school,” Altavian Delance said. “We just kind of waited for that to come out in Jean.”

Strong’s approach with parents is rather pedestrian. It starts with a smile and a subject, anything really, from the weather to food. Eventually, after the parents are comfortable, the conversation shifts to football.

Education and player development are the priorities of these conversations. But Strong also pushes his core values, which were trumpeted at the beginning of his tenure, and they resonate with parents.

“As a single parent, it’s like: ‘Where am I sending my son?’” Dean said. “His core values are about how to treat women and not doing drugs, and I like that.”

But no matter how engaging, those are just words. Cuffee Sr. said it’s Strong’s willingness to enforce those principals in the face of pressure – Strong dismissed nine players his first year for rules violations – that convinced him.

“When you can put the win/loss record on the back burner and find players who not only can contribute, but are good people off the field. When you sacrifice your win/loss record for that, it says a lot,” Cuffee Sr. said.

Parents identify with Strong, and recruits appreciate his insistence on making their families feel like a part of the process.

Texas signee Andrew Fitzgerald said Strong would call his house once a week. He’d talk to Fitzgerald, yes, but he’d also ask to speak with mom, dad and ask how the rest of the family was doing. For Fitzgerald, and several other Longhorn signees, that personal touch influenced their final choice.

“Your parents have a big impact on your decision,” Fitzgerald said. When they see how he is toward you, it’s definitely a big impact for recruits. It’s noticeable compared to if a coach just DMs you instead of calling to see how your whole family is doing. It’s a big thing for why you’d choose to go to that school.”

Strong vs. Other Coaches

There are few recruits more astute in the 2016 class than Jeffrey McCulloch. The Aldine Davis linebacker, ranked as the nation’s No. 59 overall player, finished in the Top 10 of his 756-person high school class. He also picked Texas over academic powers Stanford and Notre Dame.

In other words, McCulloch is smart enough to know when a coach lied to him during the recruiting process.

It happened a lot.

“I definitely had some coaches lie to me,” McCulloch said. “They’d slip up and tell me the truth later.”

McCulloch wouldn’t go into specifics about who was dishonest, but his previous tweets and comments might provide some insight on the subject. As for Strong, McCulloch never worried about being lied to, because he said Strong never misrepresented anything.

“He’s a real coach, and he’s not going to lie to you,” McCulloch said. “Basically, he’s not going to sugarcoat anything. He’ll tell you where you fit in, how he sees your future even though he’s not psychic or anything. That’s what makes people gravitate to him.

“It’s a lot different than some other coaches. I felt like some were just there for a paycheck. “

The world real comes up often in reference to Strong:

“Texas’ coaches are real people,” Cuffee Sr. said. “There’s no telling you what you want to hear.”

“He’s going to be real with you,” Jean Delance said.

Those are just a few, and that opinion resonates on all levels from high school coaches – “I tell people all the time he had to get rid of some trash early. He wants to do it the right way,” said Aldine Davis head coach James Showers – to recruits and their parents. That level of earned trust helped Strong make up ground on a trio of programs within the state that positioned themselves well during Texas’ struggles this decade.

When Strong arrived in January of 2014, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin had just reeled in a Top 5 recruiting class, Baylor’s Art Briles led the Bears to the their ever first Big 12 title and Gary Patterson was on the verge of a program rebuild at TCU.

Briles, due to a sexual assault scandal at Baylor and his direct knowledge of the situation, is now out of the coaching picture.

Patterson, a 56-year-old head coach with a long track record of success, is still doing well. But Strong has won many one-on-one battles between the two programs for recruits. Okafor, who picked Texas over TCU, explained why.

“Only thing that was different was the head coach,” Okafor said. “I feel so much more comfortable with Coach Strong. He’s just a guy I feel comfortable around. Not as a coach, but as a guy in general. I can sit down and lay my feet up when I talk with him. I could do it with Coach Patterson, but it’s just not the same environment.”

Sumlin, for his part, is under just as much pressure as Strong to win. But while the 51-year-old head coach made a splash early in his tenure on the recruiting trail and with Johnny Manziel, things have shifted Strong’s direction in terms of momentum.

Texas reeled in a higher ranked class than Texas A&M in both of Strong’s seasons on the Forty Acres, and the Longhorns have won many of the high-profile one-on-one battles between the two programs for recruits, including for current Texas stalwarts Malik Jefferson, Holton Hill and Kris Boyd. Additionally, the nation’s top safety, Brandon Jones, McCulloch, Cuffee and Delance each picked Texas despite strong pushes from Texas A&M last cycle. In that time, the Aggies have landed five-star quarterback Kyler Murry, who is no longer with the program, five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, four-star defensive end Justin Madubuike and the Anderson twins (Austin and Riley) over Texas.

A recruiting power shift in the state has occurred – Texas’ 2016 class finished 11th while Texas A&M ranked 19th – and a big part of that is the personality of the two head coaches, according to Cuffee Sr.

“There is no comparison, no comparison. Period,” Cuffee Sr. said. “Coach Strong is real. What you see is what you get. But I won’t say any more than that (laughs).”

Strong, despite one of the worst starts in Longhorns history, is, perhaps, on the verge of taking back the state. He won National Signing Day, and his recruiting abilities have given him a cushion many coaches with two straight losing seasons would not garner.

There’s no guarantee Strong’s recruiting success turn into wins; Mack Brown’s last four recruiting classes were ranked an average of sixth nationally and he still lost his job. But it’s certainly altered the recruiting foundation of the Lonestar State.

Erick Fowler, who flipped from LSU to Texas on National Signing Day, heard plenty of pitches from coaches across the country as a Top 100 recruit, and he compared the process to sales at a car lot.

“Now a days with the recruiting process, it’s pretty much the best salesman. It’s like a car dealer,” Fowler said. “Most of the coaches will tell you what you want to hear.”

So what does that make Strong in that scenario?

“The owner,” Fowler said with a laugh. “He’s the owner. He’s a man of his word.”