Recruiting Resources

Know the GameOff the Field.

Recruiting is half talent, half information. Here\u2019s the stuff coaches assume you already know — straight, no fluff.

Film

How to film highlight tape coaches actually watch.

Coaches watch the first 30 seconds. If they see 4-5 plays of you doing real things at full speed, they keep going. If they see slow-motion music intros, they close the tab.

Length

Aim for 3 to 5 minutes. Anything longer should be a separate full-game tape. Highlight tape is for the hook, not the deep dive.

Order

Front-load your best plays. The first 5 plays decide whether a coach finishes watching.

Play 1: Your absolute best play of the season — game speed.
Play 2-3: Show explosiveness, range of skills.
Play 4-5: Reinforce position-specific strengths.
After that: variety, harder situations, more film.

Production basics

Add a clean intro frame with your name, class, position, jersey number, height, weight, and a verified 40 time. Use a spotlight or arrow to mark yourself on each play. Skip the music — it makes the file harder to share and most coaches mute it anyway.

What NOT to include

Don’t include plays where the play breaks down and you happen to be there. Don’t include plays where the camera misses the action. Don’t pad with weight-room clips or workout footage — that goes in a separate "intangibles" section.

Academics

NCAA Eligibility Center — what you need to know.

To compete in NCAA D1 or D2 athletics, you must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and meet academic standards. This is separate from getting into a college academically.

When to register

Most athletes register at the start of junior year. You’ll need it before official visits and before signing day. Registration costs around $100 in the US.

Core course requirements (D1)

You need 16 NCAA-approved core courses, with 10 completed by the start of senior year. The breakdown:

4 years of English
3 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
2 years of natural/physical science (1 lab)
1 additional year of English, math, or science
2 years of social science
4 years of additional core courses

GPA + test scores

The minimum core-course GPA for D1 is 2.3. The minimum for D2 is 2.2. Standardized test scores (SAT/ACT) are currently not required for initial eligibility, but many schools still want them for admissions.

What to do

Ask your school counselor to send your transcripts to the Eligibility Center. Make sure your high school courses are on the NCAA-approved list. If they aren’t, talk to your counselor before it’s too late to switch.

Money

FAFSA, scholarships, and the money side of recruiting.

A "full ride" is rare. Most college football scholarships are partial, especially outside of D1 FBS. Understanding the money side helps you compare offers honestly.

Scholarship types

There are two basic categories:

Athletic scholarship — paid by the program. Can be full or partial. Renewed annually.
Academic / merit scholarship — based on GPA and test scores. Often stackable with athletic aid.
Need-based aid (Pell Grants, etc.) — based on FAFSA results. Free money, doesn’t need to be repaid.
Loans — paid back later with interest. The thing you want to minimize.

FAFSA

Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) every year starting in October of senior year. It determines your eligibility for federal aid and is often required for state aid and institutional aid too. It costs nothing to file.

Reading an offer

When a school offers a scholarship, ask them for the full cost of attendance and the exact dollar amount their offer covers. "Half ride" can mean half of tuition only, or half of total cost (tuition, room, board, books). The number that matters is what you and your family will pay out of pocket per year.

Start your FAFSA at studentaid.gov

NIL

Name, Image, Likeness — what high schoolers need to know.

NIL means college (and in some states, high school) athletes can earn money from their name, image, and likeness — sponsorships, social media deals, autograph signings, camps. The rules vary wildly by state.

In high school

NIL is permitted in some states for high school athletes and prohibited in others. Even where it’s allowed, schools and state athletic associations may have additional restrictions. Always check your state’s rules before signing anything.

Common rules

Even where NIL is permitted, almost every state prohibits these:

Tying NIL money to your enrollment at a specific school.
Wearing your school uniform in paid promotional content.
NIL deals with alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or adult-content brands.
NIL deals that interfere with team practice or competition.

Be careful with

Read every contract before signing. NIL collectives offering "guaranteed" money to commit are operating in a gray area — if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Ask for everything in writing, and never sign in the same room as a coach.

Visits

Official vs unofficial visits — what to ask, what to look for.

Visits are how you separate the school you imagine from the school you’ll actually live at. Two types: unofficial (you pay) and official (the school pays).

Unofficial visits

You can take as many unofficial visits as you want. You pay your own way. Useful early in the process — sophomores and juniors should be taking these. You can attend games, tour campus, meet coaches casually.

Official visits

The school covers travel, lodging, and meals. NCAA D1 limits you to 5 official visits to FBS schools and 5 to D1-FCS/D2 combined. Each visit is 48 hours max. Don’t waste them.

Questions to ask the head coach

Coaches will pitch you hard. Counter with hard questions:

How many players at my position are on the current roster? Where are they in the depth chart?
What’s the roster transfer-out rate in the last 2 years?
What’s the academic success rate for athletes at my position?
What does a normal week look like during the season — and out of season?
If I get hurt, what happens to my scholarship?

What to look for

Watch how players treat each other when coaches aren’t around. Sit in on an actual class, not the showcase tour. Eat at the dining hall during normal hours. Drive around the town, not just the campus. Trust your gut.

Glossary

Recruiting terms in plain English.

NLI

National Letter of Intent. The contract you sign on signing day binding you to a school for one year in exchange for athletic aid. Once signed, you can’t talk to other schools.

PWO

Preferred Walk-On. No scholarship, but a guaranteed roster spot and equal treatment to scholarship players. PWOs often earn scholarships later.

Greyshirt

Delayed enrollment. You don’t start college until the spring semester of your freshman year. The school doesn’t count you against the current year’s scholarship cap.

Blueshirt

A recruit who wasn’t on the school’s official radar but enrolls and is treated as a recruited walk-on. Becomes a scholarship player in year two.

Verbal vs. signed

A verbal commitment is non-binding. Either side can back out at any time. Only the signed NLI is binding.

Dead period

A specific window when coaches can’t have face-to-face contact with recruits or their families anywhere. Phone and text are still allowed.

Contact period

Coaches can have in-person contact with you off campus. Most active recruiting happens during contact periods.

Transfer portal

A database of college athletes who have notified their school they’re looking to transfer. Different rules apply to portal recruits than to incoming high schoolers.

Calendar

NCAA recruiting calendar.

Contact periods, dead periods, evaluation periods, and signing days for each division. Rules change every cycle — these links point to the official NCAA calendars.

D1 FBS

Football Bowl Subdivision

The top tier. Full scholarships, biggest visibility.

View at NCAA.org

D1 FCS

Football Championship

Strong programs with playoff system. Different scholarship rules.

View at NCAA.org

Division II

Partial scholarships common. Different recruiting calendar.

View at NCAA.org

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