High school coaches can help too

The final way to increase the chances of recruitment is to utilize the resources you have around you. There is a common misconception that football recruiting is solely carried out by college coaches or specialist recruiters. However, what most athletes don’t realize is that the high school coaches around them play a significant role in the recruitment process. In fact, according to the NCAA, high school coaches are more responsible for football recruits than all college recruiting personnel combined.

The reasoning behind this is that experienced high school coaches spot potential prospects as early as eighth grade and can then use their connections and platform to get their players’ names across. They also help players decide which division or school may be best for them and walk them through the recruiting process. 

“One of my football coaches actually introduced the possibility of college football to me. [Coach Berry] then helped me create a list of target schools to reach out to, decide what film to send out, and even helped me edit my emails to certain coaches,” Johnson said. 

Chung’s coach also played a similar role in his recruitment to Harvard. 

“Coach Grieb really helped me during the recruiting process. Not only did he put things into perspective, but he also talked to coaches and put in a good word for me. I’m just really grateful for everything he did,” Chung said. 

Ultimately, recruiters aren’t solely looking for players with ideal intangibles such as height and weight. Although this may help as eye candy, they also care about a player’s work ethic, personality, and relationship with their current coaches. Thus, college coaches will pepper a prospect’s high school coach with questions to find qualities that don’t show up on film.