Recruiting High School Football Players
Football recruiting is always a topic of interest, whether you talk to players, recruiters, coaches, or fans. Although it is very important to the players in terms of building their collegiate and professional careers, it is often the subject of controversy and dispute. When dealing with high school athletes and football recruiting for college, the NCAA has put in place an extensive set of stringent rules that must be followed. If the rules are not adhered to, the eligibility of the player can be jeopardized and the coach or college can face serious consequences. With college recruiting, the recruiters cannot even talk to potential players before the spring semester of their senior year. This enables the seniors to focus on their academic requirements and graduation before worrying about recruiters and which school will sign them.
Problems with Professional Football Recruiting
During a player’s entire collegiate football experience, if he were ever considering a professional football career, football recruiting is on his mind. He knows that it is crucial to play the best he can in every game because you never know who may in the stands or who may be taking note. For some players, if they distinguish themselves early enough as significant assets to their teams, they can be watched for years.
One of the biggest problems involved with football recruiting is the willingness of college players to drop out before graduating in order to sign with a professional team. Although signing with a professional team is a chance of a lifetime, leaving school without a degree sets the players up for rough times in the future should their football career come to a crashing halt due to an injury or other unexpected circumstance. It seems likely that if professional teams want a player now—before he is ready to graduate—that they will still want him a year or two from now when he has more experience under his belt and has had the chance to distinguish himself even more as a standout athlete. However, many players feel the call of the fame and money and, believing that the game will not wait for them, jeopardize their futures and hang everything on a hope.
Football Articles
- Collecting Football Cards
- Football: The History of the Game
- The Rules of Flag Football
- Trading Football Cards
- The Importance of Recruiting for College Football