Questions I get all the time while evaluating even the best high school players. What do I need to do to get recruited? What are the tricks to help me be seen?
The reality is there are no tricks to it. It’s not a riddle and it isn’t rocket science, but there are a few things you can do – today – to secure more offers. And I’m going to share three of the EASIEST things you can do to help get on a college roster during this wild year.
But, before we dive in, I want to start by saying:
If you want to get recruited, that means you have to be in the top percentile of high school football players – among the best of the best in your school, your district, and your state.
And the reality is, if you get a scholarship, another kid, sitting where you are right now, will not. So take it seriously. It’s a hard business and it is serious stuff that affects many more than just yourself.
With that being said, let’s get to it. Here are three things every high schooler should do if they want to get recruited:
Get In The Weight Room Early
Be proactive with this process. If college football is your goal – try to tap in and invest in yourself. All this training – all this weight room stuff – is an investment in yourself up to have the most success in those crucial junior and senior seasons.
I’ve seen it time and time again, where the light clicks for a guy in his junior year of high school. By then, they’ve missed years of opportunity to get better and get in the circles of trainers or 7-on-7 teams or recruiting site professionals.
The trick is to get in as soon as you can, even before you enter high school, so you become known in that space. And when your game progresses a few years later, coaches aren’t saying, “Hey, who’s this new kid?” Instead, they recognize you and say, “We’ve known him. He’s been around cycles before.”
Edit Your Game Footage And Create Highlights
Honestly, this should probably be tip number one, because if you do not have film, – if you do not have actual products to show – it is very hard to get recruited. Now, you can get this from 7-on-7 games. You can get videos from camps. And now, in 2020, you can submit every workout to coaches with GMTM. But, wherever you are playing, start collecting all of your films as soon as possible.
Another tip is to edit the film you share with coaches. Your first 15 to 20 plays should be your best 15 to 20 plays. I don’t care who you are. When a coach evaluates your film, their time is extremely precious. You don’t want to waste their time. Every play they watch should help your brand and what you have to offer move forward.
One of the best types of advice I got is don’t put a throw on your film that every quarterback in your conference could make early on in your highlight film.
Every second is so precious in your highlight film. Don’t waste it, cut out dead space and make sure your highlight film is super tight. And pick plays that showcase your skillset. Use your film to prove why you are a game-changer and you deserve a scholarship on that coach’s team.
Play Another Sport
We live in this world where parents are pushed to specialize their kids. And in this one, PARENTS, I’m talking to you, too. Parents push their kids to only play quarterback. They do training year around. They play football in the fall and they do weekend training. Focusing so much on one position and one sport, I’m not a fan of that.
And I don’t think college coaches are either for a couple of reasons. One, you become a very single-lane athlete. If you are only training at quarterback or defensive back or offensive line all the time, your athleticism naturally takes a hit.
Look at Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, or Kyler Murray – all guys who were focused on baseball into college. That different type of athleticism from other sports and ability to create plays outside of a script will have made them HOF quarterbacks.
I, for instance, was heavily recruited as a QB since I was a kid, but I made sure I kept playing basketball. It kept me mobile. It kept me active. It kept my body doing different movements. And when your body’s changing that as a teenager, that’s really important. If you can go out there and compete and show college coaches that you’re just an athlete and a gamer, they’re more likely to give you a shot.
It’s also super important to prevent burnout. So often, kids can burn out late in high school or they burn out later in college. The game they’ve loved forever eventually fades because they’re working so hard. Be self-aware and make sure you’re still having fun.
Also, if you’re struggling to put the film together on the football field, you better be playing other sports. That highlight on the basketball court or the soccer field or the track that a coach can find on GMTM can change the trajectory of your football recruitment. Max Browne is a former 5-star quarterback and Elite 11 finalist who now works as an analyst for USC and GMTM, a social network that empowers athletes to build and showcase their brand to access more opportunities at every stage in their career.