More on College Recruiting Unofficial visits

One question that has come up a lot are more on unofficial visits. These are the visits where you pay to take a trip to the school and get a chance to see a game or attend another event (CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM A PREVIOUS ARTICLE). The reason this site was started is to help you through the process, whether you are a parent, athlete, or coach. And that is why I am taking another inside look and focusing more on unofficial visits.

Here is what I wrote previously about setting up an unofficial visit. “In order to set up an unofficial visit, it really just depends. For example, a lot of college football coaches will send out a great deal of invites to their games throughout the fall. With so many juniors on their prospective recruiting list, the college is likely sending out invites. If the recruits receive this mail, they will need to call the coach or the school to tell them that they are coming to visit. Because the three people are allowed in on a pass gate, they will not be able to get extra tickets and sell them. The NCAA probably had issues with that in the past and that is why the pass gate is used. When that happens, the recruits have to bring an ID with them so that they can get into the game. There is no limit on the amount of unofficial visits you can do because you are paying for it yourself.”

An unofficial visit can be one of many things. It can be for a game (The football coaches invite you to see their big game this weekend), a junior day (Where the coaches invite some of their top junior prospects, usually held in the winter or spring), or just a visit where you can get to know the coaches more and learn more about the campus. Each one of these visits has pros and cons so I will look at those now.


For a game day visit, the advantage is that you get three total tickets to the big game and can bring whoever you want. It can be your parents or two of your best friends. You make the call on that but there is a three ticket limit and they have a special entrance for this. I know for a fact that many players who are juniors get invited to a lot of games and never end up getting a scholarship. It means that you are on the radar of the coaches but does not really mean that they are that serious about you (The serious attention will come down the road). This is a time that makes it difficult for an athlete to really talk to a coach. Although recruiting is very important in college, it is game day and that is where their focus is. And if they have official visitors that day, those athletes will be considered a higher priority as well.


I recently heard a story about a talented junior athlete and his dad went to a big Midwest University as an unofficial visitor. While they were close to the campus, others had come from Michigan, Texas, and others places throughout the country. These athletes were expecting to hear from the coaching staff while there. But after talking to the dad, the head coach at the University walked by the group once and never said a word. He did not introduce himself, welcome them, or thank them for coming. Then after the game, they were left to go. While that normally does not happen, don’t expect to interact with the coaches a ton on the visit.


he second unofficial visit is a junior day for some of their top recruits. The smaller the group that attends, the more the school things about you as an athlete. If the group is 50 plus (Which I have seen in the past), then don’t think too much about their recruiting interest. If you are at a small junior day visit, you will have plenty of opportunity to interact with all of the coaches. Some of these junior days are during the spring so that the athletes can see their spring practices live. Some coaches also allow the recruits to sit in on their position meetings to get a taste of what college football is all about. Again, this does not mean a scholarship is coming but they care enough to get you on campus.


The third is when the coaches want you to visit during the week or sometime when you will get a chance to interact with them more. If they are requesting you visit during the week, that is a good sign. However, a lot of recruits call up the schools and tell them they are coming through. When that happens, they rarely see the coaches for very long. If the coaches invite you, it will be a great opportunity to learn more about them and see another side of their personality. If you are going to be playing for these coaches over the next four or fives years, the more you know them before making a decision, the better for you.


As for the types of questions that are asked to coaches, that really varies. Obviously you want to seem interested in any school you are visiting but try to be genuine. Talk about where the coach has been, what the school has to offer, academics at the school, and anything that you want to know. College is quite a journey so being as well informed as you can does help in the long run.


And the last part of this article is how can I find out the interest level at an unofficial visit? Well, to tell you the truth, if they haven’t offered you, they will jump around the subject. If you ask them, they will say something like 1.) We want to see you at our camp 2.) We want to see what type of progress you are making in your senior year 3.) We are low on scholarships 4.) Keep working hard and good things will come


That is a difficult question to answer, because as I have written about before, recruiting is a game. You may be the fallback recruit and won’t get a scholarship offer until recruits A and B go elsewhere. I would definitely ask just to see what the coaches say but expect one of the above mentioned answered. If the scholarship is not on the table and they already have your recruiting profile and tape, it may take a great showing at camp to get a scholarship.