With the covid-19 pandemic ravaging college football recruiting, several football athletes have found themselves scrambling to secure collegiate offers to play at the next level. The NCAA lifted the dead period June 1st creating a recruiting frenzy that none of us have seen before. Mega camps at Mercer, Florida State, and HBCU camp in Atlanta saw kid criss crossing the country through car and airplane to attend camps and get a look from a recruiter.
It was along and arduous process and in the end, many athletes got looks from coaches, even offers, but to be honest most athletes were left with nothing. It was to many camps, to many athletes and to little time for college coaches to evaluate properly. Even the athletes who had several offers in hand had to compete for committable offers with athletes who had been recruited for several years by programs. The end result will reveal a very big and important signing period in January of 2022 where athletes who have no offers will receive several offers at one time. There will also be a scramble in December of 2021 to sign players who have decommitted from college programs to sign with other college programs. An athlete might decommit from say Florida, to commit to Florida State etc.
There’s no science to college recruiting it’s pretty simple, and it’s pretty consistent. Recruits have to ball out and put the film out there to be evaluated. “Ball out” consists of making enough plays to build a Hudl or highlight tape for 1 specific position. If you are a defensive back your Hudl should consist of majority defensive back tape. If you play multiple positions, it’s ok to include several different plays, however be specific on your twitter account to what position you primarily want to play in college. Remember, college coaches like honesty up front, and they will find a place for athletes that they like no matter what position they primarily want to play. Again, every athlete in the 9th grade needs a twitter account. It’s how you access college coaches.
College recruiters have to be able to travel to see prospects in person (recruiters missed two spring football seasons due to Covid). This means those college football camps are paramount! As a parent you must take your son to those camps. Stay away from the camps that are independent and charge. Focus on the camps that the colleges put on, they usually charge $20-$50 and are done at the college.
After you’ve caught the eye of a recruiter, the college Head coach must sign off on committable offers from their position coaches and seal the deal with the athlete and family. Now there is a big question on what a committable offer is. A committable offer is an offer that is guaranteed by the college. The college offers the recruit and the recruit is able to verbally commit to the school on their intent on attending the University. The reason it is important to know what a committable offer is, is because colleges will offer athletes scholarships, but the athletes are not able to verbally commit. The only thing the athlete is allowed to do is post it on their social media but they are not allowed to verbally commit to the college.
Now one would wonder why a college would offer an athlete a scholarship that wasn’t committable, well I’m glad you asked that question. Colleges are constantly in competition with one another. Especially, colleges that are in the same conferences. You’ve heard of the term ” Power 5″. Well these are football conferences from the 5 top conferences in the nation. The SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, and Pac 12. If a school like Georgia Tech offers an athlete a scholarship that’s not committable, that means Georgia Tech likes the athlete but needs more info to fully commit to the athlete. But because Georgia Tech submits and offer to the athlete now North Carolina may decided to submit and offer because North Carolina and Georgia Tech as both in the ACC. North Carolina wants to compete with other schools in the ACC for the top athletes. So in short a school submits a uncommittable offer to show interest in the athlete and compete with other schools.
At the end of the day parents need to get the word from the head coach or position coach that the scholarship offer is committable. Also, get information that the scholarship is fully paid for. That includes tuition, meals, books, etc. As a parent, you should also be aware of monthly stipend that your son will receive from the college. Most times this stipend is between $100-$2000. This is money that your child gets directly to use at his discretion. The money comes from the left over scholarship money that’s paid each month. Don’t be surprised if your son pulls up in a new car when he comes home for the summer.
The Covid-19 pandemic created a log jam in college where seniors or upper classmen did not graduate and move on from football. Instead, many athletes exercised their option to gain an extra year of eligibility to remain on the team. Well by them remaining on the team, they take up a roster spot and potentially a scholarship offer. College athletes not only can gain an extra year of eligibility, but they also can enter the transfer portal and not lose a year of eligibility. I’m not as big of a critic of the transfer portal as some of my colleagues. I believe athletes who enter the transfer portal opens up a position for high school or JUCCO athletes at their former program. Critics believe transfer portal athletes take up roster positions from high school prospects trying to attend the college that’s receiving the transfer athlete.
Both are right, and both are relevant. At the end of the day, college is a business. They treat everything like a business from the money invested into their living quarters, meal plans, trainers, weight rooms, practice facilities, team issued gear, meeting rooms, football stadiums, etc. It’s a business approach with the athletes and academic counselors that are assigned to them to ensure their graduation and eligibility. It’s a business approach with merchandising and the selling of team merchandise and individual player merchandise at team stores, online, and commerce centers. Remember, college football is a business, and as a recruit you are the main component of the business. Know what you want to major in to secure your academic scholarship. Know your plan for football and what you want to do afterwards. That plan should include something that has nothing to do with the NFL. Finally, know your worth, hire a consulting firm, attorney, or agent to assess your value as an athlete and capitalize on endorsements by local and national businesses. It’s a new day in college football and it’s important that you don’t get left behind.
I know we’ve covered a lot, but hopefully as a parent, you’ve got a better grasp and understanding of how recruiting works. How the pandemic has affected recruiting this year. And how college football’s landscape has changed and how that change involves you. It’s a tedious process, and it creates lots of stress with your child, and with your family. High school coaches can assist with recruiting, but my advice is to not count on high school coaches to help with recruiting. Their focus is on winning high school football games, not getting your child in college.
Take control of your child’s recruiting. Take control of your own recruiting.
Email college coaches and send your HUDL to them. Include your position, school grade, and G.P.A. DM college coaches on twitter with the same information. Tag college coaches on twitter who you are unable to DM. Plan to meet virtually on Zoom. Introduce yourselves to position coaches when you attend the football camps and get contact info from coaches. Hit the road! You must travel to get exposure. Plan to drive 4-6 hours to several colleges. Don’t only plan to visit big colleges, make plans to visit smaller schools as well. There will be less student athletes in attendance, making it easier to be noticed by recruiters.
Do you’re homework. Know who is in the Sun Belt conference, or Conference USA. Know who the head coach is and their record. Get a since of if the coach will be there for the long run, or if this is just a temporary stop. Recruiting is all about building relationships with coaching staffs and the last thing you want is a coaching staff leaving just as your son starts his college life. All of this works, and all of this is worth it.
With Covid-19, plan for there to be cancelled games, missed games due to contact tracing and Covid protocols. However, don’t be discouraged. College recruiters can still come to games this fall, and they can invite athletes on official visits this fall. Plan to visit on official visits, so cancel those family vacations now. Remember, recruiting is a sacrifice but the reward can change the family dynamic for generations to come.
