DawgmanRadio: A talk with former UW Director of Recruiting Cooper Petagna

There was some big news that came down the 247Sports pipeline last week; former Washington Director of Player Personnel Cooper Petagna was joining the network as a National Recruiting Analyst.Dawgman.com's Kim Grinolds spoke to Cooper this week to talk about his Louisiana roots, how he got into the business, his move to Washington and how that came about, his takes on the head coaches he's been able to work with, including Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, and Chris Petersen. Petagna calls Petersen a 'true one percenter', a coach that will not only make you better at what you do but will also make you a better person, the type of person you want to be surrounded by.Cooper also talks about his early time at LSU and his recollection of players like current Seattle safety Jamal Adams.But the bulk of the conversation surrounded the mechanics of the prospect evaluation process from someone who worked in a number of big-time FBS recruiting offices, with a particular emphasis on Washington. How does the process begin, and what steps do the coaches take to move the process through as they vet the prospects and what they value as intangibles. Petagna also talks about the different position groups and how the evaluation process might differ when looking at offensive linemen compared to quarterbacks.And at UW, compared to other programs Petagna worked at, the key word was 'fit'. He spoke about that never-ending search for players that fit what the Huskies were looking at, and he spoke specifically about players like Trent McDuffie, Elijah Molden, Rome Odunze, and Sam Huard.Grinolds also asked Petagna about the differences between the schools he's worked at, and how regional factors and program priorities played into how recruiting was dealt with on a day-to-day basis. With Washington specifically, Petagna talked about how the Huskies went head-to-head against certain programs, like Stanford, Notre Dame, Oregon, and others, and how they approached those recruiting battles. He also spoke on Nike's influence within the Ducks' program and what makes Oregon a strong recruiting school.In Cooper's opinion, why do prospects choose specific schools? What are the most important things that they focus on when they come to that point when they're ready to commit to a school? He focuses on one very specific trait that all the best recruiters have that separates them from the rest of the pack.And what was it about Washington that appealed to recruits during his time at Montlake?As a talent evaluator, Petagna has seen his share of freakish players. Who are some of the top guys that literally jumped off the screen when he watched tape of them?During the course of the interview, Grinolds also asked Petagna about places to hit in Ann Arbor before the UW-Michigan game, his time living in Ballard when working at Washington, and also whether or not Chris Petersen will ever coach another college football game. And who might win a boat race; Petersen or Lake?