To the casual observer, the formula for college football success is simple:  rich tradition, proven coaches, fan support and big, jam-packed stadiums. But all of the on-field acumen, bells and whistles in the world will only stretch so far without the presence of one trait shared by all top programs -- the ability to recruit top-tier high school talent.

“Oh, there’s no question,” WVU running backs/slot receivers coach Chris Beatty said. “It makes you a lot better coach when you have good players,” he said.

(Pictured: Doc Holliday and Florida blue-chipper Chris Dunkley)

Beatty is an up-and-coming recruiter, and the youngest coach on the current staff at WVU. He's responsible for luring in promising prep stars from the talent-fertile Tidewater region of southern Virginia, which is traditionally a Virginia Tech recruiting stronghold. Last year he scored with three players from the region: running back Shawne Alston, lineman Dominik Davenport and wide receiver Logan Heastie. All three were highy sought. Heastie was a prep all-American according to some recruiting services.

Since head coach Bill Stewart was hired to take over Mountaineer football in 2008, the team has seen its recruiting rise to heights never before reached. The WVU staff assembled a consensus top-25 class last year and there appears to be no slowing down; the current list of verbally committed high school seniors appears bound for similar accolades.

Beatty’s more recent efforts have shown up in verbal commitments coming from four more Virginia prospects, as well as touted receiver Deon Long, of Washington, D.C., who signed as part of the 2009 class, then failed to academically qualify, but looks to be bound for Morgantown next fall.

Perhaps what is most impressive about WVU’s recent recruiting boost is the coaches’ ability to invade areas that were previously untapped or otherwise dominated by recruiters representing other programs. Beatty, a native of the Virginia who turned Landstown High (Va. Beach) into a power and produced eventual Florida star Percy Harvin, has established a presence for WVU while recruiting against perennial ACC contender Virginia Tech.

“I know most of those guys at Tech,” Beatty said. “It’s uphill for us a little bit, but I think when you make some inroads, I think they respect you. They respect our program and hopefully it makes them work a little bit harder to get the ones that they get because we’re going to get the ones we can.”

The ball hardly stops at Beatty. WVU has Lonnie Galloway, another up-and-coming recruiter who coaches the Mountaineers receivers. Galloway lured in slot receiver/running back Tavon Austin, the all-time touchdown leader in Maryland high school football history and a blue-chip prospect with dozens of major scholarship offers.

Perhaps most importantly there's also Doc Holliday, a veteran coach who serves as associate head coach to Stewart and is the team’s recruiting coordinator. Holliday, who left the Florida Gators’ staff in 2008, is regarded as one of the nation’s elite recruiters and has has brought his Sunshine State connections with him all the way to Morgantown. Four high school stars from the Sunshine State have given Holliday their verbal pledges. More may be on the way.

Among the recruits from Florida is Parade all-American quarterback Geno Smith, a lauded high school star who despite being a freshman, has already earned the backup quarterback job behind Jarrett Brown. Smith, from Miramar, Fla., selected WVU over the likes of Alabama and Michigan, as well as prestigious in-state schools such as Florida State and Miami.

How are recruiters like Beatty, Galloway and Holliday able to make these types of waves on the recruiting trail?

“The biggest thing is kids see if you relate to them,” Beatty explained. “At least in the area that I have, they want to see that you are going to come back to their building and not just around when they have good players.”

That process needs to be extended beyond a time when a school features a blue-chip recruit.Cherry picking isn't looked upon favorably by high school coaches, with whom loyalty is tantamount.

“You want to establish some kind of rapport or relationship with those guys that will be long term,” said Beatty.

Smith spoke of such a relationship.

“I’ve known coach Holliday since his days at Florida,” he said. “I pretty much had good rapport with him.”

Smith continued, “When you talk to these coaches and recruiters, you really want to be a good character person and show that you have good character because it takes you further than a football play. With coach Holliday, he’s a right-on person. He’s straight up with you as far as a recruiter and that’s really what you want.”

Austin became famous for his on-field exploits while growing up in Baltimore. The record-shattering play maker owns marks for career points (790), touchdowns (123) and total offensive yards (more than 9,000) in his home state.

Galloway's character won over Austin.

“Coach Galloway is like a father figure,” Austin said. “He told me straight up that if I slack or slack in the books, he’s going to get on me. If I do good, he’s going to let me know I did good.”

Honesty and finding a school to best showcase his talent were both fundamental in landing the heralded Austin.

“You got to worry about what coach is lying to you, what team is your type of fit,” said Austin. “That’s the main thing – he was just being honest with me”

After the coaches have garbbed a recruit’s attention, an official visit to WVU often follows. That's when the aura of Mountaineer football takes over.

“It’s like … mystic almost,” J.T. Thomas, a linebacker, said. “You just picture that smoke coming out of the tunnel and that sea of gold – it’s just crazy.”

“The best experience for those recruit guys, you know, [is] how they let them come out of the tunnel after we come out,” said Thomas. “For them to get that view and get that thrill of what it’s like to come out of that tunnel – it’s probably the best thing for them.”

WVU has also benefited in recruiting by playing its share of games on national TV. Some of those broadcasts come on Thursday nights during prime time hours, such as next Thursday night’s home game against Colorado, which is slated for ESPN’s coast-to-coast showing starting at 7:30 p.m.

“It does a lot for us,” Thomas said.

Stewart said, “It helps us greatly. Some people have called us the Thursday night special because people love to watch the old gold and blue play.

“I like that. It’s exposure. It speaks volumes about where our program is and what the Big East and the national TV people think of us.”

Registering on WVU’s recruiting radar are several more top-shelf prospects, namely top-rated athlete/safety Matt Elam and wide receiver Chris Dunkley. Following the same guidelines prescribed in the recent past, it won’t be shocking to see the Mountaineers make a few more splashes on the recruiting trail.