The secret to successful recruiting is relationships. Whether it’s relationships between the college coach and the recruit, the parent and coach that trickles down to the recruit, or the college coach and the high school coach that trickles down through the high school program.

Each situation is unique, but they can lead to fruitful outcomes.

Michigan hired former Paramus Catholic head coach Chris Partridge and that led to the Wolverines signing the nation’s top player in the 2016 class, Paramus Catholic defensive lineman Rashan Gary.

Michigan also recently hired former Florida State defensive back Devin Bush Sr., whose son, Devin Bush Jr., signed with the Wolverines.

Michigan isn’t close to the only school that’s done this.

Florida had success at Armwood High School in Seffner, Fla., when Kirk Callahan was a graduate assistant under Urban Meyer. Callahan is the son of Armwood head coach Sean Callahan and the Hawks have sent many players to Gainesville over the years, including offensive lineman Matt Patchan, running back Matt Jones and defensive tackle Torrey Davis.

Callahan eventually left for North Carolina and UCF before returning to Florida under Jim McElwain.

The relationship, however, didn’t work in Florida’s favor the second time around as the nation’s top prospect in the 2015 class, Armwood defensive end Byron Cowart, chose Auburn over the Gators. Callahan was dismissed after the 2015 season.

Florida State hired former defensive back Mario Edwards after his son, Mario Jr., signed with the program in 2011 and so forth.

There can also be situations where siblings have the opportunity to play together and a program takes one to get the other.

John Theus was a five-star offensive lineman in the 2012 class at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. On the same Bolles offensive line was his brother, Nathan Theus, a projected long snapper in college.

Georgia signed both Theus brothers.

Just two weeks ago Auburn signed four-star wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers and his brother, three-star defensive back Jayvaughn Myers.

Jayvaughn verbally committed to Florida but backed out around the same time it looked like Nate was cooling on Florida. These things happen.

Here are a few more recruiting relationships that have turned heads and raised eyebrows over the years.

Dwayne Bowe to LSU

One of the earliest relationship connections I can remember is Dwayne Bowe and LSU.

Before his recent stints with Florida State, Miami and now Georgia, James Coley was an overachieving high school football coach at Miami Norland that had a nice run with some top talent in South Florida.

Among that talent was Bowe, a physically impressive wide receiver who didn’t start playing high school football until he was a junior.

Behind the talents of Bowe and others, Coley led Norland to a state championship in 2002. He was offered and accepted a job at LSU after the season.

Bowe soon followed the coach he considered an important figure in his life to LSU, where he had a very productive career before becoming a first-round pick in the NFL Draft in 2007.

Springdale High migration to Arkansas

This might be one of the more messy recruiting stories to date. Springdale High School was becoming a powerhouse in Arkansas.

Under head coach Gus Malzahn, the Springdale program from 2001-05 featured an exciting offense that attracted top local players.

In 2005, Springdale won the state championship behind quarterback Mitch Mustain, who won USA Today and Gatorade National Player of the Year, and wide receiver Damian Williams.

After Springdale’s dominating title run, Malzahn joined Arkansas’ staff as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Mustain, Williams, tight end Ben Cleveland and wide receiver Andrew Norman eventually committed to Arkansas.

It only went downhill from there. Malzahn and the Springdale four had issues with head coach Houston Nutt’s offense, which revolved around running backs Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. (In Nutt’s defense, those are some pretty darn good college running backs.)

Mustain had a nice run initially.

But Casey Dick replaced Mustain ten games into the 2006 season. Mustain transferred to USC with Williams. Norman transferred to Tulsa.

Nutt resigned after the 2007 regular season and a 50-48 victory over LSU.

Pruitt links Alabama to Hoover

Nick Saban took the Alabama job in 2007 and hired Hoover High School defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt as his director of player development.

Pruitt’s link helped Saban land four Hoover prospects in that first recruiting class, which become a large part of the first Alabama title team under Saban in 2009.

Pruitt got an on-field job with Alabama in 2010 and won two more titles as the defensive backs coach. After stints at FSU and Georgia, he recently returned to Alabama as defensive coordinator.

Sean and Shea Patterson to Ole Miss

The highest profile recent recruiting relationship situation involves the Patterson brothers.

Sean Patterson was an offensive quality control coach at LSU. His younger brother, Shea, was throwing the ball around the yard for Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, La.

Sean reportedly expressed interest in a better position at LSU, but it never materialized.

On Feb. 17, 2015, Shea, now a five-star quarterback prospect, committed to Ole Miss, saying he loved LSU but couldn’t see himself playing there.

Within hours, the Shreveport Times reported Sean had resigned from LSU with quotes from Sean Patterson Sr. saying the brothers were very close and he hoped they ended up at the same program in some capacity.

Ole Miss hired Sean on Feb 23, 2015 as its director of recruiting operations (it wasn’t reported until early March).

Shea is now enrolled at Ole Miss while Les Miles survived a tumultuous season at LSU with questions surrounding the Tigers’ offense.

If Shea Patterson does what many expect him to do at Ole Miss, the questions about how Miles and LSU handled the Sean Patterson situation will grow.

Please leave your favorite recruiting relationship story in the comments because there are plenty more out there!