Football

Each year, countless high school athletes who possess the skills to play at the collegiate level fail to realize their dreams. Why does this happen? Well, often, it’s because the right college coaches haven’t discovered them, and they need to take proactive steps to pursue a college athletic career. 

Consider this: out of the thousands of high school football athletes, roughly 2% receive opportunities to play college football. Yet, there are approximately 893 football colleges spanning five different division levels: NCAA Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, NAIA, and NJCAA. 

The remaining 98% need to find ways to catch the eye of college coaches if they want to continue their athletic journey. To put these numbers in perspective, let’s say you play basketball. To be highly recruited in this context, you likely need to be the absolute best player in your district, not just one of the best or best on your team, but the best in your entire district. Being under-recruited doesn’t mean your dream of playing in college is over. It simply means you have some work to do to get there.

But what exactly does it mean to be under-recruited?

Being under-recruited simply means that, for some reason, you haven’t caught the attention of college coaches yet, or if they’ve noticed you, they haven’t started actively recruiting you. You might have the athletic talent and the grades, but somehow, you’ve remained under their radar. It could be due to your team’s level of play or strength of schedule. Your stats could be impressive, but you still may not get noticed.

So, why might you be under-recruited?

Several factors can contribute to an athlete being under-recruited or lightly recruited. These reasons range from college programs tight recruiting budgets, the competitive region you live in, and very few colleges, meaning you have to leave the area to be recruited, or the lack of correct information given to you by your coaches. So many colleges overlook athletes simple because the athlete’s name is not mentioned in the media, on social media, or by other coaches when a recruiter asks them about athletes they have played against who could play at the college level. Exposure goes a long way for all athletes when their break-out game is highlighted and shared online.  

How could so many college coaches overlook such a good player? 

Sometimes, athletes don’t pass the “eye test.” The “eye test” suggested that the athlete fits within the standard measurable based on the average size of athletes at the specified college division. College is a business, and there have to be certain factors that exist from the start even to get recruited. One of the significant factors is grades; if they are there, then it is performance and lastly, measurables are height, weight, speed, leaping ability, and strength. If a recruiter’s recruitment list is full, they will likely stop recruiting that class or position. Yet, athletes are often under-recruited because they have limited options, have lousy film, don’t go to areas and compete against top athletes, lack online presence, or simply don’t understand how recruiting works.  

The point here is that college coaches don’t always identify every talented athlete. You might not meet the criteria of the “eye test,” or the colleges that have watched you play may not have openings in your position. If this is the case and you’re under-recruited, take action to change it.

So, how do you address the issue?

The most effective way to go from being under-recruited to highly recruited is to reach out to colleges independently of your coaches. Many athletes believe their coaches have a recruiting network, only to find out they are just as clueless or uninformed as they are. So athletes and their parents must do some self-recruiting and build a personal brand online. If you approach schools that align with your abilities and persist in your efforts, you’re likely to succeed. If you’re not feeling the attention from college coaches yet, it’s time to do something about it. Start early, like your freshman year to research and learn about recruiting, create a plan, and build an online presence on social media that promotes your accomplishments. This will not be easy, and it will cost you to achieve your dream of receiving an offer, so create a strategy and plan financially. 

Your strategy should involve researching colleges, gaining an understanding of the recruiting process, and filling out athletic questionnaires on college websites. 

Here are the five main steps:

1. Identify and Research Appropriate Colleges: Look for colleges that match your athletic and academic abilities.
2. Identify the Colleges where you can play based on the of play: Pay attention to the size of athletes on the college’s rosters. If the school has a bunch of 3-5 star athletes on the roster, more then likely that is what the school is looking for. 
3. Identify the number of athletes a school carries at your position: If you see that your position is heavy at DB with many juniors and seniors, then they are likely looking to bring in a new class of DBs. If they have a ton of redshirts and underclassmen, they probably will not recruit heavily for the position.  
4. Contact Coaching Staff: Reach out to the coaching staff at these schools, expressing genuine interest in their program and providing information about yourself as a student-athlete.
5. Involve Your Current Coach: Get your current coach involved to vouch for your abilities and character.

This approach is the most effective way to navigate the college recruiting process. Online profiles are helpful for parents, and recruiting services may offer some assistance. Still, ultimately, the college recruiting process should be a direct interaction between the college coach and the student-athlete. Invest in your future and take the initiative to pursue colleges as interested in you as you are in them.