Bruce Feldman’s “Meat Market,” an inside look at the recruiting process at a high-profile Division I football program, makes one wonder how coaches find time to actually coach.

The hectic and harried race to find and sign prime recruits is portrayed in vivid detail by Feldman, who spent the year leading up to National Signing Day 2007 closely following the Mississippi football program and now former head coach Ed Orgeron.

Readers meet a slew of potential players through recruiting tapes, war-room discussions, in-person meetings and phone calls. All have talent. Most are sought by multiple programs. Each comes with his own set of challenges. Some struggle in the classroom, others are hamstrung with family issues or character concerns. Through Feldman, readers experience the process as the coaching staff dedicates hundreds of hours and exhausts all available resources to convince potential student-athletes that Oxford is the place for them to make their mark in college football.

As the all-important first Wednesday in February approaches, familiar themes resonate just beneath the surface story of Mississippi’s dramatic chase for key players. Issues that coaches and intercollegiate athletics administrations navigate daily – academic integrity, eligibility concerns, the pressure to win – are placed in real-time context, so much so that readers hardly notice that the season starts up and winds down during the last portion of the book.

College football junkies will get the most out of “Meat Market.” However, Feldman does a good job of blending discussion of the actual recruiting process with a look at the people within the process (the athletes, their friends, parents, coaches, administrators, recruiting services, consultants and others), making this a worthwhile read for casual fans or general-interest readers.