Posted by: Chris Vannini on January 30, 2013

Curtis Johnson has a lot to sell to recruits.

The Tulane coach is a native of New Orleans and can sell the city, a new stadium is on the way and he won a national championship as the receivers coach at Miami (FL).

But he also has something that is eye-opening to pros: a Super Bowl championship with the Saints.

At an event on campus with ESPN's Mike & Mike, Johnson said he had just finished up a meeting with former Miami safety and current Baltimore Raven Ed Reed.

"He was just over in my office a couple minutes ago right before I came up here," Johnson said. "He walked in my office, and it's recruiting time, so I have my Vince Lombardi Trophy there. He walked in and was shocked. He just looked at it and he just stopped. He wouldn't move any further.

"Me and my wife, we were stunned. We said, 'Hey, Ed, I just have it here because it's recruiting time.' He said, 'Wow.' He looked at it and it was almost like, 'I don't want to touch it until I win my own.' He was fun. It was great watching him look at it."

Johnson is picking a three-point win for the Ravens over the 49ers, but he has friends on both teams, as Frank Gore is a former Hurricane. He ran down the number of future NFL receivers he had under him on one team at The U.

"I had Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss as starters," Johnson said. "Behind them, I was stupid enough to redshirt Andre Johnson. I should have played him. I had Roscoe Parrish, I had Devin Hester, and I wouldn't play Hester at first. I played Roscoe. All of a sudden Hester got in a game and the rest was history."

But Johnson is selling more than himself. The Green Wave are reportedly doing well on the recruiting trail, and part of that is what Tulane and New Orleans offer.

"I think Tulane has a great educational facility. I think it's the very best in the country," Johnson said. "I like what they're doing with small class sizes. The education is second-to-none. I think everybody wants to be educated. The second thing is, who wouldn't want to come to a place where there's a Super Bowl and national championship played here, there's a Final Four played here?

"It's a wonderful city. There's Mardi Gras, there's Bourbon Street. Also, you get a chance to come here and play for somebody like me."

He made that last comment with a smile and a chuckle.

You can watch Johnson's forum with Mike & Mike by clicking here.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com