The more film, data and opportunities to see the player in person the coaches have through observation, the better. Some coaches, like Dana Holgorsen or Rich Rodriguez, are looking for speed. Holgorsen demonstrated this by bringing in quarterback Pat White. Others, like Nick Saban and his offshoots, are searching for physical athletes for each position. Regardless of their approach, most coaches are a blend of several schools of thought.
Identifying targets and slotting kids is quite important. As this is going on, schools are making sure that all the kids on their target board stay interested. That means letters, and lots of them, to remind you of the school's prestigious history and to watch the team. Coaches also encourage you to work hard in the summer. Every day a BCS-caliber prospective student-athlete gets home, he has a mailbox full of "stuff.
Postcards, pamphlets, literally everything you can imagine to make sure he knows that the school is thinking about him. In fact, 4-star recruit Alvin Kamara once received letters from Alabama in one day. On the players' side, it is still early. Offers generally don't start pouring in until the end of the spring of junior year. Up to that point, it's about getting exposure through unofficial visits, camps and making sure the schools have your tapes.
These kids do not get nearly enough credit for working hard to position themselves for success. Talent comes naturally, but harnessing that talent, putting in the work in the weight room and getting great play on film takes hard work.
These guys are not given anything, and any player who has been through the process will let you know just how much of "just being a kid" they missed to set themselves up for future success. During their junior season, most players are invited to unofficially visit the campus for a game.
Basically, players get to see the on-field product and some of the behind-the-scenes things that make a program work. The next major milestone for recruits is Junior Day. It's essentially an unofficial visit for all of the junior prospects the school is courting in one way or another. These are players ranging from the elite "you can commit anytime" players to the guy that is merely the high school teammate of a player the school wants next year.
Either way, Junior Days are becoming an increasingly big deal. Schools are even hosting multiple Junior Days as a way to get all of the elite players together on one trip, separate from the less fawned-over talents. Junior Days expand on the unofficial visits. You spend an entire day being shepherded around between campus tours, facilities tours, current player and coach meet-ups and maybe even a basketball game.
If you get a ranking, use it as a baseline to help you target the right programs. The new rule, which goes into effect starting with the football season, means players will no longer lose their redshirt status for taking as little as one snap during a game. Since over half of D1 football players redshirt their freshman year, this rule change means college coaches will adapt their recruiting tactics by seeking to attract recruits with the promise of meaningful playing time and development during the first year of their college career.
As you begin to communicate with college coaches, ask about playing opportunities for redshirt freshmen. The football recruiting process starts with the recruit, their family and the current coach.
Athletes and parents should sit down and go through the following questions, answering as honestly as possible:. One of the best football recruiting tips that we can give: do your research and cast a wide net when looking at schools! Football recruiting tip : Always include a mix of division levels in your target list.
You might be surprised which division level is right for you, and it maximizes your opportunity to get a college football scholarship. Check out this list of questions to ask yourself to help you find your best college match. Not only do the high school and college seasons overlap, but high school players only compete in one game a week, providing a very small window for college coaches to see them play in person. Here are a few general tips to get started:.
The highlight video is a great way for athletes to get their foot in the door with a coach. If the coach is interested after viewing the highlight video, they will either arrange a time to watch the athlete play in person, or they will request full game footage. Learn what skills recruits need to show off in their recruiting video for their position.
Athletes should keep their high school coaches in the loop throughout their recruiting process! High school football coaches can facilitate an introduction between their athletes and college coaches. In fact, many high school coaches already have relationships with college football coaches. If they think an athlete might be a good fit for that program, they can send the college coach a recommendation. They can also help recruits pick out the right plays to include in their highlight video, as well as give them an evaluation on their skill, providing ideas on what that athlete needs to work on to make it to the next level.
In short, athletes should lean on their high school coaches throughout their recruiting process, as they can be a valuable resource for building rapport with college coaches, getting exposure to college coaches, sorting through game film and practicing skills that need improvement. Attending football camps, showcases and junior days is incredibly important for the same reason that recruits need a great highlight video: college coaches often have limited time and resources to watch every recruit in-person.
Camps are a great way for recruits to really show off their skill set to the coaches who they are interested in. Be prepared to get coaches your video, verifiable results and academic information in an organized packet or online profile.
This is the point in the recruiting process where many families assume recruiting starts. When coaches are watching you in person, actively calling and inviting you on visits official or unofficial , this is advanced recruiting interest. These types of evaluations are character evaluations as much as they are athletic or academic evaluations. Large schools are going to be looking at recruits depending on their recruiting needs.
Your Responsibility: As a recruit, this is your opportunity to get to know the program as much as they are getting to know you. Make sure you are engaged, asking the coach questions about how they run they program and what type of role they see for you. Not preparing at this stage will lead to more anxiety at the next step when scholarship offers are being made.
After making their evaluations, coaches meet, rank the recruits and begin sending out offers these could be scholarships or walk-on offers. This is the point in the process where families can get uncomfortable when coaches putting time limits on offers and are asking for commitments weeks or even days after making an offer.
Unless you are an undisputed number one recruit, for whom a program is willing to hold a scholarship, you will be asked to make a decision on a scholarship offer in a couple of days or weeks. Depending on if the scholarships are head-count full-rides only or equivalency partial scholarships it is hard to say how many scholarship offers a program will extend. As a general rule, coaches have a couple of athletes in mind for each scholarship full or partial and put qualifiers time limits on their offers depending on how soon they need a commitment.
Understand how to use the football recruiting rules and calendar. Ever wondered how big and tall the average college football player is? Have you considered where your athlete stacks up next to a D1 linebacker or quarterback? To find out the measurements for the average college football player by division, we went to the source: college football rosters. Then, we averaged all the heights and weights for each position at all division levels. See how your recruit compares to the average college football player in his position.
D1 FBS schools can give out a maximum of 85 full-ride only scholarships, D1 FCS schools can distribute 63 scholarships and D2 coaches can offer a maximum of 36 scholarships. The limit for NAIA is 24 scholarships and junior colleges can offer up to 85 scholarships. Outside of the D1 FBS level—which is only allowed to give out full-rides—athletes can receive a partial scholarship, which pays for a percentage of their tuition. We explain more about scholarship opportunities, how they are divided up and how D3 athletes can find scholarship dollars.
Learn more about how much football scholarship money you might qualify for. College football coaches are looking for recruits with extensive varsity experience, a stellar highlight film, the right body type, high football IQ and good academics.
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