good recruiting article

[pitt90seven]

if you don't subscribe, it's a lot of feedback about what parents of recruited players are seeing. i thought the one turn off was interesting: telling families that their kid is going to play right away is a big turnoff. schools pushing for a commitment is also a big turnoff.

SEC is extremely aggressive. families like honesty and the path to get a degree, versus getting kids into the NFL.

‘None of the recruiting pitches work’: Parents of prospects discuss CFB’s recruiting circus in anonymous survey

We spoke with 10 parents of players in the 2021 or 2022 recruiting cycles for their views from inside a whirlwind process.

theathletic.com

 

[Macchiato]

why would somebody post an article we can't read? It's obvious that this person has a vested interest in subscription

 

[pittdan77]

So basically, nothing has changed in the thirty plus years since I was a recruit. There is a lot of pressure to bring in talent. Some guys are holding jobs just because they can close on kids. Just how it is. But I guess there really isn't anything to prepare a family for what's going to happen. All of the mail. The calls. Guys get text messages now and get hits on their social media.

 

[CJsE]

if you don't subscribe, it's a lot of feedback about what parents of recruited players are seeing. i thought the one turn off was interesting: telling families that their kid is going to play right away is a big turnoff. schools pushing for a commitment is also a big turnoff.

SEC is extremely aggressive. families like honesty and the path to get a degree, versus getting kids into the NFL.

‘None of the recruiting pitches work’: Parents of prospects discuss CFB’s recruiting circus in anonymous survey

We spoke with 10 parents of players in the 2021 or 2022 recruiting cycles for their views from inside a whirlwind process.

theathletic.com

Those findings are certainly borne out with how horrible the SEC does on the recruiting trail.

 

[Mikefln]

So basically, nothing has changed in the thirty plus years since I was a recruit. There is a lot of pressure to bring in talent. Some guys are holding jobs just because they can close on kids. Just how it is. But I guess there really isn't anything to prepare a family for what's going to happen. All of the mail. The calls. Guys get text messages now and get hits on their social media.

And here is the thing. This is not just D1 specific. This even happens in D3 where there is no official scholarships (My nephew paid a little over $10K for a $40K per year school and my niece at the same school pays a little over $30). He was recruited by lower end FCS (Patriot League/NEC/Pioneer),D2 and D3 schools. They all talked about the chance for early playing time. They all pushed for a commitment (even the D3 schools where offers and verbal's are not a thing) as soon as possible. A good amount of them even talked about the NFL. At least they were honest in the sense of not promising getting him drafted, but more UDFA camp workout, but still that is silly for a school at those levels to mention that.

I was more of more of a D3 player who tried to make it at Robert Morris (who as a D1-AA non scholarship program at the time so I figured glorified D3 but it was closer to high end D2 teams at that time) , so I did not get treated to such absurd comments, so it was a surprise to hear how silly and how high pressure it is even at that level.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

if you don't subscribe, it's a lot of feedback about what parents of recruited players are seeing. i thought the one turn off was interesting: telling families that their kid is going to play right away is a big turnoff. schools pushing for a commitment is also a big turnoff.

SEC is extremely aggressive. families like honesty and the path to get a degree, versus getting kids into the NFL.

‘None of the recruiting pitches work’: Parents of prospects discuss CFB’s recruiting circus in anonymous survey

We spoke with 10 parents of players in the 2021 or 2022 recruiting cycles for their views from inside a whirlwind process.

theathletic.com

I keep on telling people if they are real sports fans to subscribe to the Athletic. It is by far the best site out there.

 

[CJsE]

why would somebody post an article we can't read? It's obvious that this person has a vested interest in subscription

I'll summarize it better for you.

Parents 1-10 in this survey: We don't like flashy sales pitches by schools that only talk about my child's athletic prospects, we want them to talk about their academic success and their future employment opportunities that don't involve the NFL. Don't talk about how special my child is and how he'll start year 1, because they have 10 kids on their roster in that position and probably told them all the same thing.

Questionnaire: Are SEC recruiters really the most aggressive?

Parents 1-10: We don't like to be rushed or contacted every day by aggressive recruiters and coaches. The SEC is the most aggressive conference by far, constantly hounding my child and pitching them flashy facilities and his future NFL prospects.

Questionnaire: Where is your child going to school?

Parents 1-10: Definitely the SEC, we really love how aggressive they were recruiting our kid. The constant phone calls and texts really showed how interested they were in our child and that they'd be playing right away because he is special to them. Plus, look how many kids they send to the NFL.

 

[RaleighPittFan]

Does the article mention how many hand written letters Tom Bradley could write in a day’s time?

 

[WannyandWalt]

Maybe the ACC needs to start pissing recruits off like the SEC!

 

[pittdan77]

And here is the thing. This is not just D1 specific. This even happens in D3 where there is no official scholarships (My nephew paid a little over $10K for a $40K per year school and my niece at the same school pays a little over $30). He was recruited by lower end FCS (Patriot League/NEC/Pioneer),D2 and D3 schools. They all talked about the chance for early playing time. They all pushed for a commitment (even the D3 schools where offers and verbal's are not a thing) as soon as possible. A good amount of them even talked about the NFL. At least they were honest in the sense of not promising getting him drafted, but more UDFA camp workout, but still that is silly for a school at those levels to mention that.

I was more of more of a D3 player who tried to make it at Robert Morris (who as a D1-AA non scholarship program at the time so I figured glorified D3 but it was closer to high end D2 teams at that time) , so I did not get treated to such absurd comments, so it was a surprise to hear how silly and how high pressure it is even at that level.

I was probably more of a FCS player but I did take a G5 offer. I was visited by all levels of coaches. Most of them didn't even ask if who else was recruiting me. I remember one D3 school with an absolutely horrid team telling me I could start the first year. He fires up this film to show me the offense and I'm watching the guys playing my position thinking, geez, they suck. That was the only time I ever thought I could walk in and start.

I think some kids and families have a good sense of where they want to land so any attempts by other schools feels pushy. It's like being dead set on buying a Chevy but the the guy over at the Dodge dealership keeps throwing deals at you.

 

[Upg bobcat]

And I assume another aspect hasn't changed over the years ... the coach spends a couple months telling how much they "really want" you, until they get a commitment from another kid they really want even more that plays the same position as you, and then you do not hear from that program ever again.

 

[Mikefln]

I was probably more of a FCS player but I did take a G5 offer. I was visited by all levels of coaches. Most of them didn't even ask if who else was recruiting me. I remember one D3 school with an absolutely horrid team telling me I could start the first year. He fires up this film to show me the offense and I'm watching the guys playing my position thinking, geez, they suck. That was the only time I ever thought I could walk in and start.

I think some kids and families have a good sense of where they want to land so any attempts by other schools feels pushy. It's like being dead set on buying a Chevy but the the guy over at the Dodge dealership keeps throwing deals at you.

Nice analogy.

 

[pittdan77]

And the more I think about this, the article is really referring to parents of what seem to be top flight prospects. It's even worse the further down the food chain you go. @Upg bobcat nailed it with them telling you how much they need you until someone better decides to show interest. Probably why early commits sometimes fade away because offers get pulled, so to speak.