Maybe Too Early for Some

Every summer about this time, with college football camps winding down, I read where prospects, especially ones going into their junior years, are going to be heavily recruited beginning this fall. Sometimes, even players going into their sophomore years are sometimes written about. This worries me some.

I guess it worries me because I have seen many of these young prospects and like their potential to earn a football scholarship. But they are only juniors and have not played much varsity competition. They can compete in camps and in 7on7's, but that is in shorts and a t-shirt. For example, a quarterback can perform well in shorts and t-shirt, but has yet to perform under the lights on Friday night.

My advice to the prospect, as well as the parent is who is evaluating the prospect? Is he a college coach? Does he/she see alot of games? What is his/her track record? Has he/she had success in evaluating players before? Has he/she actually talked with the high school coach?

As a parent, as long as my son gets on an internet recruiting site or gets his name in paper, everything is cool. Exposure is important. But the correct exposure is really more important. Sometimes, however, a parent starts to believe the hype. Not always good.

I have done scouting and evaluations for along time. Without question, I am an average evaluator. I see alot of games, visit alot of camps, and watch some video. But that is just it, I see players, but just report what I see. Writing that a person in the Class of 2015 will be a scholarship recruit is hard. Projecting that a player in the Class of 2014 who has played very little varsity ball, will be a high rated recruit is also tough. At least for me, that is.

From what I understand, many of the recruiting writers for sites like Rivals and Scout are responsible for x amount of recruiting stories every month. For me that would really be hard to do. Sometimes to get enough stories, a writer has to speculate on the potential of a recruit who has not really been a starter.

The number of different recruiting stories is important is important to a recruiting writer. Just like ranking players. Both are ways to get readers/fans to a recruiting site. More visits equal more money. More money equals more job sercurity. Sometimes I wish I had the talent and time to do it.

Simple advice - Enjoy reading about football recruiting, but just keep all the news in perspective. Most of all, check the credibilty of the writer as a football prospect evaluator.