It is possible, in 2024, to crush almost every camp you attend, and still walk away from the summer with no tangible, committable offer as a specialist.
Prefer video? Here is me breaking down these points from a video earlier in the week.
The specialist recruiting gambit has always been a late show. Teams prioritize higher needs first, i.e., QB, OL, WR, TE, well - basically anything that is non-kicker/non-specialist. It’s not right, but it is what it is.
The only guys annually getting a ton of offers in Spring/Summer of their Junior year going into Senior Year are your near-NFL-level specialists coming out of high school. That’s probably two or three guys a year.
While these two or three near-NFL leg talents a year coming out of HS represent only 2% of the FBS talent pool, they generate 98% of the Twitter/X recruiting buzz you see online. It makes it seem like, to everyone else, that they are the only ones not getting an offer.
Twitter/X’s job is to create addiction through FOMO. That algorithm wants to keep you hooked; it doesn’t care about recruiting reality. Remember that, please.
Everyone else, that 98%, is going to get the bulk of their recruiting action from Fall to Winter (or even Spring) of their Senior Year.
My advice for you if you’re feeling stuck, despite crushing college camps this summer:
Don’t freak out - Reality dictates the bulk of your recruiting action is going to happen in the Fall - Spring of Senior Year.
Hold your ground - Once you make a connection with a college coach at a camp, maintain it. Once you take ground, guard it. You do this by sending messages to coaches every 7-10 days with VERY short, quick updates. "Hey coach, just had a great camp, would love your take on these 2 quick clips."
Real football - You need to work with your current snapper/holder as much as you can. You need to show your head coach that you guys are a great operation now - not day one of preseason. Day one of preseason is too late. Your senior film evaluation means a lot as a specialist.
Preseason - Recruiting gets about as quiet as it will get during college/high school preseasons. That’s OK. While coaches can still talk to you online, they need to do their real jobs. Once the Fall season starts, then you should hit them with, "Hey coach, good luck week one! Would love to come see a game with my folks if possible, thanks!"
Mid-Season Tape - Every week you should be filming everything - warm-ups, team reps in practice, and, of course, games. You just never know when you’ll get a good clip. Film is the currency and thus the best excuse to bug a coach about you. Send your highlights weekly, but also compile them into a Mid-Season Tape by the end of September for colleges to evaluate. THIS is when you will start seeing some recruiting action kick back up.
Putting it all together:
The initial recruiting strategy should be to get an offer as soon as possible by doing things that make it more likely to get one, i.e., great grades, visits, training, staying in touch with coaches, winning camps, and so on. But, the mathematical reality and the anecdotal reality of helping specialists play in college for nearly a decade is this: you still have a very long road ahead of you.
Coach Cahill
P.S. When you’re ready, here are a few ways I can help you: