How to Get Recruited by a College Football Team

Getting recruited by a college to play football, especially by an NCAA-sanctioned school, is one of the biggest honors a high school football player can receive. However, there are only a limited amount of scholarships available each year and getting noticed is becoming more and more competitive. To be one of the lucky few to gain a college scholarship in football, follow these steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Compile a list of schools that interest you both athletically and academically. Do this prior to your junior year. These don't all have to be NCAA Division I-A schools. Several professional players played in lower division schools and still got noticed.

2. Visit the websites of each of these schools to get the name and addresses for each coach. There are also several websites that have the names of all of the various football coaches across the divisions in one handy place, but it will cost you to access these sites.

3. Have your high school coach put together a highlight film of all of your greatest plays. Also, cut articles from newspapers and magazines and keep track of all your high school accolades.

4. Send the tape, commonly called a recruiting tape, to the prospective coaches along with a letter asking the coach to look at your film and consider you for a potential scholarship. Make sure your high school coach also sends a letter of endorsement for you. Be sure to not only include your contact information, but also the contact information for your high school coach.

5. Attend state and national summer football camps as well as camps of the schools where you're interested in playing. Call the coaches beforehand to make sure they know you're coming and make sure to introduce yourself while at camp.

6. Return any requests for information from prospective college coaches immediately, and ask your high school coach to do the same.

7. Register with the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse when you are a senior to make sure you are eligible to participate in NCAA athletics. You cannot receive a scholarship without this certification.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are a talented, well-known athlete, you probably won't have to go through these steps because college coaches will come to you. Still, there might be a school on the other side of the country that isn't familiar with you. Follow these steps to get its attention.
• Familiarize yourself with the rules of NCAA recruiting either on the NCAA website or from you high school coach. There are certain things you cannot do with respect to recruiting. Familiarizing yourself with these rules will keep you eligible for a scholarship.
• Take all of your official visits. You are allotted five from the NCAA. Sometimes the school you think might be a fit might not work out once you step on campus.
• You can commit to playing for a school at any time, but that commitment is not binding until you sign your national Letter of Intent, which happens on the first Wednesday of February in your senior year.

Resources

• Research schools and learn football recruiting rules.

Who Can Help Sponsored

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[kickingworld]

on 2/12/2009 Good article... Check out the one I wrote on how to get recruited by a college football team. It includes a few more tricks of the trade:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4777235_recruited-college-football-team.html

[tomstoppard]

on 8/12/2008 Want to play basketball or football in college? Click here: http://collegecoachesnet.blogspot.com/#main

[Athletepromoinc]

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[dfoste218]

on 1/25/2008 I suggest that if you want you child to be recruited invest in a good video camera an film all the events yourself. Coaches may have good intentions but if you child is not high on the recruiting list you may find yourself scrambling for video, recommendations and so on because the coaches are busy with the top 10 or 15 recruits.

[dfoste218]

on 1/25/2008 My son has had a terrible time getting seen by college coaches. The high school coach changed his position in the middle of the season then he only got a tape in late Jan. after talking to the district athletic director. I have spent most of my time calling and sending tapes to schools.. I feel he really go screwed out of many good opportunities.