Fran Brown is billed as the top recruiter in the nation for a reason.

From Canada to the Washington, D.C. metro area, from high schoolers to those in the transfer portal, Brown’s message comes from the heart.

"I'm building genuine relationships," Brown said when he recruits. "I'm not just talking to you real quick. You know, you say something and I don’t remember your name. No, I’m going to know your name. I’m going to know your grandmama. I’m going to know your aunt. I’m going to know your cousin. I’m going to know your friend that passed away four years ago that you cared about. Because I'll make sure I'm detail with everything. I write it down because I think the most important thing to that kid is him. So in order for me to have him trust in me, I need to understand and know him."

In a day and age when NIL is so important, Brown knows there’s always work to be done in that area and has a plan on where to start.

"I can’t really just tell you, like, what's my plan with NIL because each kid get something different," Brown said. "You know, everybody's different. Like me and him (Director of Athletics John Wildhack), we don't make the same amount of money. So I can’t tell you what each guy is going to get. But what I can tell you is that we are ready for NIL. We are ready to compete and we're going to compete as long as what we said a little bit earlier. Everybody be willing to help."

It’s that kind of realness that has the fan base excited about the decision to bring Brown in. But for him, it stems from his upbringing in Camden, New Jersey, and the challenges that came with it.

His mother had him at 13 years old; and by age 21, already had four children.

"I was the dirty kid that they tried to crack jokes on," Brown said. "I was the guy, when I went to school, didn't have all the stuff everybody else had. But I knew what I wasn't going to do, because I've got an uncle named Charles Brown. He told me, 'Don't ever, ever, ever allow your situations to dictate your outcome. You make the best and you dominate. You get up and you walk every single day with the next foot forward'."

Syracuse reminds him of his hometown in some ways. The 315, he says, is an area he’s ready to make the best in the country.

"I'm not going to do community service for the cameras, so I'll be out there on my own," Brown said. "That's what I do. I’m going to be out there to take care of that. So when they see like, 'Oh, that's the coach, they cleaning up our block. That's the coach that's over there helping out at Salvation Army, or doing different things at the YMCA'."

He’s ready for Syracuse to be the last stop in his coaching career.

"Every coach gets up here and says, 'this is home, I'll never going nowhere.' And then three years later, he’s trying to get a new job or new contract," Brown said. "Guys, I come from welfare, baby. I'm good. I don’t need to have that family-first card anymore. I'm here for life, I promise you that. I got that little girl until she turns about 12, 13 years old. She’s 2. That's what I'm gonna step away and go take care of my daughter. But you got my word. My name is all I got. I've been taught that my whole life. I will be here. I will bust my butt to be the coach."