Hi there! I'm a high school junior who's been playing football for a couple of years, and I'm interested in getting a scholarship to a Division 1 school. Does anyone have experience with how the recruitment process works or how to increase my chances of landing a scholarship? Also, any insights into what these colleges look for in recruits would be awesome. Thanks!
The process of securing a football scholarship at a Division 1 (D1) school typically starts with exposure and ends with signing a letter of intent. Here's an overview:
1. Exposure: Coaches cannot recruit someone they do not know about. Seek out opportunities to get seen by college recruiters and coaches by participating in camps, playing in tournaments, or showcasing your skills in combines, where athletes get to perform physical tests in front of scouts. Be proactive and send your highlight tapes to schools you're interested in and follow up with them frequently.
2. Building Relationships: Once you've got the attention of a coach, the process usually starts with unofficial visits, attending camps specifically for that school, and engaging in frequent communication with the coaching staff. Coaches want to know you are genuinely interested in their school and program, and building a strong relationship with them can make a significant difference.
3. Official Visits: For D1 football, these visits begin August 1st of your senior year in high school. This is a recruiting visit funded by the college where you'll come to campus for 48 hours to meet the coaching staff, and players, tour the facilities, attend a game, and get a feel for student life. Most recruits will take multiple official and unofficial visits before they commit to a school.
4. Offers:
Scholarship offers can come at any time during the above steps. Coaches may extend an offer in person, over a phone call, or in some instances at camps or combines. Some offers are non-committable, which means they won't be available until you reach certain achievements (usually athletically). If an offer is committable, athletes can accept the offer immediately.
5. National Signing Day:
This is the day when a verbal commitment becomes official. National Signing Day is traditionally held on the first Wednesday of February, but since 2017, there’s now an Early Signing Period that happens in December, which has become the defacto Signing Day, with ~75% of all D1 Football recruits signing their National Letter of Intent (LOI).
As for what D1 colleges look for, it's a combination of athletic skills, physical attributes, academic performance, and intangibles like leadership or teamwork. Keep in mind that academic achievement is especially important in the recruiting process. Schools have minimum academic requirements that must be met to obtain an athletic scholarship.
Lastly, it's important to approach this process with a plan: Be proactive, reach out to schools you're interested in, keep your grades up, and always aim to improve your game. Good luck!
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