COVER PHOTO: Bredell Richardson, one of the best wide receivers of 2024 in the country from Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day School.
From traveling all over Dixie and hearing top college football prospects on tap and off the record, as well as other college coaches and scouts covering recruiting results, there has been more change over the past year than at any time in recent memory, if any.
These are some of the employment topics that have come up that need to be discussed.
1) There is nothing that causes some schools to fall back on prospects.
While it’s not meant to be an incentive, there are a few college football programs that absolutely use NIL money upfront to completely turn around some player recruits. In turn, it has also caused some other schools to re-evaluate recruiting some players regardless of talent level because they will not pay these recruits.
Kind of a “pick a side” attitude.
Most college programs will not pay kids who have never had a crush or a crush on anyone a large amount of money before they come into the classroom and practice field.
Now, other programs throw money around like it’s nothing. It’s really just how different some programs are. The 2023-24 recruitment cycle should be interesting as it relates to the NIL.
2) The coaches had less and less patience with high school players who weren’t polished.
What does polished mean? Players who openly accept coaching and move to the college level with advanced techniques. Why don’t coaches wait?
The boosters and school officials don’t wait for the victories, they train the players. College coaches have to win now or risk being fired.
Some would say that has been this way in the world of college football for a long time, but now it is the case that a coach may not last two years if there is not enough “progress” in the program being discussed. It was three or four years.
Thus, regardless of the position, inexperienced recruits have much lower chances of earning scholarships.
Few prospects catch 50-50 balls better than Bredell Richardson.
A great example is Bredell Richardson, the player on the cover of this article and pictured here. He has progressed his way in the running and ball skills of a player in his senior season next fall. Richardson got a good number of offers because it was clear he could contribute early on at the college level.
Bonus point: This impatient attitude has spilled over into classroom and social behavior over the past year. The recruits who messed up that scholarship often lost it much faster than ever before.
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3) Where are the diverse players?
With so many players leaving the transfer gate and going into it, there is an even greater need for a player willing to help out the college team and switch positions. Sometimes a team goes through a rough patch with players leaving, plus injuries that need to be fixed right away.
This means that recruits who openly admit they are willing to play multiple positions will have a better chance of earning scholarship offers.
4) Personal evaluations are important.
Most college coaches loved the workout videos and all the different camps and assemblies that pop up on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter among other social media.
They also loved all the camps and assemblies set up by the various organizations that led to college coaches seeing how the kids performed. These opportunities have helped college football coaches across America.
Unless the player was a truly elite player, college coaches generally wanted to see recruits literally come to their campus so that they could get their own measurements of height, wingspan, weight, and various test numbers like the L-drill or 40-yard dash.
Yes, it was inconvenient for the recruits and those who helped them to travel. Although it does not change. Coaches have trusted very few people. Many coaches simply preferred to see a child in person, meaning potential clients might have come to their campus or might have missed out on an opportunity at a show. With impatience growing, this will likely not change as every scholarship has the opportunity to make a difference to your winning and losing record.
5) It’s a seven-on-seven season.
This means that potential clients can make a name for themselves and win offers.
Every year, it seems like a few more players come out of the blue and are more recruited than before because of the seven-by-seven. It’s been fun watching it happen and we’ll expect no less between now and mid-summer when Seven Over Seven ends.
who is next?
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