The ones Raleigh-Egypt's Duke Calhoun receives from the football staff at Tennessee usually read something like, "We'd love to see you in orange."

And the ones Olive Branch's Allen Walker gets from Florida?

"When Florida texts me, they always say, 'We've got the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Come be a part of it,'" said Walker, who like Calhoun, has become extremely familiar with college coaches' newest, and most ungoverned, form of communication with potential recruits.

"Whenever I'm not getting calls, I'm getting text messages. It's like getting a letter every day," added Walker, a 6-2, 200-pound receiver and safety who despite Florida's texted invitations remains committed to Ole Miss.

While the NCAA limits phone calls from college coaches to recruits, there are no such limitations on text messaging, which the NCAA describes as "an electronically transmitted correspondence" equal to an e-mail or instant message.

"Arkansas uses it a lot and Alabama uses it a lot, too," said Calhoun, a 6-4, 185-pound receiver who is considering Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and the University of Memphis and had at one time considered Alabama.

"Every day they text message me because they can do it as much as they want. I have to erase my text messages because I probably get 150 of them in a week. I got free text messaging."

Calhoun, who plans to announce his college decision Monday, said communicating with coaches via text messages allows him to quickly sift through the ones he's not interested in talking to.

"Sometimes it's not always good to just talk. A quick text lets you go on about your business," he said. "Some of these coaches try to keep you on the phone 30 or 40 minutes.

"With a text, it's quick and easy. It's better."

Memphis recruiting coordinator Clay Helton doesn't disagree, but he's quick to add that text messaging won't take the place of the old-school forms of recruiting.

"Does it take the place of a personal hand-written note? No. Does it take the place of a phone call? No. Does it take the place of actually seeing a kid in person? No," Helton said.

"It's just an added tool that we've been given, and it's a nice tool because it's another form of communication with a prospect. You're allowed to e-mail young men, but not every prospect has access to a computer. Most of your prospects have access to a cell phone."

Helton laughed Thursday when asked of his own text messaging skill.

"I've had to learn how to do it. There's no question," he said. "It's good because at this point in time (during the contact period), when you have unlimited calls, sometimes it's nice just to text them a quick note saying, 'Hey, we're thinking about you.' It's better than having that 30-minute phone conversation that you know they're getting every day."

So perhaps it's more effective when Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron tells Walker, "You can be special here; you're going to be the foundation," by text message rather than by phone.

It certainly worked for Miami (Fla.), which used text messaging as well as an in-home visit by head coach Larry Coker to reel in Melrose standout Graig Cooper.

"Miami still text messages me," said Cooper (6-0, 195). "They let me know this week that they were coming up here to see me Thursday.

"It's cool with me because I'm not a phone person anyway. When they can text you and get what they've got to say out, I'm straight. I love it, man."

Others aren't so in love.

Last February, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) asked the NCAA to consider limits on text messaging, basically arguing that the practice has already gotten out of hand.

"You have assistant coaches feeling like they need to address the bings and bongs on their computers or BlackBerrys at 2 a.m.," WBCA chief executive officer Beth Bass told a cabinet of NCAA officials last February. "They feel like a hamster on a treadmill where they have to keep up with the Joneses."

The WBCA's proposal, however, was shot down by the NCAA in April, allowing coaches to continue the practice, for now at least, at their own discretion.

"Can you sign a player just off text messaging? No," Helton explained. "But it is one of the new tools that's out there that provides us a way to communicate with a young man."