I’m a junior with football recruiting interest but no offers. What do I do?

For those football athletes about to enter their junior year, now is a great time to get started on the recruiting process.  I have always stressed that the earlier you start, the better it will be for you in the long run.  So if you haven’t already immersed yourself in the process, now is a great time to at least get the ball rolling.

The first question that needs to be answered is have you already played varsity?  That is a key question because the answer you give will take you one of two directions.  If you have played an extensive amount of time at the varsity level, then now would be a fantastic time to put together a recruiting profile.  I may sound like a broken record but this first step to a scholarship offer is crucial during the recruiting process (Click here for the five steps to a scholarship offer).

Some athletes feel strong enough about their profile that they may want to send it before the junior season gets underway while others will wait until later in the fall.  Outside of maybe getting some free tickets to the games, it may be better to wait until after the year for a few different reasons.  The first is that the coaches are extremely busy this time of year.  That means they may be limited in how focused they can be on the next recruiting class.  The second is that your recruiting profile may look a lot more extensive after junior season stats are added.  Again, either way will work fine and it may be good to at least try early on.  If you don’t get a response, just send the profile after the season when the college season should be winding down.

Because every situation varies, it is not the end of the world if you did not play varsity as a freshman or sophomore.  I have seen athletes where their team was among the best in the State who didn’t play varsity until they were a junior and ended up with multiple scholarship offers.  The key with recruiting is that you can play and it doesn’t matter the circumstances behind that.

If you fit this criteria, I would strongly recommend getting the pieces in place so that you will be able to send out a recruiting profile once the season is over.  Click here for the full article on building a recruiting profile but you should add your height, weight, grades, contact information, and things that probably will stay the same over the next few months.  At this point, leave the stats and accomplishments blank (Again, don’t waste your time by adding any non varsity stats/accomplishments.  College coaches don’t care about 8th grade awards).

College camps were something that I discussed in the summer.  If you attended any, hopefully you excelled on the field and the coaches will be keeping a close eye on you.  Many coaches love seeing athletes in camp going into their junior year because they can see if they are a legit prospect and may be quicker to pull the trigger with an offer as well.

Unless scholarship offers are coming, now is a vital time to speak with a few people who may be able to make your highlight tape.  The first person you need to speak with is your college coach.  Tell him your intentions to play football at the highest level possible in college and ask him about making a highlight tape.  Your coach may be able to do it himself or have some advice.  If you do have him make it, try to see work that he has done before.  I have seen coaches promise athletes the world and come up with grainy VHS highlight videos.  Paying the money for a professional highlight video can be worth it if the price is right.

If the coach can’t help with a highlight tape, talk to a few different companies in your area and on the Internet to see pricing and what they can offer.  Now is a great time to get a feel for the different companies and will help in a huge way once the season is over.  If you do the leg work beforehand, it makes things much less stressful in November when a college coach is requesting the tape.

Visits to college football games may also be a good thing to do so that you can get a feel for different schools.  If you have had contact with college coaches, speak to them about possibly making unofficial visits to at least one game to learn more about their program.  There are Division I coaches who throw these tickets around to athletes who may not even be good enough to play in college.  You just need to contact a coach, with recruiting profile hopefully, and speak with them about possibly making a college visit there.

Another area that you should talk about as a family is what you want in a college.  Think about potential majors, location, weather, football program, level, size of the school, and things along that line.  Obviously everyone wants to play at State University so be realistic when it comes to that.  Once you have that figured out, take the next step and pick out schools that fit you as an athlete and a person.  Click here for the second step to a scholarship offer, which is finding schools that match you.

These are just a few of the basic steps that you can do heading into your junior year.  Above all, the most important thing you must do as an athlete is perform on the field.  If you can’t play, then going through these steps may be a waste of time.  But that is your call so speak with your coach about what level he thinks you may be able to play on.  That could help you get a feel on it in the long run.

For position by position help throughout the football recruiting process, Recruiting-101 has put together a 28-page guide to help athletes get a better feel for what college coaches are looking for at each spot.  Click here to learn more about the e-book now, which is currently on sale for only $5.00!