The five best times to excel to help yourself during the football recruiting process

Going into the football recruiting process, some families feel that as long as you find a way to excel in at least one year at the prep level, then there is a good chance that you will get scholarship offers.  And while I wish that were true for all those hard working football players (and their parents) out there, that is definitely not the case.

Because of this, I have decided to put together a list of the five best times during the football recruiting process to excel.  For some, these may be a surprise as to the time frame I am talking about.  But in order to be evaluated and hopefully be considered for an eventual scholarship offer, here are the five best times to shine.

Junior Year | Fall Season
While I had considered the summer camps to be more important, your junior season is by far the most important season that you have in your high school career.  An injury can throw a major wrench into the recruiting process for this year so keep that in mind.  So why does the junior season matter so much?  It is because this is when college coaches usually get serious about the recruits that they are considering.  If you put up some big numbers and then market yourself properly to these coaches, then you will put yourself in a perfect position to be evaluated.

Senior Year | Summer Camps
(Note: this is the summer before your senior season officially kicks off but with your junior year being over with, it shall be considered your senior year)
The only reason why this was not number one is because if you are not on the radar at all of college coaches, then are they really going to give you a serious look at their summer camps?  I think overall that this is the best time to play at your peak but if they are not aware of you and you are not on their radar, it is going to be hard to get any serious attention from the coaches.  If you have an amazing camp, the coaches are going to wonder if you are having the best few days of your life.  They will want to know why you didn’t do this beforehand?  But if fall of your junior year is 1A, then this is definitely 1B.

Sophomore Year | Fall Season
I have always mentioned the sooner that you can establish yourself at the varsity level, the sooner you can market yourself to college coaches.  If you excel as a sophomore, this is a great time because you can market yourself earlier.  That will make it easier getting on recruiting databases to get evaluated.  If you are a quarterback and they are only taking one in your class, getting your name, stats, and video in front of them early and often is a great way to go.  Shining as a sophomore can really help overall in the football recruiting process.

Junior Year | Spring Season
College coaches use the spring months to visit the schools and check in on athletes.  If you luck out by having a fantastic spring in the weight room/on the track and a college coach visits your school, they may notice you early on.  That will help you get evaluated and still be on the overall recruiting board for a scholarship offer.

Senior Year | Fall Season
I hate to say it but shining as a senior may be the worst time for your overall recruitment.  Most colleges have a good feel for commitments and players that they are considering to offer.  It is very, very difficult to get on the radar to be evaluated for a scholarship if the only season that you shine is as a senior.  It isn’t fair to those who have excellent competition in front of them but that is the way that the football recruiting process works unfortunately.

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