You’re probably in a daze from all the camps you did this summer, don’t worry, college coaches are too.
With the end of July comes the end of camp season for FCS through DIII programs (remember FBS only do their camps in June) and the shift to pre season mode starts. This shift will impact your recruiting in a few ways:
NCAA Dead Period
Coaches aren’t allowed to have any players or families on campus during the entire month of August for recruiting purposes. They can still talk with you over the phone or online, however.
Downturn in Communication
Coaches won’t be replying or responding to you as much as they were earlier in the summer. They’re in full season mode and are not going to be as chatty. For many coaches, their jobs are literally on the line every pre season. Don’t get upset if a coach doesn’t get back to you. They’re usually not ghosting you they’re just busy coaching.
Focus on You
The ultimate flex in recruiting is having amazing game tape. You can’t do that if you get hurt during pre season and you can’t do that if you don’t see the field. Your two top goals should always be (1) stay healthy and (2) get on the field as much as possible. If you can do these two things, it will be unreasonable for you not to have tape to show coaches when they shift back to you.
Grade Specifics
2024’s - Most of you will not start to know where you are going until mid Fall when teams pivot back to recruiting. Teams usually want to see what they have in their current crop of players to finalize their last recruiting moves. Specialists are usually in this last bucket.
2025’s - After 9/1 college coaches can openly communicate with you. Once this date hits, send a quick hello message via Twitter or email to the programs you interacted with this summer. Ideally, you have a few staffs that will recognize you when you reach out from your camp.
For both 2024 and 2025’s, it’s definitely OK to inquire about attending a game with your folks. Teams have set aside tons of tickets just for this purpose alone. “Hey coach, not sure if possible but would love to see a game with my folks this season. We were thinking about X weekend - might that work?” Is a great script.
Summing it all up
Ambiguity is the name of the game in recruiting.
Coaches want options and recruits want options. It’s always safe to assume coaches are talking to 3-4 other players as seriously as they are talking to you (and vice versa) You never quite know who likes you versus who “like-likes” you. But, when the coach is the one driving a lot of the communicating, or it’s a pretty even back and forth, that is a good sign that you’re THE guy for them, versus just being A guy.
Thanks!
Coach Cahill
PS When you’re ready, here are a few ways I can help you.