Ask Yourself: “What Are My Real Chances Of Playing College Football?” – It’s very important that we start this off with hard data, and the data doesn’t lie: it’s very hard to get recruited, to play college football, especially at the D1 level. There are 1,023,712 high school football players in the nation. Across all levels of football, only 61,000 end up playing college football. That’s 6%. There are 128 FBS DI schools that give out, on the average, 25 scholarships a year. That’s 3,200 scholarships available, which is enough for .003% of the amount of high school football players in the nation. It’s tough to get recruited, and if you don’t have the measurables, it’s likely that you won’t be recruited. But, don’t let that discourage you, keep grinding and you never know what might happen!
Be Realistic – With all of this information, it’s important to be realistic about your chances, and control what you can control. There isn’t a miracle formula to make yourself grow taller, but there is a way you can make yourself more appealing – working hard to improve your craft, doing well in school, giving great effort all the time, being coachable, and having a great attitude about how you go about your business. If you’re a college caliber player, coaches will find you, no matter where you are.
Have A Plan – It’s important to get yourself seen by college staffs as early as you can during your high school career. Going to combines and camps can be good, but remember college coaches are not allowed to attend combines. Combines and camps such as Under Armour and Nike are good, but remember the college coaches can only see you in person at their college camps. Always remember that you’re essentially selling yourself, and you want to be at your best in front of college coaches.
Work on Your Game – Simply put, Power 5 programs recruit Power 5 Players. If these schools have not contacted you, then there is something in your game that you need to improve upon. Find it, get it corrected and perform at a high level. If you are D1, a D1 will offer you.
Work On Your Academics – It’s very important that you’re taking the SAT and the ACT by your junior year, if not earlier. Also, be sure to register with the NCAA Clearinghouse by your junior year and start sending them all of your academic information. This is extremely important: If you don’t have good grades and test well, you won’t play in college, regardless of how good your tackling form is.
Always Communicate With Your High School Coach – They are hands down the most important part of being recruited. They are there to help you along this journey, to help you land at the best possible school. They’re the ones who provide a true assessment to the college recruiter along with your transcripts, test scores, highlight tapes and game film. Make sure you and the Head Coach are on the same page.
Make Sure This Is What You Want To Do – College football is not a joke, and it’s taken very seriously nationwide. 122 young men from Allen High School signed from 2006-2015. Of those 122, 45 were Division I. 44 of the 122 either quit or transferred, of those 44, 12 were Division I. That’s 26% of DI players quitting or transferring, and 41% of all others quitting or transferring. Make absolutely sure that you love football, and that you don’t just love being recruited.
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