College football seasons end, but recruiting almost never does. It's an exhaustive, year-round effort for coaches who pitch their teams and plead with prospects to come to their school.

A mandated NCAA dead period started Monday and stretches through Jan. 3, a rare stoppage of action. This means prospects can enjoy a measure of peace, but the recruiters still pace, wondering who will eventually offer a "yes," "maybe" or "no thanks."

In recent weeks, Sacramento State coach Marshall Sperbeck made a number of home visits in the Los Angeles basin. He spoke to players just below the Pacific-12 Conference radar but coveted by programs such as the Big Sky Conference Hornets.

Sac State also has been recruiting hard locally, but there's an interesting aspect to this game: Teenagers like to get away from home.

"That's the biggest obstacle for us," Sperbeck said. "Local kids want to get a college experience, to get out of town. These kids here in L.A., they look at Sacramento as a chance to get away and play good football and get a good education. It works both ways."

Any perception that Sac State doesn't land enough local prospects is misguided. The Hornets offer a slew of scholarships to local stars, but so do a host of other schools out of the area.

"A lot of area coaches want us to recruit a C-list guy, and we can't do that," Sperbeck said. "We've got to recruit top players, the same that Fresno State, Boise State, Nevada and San Jose State are going after."

Pac-12 teams have feasted on Sacramento talent for decades. New UCLA coach Jim Mora and assistant Angus McClure, a former Sac State lineman, were in Sacramento last week.

Mora picked McClure's brain about the recruiting process as McClure navigated a rental car through neighborhoods. The coaches stopped by a Sheldon High School basketball practice, where Mora got a glimpse of tight end-defensive end prospect Nate Iese.

Mora and McClure also made home visits with Elk Grove lineman Steven Moore, Pleasant Grove lineman Arik Armstead, Grant athlete Shaq Thompson and Cosumnes Oaks cornerback Marcus Rios.

Grant's Thompson initially didn't have UCLA on his short list, but Mora and McClure's persistence convinced him to visit Westwood next month.

On Sunday, Rios became Mora's first recruit commitment. Rios said he was impressed with UCLA from the start and the Mora/McClure combination put him over the top.

"He's an impressive man," Rios said of Mora. "He's exactly what I was looking for, a guy with passion that fired me up."

Rios now becomes the recruiter. He is in the ear of Iese, Moore, Thompson and Armstead. Mora encouraged his new prize to work those local stars, too.

"I've got my orders," Rios said with a laugh.

Studies show less than 1 percent of high school athletes secure scholarships.

This is where community colleges affect the scene. There is no dead period. Coaches from American River, Sacramento City and Sierra continue to scour the region. Two-year colleges – commonly known as the junior colleges, or JCs – provide a bridge to the four-year programs.

Recruiting here is every bit as competitive. Sierra coach Jeff Tisdel said JC recruiting could be more taxing than his head-coaching days at Nevada in the 1990s, particularly because there is no binding letter of intent. You can recruit a player daily for 12 months, then he appears on another campus.

Fresh off an 11-0 season and an 18-game winning streak, ARC will have 14 players move on to four-year programs as mid-year transfers. They will sign letters of intent Wednesday. After issuing his last hug, ARC coach Jerry Haflich will be on the trail to replace them.

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